COASTAL HERPETOLOGY- BIO 417
DR. PABLO DELIS - SHIPPENSBURG UNIVERSITY
Course Description:
This course will offer students a comprehensive review of amphibian and reptile diversity, emphasizing origins, biogeography, morphology, ecology, behavior, and conservation. Natural history and evolutionary relationships will be the unifying theme. The course is a combination of lecture and laboratory. The laboratory will give students a practical overview of herpetological diversity using preserved as well as life specimen. The practical experience will be also complemented by hands on, field research, and herpetological sampling techniques. The laboratory portion of this class is intended to complement the lectures and will, when possible, follow the subjects discussed in such lectures.
Top 3 Marketable Skills Gained from This Course:
General Description of Field Activities:
Field trips will take place to Wallops Island, Assateague Island, Savage Neck Dunes Preserve and other nearby natural sites. Students will spend extended periods of time in the field, up to 8 hours in a given day. Students will carry out mapping and characterization of habitat, deploy trapping equipment, carry out several types of surveys including nocturnal and diurnal.
Approximate Amount of Course Time Spent in the Field:
40%
Prerequisites:
Students registering for this class must have successfully taken Principles of Biology I (BIO 115) Vertebrate Zoology, or permission of instructor.
Required Textbook or Supplies:
Textbooks Recommended OR REQUIRED.
Halliday, T. and K. Adler. 2002. Firefly Encyclopedia of Reptiles and Amphibians. Firefly Books (U.S.) Inc. Buffalo, NY. USA. 240 pp. ISBN: 978-1552976135 Recommended
Vitt, Laurie and Janalee Caldwell. 2014. Herpetology: An Introductory Biology of Amphibians and Reptiles. 4th Edition ISBN: 978-0-12-386919-7 REQUIRED
Conant, Roger and Joseph T. Collins - 1998. A Field Guide to Reptiles and Amphibians: Eastern and Central North America, Third Edition, Expanded. ISBN: 978 0 395 90452-7 REQUIRED
White, J, J. and A. W. White. 2002. Amphibians and Reptiles of Delmarva. Tidewater Publishers Centreville, Maryland. ISBN: 978 0 870 3354-33 Recommended
Wingerd D. Bruce. 1988. Frog Dissection Manual. The John Hopkins University Press. Baltimore, Maryland. Recommended
Number of Students:
6-14
2024 Chincoteague Bay Field Station Fee*:
3 week course; housing and meals included
Salicornia; $1,794
Traditional; $1,644
Fees are subject to change at the discretion of the board of directors
* Does not include university tuition or fees. For specific policy on CBFS fees, click HERE.
Below is a previous years flyer that was made by the professor!
This course will offer students a comprehensive review of amphibian and reptile diversity, emphasizing origins, biogeography, morphology, ecology, behavior, and conservation. Natural history and evolutionary relationships will be the unifying theme. The course is a combination of lecture and laboratory. The laboratory will give students a practical overview of herpetological diversity using preserved as well as life specimen. The practical experience will be also complemented by hands on, field research, and herpetological sampling techniques. The laboratory portion of this class is intended to complement the lectures and will, when possible, follow the subjects discussed in such lectures.
Top 3 Marketable Skills Gained from This Course:
- Team Work and Critical Thinking
- Herpetological Field Research Techniques
- Local amphibians and reptile species identification
General Description of Field Activities:
Field trips will take place to Wallops Island, Assateague Island, Savage Neck Dunes Preserve and other nearby natural sites. Students will spend extended periods of time in the field, up to 8 hours in a given day. Students will carry out mapping and characterization of habitat, deploy trapping equipment, carry out several types of surveys including nocturnal and diurnal.
Approximate Amount of Course Time Spent in the Field:
40%
Prerequisites:
Students registering for this class must have successfully taken Principles of Biology I (BIO 115) Vertebrate Zoology, or permission of instructor.
Required Textbook or Supplies:
Textbooks Recommended OR REQUIRED.
Halliday, T. and K. Adler. 2002. Firefly Encyclopedia of Reptiles and Amphibians. Firefly Books (U.S.) Inc. Buffalo, NY. USA. 240 pp. ISBN: 978-1552976135 Recommended
Vitt, Laurie and Janalee Caldwell. 2014. Herpetology: An Introductory Biology of Amphibians and Reptiles. 4th Edition ISBN: 978-0-12-386919-7 REQUIRED
Conant, Roger and Joseph T. Collins - 1998. A Field Guide to Reptiles and Amphibians: Eastern and Central North America, Third Edition, Expanded. ISBN: 978 0 395 90452-7 REQUIRED
White, J, J. and A. W. White. 2002. Amphibians and Reptiles of Delmarva. Tidewater Publishers Centreville, Maryland. ISBN: 978 0 870 3354-33 Recommended
Wingerd D. Bruce. 1988. Frog Dissection Manual. The John Hopkins University Press. Baltimore, Maryland. Recommended
Number of Students:
6-14
2024 Chincoteague Bay Field Station Fee*:
3 week course; housing and meals included
Salicornia; $1,794
Traditional; $1,644
Fees are subject to change at the discretion of the board of directors
* Does not include university tuition or fees. For specific policy on CBFS fees, click HERE.
Below is a previous years flyer that was made by the professor!
