Participation of U.S. Undergraduates in a Research-Oriented Tropical Biology Program in Costa Rica

9815011哈特肖特这项提案将为14名本科生提供旅费、生活费、出版费和其他行政费用，让他们参加由杜克大学赞助的热带生物学研究项目。该奖项将资助大约三分之一的参与者，将允许来自经济困难和代表性不足人口的本科生参与该项目。他们将与资深科学家和研究人员互动，并将接触到以实地研究为导向的实践学习。这将使学生有机会了解各种热带生境，包括自然和受干扰的生境，指导当前热带生态学研究的科学原则，各种研究技术，以及发展中热带国家面临的典型环境挑战。哥斯达黎加是开展这项活动的理想地点，因为它的生态系统和生物多样性惊人地丰富。这项活动的目的是提高本科生的数量和多样性，为他们提供优质的热带生物体验。来自国家科学基金会的支持将是努力吸引有前途的学生进入热带生态学并熟悉国际舞台上的发展和保护问题的重要组成部分。***

9815011HartshornThis proposal will fund travel, subsistence expenses, publications and other administrative expenses for 14 undergraduate students to participate in a research oriented tropical biology program to take place at the Organization of Tropical Studies, (OTS), Costa Rica, under the auspices of Duke University. The award, that will fund approximately a third of the total participants, will allow undergraduate students from economically disadvantaged and underrepresented populations to participate in the project. They will be interacting with senior scientists and researchers, and will be exposed to hands-on learning in field-oriented research. This will allow the students the opportunity to be introduced to a diversity of tropical habitats, both natural and disturbed, the scientific principles that guide current research in tropical ecology, a variety of research techniques, and the representative environmental challenges facing developing tropical nations. Costa Rica is an ideal place for this activity because of the astonishing richness of ecosystems and biodiversity. The goal of this activity is to improve the number and diversity of undergraduate students being provided with a quality tropical biology experience. Support from NSF will be an instrumental component in the effort to attract promising students to tropical ecology and to become familiar with development and conservation issues in the international arena. ***