Mammalogy
Thanks to a rogue asteroid, we now live in the Age of Mammals. Mammals fulfill important ecological roles and have adapted to a wide range of habitats – flying, swimming, and scurrying their way to survival. Mammals are also central to numerous livelihoods and cultural practices. We will use the phylogeny of mammals globally to build expertise with evolutionary concepts. Locally, we will work within Vermont to develop a field-based toolkit for studying wild mammals, with an emphasis on non-invasive methods including observing tracks and signs, stable isotope analysis, and DNA metabarcoding. Students will conduct field work as part of a course-based undergraduate research experience in camera trapping to inform management practices. (BIOL 140 and BIOL 145 or permission of instructor) 3 hrs. lect./3 hrs. lab.