Getting Your Hands DirtyField Courses at Athabasca UniversityRobert Holmberg16 May 2005 Alberta Introductory Biology Association

Science= study of real thingsin a time frame

Biology= study of living organismsin their natural habitats

Abstractions of Biological Reality

Abstractions of Biological Reality1. Live organisms in captivity

2. Dead organisms & tissuesAbstractions of Biological Reality

3. Photographs & videosAbstractions of Biological Reality

4. Drawings & simulations

Abstractions of Biological Reality

5. Text & oral descriptionsAbstractions of Biological Reality

But now a few words about my sponsor

primarily distance education continuous enrolments + students work at own pace = asynchronous deliverywww.athabascau.ca

575 courses, 23 degree programs 29,542 students 56,784 course registrations 106 full-time + 161 part-time faculty + 258 part-time tutors

* 2004 data

* 2004 dataStudent Ages

Chart1

40.6

28

9.6

5.4

13.3

3.1

Chart2

43.6

33.9

16.4

6.1

Sheet1

Student Distribution

Alberta40.6

Ontario28

British Columbia9.6

Saskatchewan5.4

Rest of Canada13.3

International3.1

Age Distribution

456.1

2003-4 data

Course Enrollemnts

Undergraduate49411

Graduate7673

57084

Students

Undergraduate26933

Graduate2609

29542

Faculty

Full-time106

Part-time161

Tutors258

Total1028

Sheet2

Sheet3

* 2004 dataStudent Distribution

Chart1

40.6

28

9.6

5.4

13.3

3.1

Sheet1

Student Distribution

Alberta40.6

Ontario28

British Columbia9.6

Saskatchewan5.4

Rest of Canada13.3

International3.1

Age Distribution

456.1

2003-4 data

Course Enrollemnts

Undergraduate49411

Graduate7673

57084

Students

Undergraduate26933

Graduate2609

29542

Faculty

Full-time106

Part-time161

Tutors258

Total1028

Sheet2

Sheet3

Field ComponentsCompulsoryBIOL 321: Wild FlowersBIOL 345: EcologyOptionalBIOL 201: World Ecology*BIOL 206: Biological Laboratories*BIOL 342: Animal Behaviour*BIOL 495/6: Biology Projects

BIOL 321: = plant taxonomy 3-credit, 2nd year 9-day field workshop plant collectionWild Flowers

T. (Lochan) S. Bakshi

U of Cs Kananaskis Field Station Barrier Lake

Q: Why go to the mountains for flowers? A: differences in flowering dates at different altitudes

My question: Why go to the mountains in summer if this is what you get ?

started in 1986 held 16 times since Wild Flowers Workshop

Number of students / year ~12 (range = 8-19)

Workshop = field work and lab work.

One limitation = lab space

Distribution of Students of BIOL 321: Wild Flowers

3-credit, 2nd year 4 home labs 4-day workshop

Home LabsTemperatures and MicroclimatesIntra- and Interspecific CompetitionPredator-Prey Modeling Sampling with Quadrats

Field Ecology WorkshopJust some dumb bunny first run 1976 as an option for BIOL 201 Ministik Hills Field Study Centre, Tofield U of Cs Kananaskis Centre for Environmental Research

Field Ecology Workshop

now at our headquarters in Athabasca

Habitat 1: meadow

Habitat 2: forest

Habitat 3: lentic (pond & lake)

Habitat 4: lotic (river & stream)

Day by Day Schedule & Objectives

Day 1: Physical Factors instruments - precision vs. accuracy temperature water/humidity nutrients of soil & water e.g. N, P, K wind/current pH O2 & CO2

Day 2: Terrestrial Producers quadrats & transects productivity collection & preservation identification ecological terminology

Day 3: Terrestrial Consumers sampling methods (various nets & traps) ethics & legalities of collecting preservation & identification kinds of consumers trophic levels

Day 4: Aquatic Consumers & Summary sampling methods preservation & identification food chains & webs

Medical Emergencies

Determining Students Skills Prior to the Workshop

BIOL 495/6: Biology Projects 3-credits each, 4th year = undergraduate thesis student initiated & designed usually external project supervisor mainly library projects some lab and field projects

Biology Projects Conducted in the Fieldbee behaviourduck nestinggoose fecesptarmigan feedingtrout populationsplants of river delta

Biology Courses at AU* 2004 data

ContactRobert HolmbergCentre for ScienceAthabasca UniversityAthabasca, Alberta T9S 3A3Telephone: 780-675-6203E-mail: robert@athabascau.ca