note: ESRM 459 does not fulfill requirements of the Marine Biology Major or Minor.

Are you interested in traveling to Yellowstone National Park over spring break?  Want to see wolves, explore US National Park Service management, put your GIS and wildlife skills to work, or catch and track a raven?  If so, then you may be interested in taking ESRM 459 with Professors John Marzluff, Aaron Wirsing and Monica Moskal.  To be considered for the class, please email Dr. Marzluff (corvid@uw.edu) the following information before Feb. 18:

1. Your name, major, and class standing.  Make sure to note if you are a student in the Wildlife Option at SEFS.
2. A 5 sentence (or less) paragraph stating your motivation to join the class and what you hope to learn/experience in the class.

Upon our review we will issue add codes for the class, which can be taken for either 3 or 5 credits.  Previous trip schedules, which will be similar this year but during the current break dates (March 23-30), can be found at:

http://courses.washington.edu/vseminar/ynpsyl.htm

A nice overview of the trip from 2017 can be found at:

https://www.washington.edu/boundless/yellowstone-students/?utm_source=uwhp-topstory&utm_medium=readmore&utm_campaign=yellowstone-longform

A summary follows:

During the class you will learn how to identify wildlife, study their behavior, and examine the human dimensions of issues that influence wildlife in the West.   When you return you work with a team to analyze data and prepare oral and written presentations of your research.  This year we will continue our work with National Park Service biologists to track ravens and wolves and study their interrelationships.  We will continue a project started several years ago following elk to quantify their vigilance—their head up, ears forward looking for potential predators—and you will be able to relate this wary behavior to their location in the herd, body condition, and position on the landscape.  As in the past, we also will meet with park biologists studying bison.  With luck we will have another roasted succulent deer leg for a group BBQ.  We will also visit with lifelong Montana ranchers Tom Milesnik and Hilary, Malou, or Hannibal Anderson.  They will discuss their views of predators, people, and the changing West.  They innovated a number of improvements to their land so that they can raise cattle and provide quality wildlife habitat.

We look forward to hearing from you.

WHAT IS PAC-ISLES?

PAC-ISLEs is a 3-year NSF funded program with the goal of creating international research experiences for students. Each student involved in PAC-ISLEs will participate in a year-long research program punctuated by an overseas research experience in America Samoa, Tonga, or Pohnpei, where they will study the history (anthropological and biological) and connectivity (historic and contemporary) of indigenous cultures and fish communities across Pacific islands.

Four undergraduate and two graduate students will be chosen to participate in the program each year, which also includes pre- and post-trip seminar courses at UW’s School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences, and the Department of Anthropology, covering topics related to the ecology and culture of Oceania. While overseas, student-led research projects will focus on various aspects of Oceanic culture, biology, and connections between the two. Students will be supervised by foreign mentors with extensive experience in marine ecology and a robust history of collaboration and integration with the native Pacific Islander communities.

WHY STUDY THE CULTURE AND ECOLOGY OF OCEANIA?

The islands of Oceania support fish communities and human cultures whose histories are inseparably tied to their physical and geographic characteristics (e.g. resource availability and habitat space), and the extent of connectivity among distant islands (e.g. dispersal potential, gene flow, history of human migrations and trade). These concepts are intrinsically tied to both Pacific Island anthropology and biology, making the holistic study of Pacific Island life ideal for a cross-disciplinary research experience for students. PAC-ISLEs students will conduct projects that will focus on the evolutionary origins of fish communities, aspects of change and adaptation in Pacific Island culture, and the connectivity between cultures and fish communities across islands at different temporal and spatial scales. When these data are analyzed and contextualized with existing and extensive biological and anthropological collections from Oceania at the Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture, findings from PAC-ISLEs have the potential to greatly advance our understanding of biological and cultural diversity on and around Pacific Islands, while simultaneously promoting an equitable exchange of information between Islanders and students.

INTERESTED IN PARTICIPATING IN THIS EXCITING OPPORTUNITY?

The program is open to all UW students in the Department of Anthropology, School of Aquatic and Fisheries Sciences, or other relevant programs (e.g. Oceanography, Biology). The only requirement is that you must be a citizen, national, or permanent resident of the United States.  Student applications will be evaluated holistically, based on a combination of research and or life experience, interests, academic performance, and letters of recommendation. The PAC-ISLEs program values a culture of inclusion, and therefore students of all genders, ethnicities, backgrounds, and individuals with disabilities are all encouraged to apply.  Students that identify as Pacific Islanders are especially welcome.

• Applications will be accepted at the UW Study Abroad website until February 15!
• An informational seminar will be held at the Fisheries Science Building, FSH 102, January 29 at 5:00 pm. Light refreshments will be served.
• To apply, please fill out the online application at the UW Study Abroad Website here. In addition, please prepare the following, and email to Luke.Tornabene@gmail.com and or hmbarker@uw.edu.
  • a letter of support, preferably from a UW faculty member (letters can be mailed directly from writers to the email address above)
  • a 500-word essay explaining your interest in this particular program of study
  • a 500-word essay about the contributions that you bring to an interdepartmental (Anthropology and Fisheries/Aquatic Sciences) group learning experience
  • a curriculum vitae (CV) including a list of any coursework that may be relevant
• Questions or comments? Email Luke (Luke.Tornabene@gmail.com) and or Holly (hmbarker@uw.edu).

program website