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UPCOMING BIOCURSOS
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Ecology of Plant-Animal
Interactions in the Tropics January 5-18, 2010
APPLICATION DEADLINE: SEPTEMBER 16
 Ecology of Plant-Animal-Interactions in the Tropics is an intensive
two-week course designed to give graduate students hands-on experience on how to
effectively perform research on biotic interactions between plants and
animals. The main goal is to expose students to different types of
biotic interactions, to teach analytical skills, and to study methods
to understand these interactions. Thereby, we put particular emphasis on
teaching methods to study ecological and evolutionary principles of the
chemical ecology of plant-animal interactions. Chemical Ecology, the
study of the chemical signaling involved in the interaction of living
organisms, is of increasing scientific importance because of its high
explanatory power in understanding multitrophic interactions and
therefore became a focus of this course.
Coordinator: Katja Poveda / Andre Kessler
Course duration:January 6-18, 2010 (arrive January 5, depart January 19)
Application Deadline: September 16, 2009 for priority admission, followed by rolling admission until fully enrolled.
Details ( 129 kb ) 
Application form  ( 135 kb ) Photo by Adam Wilson
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Five-Country Tropical Andes Alliance Launched
by OTS Project
Quito, Ecuador
was the site of an OTS-led workshop (July 8-11) that culminated in the
formation of the Tropical Andes Alliance (Alianza
Andes Tropicales - AAT; www.alianzaandes.org). The Alliance unites 15 institutions in the
region - a mix of universities, conservation not-for-profits and OTS into an
alliance focused on talent to support biodiversity conservation,
sustainable-landscape management, and climate change adaptation. The principal goal of the Alliance is to provide
education and training with an applied conservation focus; bridging the gap
between members with strong experience of practice (not-for-profits) and those
with excellence in the academic sphere.
The Alliance also will function as an efficient platform for donors and
partners to engage with quality institutions of the region as well as for
members to exchange products, services, and personnel.
During the Quito
meeting the Strategic Plan of the Alliance was ratified, elections held to the
Board and Committees, and the Statutes of the organization approved, before the
final signing of the agreement to form a not-for-profit organization with
registration in Peru. OTS has been
leading the project of Alliance formation through a major grant from the Gordon
and Betty Moore Foundation. The Moore
Project will continue for another 18-24 months delivering an initial series of
training both for and by the Alliance members.
During this same period the Alliance will be working to secure funding
and develop business lines for its operation and activities beyond the Moore
Project.
The institutions represented at the
Alliance formation workshop were:
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Bolivia: San Andres U., Foundation for the Protection of the
Chiquitano Forest
- Colombia:
National U. (Medellin), Javeriana U., U. of the Andes, Ecoversa
- Ecuador: Loja Technical U
- Peru: Cayetano-Heredia U- Centre For Env. Sustainability Center
for Conservation, Investigation and Management of Protected Areas (CIMA) La
Molina U, Peruvian Society for Environmental Law (SPDA)
- Venezuela: Bioparques Foundation, Venezuelan
Association for the Conservation of Protected Areas (ACOANA), Los Andes U.
(Merida) - Center for Env Science
- Regional - OTS
The AAT promises to be an important
sister consortium to OTS providing the opportunity for OTS Members' connection
to the institutions of the region. This
project joins others currently being implemented by the Global Programs and Partnerships Division (GPP) of OTS, which
concentrates on activities in tropical countries outside of Costa Rica where
OTS has its field stations. The Alliance
project supports one of the major divisions of the OTS Strategic Plan that
created GPP; that of strengthening tropical country institutions' ability to
offer OTS-style programming.
For more
information on this project or GPP's other activities contact Dr. Andrew Chek -
Director GPP (achek@duke.edu)
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OTS Auction Now Accepting Items
We
are already planning for our 2nd OTS auction this fall. The auction will include a number of fun and unique items to raise money for our core
programs -- undergraduate and graduate programs -- and the more items we have
the more money we can raise, so we're asking for your help.
We
are looking for items that would be of interest to the OTS community at large:
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travel and adventure
opportunities in Costa
Rica -
scientific
publications of interest -
one-of-a-kind
experiences (i.e. a dinner with a special guest) -
artwork collectibles
As a non-profit organization, all auction donations are considered tax-deductible according to applicable tax laws. If
you have an item you are considering donating to the auction, please contact Cathleen
Lemoine at OTS, 919/684-6969, or e-mail cathleen.lemoine@duke.edu. |
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Opportunities in January for
Faculty Led Academic Groups
 Spaces are filling up, but openings are still available at our three stations in January for faculty led academic groups. In an effort to use the E-Canopy as a way to communicate with faculty members who either have been bringing their students to our stations or would like to bring their students to our stations, we invite you to contact us about your ideas for the year ahead. With January opportunities as well as openings during Spring Break and at the end of the fall and spring semesters, we can help you focus on the type of trip you want to offer. We can make your arrangements for you (from international flights to arranging for buses and Costa Rica graduate assistants) and work with you and your fellow faculty members on providing your students with field problems at our stations or adventure opportunities in the surrounding areas.
Please contact Jonathan Giles in our North American office to discuss this further or write to Ana Carter in Costa Rica if you have specific dates in mind.
Photo by Adam Wilson
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