This study abroad course is complementary to materials learned in Biology 430 (a spring term prerequisite for this course). The course includes international travel where students will have the opportunity to observe, and describe biogeographical principles, with an emphasis on island and tropical biogeography. While in Ecuador we will focus our activities in the high Andres, Amazon basin, cloud forests, and the Galapagos Islands. Students will engage in research projects and conduct floral and fauna surveys/inventories in conjunction with faculty and researchers from several University and conservation programs. Students will study/observe vegetation, wildlife, and human cultures and synthesize how each are molded by the environment in which they are found.