New to Au Sable Summer Session I is our Herpetology course! Taught by Dr. Will Miller (Calvin University), Herpetology is the study of amphibians and reptiles - an excellent course for aspiring wildlife biologists! In class, students are getting a chance to learn about the natural history and biodiversity of amphibians and reptiles. The best part of the Au Sable experience, though, is the opportunity for our students to get hands on with the animals they are studying. Au Sable has partnered with the Greenwood Foundation (Wolverine, MI) to conduct an inventory of the herps found on Greenwood's 2000-acre property along the Little Pigeon River. In addition to student-led surveys, they have also helped to install four drift fence arrays with integrated trail cameras to assist the Greenwood Foundation in long term monitoring of herps and small mammal populations. Drift fence surveys are commonly used by researchers and management groups, so this partnership provides students with the opportunity not only to see some really cool creatures, but to add an important monitoring skill to their resume! Our hope is to learn a bit more about the species that are using the site, like the state threatened wood turtle.
Herpetology will rotate every other year with Mammalogy. Both classes contribute to the new Au Sable Wildlife Monitoring certificate and are required for the Associate Wildlife Biologist Certification through The Wildlife Society.
