CSU-LSAMP Costa Rica Expedition 2017



The 2017 CSU-LSAMP research experience runs from 20 June to 24 July -- this year more than a dozen students from eight different CSU campuses will participate in the 34-day program. Stay tuned for updates as we conduct research in tropical rainforests, the coffee highlands, the coast, and cloud forests!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Research in Mastatal: Arthropod diversity in farmland and forests

Image
  We spent a productive and adventuresome week in the small rural village of Mastatal (pop. 150) carrying out a research project in the shadow of La Cangreja National Park. Our research project, which is a follow-up of a project we conducted in the same sites nearly 20 years ago, explores the relative contribution of farmland and forests to arthropod biodiversity. This means we spent six days setting pitfall traps, characterizing ground and canopy cover, and collecting, sorting, photographing and measuring the body sizes of beetle and spider specimens from several sites around the region. Specimens will be sent to colleagues who are taxonomic specialists in San Jose for further identification, and we'll be using special software to analyze the photographs we have taken, measuring body and leg sizes of the beetles and spiders in order to better understand traits like mobility and predator size as potential drivers of the abundance and diversity patterns we are seeing. River crossing
Read more

2022 CSU-LSAMP Costa Rica Research Expedition

Image
  The 2022 CSU-LSAMP Costa Rica Research Expedition is underway! After three years of anticipation, we are back in-person; eight LSAMP students from four different CSU campuses are participating this year in a truncated version of past summer expeditions. This year we'll be focusing on a group research project in the small village of  Mastatal (pop. 150), exploring the relative contributions of farmlands, pasture, and forest fragments to arthropod biodiversity. The expedition will be bookended by a few days learning about sustainable coffee production as well as the coastal environment. The students arrived early on Thursday morning, and we headed off by bus to Santa Maria de Dota, a small town in the coffee highlands in the world-famous   Tarrazú region. Friday morning featured a tour of the nearby CoopeDota production facilities (including coffee tasting, or "cupping"), followed by a few hours of lecture and discussion that served as an introduction to ecological concep
Read more

Costa Rica Research Expedition -- Week One

Image
CENTRAL VALLEY We started off the 34-day expedition with several days of orientation in the bustling metropolis of San Jose. Lectures & discussions on experimental design, statistics, taxonomy, and sociocultural issues were interspersed with outings in the nearby central market and stately downtown buildings. Rooftop classroom in San Jose, learning about statistical analyses Papaya overlooking rooftops of San Jose After four days in San Jose, we headed up into the coffee highlands, settling into cabins in Santa Maria de Dota. There we collected and analyzed data (a chance to practice freshly-learned statistical methods for testing hypotheses!)  on coffee yields as a function of proximity to forests. Students also toured the local coffee mill ( CoopeDota , which has created a special emphasis on carbon neutral production), and engaged in some nice discussions about carbon sequestration and global initiatives such as REDD+  based on their visit and supplem
Read more