La Suerte: Tropical Plants

Tropical Plant Ecology

Course Instructor:

Dr. Larry D. Pedersen

Optional Text:

A Neotropical Companion, Kricher, J.C., Princeton University Press, Princeton , 1989.

Sites:

La Suerte Biological Field Station, Costa Rica
Ometepe Biological Field Station, Nicaragua

Course Description:

The course covers ecology as it relates primarily to the plants of Costa Rica and Nicaragua. It is designed to give students hands-on experience in plant ecology in the Neotropics. The course will consist of lectures and field work, with field work representing the major portion of the course. Students will carry out an independent research project of their choosing and report their findings at the end of the course both orally and in a written report. Students should bring a journal article in an area of research in which they have an interest for the purposes of discussion.

General Information:

This course will be divided into two portions: two weeks in Costa Rica and two weeks in Nicaragua. This will allow students to be exposed to four distinct ecological systems:

rain forest
dry forest
cloud forest
swamplands

This course will provide students who are considering a career involving fieldwork in the tropics to experience the joys and hardships they can expect, but in a relatively benign atmosphere. The course will also include valuable techniques such as map making and characterization of the forests, as well as plant identification.

The material covered in the course is equivalent to an upper level or graduate university course. There are no formal prerequisites for the course, but a general knowledge of ecology and biology would definitely be a plus in the student's ability to benefit from the course.

Students will be expected to work hard, but we also intend to provide students with a fun experience. While at Ometepe, students will have the opportunity to bike, kayak, hike, and camp in the crater of a volcano (extinct!).

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