Desert Ecology Field Course, April 28 - May 12 2024

Course work

(1) Short seminar based on a topic in desert ecology (20% of your total mark)
You will prepare a short presentation on a topic of relevance to desert ecology & evolution. Your presentation will mainly occur in the field (20 minutes) so you won’t have access to AV technology. All presentations will occur sometime during the first week of the course. Your presentation must be almost entirely prepared before you arrive in Arizona. Once you've arrived you will have some time to get some hands-on experience with your topic before presenting it to the class.

In addition to your presentation, you will prepare a 2-page hand-out summarizing your topic (about one page of text plus one page of figures, diagrams and references to the literature). Please bring 21 copies of this hand-out.

(2) Desert treasure hunt (10%) will occur near the end of the course and will test how well you have learned your desert organisms and natural history

(3) Formal write-up of an independent field research project (35%)
As a big part of this course, you will team up with 1-3 other students and conduct a field research project. You will write up your study exactly like a scientific manuscript formatted for the journal Evolution. It will be no more than 12 double-spaced pages of 12-point type (not including title page, references, tables and figures). No late reports accepted. I will provide you with much more information in person and by email.

(4) Field notebook (10%)
You will be required to keep a field book in which you will make concise, accurate notes about what you did during the field course. Quality notes are an essential part of any field study. These will be graded before you leave.

(5) Visual journal (10%)
Nothing focusses the mind and engages your observation skills more than rendering the organisms and landscapes that you encounter. Throughout the course you will keep a visual journal, where in words, pictures and diagrams you will document your experiences in the desert. This is not an art project and does not require any training or particular skill in drawing or painting, but it will involve, improve and build on your abilities to render the world around you. We will supply the sketchbooks and art supplies, you supply the observations.

(6) Participation (15%)
Participation is an essential part of the field course experience, and students often learn a great deal from each other. You must actively participate in this course. Ask questions during the seminars and field exercises. Be proactive in developing a research project. Participate fully in your research project, especially if you are working in a group. I will be grading your participation in a quantitative fashion. If you don't get in there and mix things up you won't get any participation marks. But if you're active and keen, you'll get full marks.

What to bring

All of us will have to squeeze into three mini-vans, so please severly limit what you bring to one large bag plus a smaller daypack (plus incidentals). A medium-sized duffle bag (≤ 80L) will work better than a narrow tubular backpack because you will be able to access your stuff easily when it is in a jumble of other bags in the back of the van. Large rolling suitcases cannot be accommodated.

We will be living, cooking, eating and sleeping in the desert throughout the course. Campgrounds will often be primitive with pit toilets and no water. When we are in areas with no water supply we rely on packed water, so there will be no luxury water‐use (e.g. showering or hair washing). This will require flexibility with respect to personal hygiene.

Personal items

1. we will supply tents

2. sleeping bag (night temperatures may go as low as 5°C)

3. sleeping pad (foam or thermarest-type)

4. eating tools (plate, bowl, cup [for hot & cold drinks], knife, fork, spoon)

5. backpack - we will be hiking a lot and you’ll need a 20-30L pack for bringing WATER (!!!), snacks, equipment, extra clothing and all your valuables.

6. water bottles and/or water bladder for your backpack. You’ll need capacity for at least 3-4L per hike. Make sure you have a bottle for around camp.

7. sturdy hiking boots. Very important - because the desert is full of spiny plant diaspores, we suggest at least ankle high boots without a lot of mesh material on the outside, which spines can get stuck in. Break in your footwear before the course!!

8. sandals or running shoes for travel days and around camp

9. lots of light hiking socks - not cotton

10. sunglasses (mandatory)

11. quick-dry towel & toiletry items (toothbrush, etc.)

12. flashlight (very important - a strong headlamp is optimal for viewing nocturnal creatures)

13. watch or other timepiece (opportunities to charge your phone may be sporadic so you may not be able to rely on it for keeping time)

14. a hat - mandatory!! A broad-brimmed hat keeps the sun off much better than a ball cap, and you’ll look awesome in it. Bring two.

15. a Buff, bandana or other light neck scarf thingy - handy for keeping sun off your neck

16. sunblock - ≥ SPF 30 - bring lots

17. clothing for dry, hot but extremely variable weather. Make sure to include light-coloured long pants and long-sleeved shirts to keep sun off if you get sunburned. Include at least one warm sweater, fleece and warm jacket for cold nights (it can go down to 5°C and get windy)

18. swimsuit (you never know when we will encounter H2O)

19. guitar, banjo, fiddle, accordion, ukulele, bagpipes, mandolin, cittern, concert zither, oud, mohan veena, tuba and/or dobro  (note however that our stuff will often be locked in very hot vans so if you do bring an instrument make sure it’s not an expensive one)

For field observations and data

1. pencils (lots)

2. a compact, durable notebook for personal notes. We will supply a proper field book for field notes and a sketchbook for your visual journal

3. a 10x or 14x magnifying loop (optional)

4. binoculars (optional but very strongly recommended)

5. camera (optional but highly recommended - bring an extra battery and memory card)

6. a USB memory stick for taking a copy of your project data home with you