Field Courses
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Instructor: Dr. Joey Shaw (UT-Chattanooga) *Note course runs Sunday-Thursday* During this course, students will obtain a comprehensive understanding of how biological collections are made in the field and eventually uploaded to national and international data portals, like iDigBio or GBIF. We will help you to download and install important helpful apps and teach you how to use them in series to go from field to data portal. Students will leave the course having collected Plantae specimens, made labels, mounted specimens, and uploaded digital data to global portals. In addition to teaching and focusing on these skills, I can also help you key out and identify plant species that you might encounter and want to collect in the field, although you should have some cursory skills. Pre-requisites: This course is designed for young professionals who will be making biological collections of plants or fungi (professors, conservation workers, graduate students, undergraduate students, and naturalists), although it is open to others with an interest in this subject. No previous experience is required. Depending on the different field trips, participants should be prepared to put in at least a couple of 12-hour days. It would be great if you have had at least a class in Field Botany, Plant Taxonomy, Local Flora, or similar, but that is not necessary either. Course Outcome: Leave having collected and digitized Plantae specimens, including labels, transcribed text data & images. For more information, visit https://highlandsbiological.org/summer-2023-academic-courses/. Instructor: Dr. JJ Apodaca (Tangled Bank Conservation) The field of conservation genetics is rapidly emerging as an exceedingly vital component of conservation biology. This course focuses on salamanders to explore the fundamentals, cutting edge techniques, theories, and issues surrounding conservation genetics. Salamanders are one of the most endangered vertebrate groups in the world and are extremely diverse in the southern Appalachians, making them an ideal focal group for an introduction to the world of conservation genetics. In this short course, participants will become familiar with how to design, carry out, and interpret a conservation genetic study. We will also focus on learning to identify, work with, and appreciate the local salamander diversity. Participants will become acquainted with commonly used laboratory techniques and current literature pertaining to the conservation genetics of salamanders. This course is designed for students and others interested in working in the field of wildlife management that want to learn more about conservation genetics. Pre-requisites: Introductory biology, ecology, or permission of instructor. For more information, visit https://highlandsbiological.org/summer-2023-academic-courses/. |
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Instructor: Dr. Bob Youker (Western Carolina University) In this lecture/lab course, students will learn how to prepare their field samples for brightfield and fluorescence microscopic examination. Students will also learn how microscopes generate images, the experimental conditions needed for optimal imaging of their specimens, and learn basic image processing techniques for analysis. The course will be a combination of lecture and hands on specimen preparation and imaging (lab). Students can either provide specimens from their field research, or work with the instructor to collect rotifers and other aquatic micro-invertebrates from the field to use in the lab portion. Lab time will be centered on learning the parts and functions of modern brightfield and fluorescence (widefield & confocal) microscopes, preparing specimens (e.g., staining with fluorescent dyes), and acquiring images of their specimens for analysis. Students will learn to acquire images using a widefield fluorescence microscope and take a “field trip” to WCU to use the state-of-the-art Leica Stellaris 5 confocal microscope. We will also discuss some other modern approaches to fluorescence microscopy, such as electron and super-resolution microscopies. Each student will prepare a final report that compares brightfield to fluorescence images taken of their samples. The student will explain in detail the features observed using both methodologies and the advantages and disadvantages of each method. The student will also give a short oral presentation on one microscopic technique not covered in the course and this topic will be selected from a list provided by the instructor. Pre-requisites: Introductory biology sequence For more information, visit https://highlandsbiological.org/summer-2023-academic-courses/. |
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Instructors: Dr. Steph Jeffries (NC State Univesity), Dr. Alan Weakley (UNC-Chapel Hill), and Dr. Julie Tuttle (UNC-Chapel Hill) Check back later for a description and pre-requisites. For more information, visit https://highlandsbiological.org/summer-2023-academic-courses/. |
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Instructor: Dr. Andy Methven (Eastern Illinois University, Emeritus) Students will be introduced to the fleshy fungi (Ascomycetes and Basidiomycetes) that occur on the Highlands Plateau. Emphasis will be placed on the analysis of macro- and micro-morphological features in the identification of genera and species as well as the ecological role of fungi in the ecosystem. Additional topics may be added depending on student interest. The daily routine will consist of a morning lecture followed by a field trip until early afternoon. Collections will be examined and identified after returning from the field and an opportunity provided to assemble a collection of dried fleshy fungi. Microscopes and chemical reagents necessary for accurate species determinations will be available for use. The laboratory will be open in the evenings for additional study of collections. Pre-requisites: Introductory biology, ecology, or permission of instructor For more information, visit https://highlandsbiological.org/summer-2023-academic-courses/. |
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