Module 3
UNIVERSITY OF WESTERN ONTARIO Ontario Universities Program in Field Biology Course Title: Instructor(s): Dates: Location: Cost: Tropical Marine Environments Dr. Graeme M. Taylor (gtaylor8@uwo.ca) ; Contact: Brenda Beretta (bberetta@uwo.ca) April 27th to May 9th; 0.5 credit Belize Marine Studies Field Camp at Lighthouse Reef Atoll, Belize Approximately $2199. This covers all transportation within Belize, park fees, room/board, local guides, field/base camp and research equipment. Students are responsible for: return flight to Belize, personal travel, travel medical insurance, and one dinner and breakfast on the mainland. Submit a non‐
refundable $250 deposit to your home university upon registration. The balance ($1949) is due before March 2nd. Send payments (certified cheque or money order, payable to UWO Biology Field Course Program) to: Brenda Beretta (address above). Cancellation and refund policy: Enrolment is confirmed when UWO receives full payment by March 2nd. Only money order or certified cheque will be accepted (no personal cheques or credit/debit cards). After March 2nd anyone in arrears will be automatically replaced by paying participants on a waiting list. Cancellations must be received, in writing, by the 15th of March. After March 15th we retain your full payment. No exceptions are provided for these procedures. Should UWO need to cancel the course for any reason, you will receive a full refund. Prerequisites: First Year Biology and 2nd year Ecology. You must be reasonably fit and comfortable around water. The ability to swim 12 lengths of a pool (25 m) non‐stop is required. Medical travel insurance, trip cancellation insurance, a current tetanus inoculation and a valid passport are mandatory. Students with other than Canadian passports must determine visa requirements for Belize; see entry requirements here. A positive attitude towards adventure is important! Enrolment: Maximum of 20 students Description: This course is an introduction to tropical marine environments. We will immerse ourselves in the diversity of habitats at Belize's most spectacular atoll — Lighthouse Reef. We will be based on a remote 40 acre tropical island, 55 miles offshore of the Belize mainland, within the Half Moon Caye Marine Reserve. The atoll is an asymmetric rimmed platform, entirely surrounded by a fringing reef rising virtually to the surface. Inside this fringing reef is a lagoon speckled with hundreds of coral patches. The reef, including the spectacular wall where the atoll drops away into the depths, is highlighted for its density and diversity of both corals and fish. We will literally be surrounded by marine life. Much of our time will be spent exploring by kayak and snorkelling. We will learn to be field biologists, to document and to interpret what we observe, and to develop scientific questions from our observations. You will work in a team on a research project, and you will communicate your research ideas to the larger group. Our endeavours will be facilitated by Island Expeditions who have over 20 years experience operating field camps in Belize. (www.islandexpeditions.com) Evaluation: • Participation 20% • Field Journal, data collection, and identification 40% • Research project 40%