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COSTA RICA SOUTH AFRICA Front Page
Duke University & OTS About OTS Costa Rica Programs Field-Based Education South Africa Programs: Online Courses Tropical Biology on a Changing Planet in Rica Practicums &Costa Internships Tropical Biology (Summer) - in Costa Rica Tropical Diseases, Environmental Change & Human Health in Costa Rica Global Health Issues (Summer) in South Africa African Ecology & Conservation in South Africa Who Should Apply or “Application Process” Scholarships Health & Safety Additional Sections not in previous version: Student Story/Student Quote w/ photo Faculty Feature - one for Costa Rica and South Africa Alumni Outcomes
tropicalstudies.org
About OTS
Costa Rica
OTS offers programs to immerse students in learning and research that will impact the future of the tropics and subtropics. Through the participation of field-based study abroad programs, as well as in-person and virtual practicums and internships, OTS hopes to inspire the next generation of change agents, critical thinkers, scientists, and practitioners on their paths to discovery and global leadership.
During this 4-week field course, you will visit all three OTS field stations, as well as other unique ecosystems throughout Costa Rica. Integrating classroom and field instruction introduces students to some of the most critical issues facing tropical biodiversity and threatened ecosystems, as well as the fundamental principles of tropical biology, ecology, and natural history of local plants and animals. The ecological complexity of the tropics, the patterns of species diversity, and the types of species interactions that characterize these systems are a major theme. You will complete the course by engaging in independent research and then present your results with the support of program faculty.
COSTA RICA
COURSE
Donovan Loh
Fundamentals of Tropical Biology (4 credits)
Hema Venkata
Tropical rain forest, cloud forest, tropical dry forest, mangrove swamps, wetlands, high elevation páramo, coral reefs – Costa Rica boasts a stunning diversity of ecosystems. Part of the Mesoamerica biodiversity hotspot, Costa Rica is a pioneer in the preservation of its natural resources and a model for different strategies to “market the environment,” solve local and global conservation issues, and encourage people to live with nature in a more sustainable way. Costa Rica’s innovative environment, health, and education policies make it a perfect place to learn about tropical biodiversity, conservation, and climate change.
Cover Photo: Emma Szegvari
• W hat are the components that maintain tropical biodiversity? • What are key processes influencing species interactions, biodiversity, and ecosystem dynamics in tropical habitats? • How do human activities impact tropical ecosystems?
Ruben Ramos (monkey), Andres Ripley (students)
South Africa’s rich biological and cultural diversity make it an exceptional location in which to examine critical issues in conservation biology and ecology. It is the ideal laboratory to understand the challenges of balancing development and conservation. It is a country in a state of change that continues to redefine itself in the post-apartheid era. OTS’ base in South Africa is the species-rich savanna of Kruger National Park. The Skukuza Science Leadership Initiative offers students a unique opportunity to participate in “boots on the ground research” in South Africa’s oldest and largest national park.
TROPICAL BIOLOGY
Anna Lee
SOUTH AFRICA
SUMMER PROGRAM
South Africa Laurence Kruger
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of the semester, you will conduct a three-week capstone research project, write up a short scientific paper, and present your findings to the Kruger Park scientists.
ogy and management of megaherbivores, and a landscape approach to ecosystem management. You will have the unique opportunity to live and work in the Kruger National Park and learn from invited professors, as well as experts in the fields of ecology, environmental economics, and conservation. You will work with your professors to design research projects that will contribute meaningful scientific data to the South African National Parks. As part of the history and culture course, you will spend three nights with a family in a rural village community to gain important socio-economic context for the ecology and conservation courses. At the end
COURSES (UConn): South African Ecosystems and Diversity (4 credits) Directed Field Experience (4 credits) Conservation, Biodiversity, Management and Protected Area Design in South Africa (4 credits) South Africa: Special Topics in History (3 credits) Field Experience in South African History (1 credit)
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Needs Credit Info
These are just some of the critical challenges that ecologists and conservationists are facing in Kruger National Park, one of the world’s premier protected areas. You will How are plants and animals delve into the origins and drivers adapted to life in South Africa’s of southern Africa’s astonishing disturbance-driven ecosystems? How do conservationists manage biodiversity and the behavioural, the extensive ecosystems required physiological, and morphological adaptations to survive and thrive in to maintain the world’s largest savannas and other disturbance-drivland mammals? en ecosystems. This field-based, exHow can human communities periential learning program includes and protected area managers field lectures, skills workshops, and collaborate to create sustainable fieldwork designed to introduce you landscapes for both people and to these types of challenges and wildlife? How do veterinarians manage en- guide you through research projects that will help address critical issues demic and disease in vertebrate including wildlife diseases, the ecolpopulations in protected areas?
AFRICAN ECOLOGY & CONSERVATION
Donovan Loh
SEMESTER PROGRAM
Alexis Tinoco Benjamin Barger
Alexis Tinoco STUDENT Washington University in St. Louis My time abroad with OTS in the African Ecology & Conservation in South Africa semester program was an invaluable and formative academic and life experience. Participating in research and organizing and presenting my work provided me with lessons I would not have learned in a typical classroom. I learned a lot from the lecturers, my peers, and through my field experience which have helped shape my interests and the type of work I wish to pursue after graduation. I’ve also made great connections and friendships through OTS, which is just one more reason I am thankful for my time abroad. Thank you to OTS for making this such a rewarding experience!
Laurence Kruger
Laurence Kruger
ONLINE Courses OTS is excited to offer a number of different short, online courses that you can take without traveling to our field stations. In true OTS fashion, the courses will focus on emerging issues in the fields of biology, conservation, statistics, technology, and others. The courses will be taught using a combination of live and recorded lectures, and will be comprised of two categories 1) Skills, short courses offering in-depth training in a range of emerging tools and techniques in conservation, and 2) Theory, a focused look at a subject matter or issue faced in Costa Rica or South Africa. The courses are open to undergraduate and graduate-level students and will include some of the following subjects: One Health, Disease Ecology, The Food We Eat, Biological Corridors, Elephant Conservation Paradox, Applications in Conservation Management, and Bio Acoustic Analysis in R. Go to the Online Courses section on our website for more information.
Laurence Kruger
Kelsey Porter
Tino Pori LECTURER African Ecology & Conservation in South Africa I am a disease ecologist with interests in the interactions between animals and infections in the context of their environment and evolution, particularly at human wildlife interfaces. My ultimate goal is to understand the infection, transmission, and spread of diseases so as to monitor the virulence of organisms that threaten animal health. I also have a passion for human capital development. In this regard, I have worked with OTS on several courses. Currently, I am dedicated to inspire creative thinking and the development of new skills to students. In my spare time, I enjoy hiking, cycling, and playing soccer.
“I was pushed to my limits, both academically and SUMMER PROGRAM socially, and I have emerged issue. In order to understand how GLOBAL HEALTH ISSUES a better person for it!” the burden of disease and access
In partnership with South African National Parks, this field-based veterinary practicum focuses on disease ecology and applied veterinary epidemiology in and around the Kruger National Park. It is run in partnership with local veterinary scientists and is designed to provide participants with direct insights into current challenges faced by wildlife conservation in South Africa and veterinary health care in resource-poor, rural agricultural areas. Interactions with field veterinarians and extensive experience in practical and theoretical disease research work will be a key focus. Land use changes and global climate change could have significant effects on disease epidemiology across a broad range of taxa. This program is designed to provide students with training in techniques for monitoring disease
COURSE (UConn):
Global Health Issues (4 credits)
in different vertebrate taxa across land use systems. It will also provide field research experience relevant to conservation and make a contribution to long-term epidemiological monitoring. While promoting applied clinical and field skills, the focus of this practicum is on the broader ecological, social, and economic context of animal disease ecology, conservation medicine, and One Health at the wildlifelivestock interface in an industrializing country.
WOMEN IN SCIENCE PRACTICUM UNDERSTANDING THE EFFECTS OF ELEPHANTS AND FIRE ON SAVANNA BIODIVERSITY June – South Africa – 6 weeks Gender bias in the STEM fields remains rife across the globe and, while policies have been and continue to be adopted to address gender equality, women remain under paid and under promoted when compared to their equally skilled male counterparts. This program, run in partnership with the Nsasani Trust and South African National Parks, contributes to dismantling the barriers that early career women in STEM face. The practicum, which partners six students from the U.S. with South African contemporaries, focuses on scaffolding research skills, provides much needed experience in field research while collecting long-term ecological monitoring data. Students collaborate with local mentors to write up a short scientific paper
Alexis Tinoco
and present the findings to Kruger Park Scientific Services, who may use the data for management plans. Students leave the program with significant experience in biodiversity inventory skills, research experience, and a peer group support for life.
Laurence Kruger
This program will allow you to explore a range of health issues and medical practices in South Africa through a transdisciplinary lens. An integrated learning model, which incorporates both classroom and field instruction will help you understand the fundamental principle of health as a human rights
June & July – South Africa – 6 to 8 weeks
to healthcare changes along an urbanization gradient, you will travel extensively in northern South Africa from the urban center that is Johannesburg, the peri-urban settlements of Acornhoek, through to the deep rural areas of Venda. You will conduct faculty-led, collaborative research projects and participate in a three-night homestay in a village in the remote HaMakuya district in Venda, Limpopo Province. You will spend the last portion of the course in the world-renowned Kruger National Park, wrapping up the academics, exploring ethnobotany, and enjoying the spectacular wildlife.
Laurence Kruger
and social policies on health disparities and access to health care? • What is the impact of historic, economic, and political legacies on the burden of disease and health care disparities? • How has the Covid-19 pandemic affected a newly industrializing country like South Africa?
VETERINARY FIELD PRACTICUM
Laurence Kruger
• W hat is the impact of economic Joe Galaske, Grinnell College ‘17
Practicums
WHO SHOULD APPLY In • • • •
order to apply, you must: be at least 18 years old by the program’s start date be in good standing at your home college/university have a minimum 2.7 GPA have completed at least 2 semesters of college level-biology (or related coursework) • additional requirements, depending on program (check website)
HOW & WHEN TO APPLY
Please note that OTS has a rolling admissions policy, and programs may fill before these deadlines. APPLY EARLY! For application instructions, please visit our website at tropicalstudies.org. Contact us at [email protected] should you have any questions.
Benjamin Crooke
DEADLINES SPRING November 1st FALL April 1st SUMMER March 1st ONLINE Check Website
Scholarships
OTS is committed to providing opportunities to all eligible students interested in participating in our programs. We make scholarship applications available to students upon acceptance into an OTS program. We encourage you to apply early if you will be requesting a scholarship. The earlier you apply, the better your chances of receiving an OTS Scholarship.
OTS is deeply committed to student safety and well-being. We monitor national and international events that might affect our students. Five decades of risk assessment, emergency response, and crisis resolution have enabled OTS to maximize student safety and security. All students participate in an on site orientation program upon arrival in Costa Rica or South Africa. For additional safety information, please contact the OTS Enrollment Management staff at undergraduate@tropicalstudies. org.
Donovan Loh
Health and Safety
Due to the uncertainty around international travel restrictions and overall safety concerns related to the coronavirus, many of OTS’ offerings have the ability to be taught using a virtual modality. If a program cannot function in the field, as designed, OTS will update tuition and fees, length, and other components. Contact us if you have questions.
Laurence Kruger
Covid-19 Global Pandemic
OTS ENROLLMENT MANAGEMENT
919.684.5155 [email protected] tropicalstudies.org
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