SEABIRD ECOLOGY and CONSERVATION:
BIOSM 276
dates: JUNE 9 – JUNE 16, 2008
credit hours: 2 semester credits
total cost: $1,884 (includes room, board and tuition)
Prerequisite: One full year of college level biology.
Seabird Conservation combines lectures from specialists (e.g., ecologists and wildlife veterinarians) with a variety of field-based activities related to seabird ecology and conservation. Topics will include: seabird identification, behavioral studies, census techniques, population threats (e.g., fisheries bycatch, pollution), and restoration. A field trip to a nearby seabird restoration island will be included.
Lecture topics will include:
(1) ID of seabird species and families
(2) Threats to seabirds including entanglement in fishing gear, oil spills,
contaminants, disease, and introduced mammals on islands
(3) Behavior, ecology and population biology of seabirds
(4) Restoration techniques for seabirds
Field techniques:
(1) Seabird behavioral studies
(2) Quantifying reproductive success
(3) Conducting ground counts of colonially nesting seabirds
(4) Estimating populations of pelagic seabirds via transects-at-sea
(5) Recognition of disease syndromes in the field
CORE FACULTY:
Julie Ellis , Tufts University, Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine
CONTRIBUTING FACULTY/TEACHING STAFF:
Steve Kress, Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology
Mark Pokras, Tufts Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine’s Wildlife Clinic
Tom Good, Northwest Fisheries Science Center, WA
Dan Hayward, SML Tern Restoration Project Coordinator Back to the Top
