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ZOOLOGY 4650 - FIELD
STUDY - WOOD DUCK
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| Wood duck study is a one-unit C/NC course offered every Spring Semester. It provides students the opportunity to contribute to a conservation effort, to learn some field sampling techniques, to enjoy being outdoors in the springtime in riparian habitats and counts as an upper division elective in the biology major. Wood ducks are ducks that nest in holes in large dead trees along waterways. With much of California's riparian habitat (the natural vegetation that lines rivers and streams) no longer in existence, there is no longer enough natural housing for the wood ducks. Earlier this century wood duck numbers had declined to very low levels all over the country. In Stanislaus County, the Fish and Wildlife Committee has made over 350 wood duck nest boxes and has installed these boxes on live trees near waterways throughout the county. In the wood duck study class, students, working in pairs, are assigned the boxes at a particular site, and each pair checks their boxes on a weekly basis throughout spring semester. By checking the boxes, reporting damage to boxes, removing starling nests (starlings belong to an introduced pest species, and compete with wood ducks and other native species), recording what is occurring in each box through the season, removing abandoned wood duck eggs, etc., students greatly enhance the potential for wood duck nest success. The course requires that students work in pairs, check and report on their boxes each week, and turn in summary information at the end of the semester. Checking boxes typically takes a morning or an afternoon, and can be done any day of the week including weekends. There is a mandatory introductory meeting at the beginning of the semester, during which students learn about wood duck biology, specifics of class activities, are paired up and choose their box sites, etc. The mandatory meeting is held on the Thursday evening of the first or second week of spring semester, starting at 7pm, located in room 210 of the Naraghi Hall of Science building. Check the exact date in the Spring Schedule of Classes for this coming spring. I will also post the exact date on my office door, N 277, before spring semester starts. The introductory meeting is mandatory; no one can take the class without attending that meeting. Most students find this class to be very rewarding and enjoyable. |