Biology 98 (sect. 5128) & Biology 250 (sect. 5129)
COURSE SYLLABUS
SPRING, 2006

NATURAL HISTORY OF PERU
photo from cperry@nd.edu website

CLASS DAYS & HOURS: 
Lectures:   Tuesdays (5/9, 5/16, 5/23, 5/30) 6:30 - 9:20 p.m.
Trip:         June 17 - June 27, 2006

PREREQUISITES:  No course prerequisites for Biology 98; College biology course for Biology 250

MANDATORY PREPARATION
·Passport (Instructors need copy; you take original on trip)
·All forms for Holbrook Travel, including:
-Enrollment form.
-Travel insurance or insurance waiver (you log on to www.travelinsured.com and then inform Holbrook Travel of your decision).
·Must have paid entire amount to Holbrook Travel by April 2, 2006
·Must be enrolled in section 5218 (Bio. 98) or section 5219 (Bio. 250) at VVC and have fees paid (approximately $80).  All enrollment forms must be given to Pam MacKay.  You cannot enroll yourself in this course; instructor must enroll you!
·Must sign Victor Valley College waiver form
·Clean bill of health from your doctor.  When you see your doctor you can also get any vaccinations, antimalarial drug prescriptions, etc., that doctor recommends.

RECOMMENDED BOOKS (All optional):
·Note that reference books for reports will be available; instructors will loan these to you on the trip.
·Kricher, John C.  1989.  A Neotropical Companion.  Princeton.
·Forsyth, Adrian, and K. Miyata.  1984.  Tropical Nature.  Scribners.
·Any of the travel/natural history guides to Peru, such as:
1)     Insight Guide to Amazon Wildlife, by Hans-Ulrich Bernard
2)     The Smithsonian Atlas of the Amazon, by Michael Goulding
3)     Tropical Nature:  Life and Death in the Rain Forests of Central and South America, by Adrian Forsyth
4)     Lonely Planet Peru, by Charlotte Beech
5)     Insight Pocket Guide Peru, by Peter Frost
6)     Moon Handbooks Peru, by Ross Wehner, Renee del Gaudio
7)   Peru, the Traveller’s Wildlife Guide by David L. Pearson, et al

EVALUATION AND GRADES:  
Biology 98:  Student may choose to receive a letter grade or choose the ‘credit/no credit’ option (see form).  In this case, a ‘credit’ grade will be awarded if the student earns at least a C.  If fewer points are earned, the student gets a grade of ‘no credit’, which does not impact the student’s GPA.  If the form is not completed, student will receive letter grade.

Biology 98:  Points are earned by:
·Exam on fourth class session (May 30 – 10% of grade).  Short answer essay format.
·Participation in field projects and project “lab reports” (10% of grade).
·Participation in Peru trip (60% of grade)
·Report on natural history topic of student’s choice (instructor approval needed) (20% of grade, due upon return to LAX)

Biology 250:  Points are earned by:
·Exam on fourth class session (May 30 – 20% of grade).  Short answer essay format.
·Participation in field projects and project “lab reports” (20% of grade).
·Participation in Peru trip (40% of grade)
·Report on natural history topic of student’s choice (instructor approval needed) (20% of grade, due upon return to LAX)

Grade determination for both Biology 98 and Biology 250: