1 / 44

Getting Your Hands Dirty

Getting Your Hands Dirty. Field Courses at Athabasca University. Robert Holmberg 16 May 2005 Alberta Introductory Biology Association. Science. = study of real things in a time frame. Biology. = study of living organisms in their natural habitats. Abstractions of

miyoko
Download Presentation

Getting Your Hands Dirty

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Getting Your Hands Dirty Field Courses at Athabasca University Robert Holmberg 16 May 2005 Alberta Introductory Biology Association

  2. Science = study of real things in a time frame

  3. Biology = study of living organisms in their natural habitats

  4. Abstractions of Biological Reality

  5. Abstractions of Biological Reality 1. Live organisms in captivity

  6. Abstractions of Biological Reality 2. Dead organisms & tissues

  7. Abstractions of Biological Reality 3. Photographs & videos

  8. Abstractions of Biological Reality 4. Drawings & simulations

  9. Abstractions of Biological Reality 5. Text & oral descriptions

  10. But now a few words about my sponsor …

  11. www.athabascau.ca • primarily distance education • continuous enrolments + students work at own pace = asynchronous delivery

  12. 575 courses, 23 degree programs • 29,542 students  56,784 course registrations • 106 full-time + 161 part-time faculty + 258 part-time tutors * 2004 data

  13. Student Ages * 2004 data

  14. Student Distribution * 2004 data

  15. Compulsory BIOL 321: Wild Flowers BIOL 345: Ecology Optional BIOL 201: World Ecology* BIOL 206: Biological Laboratories* BIOL 342: Animal Behaviour* BIOL 495/6: Biology Projects Field Components

  16. BIOL 321: Wild Flowers • = plant taxonomy • 3-credit, 2nd year • 9-day field workshop • plant collection

  17. T. (Lochan) S. Bakshi

  18. U of C’s Kananaskis Field Station – Barrier Lake

  19. Q: Why go to the mountains for flowers? • A: differences in flowering dates at different altitudes

  20. My question: Why go to the mountains in summer if this is what you get ? 

  21. Wild Flowers Workshop • started in 1986 • held 16 times since

  22. Number of students / year ~12 (range = 8-19)

  23. Workshop = field work … … and lab work.

  24. One limitation = lab space

  25. Distribution of Students of BIOL 321: Wild Flowers

  26. 3-credit, 2nd year • 4 home labs • 4-day workshop

  27. Home Labs • Temperatures and Microclimates • Intra- and Interspecific Competition • Predator-Prey Modeling • Sampling with Quadrats

  28. Field Ecology Workshop • first run 1976 as an option for BIOL 201 • Ministik Hills Field Study Centre, Tofield • U of C’s Kananaskis Centre for Environmental Research  Just some dumb bunny

  29. Field Ecology Workshop • now at our headquarters in Athabasca

  30. Habitat 1: meadow

  31. Habitat 2: forest

  32. Habitat 3: lentic (pond & lake)

  33. Habitat 4: lotic (river & stream)

  34. Day by Day Schedule & Objectives

  35. Day 1: Physical Factors • instruments - precision vs. accuracy • temperature • water/humidity • nutrients of soil & water e.g. N, P, K • wind/current • pH • O2 & CO2

  36. Day 2: Terrestrial Producers • quadrats & transects • productivity • collection & preservation • identification • ecological terminology

  37. Day 3: Terrestrial Consumers • sampling methods (various nets & traps) • ethics & legalities of collecting • preservation & identification • kinds of consumers • trophic levels

  38. Day 4: Aquatic Consumers & Summary • sampling methods • preservation & identification • food chains & webs

  39. Medical Emergencies

  40. Determining Students’ Skills Prior to the Workshop

  41. BIOL 495/6: Biology Projects • 3-credits each, 4th year • = undergraduate thesis • student initiated & designed • usually external project supervisor • mainly library projects • some lab and field projects

  42. Biology Projects Conducted in the Field • bee behaviour • duck nesting • goose feces • ptarmigan feeding • trout populations • plants of river delta

  43. Biology Courses at AU * 2004 data

  44. Contact Robert Holmberg Centre for Science Athabasca University Athabasca, Alberta T9S 3A3 Telephone: 780-675-6203 E-mail: robert@athabascau.ca

More Related