Professor Rich Legg
Lewis Hall 210
Office Hours: Mon-Fri 11:00
Phone: 333-6369
Email
Rich Legg's WWW Home Page
Class Meeting Time: Th 12:40 during the semester
Field Trip: Departure early morning, Monday 10 May 1999
Course Objectives
This course serves several distinct, yet complementary purposes. First, it serves as an introduction to the desert biome, and as such, can serve as a model for your own later explorations of other biological realms of the world. Second, it provides you an opportunity to perform field research and introduces you to the methodology of investigative biology. Third, it is expressly designed to have you begin thinking about wilderness and its roles - historic, in contemporary culture, and its potential future roles and values. Fourth, it's designed to help you develop experience working in a team. To successfully meet all of these goals will require commitment on your part and far more work than normally would be associated with a three-semester hour course. If you make that commitment, however, I guarantee that this course will be among the most memorable experiences that you will have as an undergraduate.
Each student should have his/her own copy of the following texts and materials:
Leslie, Claire W. 1995. The Art of Field Sketching. Kendall-Hunt
Publishing Company, Dubuque.
MacMahon, James A., ed. 1985. Deserts. Alfred A. Knopf, New York.
Wild, Peter, ed. 1991. The Desert Reader: Descriptions of America's Arid Regions. The
University of Utah Press, Salt Lake City.
Field Notebook/Sketchbook and drawing materials (to be described at first class meeting)
If you wish to explore the topic of deserts further, or have particular interests which are only partially addressed by the above titles, I would recommend the following books as good starting points and optional purchases:
General information about SW preserves:
The Sierra Club Guides to the National Parks: Desert Southwest
Wilderness Ethics:
Desert Solitaire (Edward Abbey)
Sand County Almanac (Aldo Leopold)
The Desert Year (Joseph Krutch)
Desert Journal (Raymond Cowles)
The Telling Distance (Bruce Berger)
Big Bend:
The Big Bend of the Rio Grande: A Guide to the Rocks, Geologic History and Settlers of
the Area (Ross Maxwell)
Naturalist's Big Bend (Roland Wauer)
Mammals:
The Mammals of Trans-Pecos Texas (David Schmidly)
Birds:
Birds of Big Bend National Park and Vicinity (R. Wauer)
A Field Guide to the Birds of Texas (Roger Peterson)
Flora:
A Field Guide to Southwestern and Texas Wildflowers (Niehaus et al.)
There will be other materials required for this course. I will be furnishing a full list of required gear several weeks before our departure; the great majority of needs will be comprised of items that you already own. At this point, I wish to point out several items from this list that you should acquire now. Each student must keep a field journal in this course; I will describe in class acceptable forms for this journal. You should also have a pen (either fountain or ballpoint) which writes in indelible ink. You will need a pair of hard-soled, preferably over the ankle walking shoes ("boots") which are well broken in. You should have walked at least 50 miles in these shoes before the trip so that you and your boots will have had sufficient time to become friends. You will also need a sleeping bag. A camera and binoculars are also highly recommended.
Peculiar Course Requirements and Regulations
I consider the field to be my classroom and as such will require standards of behavior appropriate to the classroom at all times. Smoking and the drinking of alcoholic beverages are strictly prohibited during the trip.
The desert is a dangerous place, particularly during the summer months, but in winter as well. I expect you to be familiar with basic desert safety protocols BEFORE we depart and to that end will be giving a safety quiz covering the chapters on safety (11-14) in Larson's Deserts of the Southwest. A copy of these chapters will be available on reserve in the Library. The safety quiz will be first administered approximately eight weeks before leaving; a 90% score is required to pass - you will have a second opportunity to pass the test should you fail it on your first attempt.
In conjunction with safety considerations, each person must be physically prepared to handle the physical challenges associated with this course. You will be subjected to strenuous periods of exercise under harsh climatic conditions. To be certain that you will be able to succeed in this course (read that as learn, participate fully, enjoy and survive), you should be certain that you are physically up to the task before leaving. To test yourself, I recommend the following guideline - attempt to walk/run 3 miles in less than 39 minutes; if it's impossible, or makes you extremely uncomfortable, you should begin a serious walking program immediately.
Fees and Registration
Registration in this course requires my signature. Space is limited and will be filled by referring to a priority system involving factors such as class seniority, career goal, extent of field experience and other factors. Students of all academic classes, fresher through senior, are eligible for the course. Applications for the course will be available before pre-registration begins for the spring semester of 1999. You will be notified of your acceptance into the course at the end of the pre-registration period.
The course is offered as part of the Biology Department's spring course offerings and may be taken as part of a student's normal academic load (i.e., counted towards the 18 hours allowed under the zone tuition cap). Thus, there are no additional tuition fees for this course. However, there are additional fees associated with course travel. At present, a fee of $400, payable directly to me, is required of each participant. This fee covers: transportation and lodging to and from our field sites, camping fees, raft trip on the Rio Grande, and all meals while in the field. It does not cover personal incidental costs such as snacks, souvenirs, additional book purchases, etc., and you should plan to bring additional "pocket" money to offset such expenses. A non-refundable deposit of $50 is due at the time that registration is finalized. Any unexpended portion of your travel fee will be returned to you at the end of the field portion of the course.
Class Schedule (Tentative)
The course's on-campus activities will be divided in the following way.
Week 1 Syllabus & Introduction
Week 2 The general nature of deserts; world deserts; lecture & film
Week 3 The Chihuahuan Desert/Big Bend; lecture/slide present
Week 4 An Introduction to Excel
Week 5 A Review of Basic Statistical Tests; Using Excel for performing statistical
test
Week 6 Natural History of Opuntia; design of a field experiment
Week 7 Species Diversity; design of a field experiment
Week 8 Microhabitat variation; design of a field experiment
Week 9 Indian & other views of the desert; discussion
Week 10 Personal responses to western exploration; discussion
Week 11 Developing a Wilderness ethic I - J. W. Powell and the Explorations of the Grand
Canyon
Week 12 Wilderness Ethic Week II - Edward Abbey; Safety Quiz
Week 13 Wilderness Ethic Week III - Bruce Berger
Week 14 Safety Quiz make-up; final trip preparations
Four separate graded activities will contribute to your grade in this course.
10% Safety Quiz: covers chapters 11 (Man, Heat and Dehydration), 12 (Potentially Dangerous Desert Animals), 13 (First Aid in the Desert Environment) and 14 (Desert Survival Skills) from Larson
30% Field Notebook: Instructions for the completion of a field notebook will be given during the on-campus portion of the course. You are expected to make daily entries while in the field. The notebook is due when we leave the field for Davenport.
30% Final Examination: A final examination covering all of the course's readings as well as the experiences in the field will be given on the Monday following our return from the field.
30% Field Research Studies Report: All students will participate in all field studies. In addition, each student will be a member of a small team with primary responsibility for conducting and reporting upon one field study. Responsibilities for each research team include: 1) statement of formal research hypothesis and identification of relevant investigation variables; 2) development of an experimental protocol to be followed in the field; 3) design of data collection instrument using Excel; 4) supervision of field work; 5) analysis of experimental results; 6) suggestion of at least one follow-up study based upon the conclusions of the conducted study; and 7) filing of a formal research report within two weeks of our return to campus.
Final Grading
A = 90%+
B+ = 83-90%
B = 77-82%
C+ = 72-76%
C = 65-71%
D = 55-64%
F < 55%
DESERT BIOLOGY - PERSONAL INFORMATION
Please complete all information on this sheet and return it to me by the second class meeting.
NAME -
Describe any physical or medical condition, which could affect your ability to participate in this course (e.g., diabetes, damaged knees, etc.):
Name any medications (and dosage) that you will be taking during the course of the trip:
Name any allergies that you are aware of:
Medication (e.g., penicillin):
Food:
Are there any foods that you find especially offensive? If so, please name them, and we will attempt to keep them off of the field menu.
Give the name and number of a person who should be contacted in case of an emergency:
Name:
Phone:
I certify that all of the above statements are correct and furthermore that I have been advised of the dangers associated with my participation in this course. I release Saint Ambrose and the instructor from any responsibility for injuries or illnesses resulting from my participation in the normal activities of this course.
Signature Date