Biodiversity of North Carolina

NOTE:  This course has a 4-day study-away component and an extra $275 which will be charged on your bursar account.

North Carolina is a hotspot for biodiversity because of the rich variety of habitats and because the state was not covered by glaciers during the recent ice ages.  This course will examine biodiversity in the southern Appalachian mountains of western North Carolina.  We will have eight on-campus class meetings during the semester and then spend four (glorious) days at the beautiful Highlands Biological Station (tentative dates - April 4-8), which is situated in one of the richest areas of the southern Appalachians.  On campus we will discuss themes related to evolution, biogeography, and conservation while reading selected papers and David Quammen’s 1996 book, The Song of the Dodo: Island Biogeography in an Age of Extinctions.

In the mountains we will visit natural habitats ranging from the protected cove forests along the Blue Ridge to subalpine Spruce-Fir forests.  During field trips, we will emphasize basic plant biology and ecology.  We also will closely examine plants that we collect during our field trips.  Lectures/discussions will present themes related to land use history in North Carolina, conservation of mountain biodiversity, and the ecology of natural ecosystems.

This course does not require an academic background in biology; enthusiasm for nature and spending some time outdoors will suffice!  Moderate to challenging hikes (please contact the professors for details) will be included with an emphasis on hands-on experiences identifying plants and observing natural plant communities.

We require students to lead discussions in class, to write a term paper, and to keep a journal during the field trip that would include both scientific observations, e.g., ecological notes and species observed, and impressions.