BIO Research Training Group Program: Biology in Small Populations

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This award supports a new, multidisciplinary research training program focused on understanding the biological implications of small population size. A group of 18 faculty from the Departments of Zoology, Plant Biology and Entomology at the University of Maryland have joined with 5 colleagues from research units of the Smithsonian Institution to develop a novel training program for undergraduate, graduate and postdoctoral students that integrates studies of population and community ecology, genetics, evolution, and social behavior in the context of small populations. Because small, reproductively isolated populations are an increasingly common feature of the natural distribution of many wild plants and animals, such studies will both provide important understanding of basic processes in biology and, at the same time, lead to knowledge useful in conservation biology and in the preservation of wild and captive endangered species. Undergraduate trainees will pursue a year- long research project and participate in seminars, journal clubs and technical workshops aimed at all trainee levels. Graduate students will follow a core curriculum of existing and new courses developed for the RTG, as well as a required year- long focused seminar leading to an intensive 3-day annual meeting. During the meeting, leading experts will meet in lecture and discussion with the trainees. The technical workshops and optional summer research internships will benefit from Smithsonian Institution laboratories and field research sites. A novel feature of required training will be a course on race, gender and scientific knowledge taught by one of the RTG faculty. Graduate and postdoctoral research projects will emphasize integration of multiple disciplines and are expected to benefit from the participation of two faculty mentors. ***