Zoology-2011. Toward Field Practice in Haidary

Dear second-year students, the semester is over and practice lies ahead. Believe me, if you did not invent various excuses to dodge the practice and you do go there, you have not lost, you have won. Those who lost are those who threw a vivid and wonderful month out of their lives. If you have occasion, look at how graduates of previous years recall their practice in Haidary, and you will understand how much it changed them and how warmly the memories of Haidary still heat their souls. Alas, you will not get a complete picture for comparison: among graduates of previous years there were few who managed to get excused from the practice, for example because of short-sightedness or general blood poisoning; the diagnoses of the present second-year students cover such a serious range. During the practice you will need, first, to live for a month at the biological station, quite comfortable, but requiring a certain break with habitual life; second, to complete the academic program, including excursions and pass/fail assessments; and third, to carry out SRWS, students’ instructional research work. I will probably soon post a collection of student publications prepared on the basis of the vertebrate zoology field practice; over three years about fifteen of them have accumulated. One example, though atypical, is discussed here. The topic of each student research project will have to be thought through carefully and discussed with Tetyana Andriivna, with me, and/or with other people involved. In the typical case, you, independently or in groups of two or three people depending on the specifics of the task, will have to do the following: - think through and agree upon the objective of your research and the ways to solve it; - collect an array of empirical data through systematic observations or experiments; - process the collected data, typically using the simplest statistical methods; - formulate results containing one or another solution to the stated problem; - prepare a computer presentation in which the objective, material, methods, results, and conclusions of your research are presented as clearly as possible; - give a seven-minute report at the final conference. There will be two conferences. Half of you will speak at the first conference with a zoological research project and at the second with a botanical one; the second half will begin with botany and finish with zoology. On this site I describe the requirements for vertebrate zoology projects; formulating the requirements for higher-plant botany projects is the responsibility of Yurii Harriiovych and Olha Volodymyrivna, although in fact the zoological and botanical requirements have much in common. Given all this, what will you need at the biological station? First and foremost, laptops, the main tools of a modern person working with information. If you have modems that will work outside the city, for example EDGE or GPRS modems, bring them with you. I will have a substantial electronic library with me, and it will be at your disposal. Bring your flash drives as well. And how will you collect the array of data that you will then have to process? You may need cameras, a good zoom will be useful, voice recorders, GPS devices, and of course binoculars. If you do not have this equipment, it is not fatal; we will think of how to use what is available to us. If you do have it, or can borrow it from someone, bring it. Small bright flashlights, ideally good LED ones, will be useful. Medical gloves may be handy for “dirty” work. We will think about how to leave valuable equipment during excursions and come up with something. And do not be afraid of anything. If you come with the attitude for real work, you will not regret it.