Objectives

To study the ecology and conservation of terrestrial tropical systems
To gain first-hand research experience in contrasting tropical habitats

Tropical Ecology and Conservation

Course Requirements and Grading

Ecosystem Presentation = 15%
Research Proposal & Presentation = 35%
Participation = 10%
Research Reports & Presentations (in Costa Rica) = 35%
Journals = 5%

Reading

Please see the Readings page for a full list of text resources, as well as reading assignments for each week listed on the schedule below.

Required Text

Miyata, Ken, and Forsyth, Adrian. Tropical Nature. Touchstone, New York. 1984.

Kellman, Martin, and Tackaberry, Rosanne. Tropical Environments: the Functioning and Management of Tropical Ecosystems. Routledge, New York.1997.

Optional Text

Beletsky, Les. Travelers' Wildlife Guides: Costa Rica. Interlink Books, Boston. 2005.

Assignments

Please see the Assignments page for a full list and descriptions of everything assigned during this course.

Attendance and Class Participation

This fall we will be laying the foundation for our trip in December/January. Class participation is critical, so please do not miss class. You must:

Come to class with an in-depth understanding of the readings and two written questions that you would like to discuss
Ask questions when you don't understand some aspect of the reading or discussion
Be prepared to lead or jump-start discussions
Disagree with your colleagues if your interpretation is different

Class Schedule

This course meets twice a week for classes during the school semester, and then goes on a trip to Costa Rica. A Costa Rica trip schedule is also provided.

Week	Day	Date	Topic	Readings
Week	Day	Date	Topic	F & M=Forsyth & Miyata K & T=Kellman & Tackaberry
1	Tues Thurs	Sept 6 8	Course Introduction Hypotheses in Science	F & M - ch 1-3
2	Tues Thurs	Sept 13 15	Discussion of Tropical Nature (seasonality) Consequences of Seasonality	F & M - ch 4-9 Wright 1992
3	Tues Thurs	Sept 20 22	Mechanisms of Climatic Variation Library Session (how to find and evaluate library sources)	K & T - ch 1-3
4	Tues Thurs	Sept 27 29	Consequences of Climate Change Write Article on Climate Change for General Public	Pounds et al. 1999 Lawton et al. 2001 Nadkarni & Solano 2002 LaVal 2004
5	Tues Thurs	Oct 4 6	Nutrient Cycling & Consequences of Deforestation Ecosystem Reports 1: Tropical Dry Forests, Ecosystem 2: Lowland Tropical Rainforests	K & T - ch 4 Markiewitz et al. 2004
6	Tues Thurs	Oct 11 13	No Class Research Proposal: Paper presentation	None
7	Tues Thurs	Oct 18 20	Biological Interactions Ecosystem Reports 3: Tropical Cloud Forests, Ecosystem 4: Tropical Paramo & Alpine	K & T - chapter 5 (pp 92-114)
8	Tues Thurs	Oct 25 27	Evolution of Biodiversity Research Proposal: Hypothesis and Rationale	F & M - ch 10-15
9	Tues Thurs	Nov 1 3	Maintenance of Biodiversity: Are species equivalent? Value of Biodiversity	Phillips et al. 1994 Terborgh et al. 1996
10	Tues Thurs	Nov 8 10	Agriculture: Traditional Individual Meetings to Discuss Research Proposal	K & T - chapter 8
11	Tues Thurs	Nov 15 17	Agriculture: Intensified Ecosystem Reports 5: Coffee, Ecosystem 6: Forestry	K & T - chapter 9, 10
12	Tues Thurs	Nov 22 24	Ecosystem Report 7. Tropical Forests, Carbon Sequestration and the Kyoto Protocol No Class	None
13	Tues Thurs	Nov 29 Dec 1	Write Article on Carbon Sequestration for the General Public Research Proposal Presentations	None
14	Tues Thurs	Dec 6 8	Research Proposal Presentations Research Proposal Presentations	None