Course Readings

Course textbook (required)

Kricher, J. 1999. A Neotropical Companion. Second edition. Princeton Univ. Press.
* Before arriving in Panama, read chapters 1-7, 12-14 & Appendix

Suggested books (optional)

Tropical Nature: Life and Death in the Rain Forests of Central and South America, by Adrian Forsyth & Ken Miyata
Tropical Forest Ecology: a View from Barro Colorado Island, by Egbert Giles Leigh
The Path Between the Seas: The Creation of the Panama Canal, by David McCullough
The Tapir’s Morning Bath: Solving the Mysteries of the Tropical Rain Forest, by Elizabeth Royte

Field guides

* We will have some course copies of these with us in Panama, see Course Equipment
Trees of Panama and Costa Rica, by Richard Condit, Rolando Pérez, Nefertaris Daguerre
The Birds of Panama: A Field Guide, by George R. Angehr and Robert Dean
A Guide to the Birds of Panama: With Costa Rica, Nicaragua, and Honduras, by Robert S. Ridgely and John A. Gwynne
Neotropical Rainforest Mammals: A Field Guide, by Louise H. Emmons and FranCois Feer
A Field Guide to the Mammals of Central America and Southeast Mexico, by Fiona A. Reid

Internet resources

Rapid Color Guides
* Free downloadable photo guides to plants and animals. Select Panama under Country/Region, and look at guides for Barro Colorado

Bird sounds from the Americas

Birding resources for Panama by Ioana Chiver

Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute

Ecology/ Evolution Review

Readings are from Ecology by Cain et al. 2011 (2nd edition; QH541.E31933) , which is on permanent reserve in the Bio/Pharmacy library. Note the page numbers, because it’s not always the full chapter.

Accompanying lectures are from the course EEB 122: Principles of Evolution, Ecology, and Behavior by Professor Stephen C. Stearns at Yale and a lecture on Population Biology by Professor Mary Powers at the University of Berkeley.

  1. The Physical Environment (p. 22-37)
  2. The Biosphere (p. 49-79)
  3. Evolution and Ecology (p. 132-153)
  4. Population Ecology
  5. Competition (p. 242-260)
  6. Predation and Herbivory (p. 262-275)
  7. Mutualism and Commensalism (p. 305-321)
  8. Community Structure (p. 324-341)
  9. Biogeography (p. 364-386)
  10. Ecosystems (no reading)