IB 462 - General Course Policies

Exams and grading

Other Expectations

1. Field trips There will be one weekend (Friday–Sunday) field trip and one weekday trip (Wednesday) to the Field Museum of Natural History. Field trips are optional, but you are strongly advised to attend.
   
   
   1. Richardson Wildlife Sanctuary (Lee County): Arrive early Friday afternoon in time to set traps and explore (leave UI before noon; 2-1/2 hr drive). Leave RWS on Sunday around noon after traps have been collected. You will be responsible for taking field notes (keeping a journal), and preparing two museum specimens with appropriate catalogue entries. University vans. Friday-Sunday, Sept. 22-24.
      
      
   2. Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago: Leave UI early morning (8:00 AM), arrive in Chicago about 11 am. Guided tour of mammal research collection and preparation areas, walk through mammal displays. Leave Field Museum late afternoon (about 4:00 PM), arrive back in CU about 7:00 PM. University vans. Wednesday, Nov. 15.
      
      
2. Field notes: Each student will prepare a field notebook and specimen catalogue, to be turned in along with the specimens during the week after the RWS field trip. You will be graded on proper format and style as well as content.
   
   
3. Museum specimen preparations: Knowing how to prepare a museum specimen is an important skill for a field biologist. You are expected to prepare two specimens suitable to be added to a museum or other reference collection (to be done on the field trip). This collection must be turned in with your field notes and catalogue from the field trip. You will be graded primarily on completeness of the data, and correct format on the specimen tags. Good technique and extra specimens earn extra points.
   
   
4. If you object to making specimens, are worried about the risk of Hantavirus, or can’t make the RWS field trip, you may do an alternative project instead of the specimen preparations. For those who can’t participate in the field trip: Choose a scientific journal that specializes in mammals (or includes a lot of mammal papers), and skim the articles published in the last 2-3 years (2004-06). Choose an article that interests you, read it, and prepare a 1-2 page (no longer!) summary. Your summary should include: 1) What was the main question asked by the author(s)? 2) What kind of approach did they use to answer that question (briefly describe the study)? 3) What conclusion was reached? 4) Why do you think that this study was valuable (or not), and why did it interest you? Write up one article in place of each specimen you don’t make. At the top of the page, include a citation for the article (authors, year, title, journal name, volume number and page numbers), in the format of a reference in a journal article.

   If you come on the field trip and would rather do a different type of alternative project, possibilities include: 1) Make plaster casts of mammal tracks, and prepare a “field guide” to mammal tracks in Illinois. 2) Prepare supplemental teaching material from a road-killed animal, such as a cleaned skull, or preserved reproductive tracts from opossums. 3) Maybe we can think up something else, I welcome your ideas.

   I respect those of you who have a sincere objection to collecting specimens, but the proper collection of data and preparation of voucher specimens is an important skill that every mammalogist should know. Please do not choose this alternative just because you think it would be easier. You are still responsible for field notes if you come on the trip.
   

   Supplies You Will Need For RWS Field Trip

   1. Field notebook: waterproof or high-cotton paper. Pen that writes in waterproof BLACK ink.
   2. Specimen prep kit: Good scissors, forceps, sewing needle and white cotton thread, ruler with millimeter scale, pliers-wire cutter combination, soft bristle tooth brush. A hemostat and scalpel are helpful.

   We will provide cotton, wire, specimen tags, etc., for preparation of museum specimens. We will provide traps and bait on field trips.

   	Required textbooks Feldhamer, G., Drickamer, L., Vessey, S. and J. Merritt. 2004. Mammalogy: adaptation, diversity, and ecology. McGraw-Hill Publishing Company NOTE: DO NOT BUY USED, OLDER COPIES. The first printing had some errors. Make sure you get the second edition (published in 2004)(the one with a koala, not a polar bear, on the cover).
   	Martin, R.E., R.H. Pine, and A.F. DeBlase. 2001. A Manual of Mammalogy with Keys to Families of the World, Third Edition. McGraw-Hill Publishing Co.

   Also highly recommended:
   

   1. Vaughan, T.E., J.M. Ryan, and N.J. Czaplewski. 2000, Mammalogy, Fourth Edition. Saunders College Publishing.
   2. Hoffmeister, D.F. 1989. Mammals of Illinois. University of Illinois Press.
   3. MacDonald, D. (ed.) 2001. The Encyclopedia of Mammals. Barnes and Noble Books, New York.

   Reading in Feldhamer et al. will supplement lectures, but most of the exam material will come from my lectures. (I guarantee you an exam question from every lecture!) Some additional papers from journals will be put on reserve, and these will be discussed in class. Reserve reading is fair game for exam questions.

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