This is a field course, emphasizing observation and hypothesis formation in ecology. Students will work in small groups on specific topics, which will change from week to week. Ecology students require intensive practice in making field observations and systematically exploring the implications of those observations. One vehicle for doing so is the "field problem" based course which is centered on the field problem encourages a great deal of discussion among students and between students and faculty. A major goal of the course is to facilitate that discussion. Additionally there is a relatively large lecture load with an average of four lectures per weekend.