Costa Rica

Our goal was to provide an introduction to field-based ecological research using key areas of Costa Rica as study systems.  Towards this end, students chose, designed, and executed ecological studies, applied statistical analysis to their results, presented their data, and interpreted, contextualized and communicated their results. In addition, the students learned about some important aspects of tropical ecology and conservation biology through readings, lectures, and evening discussions.  At each of three sites, the students carried out these short research projects and presented the results to the class in-country.  When we returned home, they then chose their best project (1) for presentation to the Biology Department at the J-term research Symposium at UST at the end of January, and (2) to write up as a formal research paper. 

Our goal was to provide an introduction to field-based ecological research using key areas of Costa Rica as study systems.  Towards this end, students chose, designed, and executed ecological studies, applied statistical analysis to their results, presented their data, and interpreted, contextualized and communicated their results. In addition, the students learned about some important aspects of tropical ecology and conservation biology through readings, lectures, and evening discussions.  At each of three sites, the students carried out these short research projects and presented the results to the class in-country.  When we returned home, they then chose their best project (1) for presentation to the Biology Department at the J-term research Symposium at UST at the end of January, and (2) to write up as a formal research paper. 

Our Itinerary:

During the first three days of class on campus, we learned a little about the natural history of Costa Rica and the basics of experimental design.  Students also chose and presented research proposals and developed presentations on the natural history of Costa Rica.

In Costa Rica, we spent the first and last night in San Jose, the capitol city, but the majority of the time was spent in-country. We visited a large diversity of forests and ecosystems, ranging from classic lowland tropical rain forest to the endangered tropical dry forests to misty, montane cloud forests. We spent our time at three field stations, two of which are run by the Organization for Tropical Studies (OTS or OET). Here are brief descriptions of the sites we visited:

Ecolodge San Luis & Biological Station is an integrated ecotourism, research, and education project directed operated by the University of Georgia. It borders the Monteverde Cloud Forest nature reserves in the Central Highlands and shares with them a stunning diversity of wildlife. From here we made a day visit to the cloud forest habitat near Monteverde.

La Selva Biological Station is run by the Organization for Tropical Studies and is located in the Caribbean lowlands. It is one of the largest and best-known tropical research stations in the world. The station protects approximately 1600 hectares of primary and secondary tropical rainforest. It averages 4000 mm (over 13 feet!) of rainfall each year, and there is no pronounced dry season. The lush environment supports thousands of species of plants and animals, making La Selva a great place to see all kinds of wildlife, including toucans, monkeys, agoutis, peccaries, and the endangered green macaw. La Selva has an extensive trail system, lots of lab space, and a lot of serious research.

Palo Verde Biological Station is another station run by the Organization for Tropical Studies and is located in the Palo Verde National Park in the coastal lowlands of northwestern Costa Rica. This reserve lies on the boundary of an extensive marsh and seasonally dry forest underlain with limestone. It is recognized internationally as one of the most important wetland habitats for nesting waterfowl. It is also a great place to see monkeys, deer, iguanas, and crocodiles. The weather is very hot and dry during the day, but the nights cool down nicely.  Bird watching is excellent here, but mosquitoes are equally prevalent at night. However, this station is remote and more rustic than the other 2 stations we will visit.