Field Projects International is currently enrolling participants on a rolling basis for three upcoming field courses. Registration ends on November 18th, or once classes are full. Scholarships are available for each (info below).
VERTEBRATE FIELD BIOLOGY This course offers participants their choice of two out of three elective modules: primatology, herpetology, and ornithology. Within each module, experts from the corresponding field of study will lead daily activities that explore natural history, research methodologies, and ongoing conservation issues. Evenings will include lectures and discussions of scientific articles. During the last phase of the course, participants learn tree climbing to access higher strata of forest and partake in excursions to a palm swamp, oxbow lake, mammal clay lick, and canopy tower. Examples of Activities: - Forest navigation and orienteering on and off trail - Maintaining field notebooks - Deploying and monitoring motion-sensing camera traps - Mist netting and bird censusing - Primate follows and behavioral sampling - Field identification and conservation strategies for reptiles and amphibians - Operating radio telemetry equipment - Safely ascending emergent trees Location: Los Amigos Biological Station, Peru Learn more and enroll: https://fieldprojects.org/participate/courses-2/vertebrate-biology ------------------------------------------------------------------------ PRIMATES AND PREDATORS This is a unique course in tropical biology with special focus on primate and carnivore interaction, conservation strategies, and research methodologies. Guided hands-on activities during the day utilize wildlife researchers and local naturalists to train participants in a variety of skills, including: scat and hair snare monitoring, tree climbing, radio telemetry, camera trapping, plant identification, primate tracking, and behavioral sampling techniques. In the evenings, these exercises are supplemented with brief lectures and discussions of scientific literature related to the fields of herpetology, ornithology, entomology, and botany. Participants will learn to identify, track, habituate, and collect non- invasive samples from elusive primate species, while also exploring the intersection between predators and prey by looking at carnivore hunting practices, predator avoidance behaviors in primates, and software simulations of predator-prey dynamics. In addition, participants shall receive an introduction to the methods and tools used to evaluate population stability of different carnivores. Lastly, this field course offers a chance experience Indian culture through zoo, national park, and bird sanctuary visits, and of course, taste the many flavors of Indian cuisine. Location: Fringe Ford, nestled close to the borders of the state of Kerala with Karnataka in India's Western Ghats. Learn more and enroll: https://fieldprojects.org/participate/courses-2/primates-and-predators ------------------------------------------------------------------------ TROPICAL ENTOMOLOGY This course focuses on insect diversity, form, and ecological function, as well as field techniques that facilitate entomological research and conservation in the tropics. The course covers groups ranging from butterflies to beetles, bees, and aquatic insects, among others. Students will be introduced to an astonishing array of terrestrial and aquatic habitats that shelter a greater diversity of plant and animal species than anywhere else on the planet. Above all, participants learn by doing: we will spend most of our time studying actual insects in the field, from the tops of towering tropical trees to the bottom of oxbow lakes. Our field activities will be supplemented by selected readings from the primary literature covering topics on theoretical and applied tropical biology and entomology, as well as conservation in the Andes and Amazon regions. Participants will also gain exposure to cutting-edge research in other tropical biology fields at one of the most active biological research stations in the Neotropics. Where: Los Amigos Biological Station, Peru Learn more and enroll: https://fieldprojects.org/participate/courses-2/tropical-entomology ------------------------------------------------------------------------ SCHOLARSHIPS AVAILABLE As a non-profit organization focused on tropical research and science education, Field Projects International is committed to providing field biology training and ecological literacy to students of all backgrounds. To accomplish this, we offer competitive, full scholarships for all of our courses. Applications may be submitted until October 31, 2016. Please pay special attention to the geographical eligibility for each. Learn more and apply: https://fieldprojects.org/participate/courses-2/scholarships
