Download CIEE Study Center Monteverde Fall semester, Spring semester

CIEE Study Center
Monteverde
Fall semester, Spring semester
Resident Director Report Monteverde semester Fall 2002
Resident Director Report
CIEE Study Center in Monteverde, Costa Rica
Fall 2002
Submitted by: Alan R. Masters, Resident Director
1. Mission
The goal of the CIEE-ISP program in Monteverde, Costa Rica is to offer students
of biology and related majors a sophisticated view of tropical ecosystems.
Moreover, the program is designed to give students the skills, including an
understanding of both language and culture, to evaluate conservation efforts in
the social context of Costa Rica. In all cases, the learning is largely
experiential.
2. Academic Program
The academic portion of the program is designed to give biology majors (and
majors in related fields, like environmental sciences) a full semester of upper
division credits in their major. All courses are CIEE offerings. Theory, review of
empirical patterns, hands-on exposure to an array of tropical ecosystems and
conservation efforts, taxonomy of major groups and direct experimentation are
the focus.
The Tropical Community Ecology course attempts to understand the structural
and functional aspects of natural communities and what happens to such
structure and function when the community is perturbed. This includes climate,
soils, productivity, nutrient cycling, plant life forms and their adaptations, gap
dynamics, predation, seed dispersal, pollination, mutualism, food webs and the
role of biodiversity in basic ecosystem function. Further, the conservation
aspects of communities are explored: what are the greatest threats to
communities, how do they come about, what is the likely outcome? What
services do natural communities provide and how can a better understanding of
these services translate to more effective protection of natural habitat? Finally,
are there sustainable means of extracting resources without harming community
function and structure?
Tropical Diversity tackles the centuries-old problem of why the tropics are so
diverse. Theoretical arguments are developed with the idea that few are
mutually exclusive and we may need to invoke multiple ideas to understand the
answer fully. Along with theory, students are exposed different major taxa
(plants, fungi, birds, insects, mammals, etc.), their ecology, geographical range
and systematics. The conservation implications of great biodiversity are also
considered: why are species going extinct, who is most likely to go, what
happens when species invade and what conservation strategies are most
effective in protecting biodiversity?
Independent Study in Biology/Ecology is a unique chance to study some
aspect of Tropical Ecology/Conservation more intensively. Each student
explores an idea of their own choosing. The idea is put forth in a formal research
proposal. A month is devoted to data collection. Finally, the results of the
research are analyzed statistically and presented as both a symposium talk and
in written form. The goal of this course not “to study what a tropical biologist
does,” but to “become a tropical biologist.”
Humans in the Tropics explores the way people live in the tropics. Students
are presented with sociological and economic problems as well as environmental
ones. They go out in the community to speak with local people touched by these
problems and later discuss their experiences.
Spanish language instruction is provided by the Centro Panamericano de
Idiomas. The student-teacher ratio is 4:1 and the curriculum is designed to
accommodate biology, ecology and conservation-related themes. Progress was
made to improve the academic quality of all courses this past semester. All
courses now have readers with relevant and up-to-date literature. Lectures were
improved as were activities related to the different themes.
3. Student profile
The Spring 2002 group consisted of 27 students from 14 colleges and
universities. There were 9 men and 18 women. The majority were juniors, all in
biology-related studies.
4. Homestays
Homestay placement is provided by the Centro Panamericano de Idiomas. The
students live with families for one month, about a third of the program. Students
choose between rural families or those living in one of the several small towns
that comprise Monteverde. Students are placed as far away as six
kilometers. Transportation can sometimes become an issue, but students are
happy to take the milk truck or other forms of “public transportation.” This
semester, we had minor problems with homestay placement. Several students
required moving, mostly to be closer to field sites.
5. Communication
Because the students and staff literally live together most of the time,
communication on site is not an issue. International communication is largely
through Internet and a shared phone line. This allows students e-mail and
registration access, and students are able to search and download many articles
for their independent projects.
6. Cooperation between Institutions
We work well with our partner, the Centro Panamericano de Idiomas. They are
very professional, provide a very personalized form of Spanish language
instruction and are receptive to our special needs for homestay placements.
7. Partnership with University of Massachusetts – Boston
Rob Stephenson at the University of Massachusetts-Boston has selected the
CIEE Monteverde program to implement a National Science Foundation
grant. The grant is to develop a computer-based identification system, inventory
and biological data repository for Monteverde’s diverse flora and fauna. The
primary benefit would be to researchers and students. The CIEE Monteverde
program has already received the gift of a Dell computer, Ethernet hub with
cables, software and two high-quality digital cameras to assist this project. With
the help of an intern from Germany, we were able to rig an intranet to share
photos and information on different species the students will need to know.
8. Plant taxonomy handbook finished
After two years of collecting information and formatting, the CIEE plant taxonomy
handbook was finally finished. Students from the Fall 2002 helped with trials and
suggested changes. The recipients will be the students on Spring 2003.