BEMP UNM Intern Class BIO 408L/508L

Course Instructors:

Kim Eichhorst, PhD (BEMP Co-Director)
Ara Winter, PhD (BEMP Data Manager)
Matthew Leister, MS (BEMP Science Director)
Zoe Wadkins Daniels, M.Ed (BEMP Education Director)

Course Overview

Students taking the Bosque Internship course will learn about the ecology of southwestern riparian ecosystems, learn ecological monitoring protocols, and write a scientific paper using original BEMP data. They will also mentor local citizen scientists (students) who collect data for BEMP.  Class sessions include bosque disturbance ecology (fire, flooding and mechanical clearing), native and exotic litter-fall labs, arthropod labs, environmental education components, analyzing BEMP data trends, looking at water issues in New Mexico, and discussing how climate change impacts our bosque ecosystem. Field work is incorporated into this class in the form of monthly abiotic and biotic data collections.  Monthly collections include: groundwater table levels, precipitation and leaf litter at 32 BEMP sites located throughout 560 kilometers (350 mi) of the Middle Rio Grande valley.  Students serve as an important link between BEMP K-12 teacher/student site representatives.

Bosque Internship students are also required to complete special projects hours each semester. Special project hours can cover a variety of topics and are designed to make BEMP a stronger program and allow Bosque Internship students to experience many facets of BEMP’s work. Students can take on new and challenging projects that help to define their skill set. Some examples include: field assistance in the form of water chemistry testing, site maintenance and small mammal trapping (as available); lab-work processing of litter-fall and arthropod data; and/or help with education and outreach aspects within the community.

This course is a great continuing education credit opportunity for teachers!