Field ecology at Black Rock Forest is a concentrated spring graduate field course in ecology and biology. Student become familiar with the flora and fauna of the Hudson Highlands region of New York as they study the major natural habitats within the area (A visit to Central Park before the trip permits comparison of urban versus rural issues in ecology). Field exercises have included plant community sampling, paleoecological analysis of sediment cores, characterization of shrub communities using diagnostic keys, and survey of birds/insects/amphibians/aquatic invertebrates. Readings from Science, Nature, Ecology and other literature are carefully coordinated with our field studies.
