WFSC451

043025

This course examines applications of bioacoustics to wildlife conservation & management. This hands-on, experiential course is organized thematically from the perspective of senders, receivers, & the environment & chronologically by seasonal opportunities to collect, analyze, & discuss data on species of conservation/management concern throughout diverse life zones of southern Arizona (including sandhill cranes on playas, beavers in rivers, montane Mt. Graham red squirrels, & kangaroo rats in desert grasslands). Activities include learning how to record animals & the environment, application of analytical tools to visualize & quantify recordings, interpretation of data to inform conservation/management, & critical evaluation of the primary literature. Focus on biophony (collective sound of living organisms) is contextualized relative to other soundscape components (anthrophony, geophony) to broaden application to natural resource managers writ large. All students will maintain a field notebook coupled to sound recordings that explore seasonal changes in biological communities of a particular location to foster a sense of place. Graduate students will conduct a group research project on a topic of their choice to be submitted for peer review. This course encourages cross-disciplinary dialogue & debate. Competencies developed herein are broadly transferable, including matching tools to questions, hands-on learning of emerging technologies relative to conservation, project design, regional autecology, & communication skills.

GRD - Regular Grades A, B, C, D, E

Undergraduate

019287

WFSC551