Course description: This course provides a field-intensive, project-oriented exposure to the biology of arthropods that transmit disease, with particular emphasis on ecology of mosquitoes.  Methods include quantitative sampling techniques, species identification based on morphology and DNA, detection of medically important viruses, and experimental approaches to understanding interactions among species.  The primary aim for the group will be to track the course of mosquito invasions.  We

will process samples obtained from school groups throughout the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic states to track the progress of a mosquito introduced from Asia.  We will examine in detail two invasions that are presently under way in Bermuda, and conduct experiments on mosquito ecology during a week-long field trip to Bermuda.  Field trips will also include trips to wetlands and forests in New England.  Students must pay a fee ($1500) for the cost of lodging, meals, and airfare to Bermuda.

Bermuda field trip: The class will travel to Bermuda for a 7-day field trip, to continue our collaboration with the Bermuda Department of Health in the study of the population dynamics of two mosquito species introduced in 1998 and 2000.  The trip will coincide with the fall break, plus two days.  The laboratory fee will include the costs of all meals and lodging, air fare, transportation to and from airports, and local transportation while in Bermuda on rented motor scooters.  Housing, meals and lab facilities will be provided by the Bermuda Institute of Ocean Sciences, a world-renowned center for marine biology and oceanography.  Each day in Bermuda will include some time for sampling a variety of potential mosquito habitats, shadowing vector control officers on their inspection rounds, as well as visits  to other places of interest to biologists, including a habitat restoration project on a small island and snorkeling in coral reefs.  Guest lectures by leading experts in marine biology and Bermuda environmental health are planned.

Trips are also planned to southern New England, to retrieve egg traps for tracking the progress of two Asian invading species in New England, to central Massachusetts wetland habitats and the Central Massachusetts Mosquito Control district, and local areas where container-breeding mosquitoes can be found.

Course organization:  The course will meet for one short session and one long session each week.  The short session may be used for lecture, for group discussion sessions, or for task assignment for each week of activities.  The long session will be for field work during the fall, laboratory work later on, with lectures and discussions mixed in. 

Requirements: Students will contribute to common class projects, including the development of web based educational material on disease vectors for participating school groups.  In addition, they will develop individual projects on some aspect of vector ecology (with oral and written project presentations) and lead a discussion session on selected readings.

Instructor:  Todd Livdahl

Scroll down to see individual pictures, or