Course summary:
The course will provide an overview of the patterns and processes that determine tropical biodiversity and of the evolutionary ecology of key invertebrate model systems. The program is designed for graduate students at all levels and includes a three week preparation phase in Copenhagen (online for graduate students elsewhere), where students will prepare and discuss literature, and a personal field project proposal (in the STRI short-term fellowship format) with instructors to ensure scientific interest and feasibility. Once in Panama (May 2013), students will focus on personal research projects which will be supervised by the instructors to maximize the probability of obtaining publishable results. A small group project designed by course instructors or STRI scientists will expose students to specific research techniques and study organisms as well as promote collaborative research. Students will read, review, and discuss the work of their peers, attend lectures/tutorials and excursions throughout the stay in Panama. A final report in manuscript form will be submitted 16 days after the field component in Panama (June 12th). Students will have the opportunity to interact with STRI researchers and become familiar with infrastructural aspects of tropical research in behavioural ecology and evolution at the world renowned Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute.
Registration period: Nov. 1st –March 8th
Space is limited to 16 Ph.D. and M.Sc. students therefore an application procedure is necessary. Personal motivation and submission of the required permit paperwork will be part of the admission criteria in case the course becomes oversubscribed. General observation permits are provided but Ph.D. students are encouraged to apply for personal permits before Jan. 1st to allow collection and exportation of specimens relevant for vouchering and research.
Course dates:
April 22nd-29th (preparation and proposal writing) – you are encouraged to start this
process earlier as the PhD students start on April 6th.
May 2nd to 27th (field course in Gamboa, Panama)
June 12th (final paper due, oral exams for M.Sc. students enrolled at the University of Copenhagen will take place June 21st in Denmark)
Fees:
This 15 ECTS course is subsidized by the Centre for Social Evolution at the University of Copenhagen (http://socialevolution.ku.dk/) but will still carry a fee of Dkr 9000 for the 26 day field component in Panama. Expenses for transportation in Panama (trucks, boats and charter buses), accommodations, and meals will be covered but students will arrange to pay their flights and personal research permits.
For more information and how to apply for the course please go to: http://www1.bio.ku.dk/english/research/oe/cse/kurser/ and http://megalomyrmex.com/Teaching.html. It is essential that you also contact Rachelle Adams personally at rmmadams@gmail.com for further information on admission procedures.
Main instructors and organizers:
-Dr. Rachelle M. M. Adams, Centre for Social Evolution, University of Copenhagen and Smithsonian Institution Postdoctoral Fellow
-Dr. Jacobus J Boomsma, Professor, Centre for Social Evolution, University of Copenhagen, STRI Senior Research Associate
-Dr. Jonathan Z. Shik, North Carolina State University Postdoctoral Fellow