An Interdisciplinary Team-Based International Research Experience in Biodiversity Conservation and Sustainable Community Development in the Ecuadorian Andes

下一代的环境保护专业人员将需要一套独特的技能，包括跨学科的问题解决能力，对不同文化和政治规范的敏感性，以及面对具有挑战性的研究环境的创造力和严谨性。这项学生国际研究经验（IRES）项目旨在通过爱达荷大学（UI）和特洛哈塔姆萨尼察大学（UTPL）的合作倡议，在新热带厄瓜多尔进行有指导的本科生研究，培养这些专业人员。来自爱达荷州的参赛学生将在厄瓜多尔南部安第斯地区组成小型、垂直整合的跨学科团队（2-3名学生），围绕生物多样性保护和可持续社区发展的总体主题解决个人研究问题。具体项目包括濒危安第斯物种的遗传保护、濒危兰花的生物多样性评估和恢复、国际保护区的管理和政策，以及作为区域流域生物指标的无脊椎类群。UI研究生将担任团队领导，而UTPL的教职员工将在研究副校长Juan Pablo博士Suárez的协调下担任项目负责人。厄瓜多尔南部因其丰富的地理、生态和文化而引人注目，但对该国的许多自然遗产却缺乏基本的了解。该项目的多国研究团队包括景观与生物生态学、保护生物学、分子系统学、景观遗传学、流域管理、环境社会学、政策、可持续社区发展和教育方面的专家。通过有针对性地应用这些专门知识，该项目将有助于美国和其他国家的战略性保护规划。参与的美国学生还将获得丰富的文化经验，从而建立一个复杂的、外部化的科学与合作视角。

The next generation of conservation professionals will require a unique skill set encompassing trans-disciplinary problem solving, sensitivity to varying cultural and political norms, and creativity and rigor in the face of challenging research environments. This International Research Experiences for Students (IRES) project seeks to train such professionals through directed undergraduate research conducted in neo-tropical Ecuador, in a cooperative initiative between the University of Idaho (UI) and the Universidad Técnica Particular de Loja (UTPL). Participating students from Idaho will work in small, vertically integrated, interdisciplinary teams (2-3 students) within the Andean Region of southern Ecuador, addressing individual research questions focused around an umbrella theme of biodiversity conservation and sustainable community development. Specific projects include the conservation genetics of endangered Andean species, biodiversity assessment and restoration of endangered orchids, international protected areas management and policy, and invertebrate taxa as bioindicators in regional watersheds. UI graduate students will serve as team leaders, while UTPL faculty and staff, coordinated by research vice-rector Dr. Juan Pablo Suárez, will serve as project leads. Southern Ecuador is noteworthy for its geographic, ecological, and cultural richness, and yet baseline knowledge is lacking for much of the country's natural heritage. This project's multinational research team encompasses expertise in landscape and organismal ecology, conservation biology, molecular systematics, landscape genetics, watershed management, environmental sociology, policy, sustainable community development, and education. Through targeted application of this expertise, the project will contribute to strategic conservation planning in the United States and other countries. Participating U.S. students will also gain experience with a rich array of cultures, thus building a sophisticated, externalized perspective on science and collaboration.