Program Overview

This program is intended to provide upper-level undergraduate and graduate students with an intensive introduction to tropical biology and field research, with a focus on insect biodiversity.  Students of wide interests and backgrounds are invited to participate.  Insects are the largest group of animals known on earth and they are extremely important as pollinators, recyclers, and in food chains.  One can study any biological question using insects. This program will explore the diversity of insects e.g., How many species are there?  Is the species rare, abundant, threatened or extinct? As well as the problems involved in identifying them: how do we recognize new species?  Insect science is a rare field where even non-professionals can make significant contributions to science.

The 2011 field course, led by Caroline Chaboo and Steve Goddard, traveled to the ACA CICRA Biological Station, in lowland Amazon Rainforest (~200 m elevation).  The course yielded four biological manuscripts, new species discoveries, a sculpture of a tree, multiple creative essays, blogs, an insect-themed comic book, a video installation (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G_Yr-z56rS8)  and an exhibition in the KU Spencer Museum of Art, (http://www.spencerart.ku.edu/exhibitions/39-trails.shtml).  These direct course products led to other creative projects, including a book display in the Watson Library and a panel discussion in a KU-Spencer Museum-Latin American Studies teacher training workshop.

Peru

Peru is a country of remarkable and extreme geography and history.  The Pacific Coast, high Andes with many inter-Andean valleys, and the Amazon Basin support the most intact and richest biodiversity in the world.  From its earliest civilizations (10000 BC) to the rise of the Incas, Peru exhibits some of the richest cultural and artistic heritage in the world.  Peru’s status as the capital of New Spain under Spanish colonial rule presents remarkable architectural infused with indigenous and European influences. Modern Peru still hosts uncontacted indigenous communities in the upper Amazon basin, while facing challenges of economic stability and rapid ecological changes driven by climate and anthropogenic changes.  This land of extremes is a global treasure, with many sites recognized with UNESCO World Heritage status.

Academics

Three hours of academic credit are granted by The University of Kansas upon successful completion of the program.  Students will enroll in 3 credit hours of BIOL418/701 Laboratory/Topics in: Field Amazonian Peru. 

Before departing for Peru, there will be informational meetings and required readings on Blackboard.  The textbook for the course will be A Neotopical Companion by JC Kricher.  The group will also spend three days at the University of Kansas Field Station (www.kufs.ku.edu) in Lawrence learning field methods, becoming oriented to working in forest habitats, and exploring how species are discovered, curated, and described.   

Field Work

The Amazon Conservation Association (www.amazonconservation.org) is a non-profit organization that works to protect habitat and biodiversity in the Amazon basin of Bolivia and Peru.  The group will live and work at two of their field stations: Wayqecha (3000m), located in cloud forests on the southeastern slope of the Andes, and Villa Carmen (500m), located in rainforests at the confluence of the Pini and Tono Rivers, Amazon tributaries.  The field stations will provide intense exposure to the complexity of tropical forests, the influence of drainage and soils on different vegetation types, the astonishing diversity of tropical fauna and flora, and to field biological study.

While at the field stations, students divide their time between guided hikes through spectacular forests, lectures and discussions focused on various aspects of tropical biology and conservation, field work contributing to a long-term insect biodiversity study (using methods learned during the first week of the course), and individual or group field research projects of their choice. 

Cultural Activities

The group will be in Lima two days.  During that time, students will go on a city tour, including visits to historical and archeological sites and museums, and explore museum curation in Museo de Historia Natural and Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos (MUSM).   The group will then fly to Cuzco and take a bus to the first field station.  At the end of the program, the group will stay in Cuzco for two days and go on a walking tour of Cuzco and visit local culturally important sites.

Faculty

Caroline Chaboo is an assistant professor in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and curator in the University of Kansas Natural History Museum. She has extensive field experience in Austral Asia, the Americas and southern Africa. She is a beetle specialist and is investigating arthropod community diversity in Peru.

Dr. Chaboo led this program in June 2011 and the group’s blog can be found here: http://biodiversity.ku.edu/peru-2011. Several students conducted biological research which they have turned into publishable manuscripts and talks at professional meetings. Other students developed artistic projects, some of which were exhibited at the Spencer Art Museum in Spring 2012.

Accommodations

Students will stay in dormitories provided with single beds; it is recommended student take their own sleeping bags as nights might be cool. The field stations are equipped with a lab and conference room space with intermittent internet access.     

Eligibility

Open to students from accredited U.S. colleges or universities. Minimum GPA 2.5.  Exceptions considered after submission of a petition.  Field clothes, physical fitness, and an eagerness to learn about tropical forests is required.

Financial Aid

KU students who qualify for summer financial aid in the form of Stafford and/or other loans, Pell or SEOG Grants, and scholarships may apply the aid to the cost of a Study Abroad Program.

KU Study Abroad supplemental scholarships are available to KU degree seeking students. Applications are available online. The scholarship application deadline is March 1 for summer programs.

Non-KU students must contact and work with their home university for Financial Aid and Scholarship options.

KU Grants & Scholarships

Past participants worked closely with Dr. Chaboo to develop research proposals for research in Peru.  The proposals were submitted to competitive grants at KU.  Since deadlines for these grants are in March, interested students must contact Dr. Chaboo in January or early February to discuss and plan the proposals.  Grant money will reduce student expenses.  Students with questions should contact Dr. Chaboo at cschaboo@ku.edu.

Environmental Studies majors and Biology majors may also be eligible for targeted scholarships. Visit the Environmental Studies Program website (http://esp.ku.edu/scholarships.shtml) and the Undergraduate Biology Program web page (http://www.kuub.ku.edu/awardsscholarships/) for more information.

All applicants will be required to complete several documents for each study abroad application.  Below is a list of the typical documents that will need to be completed for an application.  Please note that requirements will vary by program.

        a. Statement of Purpose
        b. Un-official Transcript or Advising Report
        c. 2 Recommendations
        d. Authorization to Release Student Information
        e. Any additional forms required by the specific program

For more detailed information about the application process, please visit our Application Process page.

For more information contact:

Dr. Caroline Chaboo
Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
2041 Haworth Hall
1200 Sunnyside Ave.
Tel: 785-864-5173
cschaboo@ku.edu