Field Laboratory in Ecology
V23.0016
New York University Department of Biology
Saturdays 9:00-2:00
Dr. Terryanne Maenza-Gmelch tm15@nyu.edu
_________________________________________________________________
Class 1
NYU. Meet in TBA Silver. Intro. and “A Celebration of Birds with R. T. Peterson”
Concepts: Using birds as a means of monitoring the environment; equipment for
field ecology; course plan; field journals. QUESTION SHEET FOR FILM = quiz.
Class 2
NYU. Meet in TBA Silver. “Pale Male”
Slide show of anticipated birds and plants. Concepts: urban avian ecology;
introduction to bird and plant identification; bird vocalizations.
ASSIGN Powerpoint PAPERS & TEAMS. Make note of presentation date.
Class 3
American Museum of Natural History (AMNH), New York City. Take C train to
81stSt. Halls close unexpectedly…good luck. Museum hours 10 – 5:45. 212 769
5100. You will work in the Hall of NA Forests (floor 1) and Hall of NA Birds (floor
3). Concepts: Intro. to forest and bird communities.
Class 4
Central Park in FALL. Take C train to 81 St. Meet me at 9:00 am on the front
steps of the AMNH on Central Park West near the big green horse statue. (north
of 77th Street). We will enter park at 81 St and head to castle. Concepts: field
botany and raptors.
Class 5
New York Botanical Garden. Bronx, NY. QUIZ on 8 sections of the field
journal, tree id points and bird id points and 8 orders of insects. Travel info TBA.
Class 6
The New York Aquarium at Brooklyn.
Class 7
Jamaica Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Queens, New York. Take the A Train to
Broad Channel and walk 0.5 mile to refuge. Arrange to travel together.
Concepts: Restoration Ecology, Biodiversity Management, Fall Migration. Plan
to meet me at refuge at 9:30 am sharp! Sunscreen/hat.
Class 8
Central Park Zoo.
Class 9
Massapequa Preserve/LI Greenbelt Trail, Massapequa, New York. Take LIRR
from Penn Station to Massapequa (not Massapequa Park).
Buy RT ticket before you board. Train time: 0913.
I will meet you on the train platform in Massapequa.
Concepts: marsh plants, fall ducks and gulls, community ecology.
Class 10
Midterm Exam TRIP = quiz. Details TBA.
Class 11
Meet in TBA Silver. Powerpoint presentations on papers from the sci. lit.
Class 12
Circular Plots: Trip site TBA
Class 13
No class: university holiday
Class 14
Meet in TBA Silver. Bird migration, Case studies in land-use dynamics.
“Winged Migration” with question sheet = quiz. Circular plot data analysis
Class 15
Final EXAM. TBA Now is the time to return equipment that you have borrowed
like binoculars or bird CDs. Also, come to collect your graded work.
PLANT/BIRD ID QUIZ AND BIRD SONG QUIZ
BE SURE TO VISIT OUR CLASS’S BLACKBOARD WEBPAGE FOR THE SYLLABUS, ANNOUNCEMENTS, READINGS
AND OTHER RESOURCES.
Required books:
Eastern Birds. (Peterson Field Guides Series.) by RT Peterson
Eastern Trees (Peterson Field Guides Series.) by G Petrides
Grading, exams, presentations, etc:
(1)
(2)
(3)
(4)
(5)
(6)
Final practical exam (bird id, plant id, bird vocalization id) 20 %.
Field journals or worksheets will be graded each week. 35 %.
Powerpoint presentation of assigned paper from journal. 5 %.
quizzes (includes midterm trip) 30 %
Reading responses 10%*
Your attendance, field etiquette, attitude, and participation will be evaluated.