LECTURES
Citizen Science—why, how to, benefits to self and to the world
Biological classification and taxonomic levels
Scientific names and common names
How are new species discovered? How are they described?
How many species are there, living and extinct? How are these numbers determined?
Biological Field Notebooks: contents and rationale
Choosing binoculars. What do the numbers mean?
What information is contained in a field guide? How to use a field guide.
Migration of birds and insects
Mobbing behavior
Murmuration of European Starlings and the role of predatory birds
Imaging Animals: a brief history
18th Century Art and the Development of Classification Systems
Wunderkammern/Cabinets and Curiosity and patterns of collecting from the 16th-19th centuries
Artist-focused lectures (artists listed below)
LABS
Participation in Ginkgo climate change citizen science study, Fossil Atmospheres
Drawing Skills Labs (5 sessions with Artist-Lecturer Amy Feger)
Additional Drawing Labs using specimens from biology collection
Outdoor Drawing Labs with Field Notes
The Moth Project (lecture and outdoor night lab)
Outdoor exercise on how to use field notebooks
Lepidoptera anatomy and life cycle
Mosquito anatomy and life cycle
Outdoor exercise on how to use binoculars
Printmaking studio visit (Guest lecture, Prof. Scott Stephens)
SKYPE CONVERSATIONS
Tierra Curry, Senior Scientist, Center for Biological Diversity
Gretchen Scharnagl, Senior Instructor of Drawing, Florida International University
READINGS
“The Rise and Fall of Natural History,” Robert Pyle, Orion
“Scientists and Artists Must Work Together,” Rebecca Gilman, Scientific American
“The Paper Museum of Cassiano Dal Pozzo,” Rea Alexeandratos
“A Pioneering Woman of Science,” Joanna Klein, The New York Times
“The Woman Who Made Science Beautiful,” Andrea Wulf, The Atlantic
“Field Books, working the liminal space between art and science,” Hara Woltz, Orion
“The Insect Apocalypse is Here,” Brooke Jarvis, The New York Times
“Fearing the ‘Insect Apocalypse’? Renowned etymologist says ‘Get rid of your lawn’,” WTTW News (PBS Chicago)
“Insect Freefall: What does it mean for birds?” Howard Youth, American Bird Conservatory
“North America Has Lost More Than 1 in 4 Birds in Last 50 Years, New Study Says” Jillian Mock, Audubon.org
“Ecologists Have this Simple Request to Homeowners—Plant Native” Adam Cohen, Smithsonian.com
Bio students also read: “On the Importance of Drawing” and “Rediscovering the Forgotten Benefits of Drawing”
VIDEOS
The Naturalist (about Kent Bonar)
Gyre: Creating Art from a Plastic Ocean, National Geographic
Brandon Ballengée – Seasons in Hell, Museum Het Domein Sittard, Netherlands
PROJECTS
Dichotomous Key
Beach Project
Citizen Science Investigation
Species Report, Text and Art
Class Exhibition
OFF-CAMPUS FIELD TRIPS
Dauphin Island Sea Lab (2 days)
Limestone Park
Ebenezer Swamp
Shoal Creek Park
Birmingham Museum of Art
ARTISTS
You learned about 35+ artists who created 100+ works of art that have zoological significance and/or cross boundaries between art and science.
| Anonymous (prehistoric Europeans, ancient Egyptians, medieval English monks) John James Audubon Giacomo Balla William Bartram Xavi Bou Mark Catesby Leonardo da Vinci Albrecht Dürer Wendy DesChene Mark Dion Arthur Radclyffe Dugmore Walton Ford Franz Franken Conrad Gesner Philip Henry Gosse |
Ernst Haeckel (Guest lecture, Dr. Stephen Forrester) Lynne Hull Pam Longobardi Maria Sibylla Merian Jacques le Moyne de Morgues Jean-Luc Mylane Charles Willson Peale Rembrandt Peale Frederik Ruysch Rachel Ruysch Pieter Saenredam Gretchen Scharnagl Jeff Schmuki Nikolaus Schmidt Ole Wurm |
SPECIES IDENTIFICATION
You learned basic identification skills for 37 species of insects and 78 species of birds.
In total, you learned to identify 115 animal species that live in central Alabama.
You learned the etymology of taxon names.
You saw preserved specimens of many species and drew some of them.
Class Hexapoda: Insects
You learned to identify 37 species in 9 insect Orders (orders in boldface).
Lepidoptera: Butterflies and Moth (24 species)
Eastern Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly; Monarch Butterfly; Gulf Fritillary Butterfly; Cloudless Sulphur Butterfly; Zebra Longwing Butterfly; Silver-spotted Skipper; Luna Moth; Giant Leopard Moth; Imperial Moth; Polyphemus Moth; Regal Moth; Tersa Sphinx Moth; Red-spotted Purple Butterfly; Variegated Fritillary Butterfly; Question Mark Butterfly; Cabbage White Butterfly; Red Admiral Butterfly; Eastern Tailed-blue Butterfly; Common Buckeye Butterfly; Rosy Maple Moth; Hummingbird Moth; Cecropia Moth; White-lined Sphinx Moth; Banded Tiger Moth
Coleoptera: Beetles
Multicolored Asian Lady Beetle
Diptera: Flies
Southern House Mosquito; Crane Fly
Ephemeroptera: Mayflies
Mayfly
Hemiptera (True Bugs)
Brown Marmorated Stink Bug
Odonata (Dragonflies and Damselflies)
Great Blue Skimmer Dragonfly; Ebony Jewelwing Damselfly
Megaloptera (Alderflies, Dobsonflies, and Fishflies)
Eastern Dobsonfly
Hymenoptera (Ants, Bees, and Wasps)
Fine-backed Red Paper Wasp; Cow Killer Wasp; Eastern Carpenter Bee
Orthoptera (Grasshoppers, Crickets, and Katydids)
Camel Cricket; Greater Angle-wing Katydid
Class Aves: Birds
You learned to identify 78 species
Canada Goose; Great Blue Heron; Great Egret; Turkey Vulture; Rock Pigeon; Red-headed Woodpecker; Blue Jay; American Crow; Mourning Dove; Northern Mockingbird; American Robin; Eastern Towhee; Yellow-rumped Warbler; Brown Thrasher; Northern Cardinal; House Sparrow; House Finch; Brown-headed Nuthatch; Red-breasted Nuthatch; White-breasted Nuthatch; Carolina Wren; Carolina Chickadee; Tufted Titmouse; White-throated Sparrow; White-crowned Sparrow; Chipping Sparrow; Eastern Towhee; Dark-eyed Junco; Brown Thrasher; European Starling; American Goldfinch; Brown-headed Cowbird; Black Vulture; Common Grackle; Downy Woodpecker; Red-bellied Woodpecker; Eastern Bluebird; Yellow-bellied Sapsucker; Hairy Woodpecker; Pileated Woodpecker; Cedar Waxwing; Northern Bobwhite Quail; Northern Flicker; Killdeer; Wild Turkey; Yellow-rumped Warbler; Eastern Phoebe; Loggerhead Shrike; Eurasian Collared-Dove; Purple Finch; Common Yellowthroat; Eastern Meadowlark; Bald Eagle; American Kestrel; Red-shouldered Hawk; Red-tailed Hawk; Barred Owl; Great Horned Owl; Eastern Screech-Owl; Sharp-shinned Hawk; Cooper’s Hawk; Northern Harrier; Barn Owl; Red-winged Blackbird; Common Gallinule; American Coot; Bufflehead; Lesser Scaup; Ring-necked Duck; Hooded Merganser; Belted Kingfisher; Least Sandpiper; Pied-billed Grebe; Blue-winged Teal; Wood Duck; Mallard; Ring-billed Gull; Herring Gull
Art and Natural History 