BIOEE 2640 - Tropical Field Ornithology

(PBS)

Winter. 3 credits.

Permission of instructor required. Enrollment primarily for students with limited or no bird knowledge. Offered in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic. The group is housed in the Biodiversity Center at Punta Cana. Daily fieldwork, disc, reading, and individual project. One or two field trips are taken to national parks in the Dominican Republic.

A. Dhondt.

Provides students with the opportunity to study birds intensively in a neotropical environment. Students learn observational and field techniques, participate in group research projects and in daily seminars. See the website for more information.

Outcome 1: Students will be able to describe their observations (supported with field sketches), identify observed birds, and place them in the proper taxonomic group.

Outcome 2: Students will be able to understand and explain what observed bird behavior means (foraging, aggressive, territorial, reproductive,…) and place it in the relevant ecological context.

Outcome 3: Students will be able to ask critical questions about scientific papers, discuss them and summarize their main findings.

Outcome 4: Based on their observations, readings and discussions, students will be able to identify an interesting question, formulate appropriate hypotheses, and explain their relevance.

Outcome 5: Students will design field observations and experiments required to test hypotheses and carry out the necessary field work.

Outcome 6: Students will be able to analyze and interpret the observations, explain and defend their interpretations and conclusions.