| Wildlife Biology & Conservation
2007-2008 Course Syllabus
Bosque School – Science Department & The Black Institute
Teacher: Dan Shaw
Assisting Teacher: Kimi Scheerer
COURSE OVERVIEW
In Wildlife Biology & Conservation (WBC) students participate in several
ongoing wildlife research projects. Through those activities and supported by
supplemental readings students gain a broad understanding of each studied
species’ natural history, its landscape and ecological context, as well as its
relationship with humans. Students select one of the WBC research projects to
take primary responsibility for managing and analyzing its data and preparing
its annual technical report. Furthermore, during each semester, students
conduct a substantial outreach activity related to a WBC research or
conservation project with groups beyond the Bosque School community. Each
quarter WBC students provide leadership to younger students on several
wildlife and conservation projects.
The specific literature and course material used varies depending upon the
animals selected for study. In all cases, key areas of study include: the
ethical and moral implications of live animal research; safety; wildlife
management techniques; field research design and execution; data management;
and the preparation of technical reports.
WBC is an elective science class open to juniors and seniors (sophomores with
permission) and can be used to meet the fourth credit of either math or
science that a student must complete to graduate from Bosque’s Upper School.
COURSE REQUIREMENTS
1. Class work involves full participation in discussion and instruction based
on literature review, labs, field activities and presentations by guest
lecturers. From time to time regularly scheduled class sessions are used for
completing self-directed assignments or to trade out time for other activities
that take place beyond the normal school day.
2. Students write and submit concise summaries of assigned weekly readings.
3. Students maintain an accurate field journal contemporary with their work.
4. Each quarter students use either a current newspaper article or their own
outside-of-school field experiences to present brief oral reports to the class
about contemporary wildlife issues in New Mexico.
5. During the second half of the fall term and the entire spring term, as
assigned, each student takes responsibility for the weekly tracking and
locating of at least one radio collared animal and submitting a field report
on that activity or using another suitable technology to conduct some other
pre-approved wildlife study activity.
6. Each semester there are several field and/or classroom quizzes where
students demonstrate proficiency with various technologies, research
methodologies, local flora and fauna, and related topics.
7. Either within regular class sessions or through pre-approved activities,
each student participates in at least four different wildlife research
projects a year involving two different taxonomic classes of animals. Each
semester will involve two of those projects. At a minimum, each student’s
participation in each of the projects must include a thorough documentation of
the work completed in field note form, six contact hours of actual field or
lab research per project, per semester, and a clear compilation and
presentation of all data collected.
8. Each student must do at least one outreach activity related to one of their
research topics from course requirement #7 with some group beyond the Bosque
School community each quarter. (This could include a presentation to a school
group from an area elementary school, a Power Point presentation to a local
conservation organization, or creating an educational poster that can be used
to educate citizens about a concern related to one of the student’s wildlife
research topics.)
9. Each student working alone or with a partner shall, create and present a
scientific poster for presentation.
10. Each student shall provide leadership to younger students on at least one
wildlife topic per quarter and develop and present a 30 minute presentation on
that topic in consultation with the Bosque Ecosystem Monitoring Program (BEMP)
Education Coordinator.
11. Each student, in consultation with the teacher, and building upon one of
the research topics in course requirement #7, completes a scientific paper
and/or technical report on their topic by the end of the second semester.
CLASSROOM AND FIELD RESPONSIBILITIES
To be successful in WBC, students must be able to carefully and safely follow
directions while working in a variety of difficult field settings.
Furthermore, they must be self-directed and able to work without constant
supervision. WBC students also must be able to work in a responsible manner
with wildlife professionals such as field biologists, veterinarians, and
similar people.
Because of the unpredictable nature of wildlife research there is an inherent
risk and unpredictability to both human researchers and wildlife subjects. As
such, strict safety, ethical, humane, and other research guidelines must be
absolutely followed. There is no free-lancing within this class. Students must
have a stated protocol and prior approval from the teacher before
participating in any activity involving wildlife.
Students are expected to be punctual to both class and out of class meetings.
This is especially true when working with scientists and others from outside
the Bosque School community.
COURSE CONTENT
Through the context of actual field-based wildlife research projects and
supporting activities that take place within the lab and classroom, students
gain a basic understanding of wildlife studies. They will understand both the
practical, hands-on skills necessary to conduct wildlife research and the
scientific and philosophical underpinnings of those procedures. Students will
also demonstrate their understanding of those topics through both informal and
formal presentations of their findings and conclusions. Students will be
responsible for knowing common and keystone vertebrate and plant species
within studied habitats.
To those ends students will study the following topics as they relate to
wildlife studies:
1. Ethics and researcher responsibilities.
2. How to read scientific literature
3. Observation and data recording
4. Survey of relevant wildlife research topics and methodologies including:
a. Planning a wildlife research project
b. Population surveys and estimations
c. Habitat analysis
d. Wildlife capture and marking
e. Radio telemetry and home range determination
f. Global Positioning System (GPS) use and mapping
g. Statistical analysis of data
h. Age and sex determination and post mortem analysis
5. Preparing and presenting scientific findings
6. How to lead student groups on wildlife and habitat research or enhancement
projects
7. For the particular species selected for research there will be an in depth
study of their:
a. Natural history
b. Landscape and ecological context
c. Relationships with humans
GRADING
For each of the four marking periods, each student maintains and submits an
“WBC Progress Report” documenting their work on each of the class requirements
for that term. Standard letter grades are then earned based on the student’s
completion of those requirements (90 to 100% equals an A and so forth).
ACADEMIC INTEGRITY AT BOSQUE SCHOOL
Bosque School is a learning community dedicated to fostering intellectual
growth and development and a sense of responsibility in each child. For
students, academic integrity means that they are absolutely honest in their
intellectual efforts. Violations of academic integrity, in any form, are,
therefore, contrary to the values of Bosque School and detrimental to the
students’ own development as young scholars and responsible members of this
community.
Upper School consequence: If a student is not honest in his or her academic
efforts, the student will serve a one-day in-school detention and fail the
assignment or exam. Depending on the circumstances of the incident, other
consequences may be imposed. Any subsequent example of academic dishonesty
will result in a more severe penalty and may result in dismissal.
One specific requirement of the honor code, which is set forth in some detail
here because of its significance, is academic integrity, which requires each
student to use only his or her work unless proper citations are made or the
teacher is fully aware of a collaborative effort. The following are examples,
not an exhaustive list, of violations of this requirement:
1. Plagiarism, which is the unacknowledged use of another's words or ideas,
whether spoken, written, or computer generated.
• If another's words are used, they must be enclosed in quotation marks and
the source of those words must be given.
• It is not enough to change the words of a source; credit must be given for
the ideas obtained from any source.
• Sources that must be credited are not simply published works but any other
person or any other person's works.
2. Using unauthorized notes or other aids in a test, or copying from or being
influenced by another student's work during a test.
3. Giving unauthorized aid to another student, such as allowing another
student to copy or use one's test, paper, or homework.
4. Use of help on homework or a take-home test that is beyond the limits
specified by the teacher.
5. Submitting the same work for credit to more than one teacher unless both
teachers give their permission.
(Taken from the Bosque School Student Handbook, pp. 21-22)
ACADEMIC INTEGRITY SPECIFIC TO WILDLIFE BIOLOGY AND CONSERVATION
Group and cooperative work are the norm within WBC. However, all of the above
described conditions still apply. Often times, there will be a field recorder
of primary data and other students will base their own individual reports on
that field recorder’s work. In such cases students must acknowledge the source
of their written work and put in quotations or otherwise make clear when work
is not original with them. When work is created cooperatively all contributors
must be acknowledged in writing in the work.
The fabrication of data or work is a horrendous academic betrayal. Science
must be based on trustworthy and objective recording of experience and
phenomenon. It is far better to have attempted to gather data or conduct an
experiment and failed than to represent a falsehood that such an
accomplishment was achieved when in fact it was not. What matters in the end
is not an answer but the rigorous and detailed recording of what took place
and what failed to take place. Students who do an honest attempt to complete a
scientific investigation or activity will always receive credit for an
assignment regardless of the activity’s outcome.
COURSE TEXTS AND READING ASSIGNMENTS
Core reading assignments include significant sections of the following texts:
Bolen, E.G. and W.L. Robinsion. 2003. Wildlife ecology and management, 5th ed.
Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River, NJ.
Bookhout, T.A., Editor. 1996. Research and management techniques for wildlife
and habitats, 5th ed., rev. The Wildlife Society, Bethesda, MD.
Morrison, M.L. et al. 2001. Wildlife study design. Springer-Velag, New York, NY.
Supporting Introductory Readings for the First Term Include:
Bailey, V. 1931. Mammals of the southwestern United States (With special
reference to New Mexico). Reissue 1971 by Dover Publications, New York.
DeStefano, S. and R.M. DeGraaf. Exploring the ecology of suburban wildlife.
Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment. 2003, 1(2), 95-101.
Findley, J.S. 1987. The Natural history of New Mexico mammals. University of
New Mexico Press, Albuquerque. (Selections).
Ilse, L.M. and E.C. Hellgren. Demographic and behavioral characteristics of
North American porcupines (Erathizon dorsatum) in Pinyon-Juniper woodlands of
Texas. The American Midland Naturalist. 2001, 146: 329-338.
Johnson, C.E. and C.C. Barton. Where in the world are my field plots? Using
GPS effectively in environmental field studies. Frontiers in Ecology and the
Environment 2004; 2(9): 475-482.
Leopold, A. 1949. A Sand county almanac. Oxford University Press, New York,
NY. (selections)
Nabhan, G.P. and S. Trimble. 1994. The geography of childhood. Beacon Press,
Boston. (selections)
Ratti, J.T. and E.O. Garton. 1996. Research and experimental design. Pages
1-23 in T.A. Bookhout, ed. Research and management techniques for wildlife and
habitats. Fifth ed., rev. The Wildlife Society, Bethesda, MD.
Roze, U. 1989. The North American porcupine. Smithsonian Institution Press,
Washington, D.C. (selections).
Waddle, J.H., K.G. Rice, H.F. Percival. Using personal digital assistants to
collect wildlife field data. Wildlife Society Bulletin 2003, 31(1):306-308.
Warner, W.W. 1999. Into the porcupine cave. Pages 16-34.
Whitaker, J.O. 1996. National Audubon Society field guide to North American
Mammals. Second ed. Alfred A. Knopf, New York. (selections).
Zack, C.S., B.T. Milne, W.C. Dunn. Southern oscillation index as an indicator
of encounters between humans and black bears in New Mexico. Wildlife Society
Bulletin 2003, 31(2):517-520.
Additional Supporting Literature
Additional supporting literature and course material used varies depending
upon the animals selected for study. A literature review is an integral part
to each student’s research and is completed in consultation with the teacher.
20 August 2007
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