WFB 185 SW1 (CRN: 60223)

Goals of this course are to familiarize the student with the identification, natural history, and conservation of Vermont's reptiles and amphibians through direct field experience. This course is designed to complement Herpetology (WFB 185 & 287) offered in the spring, but prior completion of either of those courses is not required for undergraduate credit. Through the use of active searches, turtle trapping, artificial cover objects, night-time road searches, and possibly radio tracking we will locate many of Vermont's herpetofauna, focusing on those that are not active during the spring semester. In addition, students will be introduced to some population monitoring methods. Field trips will visit a wide variety of sites in central Vermont during all weather. Students will stay at a field site off campus from which daytime and nighttime field trips will depart. Evening presentations by the instructor and a guest lecturer will be included. Fieldwork will at times be ! rigorous, wet, buggy, and dirty. Grades will be based on species sheets, field data, participation, and a short final. The course is limited to 10 students. Students taking the course for graduate credit (W&FB 287) are required to have taken the spring Herpetology course and will also be required to complete an independent survey and write a conservation plan over the course of the summer.

Instructor

• James Andrews (Email)

Related Program

• Sustainability

Notes

Dates: May 20 - May 24, 2013; Times: 9:00 am - 11:00 pm; Also meets Saturday, May 25 9 am - 3 pm; Fee $240 Cross listed with WFB 287 Z1 Meets off-campus: contact department for location