ESM 212
Course Syllabus

Week

Topics

Reading (in textbook unless otherwise noted)

Field Trip Exercises 

1  4/3  

Introduction

Purposes of biodiversity survey and monitoring. Overview of common methods

Ch. 1
Ch 2 pp. 12-16, 54-73
-  

2   4/9-4/13

Survey design

Sample location, sample size, sampling with unequal probabilities

Ch. 2

Trimble tutorial

4/13 GPS survey methods. Location TBD  

3   4/16-4/20

Plant community sampling 1

Vegetation sampling theory and methods


Ch. 4

Causton Ch 1-3

Peet 1998

4/20 Vegetation plot layout and sampling, grasslands and shrublands
4   4/23-4/27
Plant Community sampling 2
Stand structure, diversity, composition and biomass Davis and Roberts 2001 4/27  Vegetation sampling continued, forest survey methods

5   4/30-5/4

Plant and animal community indices

Diversity, evenness, similarity,

Causton Ch. 5

Overview of ordination methods (Palmer, Ordination web page)

 

5/7 Mark recapture estimation of butterfly populations. Camera trapping methods.

6   5/7-5/11

 Mark recapture theory and methods Ch. 3. pp 94-119 (2nd ed. of text)
See also the home page for program MARK
 5/11 No field trip.  

7 5/14-5/18

Animal populations 1

Population sampling techniques for birds and mammals

Chapters 9, 10

 

5/18 Rodent trapping and bird survey methods  

8 5/21-5/25
Animal populations  2

Survey methods for herptiles and invertrebates

Chapters 5, 7, 8

Memorial Day Weekend-no field trip  

9 5/28-6/1 Freshwater systems

Index of Biotic Integrity

 

6/1 Impact monitoring: San Marcos Foothills development  

10 Review

Case studies in biological survey and monitoring

 Case study papers

6/8 Survey of aquatic invertebrates- Lion Canyon  

No Final Exam

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