Summer courses for 2013

What better way to learn ecology than to be outdoors seeing it for yourself! Lectures and laboratory exercises emphasize environmental factors, populations, communities, ecosystems, and biodiversity. Dr. Bledsoe’s outdoor experiments and field trips are a great way to help understand the lecture material. Pitt students should enroll in both the lecture (BioSc 0370) and the Lab (Biosc 0390).

To protect and conserve the diversity of plants and animals in nature, we need to understand how to integrate ecology, management, and public policy. Dr. Latta uses activities such as bird banding and trips to Powdermill Nature Reserve to offer hands-on demonstrations of conservation principles.

In this course, you’ll study the ecology, management, and conservation of forests. Pack your sleeping bag for an overnight field trip to study a major regional forest type, the beautiful Allegheny National Forest. Lectures, labs, and an independent project will get you on your way to understanding the ecology of PA forests!

What better way to learn ecology than to be outdoors seeing it for yourself! Lectures and laboratory exercises emphasize environmental factors, populations, communities, ecosystems, and biodiversity. Dr. Layne's field trips are a great way to help understand the lecture material. Pitt students should enroll in both the lecture (BioSc 0370) and the Lab (Biosc 0390).

Who doesn't like to see picturesque wildflowers in the forest and fields? June is an excellent month to view wildflowers and all of the other spring and summer plants. This course teaches you how to identify wildflowers, shrubs, and trees as well as how to collect and prepare specimens. Day trips to local arboretums are sure to be on the schedule!

Who doesn’t like to see picturesque wildflowers in the forest and fields? June is an excellent month to view wildflowers and all of the other spring and summer plants. This course teaches you how to identify wildflowers, shrubs, and trees as well as how to collect and prepare specimens. Day trips to beautiful locations are on the schedule!

Have you ever wished you could learn the birds of PA and distinguish among bird calls? Then this class is for you! Learn all about the biology of birds, with an emphasis on bird anatomy, physiology, behavior, reproduction, and ecology. This course combines lectures and laboratory experiences with superb field trips to Presque Isle, Powdermill Nature
Reserve, and the Allegheny National Forest.

What is the difference between a salamander and a lizard? You will learn this and much more on just the first day of class! You not only get to canoe the rivers of western PA and cruise in a pontoon boat on Pymatuning Lake in search of these amphibians and reptiles, but you’ll learn about their identification, ecology, and conservation.

Why do animals do what they do?  This course covers the principles of animal behavior with an emphasis on observing animals in nature.  Through lectures, readings, experiments, and field observations, you’ll learn about how animals make decisions related to feeding, mating, territoriality, predator defense, habitat selection, and parental care.

This new course was first offered in 2012 and was extremely popular, so we’re bringing it back in 2013! The course is designed to give practical, hands-on experience in a variety of field techniques used in aquatic and terrestrial ecology and conservation. Topics include orienteering, vegetation sampling, radio telemetry, GIS & GPS, animal population sampling, aquatic insect surveying, and the design of research studies.

The Pymatuning area is a perfect location to learn the principles of wildlife management including the management of habitats, exotic wildlife, urban wildlife, and nongame species. Dr. Vulinec will captivate you with lectures and field trips that illustrate how biologists manage wild populations.