Course Description:
This course will take place in Nicaragua, primarily on the island of Ometepe in the great lake of Nicaragua from 22 June to 17 July, 2009. It will be an interdisciplinary course as all ethnobotany courses have to be. However, this one will present historical perspectives and provide background in a number of disciplines of the natural and social sciences including Geography, Geology, Biology, Ecology, Botany, Anthropology and Ethnobotany. Students will be offered a holistic overview of the physical, biological and cultural context of our field station on Ometepe, the volcanic island on which it is located, and the traditional and modern use of plants in the Neotropics. The ethnobotany of the Neotropics will be compared with that of the tropical islands of the Indo-Pacific Region to give students a broad understanding of the science of ethnobotany in relationship to tropical ecosystems on continents as opposed to remote islands. A special study of contemporary use of plants on Ometepe is planned as a group exercise in ethnobotany in a Neotropical setting. Overall, this course can be seen as an introduction to Natural History in the tropics with a special emphasis on human relationships with plants -- past, present and future.
Outline sequence of major topics:
1. Introduction to this ethnobotanical course: lectures, field work, student projects, examinations.
2. Historical perspectives and scientific methods: the basis of this course using plant examples.
3. The biosphere, the tropical ecosystems, and the tropical plants species: a global view.
4. Plate tectonic theory and the history of the Earth’s surface: no final truths in science.
4. Subduction and hot spot volcanoes compared: examples from Nicaragua and Hawai`i.
5. The Neotropics and Pacific Islands environments contrasted: ecosystems near and far.
6. Theory of evolution, origins and development of biodiversity, human impact and conservation.
7. Native flowering plants and ferns of the Neotropics compared with remote tropical islands.
8. The plants and vegetation of the world and their use by people: ethnobotanical perspectives.
8. Physical geography of Ometepe Island, Nicaragua: geology, climate and geomorphology.
9. Biogeography of Nicaragua: origins and distribution of plant life on Ometepe Island.
10. Trees, shrubs and herbs of Ometepe Island: native and introduced species.
11. Hunters and gatherers: our human heritage, with a focus on the Neotropics.
12. The agricultural “revolution” and the rise of farming in the Neotropics.
13. European colonization and the Columbian exchange: guns, germs, animals and plants.
14. The ascendency of plantation agriculture and herding in the Neotropics.
15. Historical perspectives of human use of plants in Latin America and Oceania.
16. Traditonal use of plants today: Neotropics and Pacific Islands cultures compared.
17. Ethnobotanical Methods: these will be introduced at, or very near, the beginning of the course, and will involve time in a number of lectures and group discussion to develop the group for the original field work on Ometepe Island.
18. Sustainable resource use and the plant world: involve discussion of history and goals of the Maderas Rainforest Conservancy, including the conservation efforts involved in the development of a botanical garden at the field station. |
