Seventy-four BS Biology students from Bicol University, accompanied by their five faculties-in-charge, recently finished the Museum’s three-day course on “Methods and Analysis for Vertebrate Wildlife Field Surveys” from 24-26 April.

The course is an introduction to vertebrate biodiversity, its conservation and the underlying and related concepts and principles, including species richness, evolution and natural selection, systematics/ taxonomy, ecosystems, biotic interactions, endangered species and impacts of introduced organisms. 

The lectures for the course were delivered by UPLB experts, namely, Dr. Juan Carlos T. Gonzalez (Why Preserve?/ Birds), Dr. Leticia E. Afuang (Amphibians and Reptiles), Prof. Phillip A. Alviola (Bats) and Dr. Victor S. Ticzon (Marine).

During the three-day training, field survey techniques were demonstrated with hand-on exercises. The students were able to put up mist nets to catch bats and birds and set up traps and cages with baits to capture rodents. They also conducted a collection of amphibians and reptiles in Molawin Creek at the Mt. Makiling Forest Reserve.

Aside from being taught how to properly identify collected vertebrate specimens, participants were given demonstrations on how to systematically gather data during and after collection, and of course, during the processing of specimens.