Tropical Ecology

Catalog description

Three hours lecture per week. Travel to one of the world's tropical regions to experience and study tropical ecosystems firsthand. This course will introduce you to the major ecological processes, the principal flora and fauna and their evolutionary adaptations, and diverse ecosystems that constitute major tropical regions of the world. Additionally, the complex issues surrounding the conservation of biodiversity in these areas will be examined and discussed. The course is divided into two parts. The first part includes on-campus and on-line lectures, discussions, videos, and analysis of peer-reviewed research papers to introduce students to the major ecosystems, conservation issues, and biodiversity in tropical regions. The second part of the course involves travel and study in a tropical region through guided hikes, lectures, discussions, journal writings, and research projects to understand the ecology and study the biodiversity of the region. Prerequisite: grade of C or higher in 251 or concurrent. Permission of instructor required.