Research Experiences for Undergraduates: Natural History of Hispaniolan Lizard Communities

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This award provides funds to the Department of Natural Sciences at Avila College to establish an REU site which will provide 10 undergraduates with research experiences in tropical studies. Participants will learn and develop skills by interacting with faculty as they work on projects dealing with herpetological communities on Hispaniola. To foster student development, a 3- phase program is planned: orientation, introducing students to research methodology and ecological studies in the West Indies; apprenticeship, to develop skills; and individual research, resulting in publication-quality reports. Seminars on research and graduate studies are included to facilitate applications of acquired knowledge and skills to participants' future academic pursuits. Presentations will be made by scientists in both the United States and Dominican Republic. Evaluation will be by participants, their academic advisors, and two outside faculty. This program is designed to induce participants to favorably consider graduate studies and increase the likelihood of them choosing careers in science. The faculty will "coach" students, instilling a vision of research by explaining the rules and delivering a feeling of the "game's" excitement. A focus on lizard communities provides opportunities to apply theories and methods used in ecological research while working with organisms that are abundant, accessible, and remarkably well and visibly adapted to their environment. Investigations may address aspects of niche dimensions, parasite infections, or competitive exclusion by alien species. Students may choose projects within these topics or develop investigations of their own, including, but not limited to, physiological or ethological studies of alien or endemic taxa.