syllabus

Course description:
From Charles Darwin, Alfred Russel Wallace, and Henry Bates, to Theodosius Dobzhansky, to John Terborgh and E. O Wilson, biologists through the centuries have been amazed and inspired by tropical rainforests. These areas are hotspots of biodiversity, and provide countless examples of some of the most interesting and illuminating ecological interactions. Costa Rica is one of the most visited of tropical countries, with good reason. Within this tiny country, only about the size of West Virginia, are found more species of tree, of butterfly, of bird, of frog, and indeed most other taxa, than in the entire continental USA. Costa Rica is one of the world’s best examples of conservation at work, as over 13% of its total area is designated and protected as national park, and another 10% is under some sort of environmental protection. Its topography and its position between two oceans, the Atlantic ( Caribbean) and Pacific, result in a diversity of habitats within a very small space. In short, it is a natural destination for those interested in learning about the plants and animals and the exuberance of life that epitomizes the tropics, and that have so fascinated biologists through the years.

The bulk of this course will be spent at the Sirena field station in one of the largest and most pristine of Costa Rica’s national parks, Parque Nacional Corcovado on the Osa Peninsula (see map). We will travel through other habitats going to and coming from this remote site. Our final days will be spent in one of the most famous and highly studied field sites in the Neotropics, the Organization for Tropical Studies’ La Selva Biological Station in the northeast portion of the country. (Please note that some change in this proposed itinerary may be required, due to circumstances beyond our control.)

Highlights among the multitude of organisms you’ll see and learn about: toucans, scarlet macaws, and exotic hummingbirds; leafcutter ants, army ants, and blue morpho butterflies; monkeys and tapirs; sharks and “assbiter” minnows; giant land crabs; ant acacias, cecropias, buttressed rainforest giants, and lianas worth of Tarzan…and much, much more! You’ll take home a better understanding of the importance of these habitats to the world’s “biohealth” and we hope, a deeper commitment to supporting their preservation.

Course format and grade:
The course will include orientation walks and identification workshops to introduce you to the flora and fauna; faculty-guided field problems; and group and independent projects.

The final grade will be based on a combination of active participation in activities (10%), a field notebook (20%), identification quizzes (20%), a presentation/report on a selected topic (20%), and your field project(s) write-up (30%). All course requirements must be completed before you return to the USA. You should prepare your presentation/report during the spring, before heading to Costa Rica, as you will be presenting this during the field portion of the course. We will discuss potential topics at one of meetings during the spring semester.

Credit and prerequisites:
This 3-credit course counts as one of the required labs for the degree in biosciences. Prerequisites: BIOS 201, 202, 211, and 213, and/or permission of instructor. Call or email Dr. Greig to make an appointment. Note: A maximum of 12 students (sophomores and juniors only) will be accepted in this course.

Costs
$1500, plus round-trip airfare to Costa Rica. This fee covers your lodging and all meals, in-country travel, and admission fees to places we visit (such as zoos, museums, butterfly farms, etc.) as a group. You will need money for personal items such as snacks, phone calls to the USA, souvenirs, etc. Before going to Costa Rica you will need to get a passport if you do not have one ($67 renewal, $97 first time) and an international student card (ISIC; $22).

You must have a passport to travel to Costa Rica. If you do not already have a passport, or if yours has expired, you should apply for one immediately! Go to the U.S. Department of State travel website, at http://travel.state.gov and click on Passports for details on the application process. First time applicants must apply in person, and the cost is $97.00. You can renew via mail for a cost of $67.00. If you have a current passport, make sure the expiration date is not earlier than October 2006.

Purchase an ISIC card from the International Programs Office in the Ley Student Center (cost: $22.00). Most importantly, this card will provide you with emergency medical evacuation insurance, which you must have in order to participate in the course. The ISIC card also qualifies you for various student discounts. See www.isic.com for details.

Check to see if your medical insurance will cover you during travel abroad. If not, medical insurance for traveling students can be purchased for less than $50 per month (check HTH Worldwide Insurance Services). You must provide proof of insurance in order to participate. See the U.S. Department of State travel website (again, http://travel.state.gov) and go to International Travel Information/Tips for Traveling Abroad/Health Issues for information on medical considerations while traveling outside the USA and for suggestions of what you should take with you, etc. If you have any questions or concerns, we will cover this information during our orientation meetings in the spring.

Currently, no vaccinations or malaria prophylaxes are required for travel to Costa Rica. However, if you have not had a tetanus shot within the past five years you should get one before you travel. Go to www.mdtravelhealth.com and check under Costa Rica for recommended medical precautions, supplies to take with you, etc.

If you have any allergies, especially to wasp stings/hymenopteran venom, you must bring any and all medications with you! We will be in a remote field site with no ready access to a doctor or pharmacies.

See equipment list for required and suggested equipment. We will be doing a lot of hiking, and the main field site has many steep climbs, so be prepared for semi-strenuous physical activity. Our TA has offered to lead training exercises (running up and down stairs at the Rice stadium) during the spring semester to get you in shape…!

Starred books are those you should plan on reading during the spring semester. The others you may want to check out at some point, and at least read selected portions. If you don’t want to buy these books, most of them are probably available at the public library if not in the Rice library. I also own many of them and you are welcome to look at them in my office (at the museum, sorry!). We will have field guides, etc. on the course, so you won’t need to bring (m)any books with you. Of course, if you are particularly interested in a certain group (birds, butterflies, herps, etc.) you may want your own copy of that field guide.

*Belt, Thomas. 1888. A naturalist in Nicaragua.
Bates, Henry Walter. 1863. The naturalist on the River Amazons.
Spruce, Richard. 1908. Notes of a botanist on the Amazon and Andes. (read pp. 17-53 for a great description of rain forest)
*Kricher, John. 1997. A neotropical companion.
*Forsyth, Adrian and Ken Miyata. 1984. Tropical nature.
Davis, Wade. 1996. One river. (more appropriate to South America, but interesting)
Hogue, Charles. 1972. Armies of the ant. (written about a field station on the east side of the Osa peninsula) Jordan, Carl (ed.). 1981. Tropical ecology (#10 in the series titled Benchmark papers in ecology, probably in the Rice library). (interesting selection of excerpts from papers on tropical ecology, from Darwin to the late 1970s). Richards, P.W. 1952. The tropical rain forest: an ecological study. (the first and “classic” text on rain forests) *Terborgh, John. 1992. Diversity and the tropical rain forest.
*Insight guide: Costa Rica (read entire introduction). (This is a book for travelers/tourists to Costa Rica. The introduction, including the country’s history, etc., is very interesting and good background. Gorgeous photos too.)

For instructors (field guides/reference books we will have on the course)
Allen, Paul. 1956. Rain forests of Golfo Dulce.
DeVries, Phil. 1985. Butterflies of Costa Rica, Vol. 1
DeVries, Phil. 1989. Butterflies of Costa Rica, Vol. 2
Gentry, Alwyn. 1996. Woody plants of northern South America.
Gunn, C.R. and J.V. Dennis. 1976. World guide to tropical drift seeds and fruits.
Heywood, V. 1978. Flowering plants of the world.
Hogue, Charles. 1993. Latin American insects and entomology.
Janzen, Dan. 1985. Costa Rican natural history.
Maas , P. and L. Wesetra. 1993. Neotropical plant families.
Reid, Fiona. 1997. A field guide to the mammals of Central America and southeast Mexico.
Savage, Jay. 2005. Costa Rican herpetofauna.
Skiles, Gary et al. 1989. Birds of Costa Rica. others???

Visits to Cloropicado Serpentarium, hear lecture on snake venom, see herps, etc.

Instructor: Dr. Nancy Greig, Houston Museum of Natural Science

Location: Costa Rica