Instructors: Dr. Bill Peterman (Ohio State University) Amphibians are among the most imperiled taxa globally, with habitat loss and degradation posing the greatest threats. Landscape ecology and conservation biology provide an appropriate lens to address these threats. This course will provide an overview of landscape ecology and conservation biology principles as they pertain to amphibian ecology and life history. Students will gain an understanding of course topics through lecture, discussion of primary literature, as well as hands-on exercises and field excursions. Students will also obtain a foundational understanding of GIS technologies through lab exercises. There will be an emphasis on the salamander diversity of the Southern Appalachians and their habitats throughout the course. Prerequisites: Zoology, Herpetology or Vertebrate Biology; Ecology or Population Biology; or permission from instructor Cost: $1000 course fee + $600 housing fee (if staying on-site) Click here for the syllabus.

Margie Bauer (Natural science illustrator and artist) This 3-part course is to improve your drawing skills when drawing leaves. While each session may be taken by itself, the skills from the previous class(es) will be used in subsequent classes. Before students apply the botanical drawing skills in each session, students will be lead through a meditation process that will help our creative side flow. Click here for the syllabus. Prerequisites: Basic drawing skills Cost: $50/session Click here to register.

Dr. Jim Costa (WCU/HBS) and Dr. Travis Knowles (Francis Marion University) An introductory exploration of the ecology and biogeography of temperate-zone and tropical biodiversity hotspots, from the southern Appalachians to Andean Ecuador. Based at two mountain biological field stations (Highlands Biological Station in Highlands, NC and Wildsumaco Biological Station, Sumaco Biosphere Reserve, Ecuador), we will take a field-based comparative approach to exploring southern Appalachian and Amazonian Andean montane ecology and biogeography in the spirit of the explorer-naturalists of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. We will consider the geological context of the Appalachians and Andes, comparative biogeography / ecology of these respective regions in terms of the ecological and historical factors that shape their biota, big-picture patterns of latitudinal and elevational diversity gradients, principles of forest community structure and function, and examine comparative species composition and interactions in selected groups as well as soil structure and microbiota. Prerequisites: Introductory Biology sequence, at least one course at the 200 level or above in Biology, Environmental Science, or Geosciences/Natural Resources Management, or permission of instructor. Click here for the syllabus. Stay tuned for updates regarding cost and travel information.

Instructor: Dr. John Morse (Clemson University Emeritus) Please note that both sessions of this course are identical - you only need to sign up for 1 session. Natural history and taxonomy of mayflies (Ephemeroptera), stoneflies (Plecoptera), and caddisflies (Trichoptera), including systematics, ecology, and behavior of larvae and adults, with emphasis on those aspects important in ecological studies, biological monitoring of water quality, and sport fishing.  Insects will be collected from mountain stream habitats, and identifications will be done in the laboratory. Prerequisites: Students are expected to have prior training in zoology, but not necessarily entomology. Cost: $1000 course fee + $600 housing fee (if staying on-site) Click here for the syllabus.

Margie Bauer (Natural science illustrator and artist) This 3-part course is to improve your drawing skills when drawing leaves. While each session may be taken by itself, the skills from the previous class(es) will be used in subsequent classes. Before students apply the botanical drawing skills in each session, students will be lead through a meditation process that will help our creative side flow. Click here for the syllabus. Prerequisites: Basic drawing skills Cost: $50/session Click here to register.

Instructors: Laura Boggess (Mars Hill University) and Gary Kaufmann (USDA Forest Service) This course may not be taken for graduate credit. The Southern Appalachians are an area of high bryophyte diversity, and this course will introduce students to common and some rare mosses, liverworts, and hornworts of the region. The class will survey bryophyte diversity by visiting and sampling from a variety of habitats in the vicinity around Highlands, NC. Laboratory work will involve extensive use of microscopes, and identifications will rely on microscopic characters and use of dichotomous keys. Students will explore diagnostic features for bryophyte identification and learn common taxa in the field and closeup using microscopes. Lectures will cover differences among mosses, liverworts, and hornworts as well as morphological features used to distinguish bryophyte taxa. No prior bryology experience or studies are necessary to take the course, though students should be willing to work with microscopes and use diagnostic keys for identification in the lab. The course is geared towards botanists, natural resource professionals, naturalists, and students. Prerequisites: a botany, plant science, or plant taxonomy course or permission of instructor.   Prerequisites: None Cost: $500 course fee + $300 housing fee (if staying on-site) Click here for the syllabus.

Instructor: Ed Schwartzman (Joe Pye Ecological Consulting) Please note that this course may not be taken for graduate credit. The Southern Appalachians are an area of high bryophyte diversity, and this course will introduce students to common and some rare mosses, liverworts, and hornworts of the region. The class will survey bryophyte diversity by visiting and sampling from a variety of habitats in the vicinity around Highlands, NC. Laboratory work will involve extensive use of microscopes, and identifications will rely on microscopic characters and use of dichotomous keys. Students will explore diagnostic features for bryophyte identification and learn common taxa in the field and closeup using microscopes. Lectures will cover differences among mosses, liverworts, and hornworts as well as morphological features used to distinguish bryophyte taxa. No prior bryology experience or studies are necessary to take the course, though students should be willing to work with microscopes and use diagnostic keys for identification in the lab. The course is geared towards botanists, natural resource professionals, naturalists, and students. Prerequisites: a botany, plant science, or plant taxonomy course or permission of instructor.   Prerequisites: None Cost: $500 course fee + $300 housing fee (if staying on-site) Click here for the syllabus.

Instructor: Dr. John Morse (Clemson University Emeritus) Please note that both sessions of this course are identical - you only need to sign up for 1 session. Natural history and taxonomy of mayflies (Ephemeroptera), stoneflies (Plecoptera), and caddisflies (Trichoptera), including systematics, ecology, and behavior of larvae and adults, with emphasis on those aspects important in ecological studies, biological monitoring of water quality, and sport fishing.  Insects will be collected from mountain stream habitats, and identifications will be done in the laboratory. Prerequisites: Students are expected to have prior training in zoology, but not necessarily entomology. Cost: $1000 course fee + $600 housing fee (if staying on-site) Click here for the syllabus.

Dr. Jessi Allen (EWU) and Dr. James Lendemer (NYBG) This course will focus on lichen identification, both in the lab and in the field, including basic morphology and chemical tests, keying, and sight identification of common genera. We will also discuss the ecological and evolutionary importance of lichens. Prerequisites: None Cost: $300 course fee with on-site housing available for $120/person (Thursday night - Monday morning) Click here to register.

Instructors: Dr. Sarah Stellwagen (UNC - Charlotte) and Dr. Kefyn Catley (Western Carolina University Emeritus) Spiders are one of the most diverse groups of animals, and the many different ecosystems within and surrounding the southern Appalachians provide an ideal setting for collecting and learning about these unique organisms. This course will present a comprehensive introduction to spider natural history including systematics, morphology, behavior, physiology, and ecology. Specimens will be collected during daily field trips, and identification skills practiced in the laboratory. This year, the course will also include a day which focuses on Opiliones (daddy-long-legs), a related arachnid order. Prerequisites: general biology, ecology, or permission of instructor Cost: $1000 course fee + $600 housing fee (if staying on-site) Click here for the syllabus.