DANTA’s 2019 field courses in tropical biology are intended for undergraduates or early graduate level students with a keen interest in tropical ecosystems and conservation, but who have little to no experience of working in a tropical environment.
The three 2019 field courses are described below.
“Methods in Primate Behavior and Conservation” is a course designed to provide students with field experience in primate behavior, ecology, and conservation. This course will be held at Osa Conservation’s Piro Research Station in Costa Rica’s spectacular Osa peninsula. As one of the largest tracts of rain forest north of the Amazon, it is renowned for high species diversity. The learning experiences for the course fall into four main categories: field exercises, seminars, lectures, and applied conservation. Students will gain experience in applied conservation through participation in Osa Conservation’s reforestation, sustainable agriculture and wildlife monitoring programs (big cat and sea turtle). Application deadlines are December 1, 2018 for the winter session (program dates December 28-January 12, 2019) and June 1, 2019 (program dates July 3-July 18) for the summer session.
“Primate Behavior and Conservation” is a course designed to provide students with field experience in primate behavior, ecology, and conservation. This course will also be held at the Piro Research Station. The learning experiences for the course fall into five main categories: field exercises, independent research, discussions, lectures, and applied conservation. The first half of the course is devoted to learning ecological field techniques, while in the second half students develop, carry out and present data from their independent research projects. Participants gain experience in applied conservation through participation in Osa Conservation’s reforestation and sea turtle breeding and monitoring programs. Application deadline is May 1, 2019; program dates are June 5-July 1, 2019.
“Wildlife Conservation and Sustainability” will examine the proximate and ultimate causes of rain forest habitat and biodiversity declines through a combination of direct observations in the field, lectures, and critical reviews of the literature. The majority of the course will be held at the Piro Research Station. Topics will include the role of hunting, logging, agriculture, disease, predation, expanding human populations and their consumption of natural resources as they affect forest and biodiversity conservation. Students gain hands-on experience through participation in Osa Conservation’s sustainable agriculture, wildlife monitoring, and reforestation programs. Application deadline is December 1, 2019; program dates are December 28-January 12, 2019.
For more information, please visit our website at www.DANTA.info and/or email conservation@danta.info. For an alumni perspective on our programs, please see our blog DANTAisms – http://dantablog.wordpress.com/.