Each participating student will give a seminar presentation to the entire class. For undergraduates, seminars should be 15 minutes long with 5 minutes for discussions and elaboration.
We will undertake these seminars once we arrive in Mexico (ensure that your presentations are available on a memory stick or SD card and preferably in pdf or older PowerPoint format).
Be sure to use Mexico and Middle America as your touchstone for these seminars, but also compare to Canada and other countries to provide context. Thus, be sure to use Mexican case studies, provide Middle American context, or situate Mexico geographically. For example, for such topics as ecotourisim or conservation in agricultural landscapes, be sure to find examples that are Mexico- or Middle America-specific. Be sure to impart rigor to your talk (e.g. not simply a slide show of pretty pictures, but a thorough treatment of the topic that you have been charged with).
Order of presentation will be according to the ordered list on our web site. We ask that you provide a one-page summary hand-out and make enough copies for everyone (approximately 20 in total).
Your talk will be evaluated based on: Background & Context, Content & Thoroughness, Visuals, and Presentation style. We have prepared a seminar evaluation sheet and this will provide additional insights into grading. Evaluation will be done both by your peers and by the instructors.
Click | here | to find pdf of these instructions plus some useful tips for preparing your talk.
Click | here | for a seminar evaluation sheet.
Topics
- Geology and formation of the Yucatan Peninsula [Victoria Rilstone]
- Phytogeography of Mexico. Vegetation patterns and factors that influence them (e.g. topography, geology, climate). [Renee Sands]
- Latitudinal gradient in biodiversity – pattern, global generality, and major hypotheses for its existence. [Farah Sadoon]
- Gap forest dynamics, the intermediate disturbance hypothesis, and their importance in shaping patterns of diversity. [Amy Edmunds]
- Biodiversity hotspots. Definitions, reasons for elevated diversity, and importance in conservation. Emphasis on Central American and Mexican examples. [Karen Ong]
- Cryptic species. What are they, how do we diagnose them, and how might they influence diagnosing patterns of diversity? [Cosmos Zhao]
- Feeding the world: Crops that Originated in the New World. [Thomas Lemay]
- Ecotourism and conservation. Benefits and points of concern. [Virginia Smith]
- Impacts of agriculture on biodiversity. Comparing monocultural to polycultural to sustainable practices. Industrial to local and subsistence agriculture. [Nathan Narang]
- Closing of the Isthmus of Panama and its influence on Neotropical and Nearctic flora and fauna. (The Great Faunal Exchange). [Stafford Maracle]
- Global climate change and its potential influence on species and habitat distributions. [Emily Slusarek]
- Co-evolution: definition, diagnosis, and compelling tropical empirical examples. [Khalil Qadri]