Winter intersession

 

BIOL 3413 Environmental Problems ONLINE 12/22 - 1/9

ZAP number XXXX for all campuses (Tahlequah, Broken Arrow, Muskogee).

This is a class intended for non-majors, but open to biology majors.

We will review the basics of science, then apply that knowledge to understanding environmental problems. The Blackboard software (http://nsuonline.nsuok.edu) will be used throughout. We will read and discuss timely books. Also, students will form teams to study in depth environmental problems in a particular community.

There are two options: option A is to study an area where the student lives, and option B is to study a village in Belize, a developing country.

Students selecting option A will form a team with classmates who live nearby. Students will have to travel to places in their community to see how environmental problems in their community are dealt with.

Students in Environmental Problems selecting option B will examine how villagers in a developing country (Belize) address various environmental problems (energy, transportation, food, water, waste, income, etc.). This will allow a comparison with the methods used by people in a developed country (the U.S.) as examined by the rest of the class (option A).

 

The particular village we will focus on for Environmental Problems, option B, is Caye Caulker (CC), a tiny island in the Caribbean with an economy based on lobster fishing and tourism.

 

Here are supplemental cost estimates for students in Environmental Problems,

option B:

Date Day Event notes Event$ Food$ Lodging$

Jan 4 Sunday Fly TUL -> BZE, Caye Caulker $450 $20 $40

Jan 5 Monday Tour village on own $10 $30 $40

Jan 6 Tuesday Lamanai tour $120 $30 $40

Jan 7 Wed. San Pedro tour on own $15 $40 $40

Jan 8 Thursday Tour marine reserve $40 $30 $40

Jan 9 Friday Tour village on own $0 $30 $40

Jan 10 Saturday Fly home $450 $20 $0

Total cost = $1,525 + $175 contingency = $1,700 + tuition, fees, books.

This will vary from student to student. The biggest expense is airfare. I assumed $850 from Tulsa to Belize City, and assumed that includes all taxes and fees. Airfares change, and are more likely to go up than down, especially if you wait. (Note: I bought my ticket for $800.) Also, students can fly from Belize City to Caye Caulker (~$50 RT) like a tourist or take a water taxi with locals--cheaper and more fun. I assumed students would spend $40/night for lodging. There is less expensive lodging available, and students can share a room to split costs. There is also more expensive lodging. Each student will make their own lodging arrangements. Food costs will also vary. I encourage students to shop in local markets, like villagers do. This is inexpensive—much less than reflected above. Restaurants vary in price; some cost much more than is reflected above. Costs for daily activities will also vary, but the estimates above are typical based on previous years.

Big cat

This photograph of a large felid was taken in the Elijio Panti National Park of Belize on the date and time shown. Please post comments with your opinion as to the species of animal seen here, your expertise in interpreting wildlife photos, and an email where I can contact you.

Orchids

Elijio Panti National Park warden Antonio Mai shows an orchid in bloom to one of my "Tropical Ecology Lab" students in July, 2008. These orchids were blooming on the banks of the Privassion Creek, just down stream from the Sakt'aj waterfall.

In the forest

Here are two of my "Tropical Ecology lab" students deep in the Elijio Panti National Park in Belize in July, 2008. We rode horses to cover more ground than we could have on foot in the deep mud of the rainy season. Shortly after I took this photo, we heard male howler monkeys calling in the tree tops, but the forest was so dense that we could not see them.

Dr. Terdal at Belize Zoo

I took the students in my "Tropical Ecology lab" to the Belize Zoo on July 4 to see Belizean wildlife up close. Here I am by the Harpy Eagle exhibit. This exhibit is featured in a text we are reading for the online Environmental Problems class, "The Last Flight of the Scarlet Macaw." I met Sharon Matola here a few years ago, during the events described in the book.

Society for Economic Botany

This is the poster I presented at the 49th annual meeting of the Society for Economic Botany at Duke University in June, 2008. It describes research I've done with co-authors Rhea and Ben in Belize on the ethnomedicine of the Maya. Rhea and I, with three students, will be back in Belize June and July to continue our work.

Students are eager to know which textbooks I am using so that they can investigate their purchase options. I am all in favor of the free market! In theory, it should bring down prices.

Here are my picks for Summer, 2008:

May, 2008, Intersession

0279 *BIOL 4503 TROPICAL ECOLOGY LECT MTWTh 9:00 AM- 11:40 ITV 05/12-06/06 TERDAL E SL 129

0284 *BIOL 4503 TROPICAL ECOLOGY LECT MTWThF 9:00 AM- 11:40 ITV 05/12-06/06 TERDAL E NSM 209

0278 *BIOL 4503 TROPICAL ECOLOGY LECT MTWThF 9:00 AM- 11:40 ITV 05/12-06/06 TERDAL E BA-G114

Kricher, John. 1997. A neotropical companion, 2e. Princeton University Press.

New, $30, Amazon.com $20, used from $12.

0343 *BIOL 4501 TROPICAL ECOLOGY LAB ONLINE 05/12-06/06 TERDAL E BA-D143
NOTE: 32 hours field work Offline email terdal@nsuok.edu. Refer to further
instructions regarding online classes in the “Online” section of this schedule.

NOTE: this class may be cancelled due to low enrollment. Please check with the instructor before purchasing texts.

Option A: Sibley, David A. 2003. The Sibley Field Guide to Birds of Eastern North America (Paperback). Knopf.
New, $20; Amazon, $14; used $7.

Option B: Beletsky, L. 2004. Belize: And Northern Guatemala (Travellers' Wildlife Guides) (Paperback). Interlink.

New $28, Amazon $19, used $10.

There are some additional suggested texts for students taking option B. Please email me for more details.

June, 2008

0337 *BIOL 4522 ECOLOGCIAL METHODS ONLINE 06/09-07/03 TERDAL E BA-D143
NOTE: 32 hours field work Offline email terdal@nsuok.edu.

Sutherland, William J. (ed.) 2006. Ecological Census Techniques: a handbook (paperback), 2e. Cambridge.

New $57, Amazon $51, used $50 (be sure to get the 2e, not the much older 1e!)

June and July, 2008

0335 *BIOL 3413 ENVIRONMENTAL PROB ONLINE 06/09-07/31 TERDAL E BA-D143

In the past, I used a single, comprehensive textbook. It was as dull as my lectures. This summer, we are doing a summer reading activity, using four mass-market books in lieu of a single tome.

In the order in which we will read them:

Angier, Natalie. 2008. The Canon. Mariner Books.

Paperback: new, $16; Amazon, $11; used, $10

Diamond, Jared. 2005. Collapse. Penguin Books.

Paperback: new $17; Amazon, $12; used, $5.

Barcott, Bruce. 2008. The Last Flight of the Scarlet Macaw. Random House.

Hardback: new $26; Amazon, $18; used, $16.

Weisman, Alan. 2007. The World without us. Thomas Dunne Books.

Hardback: new $25; Amazon, $17; used, $7.

I'll post on Fall classes later. For now, I plan to use these same texts for Environmental Problems in the fall, but there should be a paperback edition of The World Without Us by then.

Sources of books:

The campus bookstore may be the most convenient. If you prefer to shop online, I use amazon.com and powells.com. Amazon.com is often cheaper for new books. The advantage, as I see it, of powells.com is in buying used books. They buy them and then sell them to you. When amazon.com sells used books, they are really just a middle-man and so take less responsibility. They are kind of like ebay in that regard. I have not used ebay.com for textbooks but would welcome your input. I know other students like other websites, including some which offer international editions at big discounts. Let's start a discussion on the best way to buy textbooks!