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January, 2023 led by Wes Testo (westontesto@gmail.com) and Jacob Suissa (jsuissa17@gmail.com) with logistical support from Dave Barrington (dbarring@uvm.edu) |
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probably General Goals: 1. to compare the diversity of flowering plants and ferns in a diversity of tropical American forest types to be encountered in Costa Rica, including as many moisture and temperature regimes as possible. 2. to appreciate the relationship between the Costa Rican people and their landscape. |
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Curriculum: The overall goal of the course is to study tropical
flowering plant diversity as it relates to variety of
forest types in Costa Rica. Our activity in each of the
forests will be as follows. We will survey the forest for
flowering-plant and fern diversity, assembling a list of
plants to the genus level. We will dissect flowers and
fruits on site to teach the morphology and taxonomy
of tropical flowering plants; from this activity, we will
build a working knowledge of the field recognition
characters useful for identifying tropical plants. We
emphasize field recognition of flowering-plant families,
because this training is transportable to any other
tropical forest in the world. |
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Forests (Cited forest types are those of the Holdridge Life Zone System.) Cerro de la Muerte: high montane rain páramo and high montane wet forest dominated by oak species - mixture of Andean and Cordilleran Western North American elements - many familiar genera. Simple lodging in a roadside restaurant and rooming house. Monteverde:
three forst types! Premontane and lower montane wet forest
and rain forest (the classic cloud forest of the media)
rich in exotic species of all types, dominated by figs,
avocados, etc. Lodging and meals at a biological reserve
above the town, at the edge of original forest. Osa (Corcovado): tropical rain forest with Amazonian affinities - including legumes, brazilnut family, Bombacaceae etc etc - hike into the national park along the beach with a guide and camp on the beach, explore the forest from the beach. Santa
Rosa (Guanacaste): tropical (=sea-level) moist
forest dominated by legume trees, Sapindales, etc;
evergreen but seasonally very dry (some trees are
deciduous). At the coast itself there are small tracts of
true tropical dry forest, mangrove associations, seabeach
flora, and other coastal plant associations. Camping at a
national park with running water and cold showers.
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Costs: Overall cost estimate is AT LEAST $1500 in country, all
expenses included. Airfare is extra. The $1500 includes
your share of the van in Costa Rica, room and board.
It does not include the cost of gifts and the like. |
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FIRST DRAFT OF ITINERARY FOR THE 2023 TRIP |
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The PBIO 232 Course: s |
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Meetings: those who
are able (that is at UVM) will meet several times during
fall 2021 before the trip to go over the science and
logistics of the experience. |
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Practicalities: You
must arrange your own air transportation to and from Costa
Rica -- do this NOW.
I will make arrangements so that once you arrive in
the country, your rendezvous with the group is easy. You
will be responsible for seeking your own health advice for
the trip, but will find comfort in knowing that we have had
no major health problem in 21 previous trips. Costa
Rica remains a safe places to travel, and we are expert in
reducing the health and safety risks Your personal equipment
will need to be compact but not spartan, no backpacking with
all equipment required but plan for walking with a fairly
good load for a mile. |
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What to do if you want to go: You must have taken Plant Biology 109 (offered both summer or fall) or an equivalent introductory plant systematics course to go (dendrology is also adequate preparation). Ask to be put on our list of participants at any time (email, dbarring@uvm.edu), first come first serve with certain restrictions. These are - first priority goes to anyone who has taken Plant Biology 241, then UVM undergraduates, then UVM graduate students. Others encouraged to inquire, especially from other universities. Two to three spaces reserved for others who will add to the trip experience. Total group size is about 20. |
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