Tropical Ecosystems: Andes to Amazon Summer Field Ecology Course

  Ecuador

• Quito: 
Quito
• All Other Regions of Ecuador: 
Rural Areas

Term: Summer 
Dates: varies every year

Description: Explore The Amazon!

This month-long field course "Tropical Ecosystems: Andes to Amazon" immerses students in some of the richest ecosystems on earth! We spend 12 days exploring the remote Amazon rainforests of eastern Ecuador, giving you many opportunities to observe rainforest wildlife including 10 species of monkeys, over 500 species of birds, jaguar, tapir and many other species of animals and plants. In addition we'll visit cloud forests and alpine tundra high in the Andes, and dry deciduous forests along Ecuador's wild Pacific coast. Our courses are rigorous field expeditions led by experienced tropical biologists. The course is designed to provide you with a solid background in the principles of tropical ecology and conservation, as well as hands-on experience in the field methods used for studying tropical ecosystems. This 4-credit course is offered through the Ceiba Foundation for Tropical Conservation, a 501(c)(3) non-profit conservation organization in partnership with the University of Wisconsin - Madison.

The course begins in Quito, Ecuador's cosmopolitan capital city, where students will spend the first two nights in the comfortable Hotel Embassy. Early the next morning we depart for the El Pahuma Orchid Reserve, a model conservation and ecotourism project protecting over 1,500 acres of epiphyte-laden Andean cloud forests. At El Pahuma, a rugged three hour hike will take us to a remote cabin where we will camp for two nights, high in the virgin cloud forest. We spend the days studying the montane ecosystem and some of its natural and cultural riches, which include the famous Yumbo trail, used by pre-Colombian peoples to transport goods from Quito to the coast and back.

Next, we descend to the hot, dry and sparsely populated Pacific coast. Our home for the next three days is the Lalo Loor Dry Forest reserve, protecting one a few remaining tracts of dry tropical forest in the region. We explore this unique ecosystem, practice several standard field research methods, and discuss the distinct challenges that conservation projects in this region must confront. For our final days on the coast we will camp on a beautiful Pacific beach at Punta Prieta, soaking up the sun and studying rocky intertidal and mangrove ecosystems.

Leaving the coast behind, we return to Quito via Ecuador's central valley dominated by impressive volcanoes. A full day in Quito allows us to rest, visit the colonial plazas and churches of the old town and make final preparations for our rainforest adventure. The following day we take a day trip over the 16,000 foot (4850 m) Papallacta Pass, dominated by the 19,000 (5760 m) foot high dormant volcano Antisana. Below the glacier-topped cone of this giant we stop to study the cold, windswept high-Andean páramo ecosystem, well above tree line. We return to Quito the same night to prepare for our journey to the lowlands the following day: we'll fly to the town of Coca, motor in a dugout down the Napo river (the Amazon's largest tributary), drive through oil exploration and extraction territory, and finally travel by dugout down the wild Tiputini River to our destination.

We spend the remainder of the course (12 days) concentrating on the lowland rainforest ecosystems at the Tiputini Biodiversity Station (TBS) located deep within the Amazon forest. At TBS, students are immersed in the primeval rainforest adjacent to the 1.7 million acre Yasuní National Park and surrounded for miles on all sides by pristine forest. Students will have the rare opportunity to see many rainforest mammals, including 10 species of primates, jaguar, ocelot, puma, capybara, agouti, tapir, giant anteater, otters and tayra, fascinating river dwellers such as the pink river dolphin, anaconda and caiman, as well as over 540 species of birds, including immense harpy eagles, toucans and macaws. To encounter as great a diversity of wildlife as possible, we take long forest hikes, day trips to salt licks and blackwater lagoons, and climb TBS's exhilarating canopy access tower and walkway system for a unique bird's-eye view of the forest canopy and the throngs of parrots, toucans and other wildlife that carry on their lives high above the forest floor.

We end our learning adventure by retracing our steps back upriver by canoe and by bus, finally flying back to Quito from the town of Coca. The course will wrap up with a visit to the artisan market in Otavalo, where Highland Quichua vendors with traditional long, black ponytails still speak their ancestral language.

Highlights:
* Travel throughout Ecuador visiting the world's most diverse ecosystems!
* Spend 12 days deep in the Amazon rainforest!
* Camp on the Pacific Coast, surrounded by forest filled with monkeys!
* Learn tropical ecology in-depth, hand-on and in the field!
* Experience a new culture and environment, and practice your Spanish!
* Earn 4 University of Wisconsin credits!

Degree Level: Bachelors Degree (Undergraduate)

Minimum Education: High School

Cost in US$: USD 2,990

Experience Required: yes

At least one college-level course in biology, ecology or environmental science and minimum GPA of 2.5

This Program is open to American, Australian, Canadian, European, Kiwi and South African Participants.

Participants Travel to Ecuador in Groups

Typically Participants Work in Groups of 8

Scholarships are Available. Two scholarships annually for Ecuadorian students to join program

Application Process Involves:

• Letters of Reference
• Physical Exam/Health Records
• Transcript
• Written Application

Ceiba Foundation for Tropical Conservation's Mission Statement: The Ceiba Foundation for Tropical Conservation (CFTC) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit research, conservation and education organization dedicated to conserving the ecosystems of the tropics. The purposes and goals of CFTC are to: 1) provide educational opportunities to teach people about the diversity and importance of tropical ecosystems 2) support community-based conservation efforts in the tropics, 3) identify and support resource management practices that maintain ecosystem integrity and biodiversity, 4) monitor human impacts on tropical ecosystems, and 5) facilitate communication among conservation organizations, farmers, scientists and resource managers.

Year Founded: 1997