Field Course in Biology, Ecology and Conservation of Antillean
Manatees, Loggerhead Sea turtles, and Bottlenose Dolphins
The Oceanic Society is announcing a week-long course on the
ecology, anatomy, physiology, evolution and population biology of
bottlenose dolphins, Antillean manatees, and Loggerhead turtles in
Belize.
Students will participate in this course on Turneffe Atoll, a
coral atoll located within the Mesoamerican reef system of Belize.
Accommodations are located at the Oceanic Society's Blackbird
Caye Field Station, a low sand and mangrove island on the windward
side of the atoll. Students are provided with 3 Belizean meals
per day and will sleep in beachfront 4-person cabanas with a
shared bath.
The curriculum includes classroom lectures and hands-on field
study to learn field assessment methods for dolphins, manatees,
and turtles in their habitat, including GPS use and basic GIS
location mapping. Field excursions from the Blackbird Oceanic
Field Station will compliment lectures and presentations. The
course goal is to provide participants a focused, comprehensive
knowledge of marine mammal ecology as well as conservation issues
particularly related to isolated tropical ecosystems.
Field instruction and experience include: dolphin and manatee
search and survey, nesting sea turtle night monitoring, data
recording, habitat assessment (includes snorkeling), GPS
recording, and various types of environmental data recording. The
class will culminate with the student's participation in a project
aimed at declaring Turneffe a World Heritage Site.
Dates
June 14-21, 2008
June 28-July 5, 2008
Cost:
$1090 -
Class Limit: 10 students
For more information please visit the Oceanic Society's web site
at http://www.oceanic-society.org/ and search under Expeditions
and Student Trips or contact them at 1800 326 7491
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Mario J. Mota
University of Florida
Dept. of Wildlife Ecology and Conservation
Gainesville, FL, 32611
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
cell: 321-427-4136
The last word in ignorance is the man who says of an animal or
plant: What good is it? - Aldo Leopold
