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Tropical Field Biology (BIOL 390)

Pictures from the 2006 trip

Syllabus for Spring 2004

Pictures from the 2002 trip to Costa Rica

Total course period: Weekly lectures will be given on MSUM campus from January 2004 to May 2004. The field component of this course will be in Costa Rica over spring break, 12-21 March 2004 (9 nights, 10 days). Organizational meetings were held in the fall semester to meet prospective participants, and discuss the course. Class enrollment was finalized in December 2003.

Prerequisites: This is an academic course in biology, not a sight-seeing "ecotour". It is intended for biology majors and students with interests in conservation and environmental science. Students in the tri-college system and anyone from the F-M community at large are eligible to take the course (although if space is limited, preference will be given to MSUM students). Students from any background and disciplines are eligible but they need to speak first to one of the course instructors. Permission of the instructors is required for all students.

Course structure and activities: The class meets twice weekly with participants during the spring semester 2004. We will cover tropical biology in general, and the biology of Costa Rica in particular. We will also help prepare students for international travel, and give the group the opportunity of meeting one another on an informal basis. Departure from Fargo will be on 12 March 2004.  While in Costa Rica, we will stay one night in a small hotel near the capital in Alajuela. We will spend 4 days in San Miguel at Cabo Blanco in the tropical dry forest on the pacific coast, travel up the Nicoya peninsula through tropical dry forest and snorkel for freshwater fishes in the rio Cabuyo in Lomas Barbudal Biological Reserve, then on to the Ecolodge San Luis for five nights in the cloud forest near Monteverde. Travel will be by plane, rented bus, and on foot. In the field, we will be almost entirely on foot. On most days the program will involve structured or independent activities during the morning, afternoon, and evening.

Expectations:  Prior to departure from campus, students will be expected to attend scheduled group meetings and lectures, and will be responsible for the material presented.  While traveling (and for a few days afterward), all students will be expected to keep a daily course journal.  In Costa Rica, students will be expected to participate fully in all assigned work: field and lab activities, lectures, hikes, quizzes, and other tasks.   

Faculty:

Donna M. Bruns Stockrahm, field ecologist, has expertise in mammalian population ecology and behavior.  She received her B.S. in Biology from Marian College, Indianapolis, Indiana and her M.S. in Biology (emphasis in Ecology) from the University of North Dakota where she studied black-tailed prairie dogs (Cynomys ludovicianus) in the North Dakota Badlands.  She received her Ph.D. in Zoology with a specialization in Wildlife Ecology from The Ohio State University.  Her dissertation research addressed the population ecology and habitat partitioning in pine (Microtus pinetorum) and meadow voles (M. pennsylvanicus) in apple orchards in upstate New York.

 She is currently a Professor of Biology at Minnesota State University Moorhead where she teaches Wildlife Ecology, Animal Behavior, and Zoology.  Prior to coming to Minnesota, she taught at several colleges in Ohio, including Antioch College, Otterbein College, and Columbus Technical Institute.  In addition, she taught a landscape ecology course for The School for Field Studies (out of Beverly, Massachusetts) for 5 summers in the San Juan Mountains of Colorado where she gained extensive experience in leading students into the field for 30-day periods where they learned research techniques as well as backpacking and camping skills under primitive conditions.

Brian Wisenden is a field biologist with research expertise in the behavioral ecology of freshwater fishes and invertebrates. He has a B.S. from University of Guelph, an M.S. from Lakehead University, a Ph.D. from the University of Western Ontario, and five years post doctoral experience at the Universities of Saskatchewan, Kentucky and Alberta. Much of this work was done in the field. Brian joined the MSUM Biology Department in 1998 where he teaches aquatic biology, human and comparative anatomy, and labs in cell biology and zoology. During the summer he teaches a field course in animal behavior at the University of Minnesota's Itasca Biological Field Station. Brian spent 15 months in Costa Rica from 1989 to 1993 researching variation in the parental care and mating system of a cichlid fish. During that time, he had opportunity to travel about the country and gain experience with the habitats to be studied in this course.

Additional faculty associated with the field stations in Costa Rica will provide their expertise with local flora and fauna. The language of instruction is English. 

Host country: The course will take place in Costa Rica.  Located between Nicaragua and Panama in Central America, Costa Rica is a small country known for its pioneering role in tropical conservation, its peaceful, democratic traditions, and its commitment to education, health, and diplomacy.

Study sites

San Jose, the capital of Costa Rica, is located in the central highlands of the country at 1,150 meters (3,770 ft) and has a moderate climate.  Within the city are numerous excellent museums with cultural, historical, and biological collections.  Other attractions include markets, parks, plazas, cathedrals, and the national theater. San Jose is contiguous with Alajuela.

San Miguel Biological Station is located on the southern tip of the Nicoya Peninsula on the Pacific coast, within Costa Rica’s first national park (and only absolute reserve), the Cabo Blanco Absolute Nature Reserve.  The climate is hot, with a mean temperature of 27 degrees C (81 degrees F), and rainfall is highly seasonal in distribution.  The station has access to a diversity of terrestrial and marine habitats, including  tropical  dry deciduous forest, coastal vegetation, permanent and seasonal streams, sandy beaches, tidepools, sheltered lagoons, wave-exposed beaches, rocky headlands, reefs, and offshore islands.  On land, outstanding animal species are the howler monkey, anteater, raccoon, coatimundi, and ctenosaur lizard.  A wide range of marine and terrestrial bird species may be observed, including frigatebirds, brown boobies, trogons, antshrikes, and parrots.  In the warm nearshore waters, the rocky reefs support a diverse array of colorful reef fishes and invertebrates. 

Lomas Barbudal Biological Reserve is a tropical dry forest. During the dry season (Dec-May) there is no rain and the trees drop their leaves. The rio Cabuyo is a permanent river fed by ground water. During the dry season it is clear and calm, knee-deep, and chock full of fish. In particular, three species of cichlid fishes breed and tend their offspring during this time of year. Howler monkeys and white-faced capuchins are common at this site.

San Luis Biological Station and Ecolodge is a research, education, and ecotourism facility in the isolated, rural San Luis Valley.  Nestled just below the continental divide in the lee of the Tilaran Range, the site borders the world famous Monteverde Cloud Forest Preserve, whose perpetual cover of dense, low clouds and mist gives Monteverde its distinctive cloud forest vegetation.  Epiphytes abound, including ferns, orchids, mosses, cacti, and bromeliads.  The station is located on a working tropical farm, surrounded by pristine forest, secondary forest in all stages of regeneration, coffee, bananas, organic vegetables, citrus, sugar cane, pasture, dairy farms, and breathtaking mountain scenery.  A waterfall on the San Luis River may be visited on foot.  Notable mammals are white-faced capuchin monkey, coatimundi, kinkajou, brocket deer, collared peccary, and several cat species.  Bird diversity is also extraordinary with over 230 species.

Passports: You need one. Non-US citizens ("aliens") need to have a passport from their home country and a valid I-94 card.

Health issues: Health insurance is included. Costa Rica has socialized medicine and dental care. Tap water is clean and safe to drink (no Montezuma's revenge). No special vaccinations are required to visit Costa Rica. Brian Wisenden lived there for 15 months and got sick only once (about the same rate of illness as here). For the risk averse, Hendrix Health Center can fix you up with shots for hepatitis B and tetanus. The hepatitis vaccination is a series of injections, that must begin several months before departure, so plan ahead. There is no malaria risk in the places we will be staying. In the event of an accident, we are about 20 min away from the nearest health clinic, and for serious events, there is an airlift service to a major modern hospital. 

COSTA RICA*

Location:  Central America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north and Panama to the south  

Area: 51,200 square km (around 20,000 square miles); slightly smaller than the state of West Virginia  

Population: 3.6 million people (48% urban)  

Capital:  San Jose, located at 1000 m elevation (3,250 ft) in the fertile Central Valley or Meseta Central, and surrounded by mountains  

Time:  Costa Rica is on the same time zone as Moorhead, MN, and they do not have daylight savings time at any time of year. Their photoperiod does not vary!

Electricity:  110V, 60 Hz (the same system as in the U.S.)

Climate:  Tropical.  Costa Rica enjoys a pleasant spring-like climate year-round. Temperatures average 20 C (68 F) in the central zone and mountain-lined valleys, and 26 C (79 F) in the lowlands and on both coasts. In Costa Rica, as in other tropical countries, temperature is constant year-round, while rainfall varies seasonally. The rainy season or invierno is from May-November. There is a substantial break in the rainy season in July and early August, locally called the veranillo de San Juan or little summer of St. John. The dry season or verano occurs from December-April.  No time of the year has invariant weather: In the rainy season, there are plenty of sunny days with blue skies, and in the dry season some days are rainy.

Ethnic divisions:  White including mestizo 96%; black 2%; Indian 1%; Chinese 1%

Indigenous peoples:  Nine ethnic groups recognize their pre-Columbian roots:  Chorotega, Quitirrisi, Huetar, Maleku, Cabecar, Bribri, Boruca, Terraba, and Guaymi.  The indigenous population numbers around 25,000, living in reservations measuring 3,200 square km (1,250 square miles) in extent.

Language:  Spanish is the official language.  Much of the population speaks English or French, especially young people, because of the emphasis on foreign languages in the schools.  English is widely spoken on the Caribbean coast. Our Costa Rican guides and naturalist instructors all speak English. Local shop and restaurant personnel speak only Spanish. 

Religion:  The official religion is Roman Catholicism (95%).  There is however complete freedom of worship, and many religions are represented.

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* The source of most of this information is the course manual of the University of Georgia's Costa Rica Field Ecology Program, written by Diana and Milton Lieberman.