Tropical Biology - San Salvador 2007

Pre/Co-requisites:
Oceanic Island Ecology Biology 319 and Permission of Instructor

Instructors:	Phone	Email Address	Office
Dr. Charles Booth	860-465-5260	booth@easternct.edu	Media 226
Dr. Ross Koning	860-465-5327 860-933-2712	koning@easternct.edu	Media 224

Required Text:
Kaplan, E. H. 1988. Southeastern and Caribbean Seashores. Houghton-Mifflin, Boston.

AND ONE of the following (your choice, complement with two friends):
Chaplin, C. G. and P. Scott. 1972. Fishwatchers Guide to West Atlantic Coral Reefs. Livingston Publishing Co., Wynnewood, PA. 65 pp.
Kaplan, E. H. 1982. A Field Guide to Coral Reefs of the Caribbean and Florida Including Bermuda and the Bahamas. Peterson Field Guide Series. Houghton-Mifflin Co., Boston. 289 pp.
Littler, D. S., M. M. Littler, K. E. Bucher, and J. N. Norris. 1989. Marine Plants of the Caribbean. Smithsonian Institution. Airlife Publishing, Shrewsbury. England. 263 pp.

Course Objectives:
The 2007 announcement is available for our May 2007 trip. The Tropical Biology--San Salvador course is designed to provide students with an opportunity to study first-hand the biology of tropical terrestrial and marine ecosystems. It involves an intensive eleven-day field experience on San Salvador Island, Bahamas. While on the island, students will keep a field notebook that includes descriptions of their daily class and field experiences. Nightly discussions will be held to recap each day's observations. After returning from San Salvador, students will turn in papers based upon library-research and field-experience addressing writing prompts that focus upon the terrestrial and marine ecosystems of San Salvador.

Resources:
What to Bring
Flight Information
Climate Information
Tide Table
2007 Essay Questions
Terrestrial Dune Transect Survey
Marine Intertidal Transect Survey
Some historical documents as well:

Requirements:
Because of the unique nature of a field course, its success depends on the full cooperation and participation of everyone involved. Participants are expected to have an attitude of responsibility, curiosity, and commitment. They will adhere to the following requirements:

1. All students enroll for Biology 320 (Tropical Biology) for the Spring 2007 semester.
2. Students pay the necessary course fees ($1400 total) in full by the deadlines.
3. Students appear on time at the airport, and punctually for all course activities while on the island.
4. Students will prepare the required papers and submit them by the deadline: July 16, 2007.
5. Students who fail to complete this course and its required papers with a grade of C- or better must return all scholarship funds provided by the university.

Supplemental Readings:
Carlquist, S. 1981. Chance Dispersal. Scientific American. 69: 509-516.
Case, T.J. and M.L. Cody. 1987. Testing theories of island biogeography. Amer.Sci. 75: 402-411.
Goreau, T.F., N.I. Goreau, and T.J. Goreau. 1979. Corals and coral reefs. Sci. Amer. 241(2): 124-136.
Sealey, N. 1998. Bahamian Landscapes. 2ded. Media Publishing, Nassau, Bahamas.

Grading:
The course grade for BIO 320 will be based on participation in the field, participation in class discussions at evening seminars, and the quality of the essays submitted on time.

Accessibility:
If you are a student with a disability and believe you will need accommodations for this class, it is your responsibility to contact the Office of AccessAbility Services at (860) 465-5573. To avoid any delay in the receipt of accommodations, you should contact the Office of AccessAbility Services as soon as possible. Please note that we cannot provide accommodations based upon disability until we have received an accommodation letter from the Office of AccessAbility Services. Your cooperation is appreciated. As we are on a field course in a foreign country, it may or may not be possible to provide suitable accommodations, so your earliest attention to accessibility issues is strongly encouraged.

This page © Ross E. Koning 1994.

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Send comments and bug reports to Ross Koning at rkoning@snet.net.