Facility Improvements and New Equipment for the Archbold Tropical Research and Education Center, Dominica, Lesser Antilles

该奖项支持位于多米尼克岛的阿奇博尔德热带研究和教育中心(ATREC)的改进，该中心是小安的列斯群岛唯一的非海洋实地考察站。ATREC位于克莱姆森大学拥有的斯普林菲尔德种植园，由近20,000平方英尺的建筑空间和92公顷的次生林组成。ATREC的地理位置为学生和研究人员提供了进入各种生境类型的便利条件：低地和山地雨林、精灵森林、热带干燥森林、滨海森林、火山喷发孔及其相关的高度专业化的植被、有海龟筑巢的海滩、两个淡水湖、一个沸腾的湖、一百多条河流和珊瑚礁。联合国世界遗产莫尔特里斯·皮顿斯国家公园距离车站步行不到一小时，而北部森林保护区、莫恩·暗黑破坏神和卡布里茨国家公园开车不到一个小时。在过去的五年里，来自七所美国大学的实地课程一直设在ATREC，其中大多数每年都会回来。预计今年还将有三所北美大学使用空间站，预计2006年使用空间站的天数将是2000年和2001年水平的三倍。2005年的一项战略规划工作确定了改善固定基础设施和设备以适应这一增长的最迫切需要。该合同提供的资金与机构资金相结合，将通过以下方式满足这些需求：翻新整个外地站的管道和屋顶，在现有建筑内建立一个安全的收集设施和湿实验室，并更新现有教室和厨房。还提供了资金，用于更换一辆有20年历史的车站卡车，并增加一个天气监测站。翻新和增建将有助于提高野外站的能力，以满足在小安的列斯群岛学习生态学、进化生物学、湖沼学和地质学的学生和研究人员的各种和日益增长的需求。多米尼加岛是加勒比地区最贫穷的国家之一，但拥有无与伦比的生物资源。几乎70%的岛屿仍然被当地的植被覆盖，包括小安的列斯群岛最濒危的栖息地的最好例子。在这个奖项的帮助下，ATREC有望成为一个地区性的科学和保护中心，将来自小安的列斯群岛和加勒比海各地的研究人员和决策者聚集在一起。它已经成为多米尼加人和国际游客的全国性生物教育中心。在大学一级，ATREC为北美学生和研究人员与西印度群岛大学多米尼克分校和多米尼克州立学院的同行提供了巨大的合作机会。该奖项将有助于保护位于ATREC的多米尼克国家植物标本馆。

This award provides support for improvements in the the Archbold Tropical Research and Education Center (ATREC), located on the island of Dominica, the only non-marine field research station in the Lesser Antilles. ATREC is housed at Springfield Plantation, which is owned by Clemson University, and is composed of almost 20,000 ft2 of building space and 92 hectares of secondary forest. The location of ATREC provides easy access for students and researchers to a wide variety of habitat types: lowland and montane rain forest, elfin forest, tropical dry forest, littoral forest, volcanic fumaroles and their associated highly specialized vegetation, beaches with nesting sea turtles, two freshwater lakes, one boiling lake, over a hundred rivers, and coral reefs. The Morne Trois Pitons National Park, a United Nations World Heritage site, is within walking distance of the station, while the Northern Forest Reserve, Morne Diablotin and Cabrits National Parks are less than an hour away by car. In the last five years, field courses from seven U.S. universities have been based at ATREC, most returning year after year. Three more North American universities are expected to use the station this year, with 2006 use expected to triple the annual number of station use days in comparison to the level in 2000 & 2001. A strategic planning effort in 2005 identified the most urgent needs for improvements in fixed infrastructure and equipment to accommodate this growth. Funds provided with this award, in combination with institutional funds, will address these needs by renovating the plumbing and roofing for the entire field station, creating a secure collections facility and wet lab within existing the existing structures, and updating existing classrooms and kitchen. Funds are also provided to replace a 20 year old station truck and to add a weather monitoring station. The renovations and additions will serve to increase the capacity of the field station to serve the varied and increasing needs of students and researchers studying ecology, evolutionary biology, limnology, and geology in the Lesser Antilles. The island of Dominica is one of the poorest countries in the Caribbean, but has unparalleled biological resources. Almost 70% of the island is still covered by native vegetation, including the best examples of the Lesser Antilles' most endangered habitats. With the aid of this award, ATREC is expected to become a regional center for science and conservation, bringing together researchers and decision makers from all over the Lesser Antilles and Caribbean. It already serves as a nation-wide biological education center for both Dominicans and international visitors. At the university level, ATREC provides tremendous opportunities for collaboration between North American students and researchers with their counterparts at the Dominica branch of the University of the West Indies and Dominica State College. The award will help safeguard Dominica's National Herbarium, which is housed at ATREC.