ENST 479: Tropical Ecology and Resource Management

Course Description: Tropical Ecology and Resource Management is a 3 credit survey course covering tropical ecosystems and issues of human use and impact. The course includes a set of lectures which lead up to an off-campus field trip to Belize over spring break. During the trip material presented earlier in lectures is discussed and demonstrated with examples and exercises. The costs of the trip will be approximately $2000.

Meeting time: Thursdays 5:00-5:50PM.

The trip to Belize will take place on March 17 - March 27.

Meeting place: 1420 Animal Sciences/Ag. Engineering Bldg.

Instructor: Patrick Kangas Office: 1455 Animal Sciences/Ag. Engineering Bldg. Phone: (301) 405-1259 e-mail:[email protected]

Course requirements and grading: Grades will be based on 1) a test to be given after the trip that covers lecture material (40 percent), 2) a journal covering activities and information presented on the trip (25 percent), and 3) a research project conducted during the trip (35 percent). The journals will be due on May 10 (last day of classes) and will be evaluated on completeness and organization. Reports on the research projects will be due one month after the trip and will be evaluated on organization, writing style and literature review coverage. The research project will be set up before the trip and will be based on feasibility of success and interest of the students. Schedule of topics for lecture week 1Introduction to the course week 2 Definitions of the Tropics week 3 Tropical forest ecology week 4 Ecology of coral reefs and other coastal systems week 5 Natural resource management in the Tropics week 6 Pre-hispanic Maya and their resource use patterns after spring break EXAM

Textbooks:

Kricher, J. C. 1997. A Neotropical Companion. Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ.

Jones, A. and N. Sefton. 2002. Marine Life of the Caribbean. Macmillan Publishers. Oxford, UK.

Overview Itinerary - Field Trip to Belize

3/17 Thursday travel to Belize City, visit Baboon Sanctuary 3/18 Friday day trip to Maya ruins, Belize Zoo

3/19 Saturday day trip to Maya ruins

3/20 Sunday Travel to Sittee River (Possum Point)

3/21 Monday riparian forest measurements and plantings

3/22 Tuesday day trip to Maya Mountains

3/23 Wednesday tours and work in the local village

3/24 Thursday travel to Wee Wee Caye on the coral reef

3/25 Friday coral reef day trip

3/26 Saturday coral reef in the morning, return to Possum Point

3/27 Sunday return to Belize City in early morning, travel to Washington, DC

Academic Integrity

Because the University is an academic community in which commitment to the principles of truth and academic honesty are essential, the Code of Academic Integrity prohibits students from committing the following acts of academic dishonesty: 1. Cheating: intentionally using or attempting to use unauthorized materials, information, or study aids in any academic exercise. 2. Fabrication: intentional and unauthorized falsification or invention of any information or citation in any academic exercise. 3. Facilitating academic dishonesty: intentionally or knowingly helping or attempting to help another violate any provision of [the Academic] Code. 4. Plagiarism: intentionally or knowingly representing the words or ideas of another as one’s own in any academic exercise.