Summer 2006 Course List

ESP 5570  Humboldt Field Courses (2-3 credits)
The Humboldt Field Research Institute is based in Downeast coastal Maine and is known for an extensive series of advanced and professional-level natural history field seminars offered since 1987.   HFRI is east of the Schoodic section of Acadia National Park and west of the Petit Manan National Wildlife Refuge and provides an excellent site for teaching field techniques.  Week-long summer field course and seminars are taught by recognized international experts and cover a broad range of specialized subjects, including many that are not typically taught at academic institutions.  These courses will give students an opportunity to learn field research techniques on a variety of topics.  Specific courses and schedules are listed at www.eaglehill.us/index.html.

ESP 5500  Special Topics: Ecological Methods - Vegetation (3 credits)
Thursdays, June 15 – July 27, 8 am – 12 pm; Saturday July 29, 2006
Practicing environmental scientists are often required to understand and apply ecological sampling methods in order to derive meaningful data. This course is intended to help environmental researchers understand vegetation sampling principles and techniques by reviewing the theory and practice of vegetation analysis. Central to this offering is the understanding of plant biogeography, or the patterned occurrence of plant associations, communities, and ecosystems across the vegetated landscape. Vegetation sampling methods will be reviewed within the context of such associations, and we will visit various plant communities to provide hands-on experience in vegetation sampling using standardized methods. Theory and practice will be combined during each class, and a final full-day field trip will review concepts and test the participant’s knowledge gained through the course.