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Bahamian Conservation Biology Summer 2025 (6 credits)
BSC 495 (Ecological and Evolutionary Dimensions of Conservation Biology in the Bahamas, 3 cr.)
FW 445 (Human Dimensions of Conservation Biology in the Bahamas, 3 cr.)
Dr. Brian Langerhans and Dr. Nils Peterson
North Carolina State University
This page will serve as the primary source of information for the course, including the posting of readings, assignments,
relevant links, research project information, etc. Check back later for updates.
Latest Update: 11 May 2025.
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General Course Information:
Official Dates of Entire 10-week Summer Program: May 14 - July 29, 2025 (includes offsite reading, writing, assignments, lectures, etc.)
Onsite Dates in The Bahamas: May 16-30, 2025
First assignment posted: May 7; Last assignment due: July 16
Syllabus
Research Project Proposal Guidelines
Suggested Packing List for the trip
Fish and Coral Identification Lists
Swimming: One critical requirement for the program is the ability to swim (moderate to advanced capabilities). Many field activities require swimming (especially snorkeling), although advanced capabilities and diving certifications are not required. There will be a swim test conducted on the first day on-site to ensure that all students can safely conduct any required activity.
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Travel Logistics:
Students are responsible for air travel to/from Andros Island. We will arrive on Andros May 16th and depart on May 30th. We will provide further details regarding specific flights, but the general plan will be to fly roundtrip to Nassau, Bahamas (arriving by mid-day May 16th, leaving late afternoon-evening May 30th) using a major airline carrier, and fly roundtrip from Nassau to Fresh Creek (AKA Andros Town), Andros Island using a domestic carrier (LeAir). Your luggage will be checked to Nassau, where you will clear customs, and bring your luggage to the relevant airline desk in the Domestic Departure airport check-in.
Once in the Bahamas, be aware of "island time," and roll with the punches. Many things do not run on time, and many seeminingly simple or routine tasks in the US may take very long in the Bahamas. Be prepared for delays. However, we have found that this travel arrangement typically results in the most prompt arrivals and departures (and that more luggage typically arrives on time using the recommended travel plan).
Don't forget you need a passport to enter the Bahamas!
See the general program info page.
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TEAM ASSIGNMENTS AND EXTENDED READINGS POSTED BELOW
--Next Deadline... 5pm May 15: submission of research project proposal first draft--
So, you're on a research team now... it's time to write your research proposal!
Start by reading the guidelines and suggested readings for your project, find and read additional references for your project, read and think about the brief description of your project given below (think about how you would best address these goals), discuss ideas with your teammates, and begin with an outline. Then expland that outline as a team into a full-fledged proposal (the full fleshing-out will occur on Andros). Finding and reading primary literature is key--use the suggested readings as the starting points. You can quickly find more relevant articles by paying attention to the references cited in these articles and searching for yourself (e.g. Google Scholar, including seeing what papers have cited these articles). Feel free to contact Drs. Brian Langerhans (langerhans@ncsu.edu) or Nils Peterson (nils_peterson@ncsu.edu) with specific questions. We will provide considerable further assistance/guidance after this initial draft to help you revise your plans, create a strong proposal, and make a great team proposal presentation. After some first-hand experience on the island, and substantial further on-island discussions, your final revised proposal will be due May 21 (tentative).
Be sure to follow the Research Proposal Guidelines.
Submit your proposal first rough draft by 5pm May 15th to Drs. Brian Langerhans and Nils Peterson.
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Pre-trip Readings:
The readings below are meant to provide both a general background for this study abroad program, as well as provide the initial foundation for your literature reviews for your research projects. Everyone should read the papers listed for each project. Each group is expected to find a number of additional papers relevant to their research topic. To better understand your topic, the more reading, the better.
- Brief introduction to some study systems and research on Andros Island:
-Read these to get a sense of the study systems and questions addressed on Andros.-
Layman et al. 2004
Langerhans et al. 2007
Heinen et al. 2013
Hayes et al. 2015
Heinen-Kay et al. 2015
Shapiro et al. 2016
Valdez et al. 2019
Bjorneras et al. 2020
Hulthén et al. 2021
Jenkins et al. 2021
- Project Option 1: Effects of predation risk on day/night behavioral patterns:
Fraser et al. 2004
McCauley et al. 2012
Reebs 2002
Jenkins and Langerhans In Review
Heinen et al. 2013 (for some past methods in blue holes)
Kronfeld-Schor and Dayan 2003
Fox and Bellwood 2011
Andrews et al. 2009
Mehner 2012
- Project Option 2: Improving boat safety among Androsian fishers:
Oporia et al. 2022
Quistberg et al. 2014
Straub 2009
Virk and Pikora 2011
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Research Project Summaries:
Effects of predation risk on day/night behavioral patterns
Nonlethal effects of predators on prey can be substantial, and yet have experienced far less research than mortality-induced ecological and evolutionary consequences. Activity patterns of animals--often characterized as diurnal, nocturnal, or crepuscular--play obvious and important roles in shaping organismal life histories. However, the role of chronic risk from predation in shaping these behaviors is still largely unknown. When the predation regime changes for a prey species, for instance through predator extirpation, introduction, or colonization of new environments, do day/night activity patterns of prey rapidly shift via facultative behavioral changes or evolutionary shifts in behaviors? This project will examine day/night behaviors of Bahamas mosquitofish (Gambusia hubbsi) living in blue holes. Blue holes are analogous to aquatic islands in a sea of land, and Bahamas mosquitofish colonized these environments during the past 15,000 years by leaving their ancestral marine environment and traversing inland marshes. Ever since, they have been living either with a major predatory fish (bigmouth sleeper, Gobiomorus dormitor) or in the absence of any piscine predators. This project will test whether day/night behavioral patterns of Bahamas mosquitofish differ between populations experiencing high or low risk of predation. Understanding changes in diel behavioral patterns is critical today, not only to uncover selective mechanisms responsible for critical behaviors, but also because humans regularly remove and introduce new predators into ecosystems. (This project will involve fieldwork in multiple blue holes and utilize prior data collected in both the field and lab.)
Team Members: Emily Allen, Emma Bourgeois, Owen Hughes, Julia Ortiz, and Emily Piotrowski
Improving Boat Safety Among Androsian Fishers
The purpose of this project is to improve understanding of how Androsian fishers make decisions about safety practices including the use of PFDs, not fishing alone, having signal devices, and having a radio. We propose surveying about 150 Androsian fishers about how they view these safety practices, and how best to encourage their adoption. This project is important because The Bahamas is among the top 20 nations in the world for drowning deaths, and fishers are the most vulnerable population.
Team Members: Josh Childers, Amanda Davis, Luke Dolan, Emily Kuhn
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