NMU's Zambassadors 2007: BI 495

Bwanji!

In May and June of 2007, 13 undergraduate students from Northern Michigan University are taking a field course in Zambia. Most of the students are majors in the Biology department, and all of them will be doing short field studies of their own design while on the ground in Zambia. The group will be making a stop in London on the way, spending four days seeing Zambia/Africa-related British sites (Burton's tomb, Livingstone's artefacts at the Royal Geographic Society, the British Museum of Natural History, etc.) and adjusting to the time change. The course is being led by me, Dr. Alec Lindsay, a professor in the Department of Biology at NMU, and Dr. Jackie Bird - a parasitologist in our department. We have made this blog so students can hopefully post notes thoughts, pictures and discoveries to the world. This should allow classmates, teachers, family and friends to share in their insights and keep track of their travels. Not only that, but viewers of the blog can add comments to posts - please do! We would love to hear your thoughts. Zikomo!

16 April 2007

BI 495

What I plan on Studying: I hope to observe behavioral relationships between adolecent and adult bull hippos, and to record any diferences in communication between herds in different river systems.

I also hope to observe stotting behavior in antelope and note coorrelations between predator and prey displays/hunting techniques.

My Concerns: I agree with Dr. Lindsay; I'm worried about time, and I'm concerned about other unpredictable variables such as weather, and especially the opportunity of actually seeing some of the wildlife.

I also wish there was a way I could get closer for better recording opportunities. I would like to hear the hippos under the water and to learn more about "amphibious communication"; I read a paper on it and I think it would be a good think to look into if it were possible.

Image is from the BBC (bbc.co.uk): http://news.bbc.co.uk/media/images/39623000/jpg/_39623641_hippo.jpg