Courses

FALL SEMESTER

BIOL 4005.005, 5005.005 Mammalian Ecology and Evolution. 3 hours. No prerequisites. This course will expose students to the diverse Mammalian Class in a lecture-style format. Emphasis will be put on diversity, ecological roles, evolution, conservation, and the importance of mammals in human cultures. Additionally, students will learn about contemporary mammalian research techniques. There will be quizzes on required class readings/videos. Students are expected to participate actively in the course by presenting selected topics and being part of class discussions. Each student will pick a topic on which he/she will write an essay. Class grades will be determined by each student’s performance in the previously-described activities, two major exams, a presentation, and an essay. This course does not have a lab or field component.

BIOL 4053.001, 5053.001 PHIL 4053.001, 6780.001 Introduction to Sub-Antarctic Biocultural Conservation. 3 hours. No prerequisites. Co-taught with Dr. Ricardo Rozzi and 9 invited lecturers.

This cross-listed and transdisciplinary course will provide students with an introduction to sub-Antarctic biological and cultural diversity, as well as to the approach of the Sub-Antarctic Biocultural Conservation Program at UNT. Students will gain an overview of the flora, fauna, geography, climate, and ethnography of southern South America. They will also gain a conceptual framework to integrate environmental philosophy and ecological sciences, and their integration into practical and theoretical aspects of biocultural conservation, including education and ecotourism. Additionally, and as a way of comparing and contrasting with the Sub-Antarctic contents, the course will have a section on Sub-Arctic contents.

We all bring different skills and mindsets to this course and will work as a group to broaden and integrate our approaches to biocultural conservation. This seminar-style course will have an emphasis on ethno-ornithology and ecotourism, as a way to implement biocultural conservation. The course is part of a broader International Research Experience, and a study-abroad field course, entitled Tracing Darwin’s Path (TDP). Although this course is a recommended prerequisite for the TDP field course, it is not a requirement.

WINTERMESTER

BIOL 4054, 5054 PHIL 4054, 6781 Tracing Darwin’s Path. 3 hours that counts for the Spring semester. Co-taught with Dr. James H. Kennedy and 5 other invited professors. Prerequisite: permission from instructor.

This study abroad course is part of UNT’s Sub-Antarctic Biocultural Conservation Program. It is taught in partnership with a masters-level class in conservation, Field Biocultural Conservation (FBC), at the University of Magallanes (UMAG), Chile. Both courses are also taught as part of the Chilean Long-Term Socio-Ecological Research Network’s program of field courses, coordinated by the Institute of Ecology and Biodiversity (IEB).

Biocultural diversity has been defined as the “diversity of life in all its manifestations –biological, cultural, and linguistic– which are interrelated within a complex socio-ecological adaptive system.” Addressing modern day environmental issues requires approaches that take into account this multi-faceted meaning of diversity. In this context, this course will provide students with an interdisciplinary research, conservation and education experience at one of the most pristine wilderness areas remaining in the world. The course will explore ways of defining, studying, communicating, and conserving biocultural diversity. These goals will be achieved by exposing students to a first-hand experience using the case study of the creation and implementation of the Omora Ethnobotanical Park as a long-term ecological study site that serves to link society and development with biodiversity, history, and ecosystems in the Cape Horn Biosphere Reserve.

The general topic of this course is biocultural conservation and has a strong field component. Students get first hand encounters with the diversity of people inhabiting the sub-Antarctic Magellanic ecoregion (including handcrafters from the indigenous Yahgan community, teachers from local schools, tourist operators, as well as Chilean and Latin American students, researchers, and artists), and explore together the main habitat types (including the Patagonian steppe, penguin colonies, watersheds dominated by Nothofagus forests, etc.)