Course Descriptions
Evolution, Ecology and Conservation in the Galapagos >>
People, Politics and the Environment in the Galapagos >>
Marine Ecology >>
Galapagos and Andean Geoscience>>
Evolution, Ecology and Conservation in the Galapagos
Through coursework and excursions to some of the tallest volcanoes, bio-diverse jungles, and picturesque coastal regions in the world as well as in the extraordinary Galapagos Islands, students will examine first-hand the ways in which Ecuador’s diverse ecosystems shape evolutionary processes and the role that specific societies with distinct cultures and economic conditions have played in the protection or transformation of these unique environments. Program participants will study evolutionary processes and the manner in which these processes lead to adaptive radiation, speciation, endemism, and biological diversity. Students will also identify the strategies and mechanisms needed to protect and preserve this biodiversity while addressing the consequences of human actions.
BIO 412 Evolutionary Biology
Professor: Carlos A. Valle
This course will examine the concepts that have shaped the theory of evolution, and how Darwin's experience in the Galapagos Islands influenced his ideas. The field research component of the course will focus on the evidence found on animals and plants of the Galapagos that illustrates the relationships among taxonomy, comparative anatomy, embryology, physiology, genetics, biogeography, and the theory of evolution. Theories of adaptation and specialization and the evolution of new species will be addressed through consideration of the mechanisms of evolution, including natural selection and genetic drift. Field observations will augment the study of the effect of evolution on animal and human behavior. Lastly, issues of conservation will be discussed.
ANT 385E Human Ecology and Maritime Societies
Professor: Diego Quiroga, Ph.D.
This course will study the diverse manners in which humans have adapted to the sea and coastal environments, as well as the impact of their adaptation. We will examine the relationship that people have with their environment, in particular the sea, and the way their cultural and economic practices are shaped by these interactions. We will analyze the complex interactions between cycles of marine animals and the people who depend on them.
ECL 464 Introduction to Marine Life of the Galapagos Islands
Professor: Gunter A. Reck
Warm an cool oceanic currents meet in the Galapagos Islands and produce a very unique setting, where fur-seals and penguins meet tropic birds and tropical flamingos, and where you can find a high percentage of endemic fish and invertebrates. The Galapagos Marine Reserve is one of the largest marine protected areas in the world and is becoming a top goal for international diving tourism. In this introduction to marine life, we will review and discuss the diversity of life forms dependant on the sea, their ecosystem context, and oceanographic conditions, so that students understand marine productivity and conservation issues. The course will include regular visits and observation of the intertidal area, snorkeling and monitoring of the fishery.
BIO 414 Native and Introduced Plants of the Galapagos
Professor: Hugo A. Valdebenito
An introductory intensive course related to the unique vegetation and introduced flora of the Galapagos Islands in Ecuador. We will discuss current conservation measures being used to control the threats affecting native flora, the future prospects for conserving indigenous plants and for ensuring their rational utilization.
ECL 440
Tropical Ecology
Professor:
Andrea Encalada.
In this course we will analyze the fundamental theories that explain the
structure and dynamics of plant and animal populations and communities in
tropical ecosystems, both in ecological and evolutionary time. We will study
the different types of terrestrial and aquatic tropical ecosystems, and we
will examine the main methods to sample and describe populations and
communities in theory and in practice. Moreover, we will analyze the diverse
Ecuadorian ecosystems (e.g. tropical rain forest, páramo, dry forest), their
fauna, flora, cultures, protected areas and the main environmental issues
affecting them.
FOT145 Introduction to Digital Photography: An intensive course that combines digital and wildlife photography.
Professor: Maria Teresa Ponce
Galapagos is one of the world’s dream locations for any photographer. Besides its unique natural environment, Galapagos offers exceptional photo opportunities because most animals are not afraid of humans. This course is designed to take advantage of this exotic location and on learning to use digital technology to create different types of images including panoramas, animations and underwater photographs.*
Formal classes, critiques and daily photographic activities are combined to give students an overall understanding about technical and aesthetic issues in photography. Assignments will become part of, or complimentary to, other courses students take in order to encourage the student to use the camera as an essential tool during the trip.
This two-week course will include lectures about the potential of the digital medium. Visual examples will be shown and discussed in terms of technical characteristics, composition, aesthetics and meaning. Group critiques will be held in which students will show photographs taken throughout the trip on a computer. Students are encouraged to talk about each other’s photographs during these critiques. In Quito, students will learn about the printing process and present a final portfolio.
Participants must have a digital camera and a Memory flash card or removal hard drive and are encouraged to bring a laptop.
*Underwater photography will depend upon availability of the equipment and diving permits.
People, Politics and the Environment in the Galapagos
Through classroom discussion and visits to several indigenous and traditional Andean communities as well as to the Ecuadorian Amazon and the impressive Galapagos Islands, students in the People, Politics and the Environment program will explore the economic, cultural, and social issues that affect the relationship between humans and their environment. On both a global and local level, students will investigate the ways in which societies adapt to diverse ecosystems and examine the economic, political, and social transformations that societies have experienced as a result of tourism, fisheries, agriculture, and conservation efforts. Students will also evaluate the impacts that societies have had on fragile environments and address the manner in which conflicts related to these impacts can be managed in just and peaceful ways.
MED400E Health and the Environment
This course is addressed to undergraduate and graduate students interested
to discern how historical, cultural, social, biological or ecological
factors interact and affect health and living conditions of men, women and
children around the world, with special emphasis in the Andean Region.
Previous courses of Ecology, Anthropology, Sociology, Public Health,
History, Latin American Studies, Spanish or related fields will
straightforward our understanding of those natural or man-made factors which influence health, the experience and distribution of illness, the social
relations and the cultural importance of humans utilization of nature to
satisfy their well being.
In this course we will examine how the live and health of individuals, the
health of larger social formations, and the environment are affected by
cultural norms and social institutions; micro and macro politics; and forces
of globalization.
POL300E Political Ecology
Professor: Carlos Mena, Ph.D.
Political Ecology analyzes the complex links between society and nature. It is not a concise theory but a collection of ideas, approaches, and methods that based on political economy, ecosystem science, and peasant studies challenge the notion that environmental problems are created by simple causal mechanisms. Political ecology questions how management practices, political and economic structures, and ecosystems are connected to produce different ecological patterns and socioeconomic processes, for example, deforestation or types of access and control over the resources. The objective of this class is, using a theoretical toolkit, case studies, and qualitative methods, to obtain a deeper understanding of the relationships between poverty and environment, and the role of conservation efforts, in shaping these relationships.
ANT301E Tourism, Community And Environment
Professor: Susana Andrade, Ph.D.
This course wants to respond to the following question: Is tourism a threat or an opportunity? While tourism can produce serious negative impacts for local people and the environment, it also has the potential to provide incentives for conservation and social development. Tourism as an opportunity is identify with the new concept of sustainable tourism, notion which will be examine in the first part of the course, embracing economic, social and cultural matters. Therefore students will understand the importance of harmonizing the link between tourism, the environment and social development for achieving sustainability. In this part we will also explore different methods for regulating tourism activity, such as certification and eco-label schemes.
The second part of the course will examine case studies in different regions of Ecuador : the Andes, Amazonian, Costal region and with an emphasis on the Galapagos Islands .
In the third part of the course there will be conversations between students and local stakeholders (fishers, local government, tour operators, local society, etc) on present-day issues: environment impacts of tourism development, community involvement in tourism projects, etc. In this part students will also expose theirs final research papers.
ANT 385E Human Ecology and Maritime Societies
Professor: Diego Quiroga
This course will study the diverse manners in which humans have adapted to the sea and coastal environments, as well as the impact of their adaptation. We will examine the relationship that people have with their environment, in particular the sea, and the way their cultural and economic practices are shaped by these interactions. We will analyze the complex interactions between cycles of marine animals and the people who depend on them.
REC351E Conservation and Wildlife Management
Professor: David Romo, Ph.D.
Conservation Biology is a very young discipline that came out of the need to help conserve, maintain and promote the sustainable use of our natural resources. Human population growth is taking a rapid toll on most of the species that share the planet with us. This is not only done by using plants and animals that may have some type of value to us, but also by depleting the ecosystems in which they live. This course will explore the fundamentals of Conservation and Wildlife Management. We will attempt to understand some of the causes leading to loss of biodiversity and also explore the tools used to assess, maintain and conserve biodiversity at all levels. This course will include fieldtrips to the cloud forest and the Amazon basin of Ecuador in order to witness first-hand examples of what we are discussing in class.
FOT145 Introduction to Digital Photography: An intensive course that combines digital and wildlife photography.
Professor: Maria Teresa Ponce
Galapagos is one of the world’s dream locations for any photographer. Besides its unique natural environment, Galapagos offers exceptional photo opportunities because most animals are not afraid of humans. This course is designed to take advantage of this exotic location and on learning to use digital technology to create different types of images including panoramas, animations and underwater photographs.*
Formal classes, critiques and daily photographic activities are combined to give students an overall understanding about technical and aesthetic issues in photography. Assignments will become part of, or complimentary to, other courses students take in order to encourage the student to use the camera as an essential tool during the trip.
This two-week course will include lectures about the potential of the digital medium. Visual examples will be shown and discussed in terms of technical characteristics, composition, aesthetics and meaning. Group critiques will be held in which students will show photographs taken throughout the trip on a computer. Students are encouraged to talk about each other’s photographs during these critiques. In Quito, students will learn about the printing process and present a final portfolio.
Participants must have a digital camera and a Memory flash card or removal hard drive and are encouraged to bring a laptop.
*Underwater photography will depend upon availability of the equipment and diving permits.
Marine Ecology
Through coursework and fieldwork on the Pacific Coast as well as in the unique Galapagos Islands, participants of the Marine Ecology program will address the importance of marine conservation and the social aspects of marine management. Students will study a variety of ecosystems on site and in the classroom including subtropical ecosystems of the Humboldt Current and tropical ecosystems off the northern coast of Ecuador. Visiting mangroves, wetlands, cliffs, inter-tidal ecosystems, open oceans, and rocky and coral reefs and studying sharks, marine mammals, reptiles, sea birds and fish, students will learn in depth about different habitats and communities. Known for its diverse marine life, Ecuador is one of the best places in the world to study marine ecology.
Human Ecology and Maritime Communities
Students in this course will study the diverse manners in which humans have adapted to their natural environment, as well as the impacts caused by this adaptation. We will examine the relationship that people have with their environment and the way their cultural and economic practices are shaped by these interactions. We will analyze the complex interactions between cycles of marine animals and the people who depend on them. This course will place special attention to the way people who live in the Galapagos and the coastline related to their environment.
Biology of Fish and Fisheries
This class will introduce students to the diversity of the fish of the world. Fish anatomy, morphology, physiology and ecology will be covered in this class. The course will take advantage of the biodiversity of Ecuador and the class will mainly focus on the most common fish of the Pacific Coast . Intensive fieldwork will be carried out on the coast of the country, using fish landing ports as the best place to learn to identify fish. In the Galapagos Islands the fish will be observed mostly underwater using different methods. This will allow students to learn the most important techniques to identify species captured by fisheries and also how to identify them in their natural habitat.
Introduction to Marine Ecosystems
This class will introduce students to the most important ecosystems of the Pacific Coast . Using the possibilities offered by one of the most biodiverse countries of the world, students will be able to observe mangroves, coral and rocky reefs, forests close to the sea, intertidal and benthonic ecosystems, and some impressive open ocean processes. Along with these ecosystems some of the most important and in some case endangered species will be observed. Marine and land turtles, sharks, marine mammals, sea birds and a great diversity of fish will show students the close links between the studied ecosystems.
Marine Conservation Biology
This course will address the most important challenges faced by marine resources today. This class will cover management and conservation of protected, threatened and endangered marine species and habitats. Using some global and local examples related to sea turtles, marine mammals, seabirds and fisheries as case studies, students will understand the challenges caused by human population and the processes implemented or proposed to manage, protect or use marine resources in a rational way.
Galapagos and Andean Geoscience
This innovative and interdisciplinary course aims to study the Sciences that
teach us about Earth's formation and cyclic evolution in a holistic way,
from the origin of oceanic crusts and islands to the development of
continents and mountain ranges. The interpretation of the geological archive
related to climate change will be addressed, as well as the link between
geological processes and the origins of life and biodiversity. Students will
learn about the impact of volcanic eruptions on the evolution of ancient
cultures. This exciting course will be held in the majestic Ecuadorian Andes, on the mainland coast, and in the Galapagos Islands.
GEO311E Geology and Geodynamics of the Andes and Ecuador
Professor: Theofilos Toulkeridis, Ph.D
The main objective of this class is to motivate students to understand one
of the most important parts of the various geological active orogens of the
world, namely the Andes. Contents will include the evolution of Andes as
part of the active continental margin of Western South America and in
particular in the territory of continental Ecuador, with its associated
geological processes of the region such as plate tectonics, volcanism,
plutonism, metamorphism, sedimentation, weathering and erosion, faulting and
folding, surface processes, earthquakes (and tsunamis), economic resources
and reserves. The class includes several applications in the field in the
area of the Amazon foreland, the igneous and metamorphic highlands and
finally the low coastal sedimentary environments and their mainly
compresional tectonic regime. Furthermore some several laboratory analogue
experiments will complement the course.
GEO210 Geo-Archeology
Professor: Florencio Delgado, Ph.D
The ability of our ancestors to interact with their environment is one of
the most important lessons that (pre) history can teach us. Ancestors
learned an enormous variety of strategies to adapt to the natural
environment. The field of Geoarchaeology seeks to study such forms of
human-environment interaction as well as how traces of human behavior have
become embedded in the physical environment and how archaeologists uncover this evidence. It also explores how geological techniques can be used to
reconstruct past environments at or near archaeological sites, providing
physical contexts for cultural adaptations.
Mechanisms and Patterns of Evolutionary Changes
Professors: Denise Lemos, Ph.D and Carlos Valle, Ph.D
This course provides an overview of the most central concepts of
evolutionary theory and the history of life on earth.
The last section of the course will be devoted to the present and discuss
the evolutionary history of South American vertebrate fauna.
GEO246E Introduction to Marine Geology and Geophysics
Professor: Denise Lemos, Ph.D
Marine Geology is thought to be the origin of Geology. This science aids us
understand the cyclic nature of Earth. Geophysics and geophysical
instruments help us discover and describe what is hidden under the oceans
and beyond. The ocean / biosphere / land / atmosphere links that give raise
to processes and products that shape our landscape are studied. Furthermore,
the sediments accumulated on the ocean floor represent a great archive of
climate change as well as of evolutionary history to be discovered.
Objectives
- Understand the cyclic nature of Earth and its long history and evolution
through the archive found in marine sediments, including continental drift,
sea-level change and climate change.
- Recognize, relate and interpret the agents, processes and products that
shape Earth.
- Discover and understand the dynamics between important natural links in our
planet.
- Learn how to apply Geophysics and geophysical methods and instruments to
interpret and describe what is hidden under the oceans and beyond.
- Be able to interpret the landscape that surround us and the processes that
formed it and develop a closer relation and respect to Nature, remembering
that we are part of it.
GEO246E Geology and Geodynamics of the Galapagos
Professor: Theofilos Toulkeridis, Ph.D
The main objective of this class is to understand the geodynamic origin of
the Galapagos Islands as well as to obtain an idea of the individual geology
and volcanology of some different aged volcanic centers of the archipelago.
Contents will include the evolution of the hot spot through time, comparison
of different hot spots of the world with those of the Galapagos, Large
Igneous Provinces, uprise of magma through submarine environments, life
cycle of shieldvolcanoes, texture and structure of lava flows, volcanic
morphologies in ocean islands and mapping of basaltic lava flows and
associated products. The class includes several applications in the field
on several islands of the Galapagos. Furthermore some few analogue
experiments will complement the course.
Application Deadline:
June 15 for Fall Semester
November 15 for Spring Semester
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