Wildlands Studies is pleased to announce a six-week immersive field study in ecology and conservation this fall in the Andes-Amazon region of southeastern Peru.
DATES: September 29 – November 11, 2017 LOCATION: Cusco and Madre de Dios Departments, Peru COURSE CREDIT: Upon successful completion course participants receive credits for three undergraduate courses (15 quarter credits) through Western Washington University. Courses include ESCI 497T, ESCI 497U, and ESCI 497V. REGISTRATION: Open until August 1, 2017 WEB PAGE: http://wildlandsstudies.com/index.php/peru-ecosystem-conservation DESCRIPTION: Join our journey in Peru as we explore the region where the towering tropical Andes meet the steamy lowland Amazon rain forest. Throughout the field course we will traverse one of the most remote and biologically rich regions on the planet, affording us the opportunity to study diverse plant and animal communities across varied tropical habitats. We will also explore the human activities that threaten biological diversity in the study region, as well as what is being done to conserve biodiversity and natural resources here. The course follows an elevational transect that begins at the Wayqecha Biological Station, at the interface between high Andean grasslands and lush cloud forest. From Wayqecha we descend into the Amazonian foothills to the Gallito de las Rocas concession, a privately managed protected area that aims to promote biodiversity conservation alongside sustainable ecotourism. Our next stop is the Cocha Cashu Biological Station, in the extremely remote heart of Manu National Park, the gem in Peru’s protected area network. From Manu we head east to the Los Amigos Conservation Concession, another privately run protected area that is designed to serve as a corridor between Manu to the west and the Tambopata National Reserve and adjacent protected areas to the southeast. Our final study site is Finca Las Piedras, a research station and working farm run by a local non-profit organization that is attempting to protect biodiversity and promote sustainable agriculture along the recently paved Interoceanic Highway connecting Peru with Atlantic ports in Brazil. Course participants will study some of the most wildlife-rich and remote tropical ecosystems on the planet, gain practical knowledge used in the study of tropical biology, ecology, natural history, and applied conservation, learn from indigenous people whose traditional knowledge of the rain forest is unmatched, and grapple with questions of biological and cultural survival. COURSE LEADER: Geoff Gallice, Ph.D. Geoff is a tropical biologist whose research focuses on the ecology of butterflies. He is also active in applied conservation research, and has several ongoing projects in South America to explore and mitigate the impacts of development on Amazonian biodiversity. His research and teaching has taken him throughout Central and South America, including Peru.
