Colby College: Vertebrate Natural History
Vertebrate Natural History at Colby College (Fall 2006) involved handling and up-close observation of animals in the Maine woods. We used labs as opportunities to trap animals such as fish, owls, and small mammals in an attempt to explore census techniques and familiarize students with their animal neighbors. Topics covered in this course were evolution, phylogeny, vertebrate taxa exploration, conservation, life history traits, and antipredator tactics. Labs took us to the L.C. Bates Natural History Museum, banding saw whet owls in Freeport, trapping salamanders in the arboretum, small mammal trapping and pit-tagging on campus, electrofishing in a local river, salmon spawning counts in a nearby watershed, glow dusting and tracking small nocturnal mammals, and study skin preparations.
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