A major part of our mission is to educate the public and train the next generation of conservation and evolutionary biologists. In addition to postgraduate students, we plan on developing several different workshops and intensive courses in tropical biology based at XTBG over the next few years. We also offer an internship program for undergraduate students.
Please check back occasionally to find out about upcoming opportunities or contact us directly if you have specific questions.
Advanced Field Course in Ecology and Conservation – Xishuangbanna
Time and place: 2009 July 9-Aug 7 in XTBG, Yunnan, China
www.afec.ecologicalevolution.org
Our international course will bring together advanced undergraduate and graduate students from the US, China and Southeast Asia for an intensive 4 week course in field research methods, research design, sampling and analysis. Full scholarships are being offered for suitable candidates from Southeast Asian countries.
Format: The Advanced Field Ecology and Conservation-Xishuangbanna (AFEC-X) Course activities will be split between lecture and field exercises. Students will participate in two long term group projects and will gain experience designing, refining and finishing independent projects. The course concludes with a symposium, where students present results of course activities amongst their peers and instructors.
Where: The course convenes in Kunming, capital city of Yunnan, China. The first few days will be devoted to course orientation and introduction, followed by a series of lectures. The course will then move to the Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden (XTBG) in Menglun, China. Both the long term and independent research projects will take place in and around Menglun.
Topics: Tropical Ecology, Eco-Physiology, Taxonomy, Evolutionary Ecology, Plant and Animal Interactions, Biodiversity, Conservation Biology, Invasive Species and more. Students will be expected to have completed assigned readings before the course begins and to actively participate in discussions throughout the various exercises.
Instructors will be drawn from several institutes, including The Chinese Academy of Sciences, Texas Tech University, Peking University, and the Smithsonian Institute.
