May Term

Costa Rica Costa Rica 2008 Costa Rica 2008 Costa Rica 2008 Costa Rica 2008 Costa Rica 2008 Costa Rica 2008 Costa Rica 2008 Costa Rica 2008 Desert Ecology Desert Ecology 2005 Desert Ecology 2005 Desert Ecology 2005 Desert Ecology 2005 Desert Ecology 2005 Desert Ecology 2005 Desert Ecology 2005

Gallery Instructions First click on the gallery you wish to view. Then click the right or left edge of the image to view another image. Click the tab in the upper left corner to return to the main menu. Click the tab in the upper right corner to see all images in the selected album.

Galapagos Island 2009

Information Coming Soon!

Costa Rica 2008

Information Coming Soon!

Desert Ecology 2005

Five of the past nine years, biology students at Morningside College have taken a short course (called May Term) to the deserts of the southwest United States.

The purpose of this course is to familiarize undergraduates with the major desert ecosystems (Chihuahuan, Sonoran, Mojave, Great Basin and Colorado Plateau) that occur in the United States. In each of these deserts, we collect data (non-destructive) on plant communities and compare similarities and differences statistically. Students also keep individual journals that include descriptions of vegetation, animal life, geology and natural history of each area we visit.

Typically we visit places such as Big Bend National Park, Carlsbad Caverns, White Sands National Monument, Sonoran Desert Natural History Museum, Saguaro National Park, Zion National Park and end with a 3-day raft trip (Class III and IV rapids) on the Delores or Colorado River. We camp under the stars (every night), keep field journals, hike and compare the characteristics of the deserts we visit.