IRES: Cross-Cutting Interdisciplinary Research and Integration of Ecology and Biocultural Conservation in the World's Southernmost Forests

使用一种集生态科学、艺术和环境哲学为一体的生物文化保护新方法，18名学生将在三年时间里参加在智利南部原始的联合国教科文组织合恩角生物圈保护区进行的理论和实地研究。在智利和美国研究人员的指导下，学生将在全球变化的背景下积极开展横向研究，整合苔藓和鸟类生态，入侵物种的影响，以及水和空气质量对海拔梯度上的水生无脊椎动物的影响。其他目标是让学生熟悉决策过程，让他们参与关注社会和生态福祉的地区性教育项目。他们将在环境科学、政策和教育的界面上获得实践经验，这对理解当今复杂的环境问题至关重要。IRES提供了一个独特的机会，让美国STEM学生参与研究、教育和保护项目，使他们做好准备，在一个可与北美亚极地地区相媲美的地理区域解决复杂的生态问题。来自STEM学科，特别是保护生物学领域代表性较低群体的学生，将与智利和其他国际研究人员和学生一起，探索环境科学、政策和教育的接口。他们将通过学校和社区内的活动与当地公民分享他们的学习和研究经验，以加强对独特的区域生物多样性的了解，以拓宽他们自己的科学研究视角，并获得当地社区对其自然遗产的看法。

Using a novel biocultural conservation approach integrating ecological sciences, arts and environmental philosophy, 18 students over three years will participate in theoretical and field-based research conducted in the pristine UNESCO's Cape Horn Biosphere Reserve, southern Chile. Mentored by Chilean and U.S. researchers, students will actively engage in crosscutting research in the context of global change integrating bryophyte and bird ecology, impact of invasive species, and the effects of water and air quality on aquatic invertebrates along altitudinal gradients. Additional objectives are to familiarize students with decision-making processes, engage them in regional educational programs focused on social and ecological well-being. They will gain hands-on experience at the interface of environmental science, policy and education, critical for understanding today's complex environmental issues.This IRES presents a unique opportunity to engage U.S. STEM students in research, education, and conservation projects to prepare them to address complex ecological problems in a geographical area comparable to subpolar regions of North America. Students from groups typically underrepresented in STEM disciplines and in particular in conservation biology, will explore, alongside Chilean and other international researchers and students, the interfaces of environmental science, policy and education. They will share their learning and research experiences with local citizens through activities within the school and community to strengthen the understanding of the unique regional biodiversity to broaden their own perspectives of their scientific research and gain the viewpoint of the local community on their natural heritage.