ENV 3044 Tropical Ecology

Costa Rica is a Neotropical country with an immensely rich biological diversity and an unique representative area to study terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems present in their Pacific and Caribbean slopes. Along this class, students gain insight into basic ecological principles and concepts and explore a variety of ecosystems present in the tropics, their animals, plants and fungi, and the multiple and complex ecological interactions that can be found here. Schrewdness on the different interactions between biotic and abiotic factors in tropical environments, while considering human effects on tropical ecosystems, is achieved. Emphasis is given to the study of the ecosystems found in Costa Rica, but other tropical ecosystems are studied as support for understanding key ecological concepts. Additionally, issues related to conservation of biodiversity and sustainability in the tropics are discussed. Therefore, this course provide students with a general overview of tropical ecology, a systematic examination of the interactions and relationships between organisms and their tropical environment.