Course Description

In "Ecology, Evolution and Natural History of Baja California", we will examine a rich and unique ecosystem — the Midriff Island Area in the Gulf of California—from several disciplinary perspectives. We will equip students with the basic background in local natural history, as well as the fundamental tools available from ecology and evolutionary biology, that will enable them to better understand the complex biological system they will engage each day. In lectures as well as readings, fundamental work in each discipline will be paired with primary literature related to ecosystems or organisms that the students will observe first hand. Our hope is that daily experience of this magnificent marine ecosystem will lend life and specificity to the foundations of several biological disciplines, while these disciplines permit a deeper, more careful, and more rigorous examination of the ecosystem.

In the Midriff Island Area, as in every marine ecosystem, there is a long and complex history of human impacts. Equipped with the basics from our intensive course, we will treat Bahía de Los Angeles as a case study in the challenges facing any effort to develop a sustainable relationship with marine ecosystems.

To see an example of possible lecture topics, download the 2005 Baja Class syllabus.