Mexican Vertebrates, ESU

Syllabus
Field Biology of Mexican Vertebrates
Spring 2007

instructor:	Dwight Moore, Ph.D. office - Science Hall 144 phone - 341-5611 email - mooredwi@emporia.edu http://www.emporia.edu/biosci/moorbiol.htm Facebook me!

office hours:	I am usually on campus by 7:30 am and do not leave until after 5:30 pm. my schedule

The course will be offered jointly with Bruce Stewart from Murray State College, Humberto Mojica and other faculty from La Universidad Autónoma del Estado de Morelos, and Chris Taylor from Mississippi State University.

section:	GB 460: Monday, 5:00, in Science Hall 46

text:	None

prerequisites:	GB 140 or GB 100

This class counts as 2 hours credit towards a biology major and towards a minor in Latin American Studies or Ethnic and Gender Studies, and the course also meets the multicultural general education requirement of Emporia State University.

I. course description

The purpose of this course is 1) to provide an introduction to the basic field methods that are involved in the study of vertebrates and their populations and 2) to serve as a vehicle for intercultural exchange among Mexican scientists and students and U.S. scientists and students. The field portion of class will be conducted in Mexico in conjunction with faculty from the Universidad de Morelos, Murray State College in Oklahoma, and Mississippi State University. The class will be conducted in both Spanish and English, with lectures given in either languages.

II. course organization

The general format of the class will consist of a series of orientation classes that will meet once a week prior to the 12- to 13-day trip to Mexico. During the weekly sessions at Emporia State University, we will cover such topics as the biogeography, ecology, and vertebrate zoology of the region in coastal Nayarit, Mexico as well as covering the ecology of the land that we travel through. We will also cover various aspects of the Mexican culture and way of life. The class will culminate in a 12-day trip to Mexico, in which we will drive to a field site near San Blas, Nayarit. During the time that we are with the students and faculty from the University of Morelos, the students will be divided into four groups. Each group will spend approximately one day each studying ichthyology, herpetology, ornithology, and mammalogy. Each section will present field techniques that are used to study this particular group of vertebrates and introduce students to the common vertebrates of the area. Each section will be taught by US and Mexican faculty with instruction in both English and Spanish.

Being bilingual is not necessary. U.S. students will be taught primarily by U.S. faculty (Emporia State University, Murray State College, and Mississippi State University) while Mexican students will be taught primarily by Mexican faculty (Universidad de Morelos). However, the format of the class in which all students work together will encourage interaction among Mexican and U.S. students and faculty. Many of the participants in the class will have some facility with both languages, which will aid in making cross-cultural exchanges a major part of the course.

III. grading:

You must keep a journal of field notes in which you record observations about the biology and culture of Mexico. This field notebook is worth 200 points. Your grade will be determined by the completeness of your observations and the neatness/organization of your field notes.

There will also be 100 points for participation in the field activities and discussion in class and another 100 points from reading or homework assignments. This will give a total of 400 points for the course. Your final grade in the course will be assigned based upon the percentage of the points that you earn.

A = 92.0% to 100%

A- = 89.0% to 91.9%

B+ = 86.0% to 88.9%

B = 83.0% to 85.9%

B- = 79.0% to 82.9%

C+ = 76.0% to 78.9%

C = 70.0% to 75.9%

D = 60.0% to 69.9%

F < 60.0%

IV. tentative schedule in Mexico:

The schedule requires several long periods of driving which means that several people (faculty and students) must be cleared to drive the school vehicle. You should also note that we will miss two days of class after spring break. You will need to plan accordingly with your instructors. Let me know if you need some help in working this out.

Friday: (16 March 2007)	Leave Emporia and meet Bruce Stewart from Murray State College in Tishomingo, Oklahoma. Continue to Mexico/US border and meet Chris Taylor from Mississippi State Univ. in Laredo, Texas. We will eat meals at restaurants along the way.
Saturday:	Buy Mexican car insurance, cross border into Nuevo Laredo and continue to Bustamante. Camp out at Bustamante Canyon.
Sunday:	Leave Bustamante around 11:00 and drive south through Monterrey, Saltillo, Zacatecas, Guadalajara, Tepic to San Blas. Arrive Monday morning (19 March).
Monday through Saturday:	Set up camp site at Los Cocos about 20 miles south of San Blas. Class activities with the Mexican faculty and students will be here for the next 6 days and we will leave on Saturday.
Saturday:	Leave camp and drive back to Guadalajara, then north to Zacatecas, Saltillo, then towards Matehuala, and then to Real de Catorce. We will likely get here just before dawn on Sunday. We will spend the day, that night in a hotel here. Explore around town, visit old mines, explore the surrounding habitat, and shop.
Monday noon:	Leave Real de Catorce for home. Arrive US/Mexico border on Monday evening and continue to Emporia and arrive Tuesday afternoon (27 March 2007).

V. border crossing:

You must have a valid passport. A birth certifcate will no longer work to get you across the border. It takes about six weeks to get a passport, so you need to apply as soon as you know that you are taking this class. If you no not have a passport you will not be permitted to enter Mexico and you will not be permitted to go on the trip.

There are also a couple of contraband items that I should mention. Remember, that you will cross the international border twice and may be subjected to a very thorough search by either US or Mexican customs. In addition, we will drive through several check points in Mexico where we may be (though not likely) searched. Thus, the chance that you could get caught with something illegal is high. Drugs that are illegal in the USA are also illegal in Mexico. While guns (especially handguns) are common in the US they are absolutely illegal to bring into Mexico. The possession of either one of these things could net you a decade in a Mexican jail. If you have any prescription drugs that you need to bring, make sure that the drugs are in the original bottle and that the prescription information is clearly shown on the bottle.

It is clearly against university policy to have alcohol in university vehicles. Thus, you may not bring back any liquor from Mexico. Almost any liquor that you could buy in Mexico, you could find in the US for a couple of dollars more. The risk is simply not worth it. If you try to sneak some back you will either have to lie to me or to US Customs.

VI. equipment needed:

We are going to be camping out for most of our trip. Thus you will need basic camping equipment, however space in the vehicle will be limited so you need to conserve space as much as possible and we will not be cooking at any camp site so you do not need lanterns, camp stoves or cooking utensils. Keep in mind that we will be spending most of our time away from any large stores, so for anything that you forget there is an excellent chance that you will have to do without it. You will get a more detailed list of stuff to bring in class.

Sleeping bag or blanket, sheet, pillow, mattress: In general the weather will be warm so a heavy sleeping bag will be too warm; the sheet will be all the cover that you need on most nights in San Blas, though at Bustamante in can be quite chilly at night.
Tent: Each person will not need their own tent, you should arrange to share a tent with one or more persons. Be sure that your tent has a rainfly and is insect proof. For the most part, we will be camping on the beach, so the substrate will be sand.
Flashlight and extra batteries: A headlight would work best, if you have a waterproof light that would also be good.
Binoculars
Pocketknife
Camera and batteries for the camera
Notebook and pencils
Snorkel and mask: There will be one or two opportunities to snorkel. You might borrow someequipment or share with a friend on the trip. The current is non-existent and thus you will not need fins or other diving equipment nor do you need especially good equipment.
Insect repellant, sunscreen, soap, shampoo, etc.: Insect repellant and sunscreen are very important. Once, on a hike to the top of Quemado near Real de la Catorce, I actually sunburned my lips.
Clothes: You will need a couple of changes of clothes, but, please, do not bring a change of clothes for every day that we will be gone. A couple of pairs of long pants, a couple of pairs of shorts, some t- shirts (one long-sleeved), a jacket/sweatshirt, bathing suit, socks and underwear should about cover it. You should also have a hat and a rain jacket or poncho. A pair of hiking boots will be helpful, tennis shoes for around camp, and a pair of shoes that you can get wet (dive boots work excellent for these). A towel will be useful. There are shower facilities (unheated, but we are officially in the tropics) at the camp site at Los Cocos. There are no facilities for plugging in such things as hair dryers, etc.
Money: Most of the expenses of the trip will be covered in the $450.00 fee for the course. However, you will need $20 for your Mexican visa at the border. We will also eat some meals at fast food restaurants while traveling and you will need money for these meals. You will also need money for the myriad of beverages and snacks that people always seem to need while traveling. Finally, there will be several opportunities to buy souvenirs during the trip. In this regard, you could spend anywhere from a few dollars to hundreds of dollars. A minimum might be an additional $150.00. Credit cards are accepted in some places but not in many of the places that we will be travelling through. Traveler's Checks are also difficult to deal with, so cash is the better option. We will exchange money into pesos in Laredo, TX just before we cross into Mexico. Any money that you do not spend, we will exchange back into dollars as we cross back into Laredo.
Calling home: For the most part, you should plan on not being near a phone while we are camping out, though they have installed a phone booth along the street near camp and it works most of the time. Last year it worked very well and the year before not so well. At various places in cities, you can buy phone cards that work in phone booths. From these booths you can place a direct dial call back to the US and the rates are pretty reasonable. Collect calls or calls charged to credit cards will be very expensive, if you can get the call through at all. Phone cards bought in the USA will not work (REALLY), so wait until you get to Mexico. You should tell people in the US that you will not be in regular contact with them by phone. You might be able to get your cell phone set up so that it works in Mexico (but not near camp, non of the Mexicans could use their cell phones at camp), however those calls are expensive running well over $2.00 per minute.

Last updated on 21 January 2007.
Provide comments to Dwight Moore at mooredwi@emporia.edu.
Return to the Biology of Mexican Vertebrates at Emporia State University