Tropical Rainforests, Winter Quarter, 2010

FACULTY John T. Longino, Lab I rm 1065, 867-6511 longinoj@evergreen.edu Alison Styring, Lab I rm 1065, 867-6837 styringa@evergreen.edu David Phillips (Spanish Instructor) Sem2, B-3123, ext. 6508, phillipd@evergreen.edu

The 2010 Tropical Rainforests program is in the planning stage. It will be an exciting quarter, culminating in a 3-week field trip to Costa Rica. Watch here for further developments.

From the Catalog:

The tropics are the cradle of the world’s biodiversity. This program will focus on Costa Rica, emphasizing biological richness, field ecology, the physical environment, statistical analysis of field data, conservation biology and Latin American culture. The first seven weeks of the program will be held on the Evergreen campus, followed by a mandatory three-week field trip to Costa Rica. The on-campus portion will include lectures and labs on global patterns of biological diversity, quantification and analysis of ecological diversity, an overview of major taxa of Neotropical plants, insects and vertebrates, and discussions of the physical environment of tropical regions. This material will be integrated with classes in introductory statistics and conversational Spanish.

During the Costa Rica field trip, we will visit four major field sites, including coastal habitats, tropical dry forest, cloud forest and lowland rainforest. Students will learn about common plants and animals in each area, dominant landforms and ecological processes, conservation issues and current biological research activities. Students will also learn techniques of field research by participating in quantitative field labs, both faculty and student led. In the evenings there will be a series of guest lectures by research scientists. The field trip will require rigorous hiking and backpacking in remote locations.

Upper division science credit may be awarded in ecology and evolution of tropical ecosystems and statistics for field biology.

Application

Students should apply for the program using this application form: (web page) (downloadable .rtf). Applications are due by Wednesday, 2 December 2009, and should be submitted by email to longinoj@evergreen.edu, as attachment (.pdf, .doc, .rtf) or text in email. Successful applicants will be notified by Friday, 4 December. For the successful applicants, signature overrides will be entered allowing registration. We will also maintain an alternate list, and we will notify alternates of their place on the list.

Fees

Transportation, food, and lodging in Costa Rica are provided by the Monteverde Institute. The per person costs will be between $1810 and $1950, depending on final enrollment. This includes the $150 Evergreen study abroad fee. The student fee does not include airfare; students will need to arrange their own flights to and from Costa Rica. The last on-campus activity will be Friday afternoon, 19 Feb 2010, and we will all rendezvous in San Jose, Costa Rica on the evening of Monday, 22 Feb 2010. The program and the field trip (including evaluation conferences) will end Thursday night, 11 Mar 2010, and students can disperse Friday morning.

Photos from previous programs

Group photo at Osa Biodiversity Center, 2008

Cool katydid (Orthoptera, Tettigoniidae)	Ryan and Bufo marinus
Field labs at Santa Rosa National Park
Canopy walkway in Monteverde	Sam's vine snake Crossing river in Peñas Blancas

John T. Longino, The Evergreen State College, Olympia WA 98505 USA. longinoj@evergreen.edu