BI 417 - Tropical Terrestrial Biology

Min Units: 4
Max Units: 4
This three-week Summer field course experience, taught by Butler biology faculty, will lead students to understand how climate changes the structure and function of terrestrial ecosystems through a comparative analysis of temperate and tropical environments. The first week of the course begins on campus and examines the diversity of a temperate forest. The last two weeks of the course are spent at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI) field station in Gamboa, Panama, where field exercises are used to explore the flora and fauna typical of tropical biodiversity. Visits by world-renowned STRI scientists will exemplify the types of research questions and methodologies used to study tropical communities. Field trips include bird watching along Pipeline Road, primate observing on Barro Colorado Island, frog and bat observing during night hours, a canopy crane trip for a bird’s-eye viewing of the forest, and others. Students are expected to keep a travel log and, towards the end of the course, they will develop their own research project, collect data, and give a presentation on their findings. (U) Summer
Prerequisite(s): BI 230 and BI 250 with a C- or better or permission of instructors