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Course Syllabus


Title:WFB185 / FOR185 / ENVS150

Conservation of Jaguars in Belize
Credits: 3 credits

Instructors:Mike Kessler, Joe Kreuzman
Meeting dates andtimes:

(Online) Jan 27 - Feb24, 2014;

(Guest Lecture) February 5, 2014; 6-8pm

(Belize) depart March 1, 2014and return March 9, 2014.

Location:LaMilpa, Belize (Lodging info)

Course Description:

This is a 3-credit hybrid course that begins with an online component to introduce and prepare students for their trip to Belizewhere they will engage wildlife researchers regarding the development of an international wildlife corridor for the jaguar and track with the researchers in the field. Additionally, tropical ecosystems, Mayan civilization, and human influences on biodiversity will be explored. During the online component students will be introduced to local and regional wildlife corridor planning and receive tools to enhance their awareness of the presence of wildlife through their tracks. The online component spans approximately four weeks with a workload equivalent to a 1-credit course.

During 2014 Spring Break students fly to LaMilpa, Belize to track in the tropical jungles and learn of the rich Mayan cultural heritage. Through interaction with indigenous wildlife trackers and biologists, students will apply the tools and skills learned during the online component to search for the elusive jaguar and tapir. The indigenous wildlife trackers will also share the medicinal and practical uses of their native plants and how anthropogenic threats influence planetary balances. An active Mayan archaeological site dated to 400 B.C. will be visited along with tracking in the world’s first Jaguar preserve. Overall the students will gain perspective on international wildlife management decisions and how they directly relate to large mammal travel corridors and the species in their own backyard.

Goals:

Online Component:

  • Understand why connectivity is ecologically important and appreciate the challenges facing the development of wildlife corridors
  • Open the novel that is left every time a creature’s foot touches the ground includingthe disturbances to the natural baseline, the source of the disturbances, and the creature’s interaction with the earth.
  • Integrate and synthesize information and skillsetsfrom the student’s various academic disciplines and field experiences (i.e. the natural sciences, life sciences, wildlife management decisions and humanities)through the application of tracking and mammal study.
  • Kindle a more intimate relationship with the Earth and deeper connection to the global community and its inhabitants.

Belize Expedition:

  • Wildlife Biology
  • Assist resident trackers and biologists with their local research projects
  • Gain a complete understanding of the biology of the local mammals and their relationship to eco-region management by the establishment of international and inter-agency cooperation
  • Develop a sense of the natural rhythms of the jungle and how these relate to wildlife management policies and international large mammal travel corridors
  • Track or spot a jaguar in the wild and/or examine a fresh jaguar kill site
  • Wildlife Conservation
  • Understand the history of wildlife conservation initiatives in Belize including past challenges that have been overcome, current challengesand opportunities, and the overall process through which Belize is moving forward internally as a nation and externally with the international community
  • Acquire an expanded worldview through tracking and field experiences taking the student through time from 400 B.C. to present day cutting edge wildlife sanctuary research
  • Internalize the impact of North American commerce upon Central American ecosystems and their sustainability
  • For example, the student will gain an appreciation of the inter-relationship of all things and conceptualize in real time just how small the planet is; e.g. bananas and coffee we eat for breakfast in Vermont, grown in the rainforest, affect the migration routes of our backyard songbirds and thrushes thus requiring proper ecological/international management practices for sustainability
  • Propose positive steps in North, Central, and South America that could lead to potential solutions to Central America’s wildlife corridor conservation issues

Learning Objectives:

Online Component:

  1. Become aware of how large cats meet their survival needs and the potential role of wildlife corridors
  2. Learn of local and regional efforts to establish wildlife corridors in Chittenden County and Vermont
  3. See and read the landscape as a continuum of dynamic and static forces – as a new page in a manuscript that is written upon each day
  4. Understand the physics, biology, foot morphology and energy transfer that occurs as tracks are made in the Earth
  5. Expand one’s awareness of the presence of wildlife through their tracks

Belize Expedition:

  • Wildlife Biology
  • Learn how tracking a key indicatorspecies, such as the jaguar, can help determine the health and viability of the overall ecosystem
  • Assist an active wildlife survey and plaster cast numerous mammal tracks including howler monkey tracks
  • Learn how conservation decisions are being made based upon modern tracking techniques (game surveys, field tracking, GPS collars, DNA analysis and game cameras)
  • Wildlife Conservation
  • Examine the Wildlife Protection Act to gain an understanding of international agreements to benefit jaguar habitat and DNA travel corridors underpinning international agreements to preserve this key indicator species
  • Observe the jungle ecosystem through detailed study of the topography, geology, and plant and animal life that comprise the rain forest and its role in the health of many North American bird species
  • Identify the extent to which the Central American jungles are related to the health of their own backyard in the USA
  • Identify the most pressing threats to the Central American species, the source of these threats and potential mitigating actions
  • Identify similar potential threats that have not yet been acted upon by international cooperation and suggest a starting point for such

General Course Information

Course Policies:

Prior experience:

There are no prerequisites for this course and it does not assume nor require that the studenthave any background, experience, or education in tracking. Students are simply asked to exhibit an open mind, positive attitude, passion for knowledge, and respect for other creatures and cultures.

Level of Instruction:

This course focuses on experiencing the fabric of life in an ecosystem that is different than any found in North America. It is assumed that students will have haddifferent degrees of tracking experience, ranging from perhaps exposure to ancient tracking traditions in Africa to none at all. Each student will be fully engaged and instructed at their level. Because class size is limited, individual attention and instruction is given to each student so that all skill levels receive the appropriate level of instruction, from beginner to advanced. Wide diversity makes for the most dynamic of class experiences! Assessment of the student’s competency is not based upon theirlevel of tracking or mammal knowledge, which takes time to develop, but rather theirability to demonstrate an awareness and appreciation of the material and techniques and their applicability to the conservation of jaguars in Belize.

Preparation and Participation:

Online:

Etiquette and Netiquette – Think, write, reflect, share, and review with integrity and respect as part of the online community of learners abiding by commonly accepted ‘netiquette’ (see

Belize Expedition:

There will be pre-trip planning meetings to communicate necessary travel details, immunizations, logistics, and preparations.

Transportation:

There will be pre-trip planning meetings to communicate necessary travel details, logistics, and preparations.

Instructor Communications:

There will be pre-trip planning meetings to communicate necessary travel details, logistics, and preparations. The UVM Blackboard online learning system is the vehicle for all course work. Email is the mode of instructor communication. Students are responsible for using the Blackboard system and also for receiving messages sent to their UVM email account and/or insuring that their UVM email account is setup to forward their messages accordingly.

Attendance Expectations:

There will be pre-trip planning meetings to communicate necessary travel details, logistics, and preparations.

Contributions in Class:

Online Submissions/Internet Access:
This online course is delivered through the University of Vermont’s Blackboard course management system. The Blackboard learning system is used for all course activities. The student must be able upload pictures and scanned images; and have the ability to ‘draw’ on them using any one of a variety of tools such as MS Paint (PC) or Preview (Mac).

Belize Expedition:
There will be pre-trip planning meetings to communicate necessary travel details, logistics, and preparations.Everyone is expected to participate in both the classroom and the field exercises and to provide for their individual comfort and care as weather dictates. As important, everyone is expected to be a respectful and engaged listener to their colleagues, instructors, guides, and hosts.

Academic Honesty & Professionalism:

Everyone is expected to understand and follow all University of Vermont policies and regulations.

Online Instructional Sequence:

January 27, 2014

Begin Week 1: The Eye of the Tracker; Habitat Corridors

UC Santa Cruz Mountain Lion Habitat Fragmentation Study

February 3, 2014

Begin Week 2: The Mind of the Tracker

February 5, 2014

GUEST LECTURE – Why Connectivity is Important: Locally, Regionally, Globally

Jens Hawkins-Hilke, Conservation Planning Biologist, VT Department of Fish & Wildlife

7:00-8:00pm Location TBD (see reading material below)

6:00-6:45pm Class supper in Davis Center (Mt Mansfield Dining Hall)

February 10, 2014

Begin Week 3: The Attitude of the Tracker

February 17, 2014

Begin Week 4: The Heart of the Tracker

Belize Itinerary and Instructional Sequence:

Day 1 (March 1, 2014)

  • Arrival to Belize (arrange flight to land by 11 am)
  • Meet and Greet at the airport (1pm)
  • Transfer to La Milpa Field Station (Rio Bravo)
  • Welcome and settle and night walk
  • Overnight, La Milpa (Dinner)

Day 2 (March 2 2014)

  • La Milpa Field Station tracking & visit archaeological site
  • Overnight, La Milpa (Breakfast, Lunch, & Dinner)

Day 3 (March 3, 2014)

  • Depart La Milpa en route to the Tropical Education Center (TEC)
  • Side stop at the Community Baboon Sanctuary
  • Arrival at TEC
  • Welcome and settle in
  • Presentation by the Belize Zoo
  • Accommodation at TEC, (Breakfast, Lunch, & Dinner)

Day 4 (March 4, 2014)

  • Zoo Day, meet with Zoo Keepers and tracking research on Tapirs in the area
  • Night walk of the Belize Zoo
  • Accommodation at TEC, (Breakfast, Lunch, & Dinner)

Day 5 (March 5, 2014)

  • Field work with researchers in Belize (tracking activities to be determined)
  • Accommodation at TEC, (Breakfast, Lunch, & Dinner)

Day 6 (March 6, 2014)

  • Breakfast
  • Transfer to Cockscomb Basin Jaguar Sanctuary
  • Arrival and night hike

Day 7 & 8 (March 7 & 8, 2014)

  • Field work, camera traps, jungle tracking, preserve presentation (history of setting the preserve up, jaguar research, large ecosystem study)
  • Hike to waterfall with local Mayan ecologist & tracker interpretive Guide

Day 9 (March 9, 2014)

  • Breakfast & Departure for Belize Airport (arrange flight departure after 2pm)

REQUIREDreference materials:

UC Santa Cruz Mountain Lion Habitat Fragmentation Study

The Santa Cruz Puma Project is a partnership between UC Santa Cruz and the California Department of Fish and Game. We began the work in 2008 with a number of complimentary goals enumerated below. Follow us through our blog or on twitter and we’ll keep you up to date with the latest developments from the field as well as important results as they are published.

February 5, 2014 – Guest Lecturer, Jens Hawkins-Hilke, Conservation Planning Biologist, VT Department of Fish & Wildlife

-Review Conserving Vermont’s natural heritage chapter on Connecting Land [Good background and local context on why connectivity is ecologically important]

-Rapid Range Shifts of Species Associated with High Levels of Climate Warming, I-Ching Chen, Jane K. Hill, Ralf Ohlemüller, David B. Roy, and Chris D. Thomas, Science 19 August 2011: 1024-1026. [DOI:10.1126/science.1206432][I use this as support that species are already moving their ranges in the face of a warming climate, and hence the network of connected lands and waters has a role in allowing for migration.]

-Look at connectivity data on BioFinder mapping module. Look at 5 habitat connectivity datasets on the map [spatially-explicit local context of habitat connectivity at both regional and local scales]

NATURE – Jaguar Year of the Cat (54 minutes)

National Geographic Special – In Search of the Jaguar (56 minutes)

REQUIRED readings & reference materials:

Forsyth, A. 2008. Nature of the Rainforest: Cost Rica and Beyond.Zona Tropical/Cornell University Press.October 30, 2008, ISBN-10: 0801474752, ISBN-13: 978-0801474750

Rabinowtiz, A. 2000. Jaguar: One Man’s Struggle to Create the First Jaguar Preserve, Island Press, Washington DC. February 2, 2000, ISBN-10: 1559638028, ISBN-13: 978-1559638029

RECOMMENDED readings & reference materials:

Tracking and the Art of Seeing: How to Read Animal Tracks and Sign
PaulRezendes
/ Format: Paperback
2nd Edition
Pub. Date: March 1999
ISBN13: 9780062735249
ISBN: 0062735241
BINC: 5701617
Edition: Illustrated

Electronic Submissions/Internet Use:
This online course is delivered through the University of Vermont’s Blackboard course management system. The Blackboard learning system is used for all course activities. The student must be able upload pictures and scanned images; and have the ability to ‘draw’ on them using any one of a variety of tools such as MS Paint (PC) or Preview (Mac).

Student Evaluation/Assessment

Grading:
Online:

20%Discussion Threads

20%Journal Reflections

20%Assignments

20%Quizzes

20% Final Reflection Blog posted by March 16, 2014

100% FINAL GRADE

Belize Expedition:

The overall class grade is a summation of the following fieldwork, journal entries, group and individual assignments, quizzes, final reflection blog and class participation.

Students will be assessed through their direct interaction with the local wildlife biologists and trackers and graded upon their individual field project (to be determined once in country and working with the wildlife team).

In addition, the following 5topics must be included within the final reflection blog with cited reading material, in country sources (local trackers/biologists), and their personal observations and experiences while in country:

1)Whatimpacts does international trade have on local wildlife? On migrating species i.e. Butterflies, song birds, large predators?

2)How are ancient and modern methods of data gathering being used to understand and study Jaguar? What are their strengths and weaknesses, and do they complement each other?

3)How are local plants, birds, insects, amphibians, and mammals adapted for their environment? Pick three and provide specific examples of adaptability suitable to their habitat, the role they play in the ecosystem and what makes their specific adaptability trait a benefit to a) the species survival and b) the health of the ecosystem?

4)What actions in North America are impacting eco-systems in Central America, how and why? What actions in Central America are impacting the common species found in your own backyard?

5) How is the ancient skill of tracking utilized and respected in the culture of Belize? In the United States?

Format for Expected Work:
This online course is delivered through the University of Vermont’s Blackboard course management system. The Blackboard learning system is used for all course activities. The student must be able upload pictures and scanned images; and have the ability to ‘draw’ on them using any one of a variety of tools such as MS Paint (PC) or Preview (Mac).

Sample Scoring Rubrics:

Grade
F / D / C / B / A
Weekly Discussion Board Thread / Did not post; / Questionable relevance and understanding; No online protocols / Relevant; Somewhat understood; Some online protocols / Understood;
All online protocols met;
References to course material; Identifies unique patterns or relationships / Encourages and enhances peer discussion with 2 or more students
Assignments
(i.e. Track) Submissions / No Identification;
No recording;
No attempt / Unable to see disturbances to baseline; Observations w/out evidence of further inquiry / Able to see disturbances to the baseline;
Observations led to further inquiry; Positive ID of track family / Able to see most aspects of track; Observations expand or change hypothesis; Partial ID of track species / Able to see all aspects of track;
Observations lead to discovery of new knowledge; Positive ID of track species
Tracking Team’s Fieldwork / No attempt to discern tracks or trails / Unable to discern bird tracks and mammal tracks and trails / Able to discern bird and mammal tracks and trails / Able to discern and glean info about the birds or mammals / Able to discern and glean info from/about the entirety of the landscape
Tracking Team’s Presentations / Not completed / Restatement of activities without reflection / Repetition of prior reflections and/or instructor comments without new personal insight / New personal insights relating to the material presented in class / New personal insights beyond the boundaries and material of the class
Journal Reflections/Blog