The Berkeley Seminar Program has been designed to provide new students with the opportunity to explore an intellectual topic with a faculty member in a small-seminar setting. Berkeley Seminars are offered in all campus departments, and topics vary from department to department and semester to semester.

Ever wonder what museum curators really do? Through a combination of tours, hands-on exercises, and student projects, we will explore the diverse activities encompassed by modern natural history museums. This is a rare chance to go behind the scenes at one of the top vertebrate natural history collections in North America . . . and learn how you could become involved in museums-based studies of vertebrate evolution and conservation. We are hoping to attract freshmen interested in potential long-term involvement in the Museum of Vertebrate Zoology community as students, interns, and research assistants. This includes (but is not limited to) students interested in museum science, vertebrate biology, field research, ecology and evolution. The course is open to all freshmen, but we are particularly eager to recruit prospective biology majors who are likely to develop long-term affiliations with the Museum of Vertebrate Zoology and its Undergraduate Apprentice Program. Professor Lacey is a behavioral biologist who studies social relationships in mammals. In particular, she is interested in understanding why some species of mammals live in family groups while other species are solitary, meaning that each adult lives alone. She explores these themes by studying South American rodents known as tuco-tucos, tojos, tokoros, and cururos. Her work with these animals has taken her to multiple remote locations in Argentina, Uruguay, Peru and Chile. At Berkeley, Professor Lacey teaches courses on animal behavior, mammals, and natural history museums. Faculty web site: http://ib.berkeley.edu/labs/lacey/

Class will run only for the first 8 weeks of the semester.

Requisites

• Students with 1-2 Terms in Attendance

Repeat Rules

Requirements class fulfills