An All-Taxa Biodiversity Inventory (ATBI) is an effort to compile the full list of species of all taxa present in some area on the planet. No ATBI has ever been (or ever will be?) completed, but this class is an ongoing effort towards a working ATBI for the Bennington College campus (which is unusually diverse for its area). Past terms have addressed fungi, various invertebrate groups, flowering plants. This term, we will select two or three biological taxa to explore; candidates include mosses/liverworts, aquatic invertebrates, almost any group of insects, other plant groups, soil or aquatic microbiota — or almost any other group if you can make a case for it! Students will learn the specialized tools for studying these organisms, become acquainted with their taxonomy and evolutionary systematics, and contribute to the building of the Bennington College ATBI wiki (currently listing over 600 species). This class is offered pass/fail only.
Learning Outcomes:
Delivery Method: Fully in-person
Prerequisites:Permission of instructor.
Course Level: 4000-level
Credits: 2
M, 1:40PM-3:30PM, Th, 1:40PM-5:20PM (2nd seven weeks)
Maximum Enrollment: 12
Course Frequency: Every 2-3 years
Categories: All courses , Biology , Fully In-Person , Updates
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