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Native Californian, biologist, wildlife conservation consultant, retired Smithsonian scientist, father of two daughters, grandfather of 4 small primates. INTJ. Believes nature is infinitely more interesting than shopping malls. Born 100 years too late.

Sierra Nevada Mammals Workshop


Ermine in a mountain beaver tunnel --
a  camera trap photo from the 2011 Camera Trapping Workshop



A 5-day workshop on Sierra Nevada Mammals will be presented in the summer of 2016. It is one of many offerings at San Francisco State University's Sierra Nevada Field Campus. The workshop complements Dr. Czewczak’s course on ecology and conservation of California bats. 

The workshop is an introduction to the biology of the other 6 orders of Sierra Nevada mammals and will address key features of the orders and families, and identification of species.  We will focus on comparative natural history and adaptive differences that make survival possible under climatic extremes in the Sierra Nevada. 

We will address environmental change of the Sierra Nevada due to human influence and its consequences, including extinctions and attempts to recover the smaller carnivores, and we will emphasize mammals that can be seen or photographed in the upper Yuba River drainage.
   

We will work in the laboratory and field, using  illustrated power point presentations, the collection of small mammal specimens at the field campus, and we will take local excursions within a 20-mile radius to observe and camera trap small mammals.   

Participants will gain a clear understanding of:
a)    anatomical differences between the 6 orders of mammals in the Sierra Nevada.
b)   adaptations to the annual climatic cycle of the Sierra Nevada (including food hoarding, hibernation, metabolic adjustment, molt and migration).
c)    general themes of mammalian reproduction (seasonal breeding, delayed implantation, litter size, and altricial versus precocial conditions at birth). And
d)   habitat selection (i.e., habitat generalists versus specialists) 



For registration materials contact: sfsu.snfc@gmail.com

Want to to see what's in store for you? 
Click on the "Schedule" tab. 

1 comment:

Duncan said...

If I lived in the US I would have signed up for this. Great to meet you in Burma, you have given me the bug to make more stills camera traps.