I design courses that combine theory, practice (field or lab), scientific writing (reports), and oral communication (presentations). Given my broad experience with different aquatic and terrestrial insects, I offer projects that are suitable for both the fall and spring semesters. I teach introductory or advanced courses in ecology, conservation, evolutionary biology, entomology, and statistics. I also designed a course for graduate students entitled “Introduction to scientific writing” to teach students the steps to go from results to a great scientific story.
Field Ecology (Capture-Mark-Recapture)
In class, students learn how to identify dragonflies (species and sex) and how to analyze capture-mark-recapture data using some basic equations. Then in the field, they apply what they learned and perform capture-mark-recapture for a few days. Back in class, they use their data to estimate various parameters including demography and dispersal. The students have to write a final report where they explain what they learned, how they collected data, what kind of analysis they performed, and how they interpret their results.
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Experimental ecotoxicology
Using Drosophila melanogaster, students perform laboratory experiments to understand the impact of pesticides on various fitness traits. They learn some basic information on the reproductive biology of D. melanogaster, and how to design an ecotoxicological experiment. Since D. melanogaster and reproduce rapidly, the experiment is typically finished within a couple of weeks. Then the students collect data, analyze them, write a report and make a presentation.
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Scientific writing
This course is essential for graduate students. Generating results from your data is one thing, but know how to present them and write an entire manuscript to communicate the research is another thing. In this course, students learn how to write the different sections of a research article (IMRAD format). Each lecture is about one section. Preferably, students use their own results to write the paper. The main exercise is to write each section separately every week. The second exercise is to give revision to the sections of their peer. So students get to be in the place of the author and the reviewer. The course also shows how to choose the right journal and how to submit the manuscript using the journal's online platform.
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GIS in Ecology
Generating maps is very important in spatial ecology. "Cartography" is a course where students learn the basics of GIS and the different components of maps (raster, vector, attributes etc.). Using MapInfo, ENVI and R, students learn how to generate thematic maps starting from an Excel file containing geographic coordinates. Students can use their own data or sample data that we provide.
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Behavioral surveys in odonates
Students learn how to use two main methods in behavioral studies: the scan sampling and focal sampling. The student apply these methods in odonate behavioral surveys. The study involves marking individuals and assessing their reproductive behavior (territoriality, copulation, oviposition, etc). Before release, individuals dragonflies are measured with a caliper. Students test how morphological traits affect species behavior and reproductive performance.
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