Teaching

ZOO 750 (3 cr) co-taught by Profs. Olaf Jensen (iBio/CFL) and Claudio Gratton (Entomology) fall 2022. Next offering 2024.

The course is listed under the name “Problems in Oceanography,” and while we have our share of problems, we don’t focus on Oceanography. Instead, the course is all about designing and conducting a field ecology research project on Sapelo Island, GA during a 10-day trip in mid-late October. Projects can focus on any of the terrestrial, salt marsh, or estuarine habitats on the Island. Check out a short video compilation of the projects from last year.  This course is offered every other year (but we are getting back in sync after a Covid hiatus).

The class is meant to serve as an introduction to the entire process of field research in ecology and perhaps a chance to get a whole dissertation’s worth of research mistakes out of the way in one semester. It’s also a great chance to bond with your cohort of fellow grad students. It is ideal for first or second year grad students focusing on ecological questions for thesis and dissertation projects.

Some of the Sapelo projects crash and burn, others get published, and most are somewhere in the middle. All of these are acceptable outcomes and the process is just as important as the outcome. It is a great, hands-on course, with a low student-faculty ratio (we cap the course ~10-12 students). Read previous Sapelo Island papers here.

Before and after the Sapelo trip, we meet on once per week on Wednesday evenings.