REU Site: Studies in ecology, environmental and conservation biology in Ghana, West Africa

弗吉尼亚理工大学获得了一项奖励，将在2011- 2015年的夏季为6名学生提供为期8周的研究培训。该奖项也得到了美国国家科学基金会国际科学与工程办公室的支持，支持加纳海岸角大学（UCC）在过去8年中继续开展的本科生国际研究经验（REU）项目。该计划侧重于生态学、民族植物学、生物多样性和保护以及热带环境生物学。这些学生将在加纳科学家和教职员工的指导下从事明确的研究项目。学生将根据他们的学习成绩和参加研究生院的动机来选择。该计划有两个主要研究重点：i)潜在有用植物的生物勘探和ii)生态和生物多样性研究。学生将与他们的导师合作设计实验，收集和分析他们的数据，并在加纳展示他们的结果。他们将在工作日进行全职研究，并在晚上参加研讨会和小组讨论。在周末，将进行实地考察（如鼹鼠野生动物保护区，卡库姆国家森林和卡库姆河口），为学生提供额外的经验，提高他们对生态和保护的理解。回到美国后，学生们将在地区和国家会议上发表演讲。学员将获得民族植物学、热带生物学、水产养殖、生态学、昆虫学、分类学和分析化学等方面的技能。他们将在同行评议的期刊上发表他们的研究结果。生态学研究将产生关于热带昆虫和植物物种的新的和有价值的信息，这些信息可能尚未在文献中描述过。该项目收集的数据也将有助于编制潜在濒危物种的清单和保护研究。参与者将获得宝贵的跨文化体验。学生将通过年度调查进行跟踪，该计划将使用各种方法进行评估，包括REU通用评估工具。欲了解更多信息，请访问http://www.undergraduate.vt.edu/GhanaREU/或联系PI （Daniel Wubah博士wubah@vt.edu）或联合PI （Judith Wubah博士jawubah@vt.edu）。

An award has been made to Virginia Tech that will provide research training for 8 weeks for 6 students, during the summers of 2011- 2015. The award, which is also supported by the NSF Office of International Science and Engineering, supports the continuation of the international Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) Site program at the University of Cape Coast (UCC), Ghana that has taken place in the past 8 years. The program focuses on ecology, ethnobotany, biodiversity and conservation and environmental biology in the tropics. The students will work on defined research projects under the mentorship of Ghanaian scientists and faculty members. Students will be selected based on their academic record and motivation to attend graduate school. This program has two main research foci: i) bioprospecting for potentially useful plants and ii) ecological and biodiversity studies. Students will design experiments in collaboration with their mentors, collect and analyze their data, and present their results in Ghana. They will conduct full time research during the weekdays and attend seminars and group discussions during the evenings. Over the weekends, field trips will be made (such as to the Mole game reserve, the Kakum National forest, and the Kakum estuary) to provide the students with additional experience that will enhance their understanding of ecology and conservation. Upon their return to the US, students will make presentations at regional and national meetings. Participants will acquire skills in ethnobotany, tropical biology, aquaculture, ecology, entomology, taxonomy and analytical chemistry. They will be expected to publish their results in peer-reviewed journals. The ecological studies will yield new and valuable information on tropical species of insects and plants that may not have been described in the literature yet. Data gathered in the project will also contribute towards an inventory of potentially endangered species and conservation studies. Participants will have an invaluable cross-cultural experience. Students will be tracked through annual surveys and the program will be evaluated using various methods including the REU common assessment tool. More information is available at http://www.undergraduate.vt.edu/GhanaREU/ or by contacting the PI (Dr. Daniel Wubah at wubah@vt.edu) or the co-PI (Dr. Judith Wubah at jawubah@vt.edu).