Forestry 306

Course concept

This course is designed to give a hands-on introduction to tropical forest ecology, natural history, and conservation science. The course is framed around the concept of “rapid biodiversity assessment”: the methods by which tropical conservation scientists and international conservation groups attempt to efficiently assess the diversity of organisms they seek to protect. Such methods are critical, since large numbers species in major groups of organisms, such as insects and plants that make up most of the species found in tropical forests, are not even described in most tropical regions. Student should anticipate intensive fieldwork with a focus on birds, insects, woody plants, and forest structure.