Tropical Biology (Bio 195)

This course is offered every other year during the January Intersession. Students should be prepared to take classes during the entire January Intersession including the two-week trip to Costa Rica and Panama.

The course can be taken by any student to meet the General Education requirement and by Biology majors as an elective or to meet Population and Organismal requirements. The only prerequisites are an ability to swim and a sense of adventure.

The trip involves extensive traveling and is designed to acquaint students with the flora and fauna of the tropical rainforest and the coral reef - the two most diverse ecosystems on earth. We attempt to observe and identify as many organisms as possible with the help of our bilingual naturalist guides.

We stay in 3-star hotels and lodges, usually 2-3 per room.

Students will be tested over readings in a textbook, The Neotropical Companion, and articles by Dr. Conway. In addition, students keep a field notebook documenting organisms observed and a personal daily journal. Each student also is expected to conduct a literature search on two organisms (one terrestrial and one marine) that he/she is likely to observe on the trip.

The course is led by Dr. John Conway, Associate Professor of Biology (conwayj1@scranton.edu)

The tentative costs are as follows:

$2,085 (double) or $1985 (triple) which includes all ground transportation, one internal flight, boat trips, meals, accommodations, and guides
$394.32 Round trip airfare New York to San Jose, Costa Rica
$50 (estimate) Round trip van transport from the University to New York
University of Scranton Intersession tuition of 1/3 the normal price is additional.