Human Ecology and Tropical Conservation Dates: June 27 – July 10, 2016 Application deadline: May 15, 2016 Program fee: $2300 Instructor: Dr. Janette Wallis Location: Piro Research Station, Osa Peninsula, Costa Rica Course Description This short course is designed to provide students with field experience in a great tropical setting, with an emphasis on current efforts to conserve tropical wildlife and their habitats. As
Read more
Every time there is an international tragedy, there is an outpouring of global support. While it’s sad that it takes such disastrous events to make us feel like one world instead of many countries, it is simultaneously heartwarming to see the lengths that people will go to in order to help those in need, regardless of location. But what happens
Read more
Many economists and politicians speculate about the merits of free trade and fair trade. Although both approaches are focused on a comprehensive plan for commercial activity, they are founded by very different perspectives. Free trade is focused on breaking down barriers between countries and removing preferential policies that favor specific countries or industries. Free traders believe that a business should
Read moreby Lisa Barrett What kind of parental care did you or do you enjoy? Food, shelter, college tuition? How does this compare to parental care in non-human animals? First of all, most animals do not receive any parental care at all. In other words, most animal parents do not invest in feeding, incubating, or defending their young after they are
Read more
What is a Citizen Naturalist? Citizen naturalists are people concerned about the environment who choose to become involved to help on both a local and national level. Anyone can be a citizen naturalist. You just have to have a passion for nature and an interest in helping your community. These can be simple tasks like cleaning up water sources, educating
Read more
These days there are so many types of travel, especially as we become more involved in trying to sustain the environment. I’m providing information here to help you be an educated traveler. This first one is the big one: ECO-TOURISM. The International Ecotourism Society defines it as “responsible travel to natural areas that conserves the environment, sustains the well-being of
Read more
Though the drawn specimen of Tillandsia bergeri shows a small plant, T. bergeri tends to allocate much of its energy into growing into large clusters, as seen in the photograph above. This native Brazilian species grows epiphytically (growing upon other plants) or lithophytically (growing upon rocks), and therefore do not require soil for growth. Plants that grow in this manner
Read more
Various media sources are full of “global warming” references, while some prefer “climate change”. Global warming seems to have a much bigger impact in our minds as images of a scorching-hot Earth filters through our conscience. So what is the difference? According to NASA global warming is “a gradual increase in the average temperature of Earth’s surface” (NASA, accessed 2015).
Read more
Some of my fondest childhood memories are from playing in the dirt with my mother while she gardened. She would designate a special area where I was allowed to play, so I would not damage any plants. Due to my mother’s green thumb, I do not remember a single summer that we did not have a garden. My mother did
Read moreA Quick Refresher of Species Concepts: 1. Biological Species Concept (Mayr) A species = “A group of actually or potentially interbreeding natural populations which are reproductively isolated from other such groups” (Source) Advantages: – Objective, testable criteria Disadvantages: – Applies to only sexually-reproducing species – Hard to test for populations that don’t overlap (i.e. islands) – Messy when species hybridize
Read more
DANTAisms 