BIOL X412.19 - Desert Invertebrate Diversity Great and Small - a Macro Photography and Microscopy Primer

Course Description

An introduction to the major groups of respectively macroscopic and microscopic invertebrates found in Southern California's deserts. You will learn where and when to find them, and how to observe and identify them with the aid of online tools after taking digital macro photographs in the field (in the case of insects and other animals visible to the naked eye), or with the aid of a compound microscope in the lab (for smaller animals). The first part of the course includes basic techniques for approaching and photographing different macro subjects with a compact camera or an interchangeable lens/SLR camera. In the second part, we will demonstrate:

• simple techniques for isolating microscopic invertebrates from different materials
• how to transfer them to microscope slides
• how to operate a compound microscope to observe them