IRES: SOBRE MEXICO: Student Opportunities for Biological Research in Mexico

Sobre墨西哥-学生在墨西哥进行生物研究的机会该项目将与中央华盛顿大学(CWU)的学生和墨西哥国立大学(UNAM)的顶尖科学家合作，在墨西哥西部的一个世界级生物野外站探索热带干燥森林生态。每年，在为期三年的时间里，5名学生将在Esta ión de Biología，Chamela(EBCH)与UNAM和CWU导师一起工作8周，研究三种一般研究途径：1)以恰加斯病病原体为中心的寄生虫-宿主系统中的相互作用；2)脊椎动物对强烈季节性的生态反应；3)一条沿海主要公路对脊椎动物生态连通性的当前和未来影响。EBCH的世界级设施和原始森林吸引了来自墨西哥和世界各地的顶尖科学家进行尖端研究。这一环境将为学生提供一个与墨西哥科学家及其学生发展学术关系的绝佳机会，为未来的合作奠定基础。该项目将通过指导双语拉美裔美国学生进行科学研究，促进与非西班牙语同龄人的语言和文化素养，以及培养从事科学事业的技能、人脉和信心，帮助培养下一代具有国际素养的科学家。该项目还将为CWU的教职员工创造与墨西哥科学家开展合作的机会，并鼓励墨西哥学者访问CWU，在那里他们可以与我们更广泛的社区分享他们的见解、发现和文化。墨西哥西部的查梅拉/奎兹马拉生物圈保护区周围是世界上现存的一些季节性干燥热带森林(SDTF)的最佳范例。SDTF几乎占世界热带雨林的一半，比热带雨林的比例更大。它们提供了一套可与湿润森林相媲美的生态系统服务，而且它们拥有大量特有物种，其中许多受到威胁或濒临灭绝。尽管SDTF很重要，但它们是世界上研究最少、受威胁最大的森林生态系统之一，因此比潮湿的森林面临更大的风险。学生们将在北卡罗来纳大学的生物研究所工作，调查以血为食的三叶虫昆虫、它们携带的寄生虫、克氏锥虫和昆虫赖以生存的哺乳动物之间的关系。这项工作将有助于我们了解SDTF中哪些哺乳动物是恰加斯病的宿主。其他学生将在7月份从旱季到雨季的极端过渡期间追踪森林中的爬行动物和两栖动物。这项研究将为脊椎动物外温带如何管理强烈的季节性提供新的见解，这是SDTF的一个定义特征。一些学生可能会在SDTF中研究鹦鹉生态，探索鹦鹉和其他洞穴筑巢鸟类在食物和筑巢资源方面的变化。其他人将使用远程相机和横断面调查来监测森林和墨西哥200号高速公路沿线的野生动物活动，200号高速公路将生物圈保护区一分为二。该项目的结果将被用来指导如何最好地减少与该公路计划扩建相关的栖息地碎片化的决策。学生们将成为一个有凝聚力的团队的成员，共同致力于我们的墨西哥导师正在进行的研究，以解决SDTF的结构、功能和保护方面的相关和重要问题。

SOBRE Mexico - Student Opportunities for Biological Research in Mexico This program will partner students from Central Washington University (CWU) with top scientists from Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM) to explore tropical dry forest ecology in a world-class biological field station in western Mexico. Each year, for three years, cohorts of 5 students will spend 8 weeks at Estación de Biología, Chamela (EBCh) working alongside UNAM and CWU mentors on three general avenues of investigation: 1) interactions in the parasite-host system centered on the agents of Chagas disease (kissing bugs), 2) ecological responses of vertebrates to intense seasonality, and 3) current and future effects of a major coastal highway on ecological connectivity of vertebrates. The world-class facilities and pristine forests of EBCh attract leading scientists from México and throughout the world to conduct cutting-edge research. This setting will provide an exceptional opportunity for students to develop academic relationships with Mexican scientists and their students, laying the foundation for future collaborations. This program will help build the next generation of internationally-literate scientists by guiding bilingual Hispanic-American students to conduct science, facilitating language and cultural literacy with their non-Spanish speaking peers, and developing the skills, connections, and confidence to pursue careers in the sciences. The program will also create opportunities for CWU faculty to develop collaborations with Mexican scientists and encourage Mexican scholars to visit CWU where they can share their insights, discoveries, and culture with our broader community. The Chamela/Cuitzmala biosphere reserve in western Mexico is surrounded by some of the best examples of seasonally dry tropical forest (SDTF) remaining in the world. SDTF comprise almost half of the world's tropical forests, representing a larger fraction than rain forests. They provide a set of ecosystem services that rival wet forests, and they harbor a remarkable concentration of endemic species, many of which are threatened or endangered. Despite their importance, SDTFs are among the least studied and most threatened of the world's forested ecosystems and, as a result, are at greater risk than are wet forests. Students will work UNAM's Institute of Biology to investigate the relationships among blood-feeding triatomine insects, the parasite they carry, Trypanosoma cruzi, and the mammals the insects feed on. This work will aid in our understanding of which mammals in SDTF serve as reservoirs of Chagas disease. Other students will track reptiles and amphibians in the forest during the extreme transition from dry season to wet season in July. This research will contribute new insights into how vertebrate ectotherms manage strong seasonality, a defining feature of SDTF. Some students may investigate parrot ecology in SDTF, exploring variation in food and nesting resources for parrots and other cavity-nesting birds. Others will use remote cameras and transect surveys to monitor wildlife activity in the forest and along Mexican highway 200, which bisects the biosphere reserve. Results from this project will be used to guide decisions on how best to minimize habitat fragmentation associated with planned expansion of that highway. Students will be members of a cohesive team working together on ongoing research by our Mexican mentors to address relevant and important issues in the structure, functioning and conservation of SDTF.