With the establishment of the Estación Biológica de Ometepe in January of 1997 we welcome you to join us in our efforts to protect, conserve, manage, and learn about the flora and fauna of Nicaragua. In December of 1997 we inaugurated our first primate behavioral and ecology field class in Nicaragua. Our continued efforts during the summer 1998 and winter 1988-1999 offer you a unique opportunity to participate in what is the part of an on-going and long-term study of the ecological role monkeys, birds, bats, and other animals play in influencing forest regeneration and plant species diversity in the tropical forests of Central America. We have now successfully taught several field courses at Ometepe and are in the process of marking howler monkeys populations in order to study demography, reproduction, group membership, and patterns of migration. These data are critical for our goal of evaluating the conservation status of mammal populations on the island.
Nicaragua has been called "the land passed by". Unlike other countries in Central and South America, the forests of Nicaragua have been relatively untouched by logging companies, tourists, and multinational corporations over the past 25 years. Fully one-third of the tropical lowland rainforests in Nicaragua are still intact. This is due to several historical, cultural, and environmental factors. Nicaragua is a country rich is fertile soils, marine and coastal resources, and tropical rainforests. It is located in the middle of Central America, boarded by the Pacific and Caribbean oceans, and by Honduras to the north and Costa Rica to the south. The country got its name from the "Niquiranos" a group of people who settled in this region from Mexico in the eighth century AD.
Nicaragua is a country dominated by rugged terrain, high mountains and active volcanoes. Nicaragua went through a period of political instability in the 1970's and 1980's. However, cultural and political change in Nicaragua has come about through peaceful democratic elections and a commitment to a new way of life. Now having completed its second consecutive set of free elections (voter turnout in the elections of 1996 was 80%), the people and government of Nicaragua are committed to education and the protection of their heritage and natural resources. We have been invited to play a critical role in this ecological renaissance by contributing to the goals of education and the collection of scientific information on the tropical forests, animals, and plants of Nicaragua.
Our field schools and research centers offer students from the United States, Canada, Europe, and Central and South America the chance to have a "classroom in nature" to learn about tropical rainforests, to obtain hands-on experience in designing and conducting scientific research projects, to see the effects of deforestation, and to collect information that will become part of the solution to protecting our natural world.
The site that we have selected for our first ecological-educational-and research station is Isla de Ometepe. Ometepe is an island of 276 square kilometers lying in Lake Nicaragua. It is the largest island in the world situated in a fresh water lake. Two majestic forested volcanoes dominate the island. One called Madera raises 1,400 meters above the lake. The other, Concepción is even taller and reaches a height of nearly 1,700 meters. Ometepe is situated in southeastern Nicaragua and has a population of 30,000 people. The majority of the people who live on the island are of Indian ancestry.
The word Ometepe is a Nahuatl word that means "land of 2 volcanoes" (Nashuatl) is a language spoken by the ancient Aztecs and their descendants). Crater lakes, beautiful streams with cascading water, cloud forests, and lowland rainforests are found on the island, along with some 80+ species of birds, mantled howler monkeys (Alouatta palliata), white-faced capuchin monkeys (Cebus capucinus), sloths, deer, other tropical forest mammals, reptiles, and amphibians. Our field camp is located on a bay overlooking Lake Nicaragua. We don't charge extra for swimming in the lake after a hard day of monkey watching.
Ometepe also is an famous for its rich pre-Columbian past that is marked today by extensive archaeological sites throughout the island. These include life size carved stone statues (often depicting male and female human figures adorned with animal masks), petroglyphs (rock carvings), monuments, ceramic urns, and sacred burial grounds. Although much of the archaeology of Ometepe and its inhabitants still remain a mystery, it is believed that the Niquirano Indians migrated here from the valley of Mexico. Part of the island may have been a royal cemetery for kings and queens.
"Leptodactylidae"
Eleutherodactylus cf palmatus
Leptodactylus cf melanonotus
*Eleutherodactylus cf bransfordii
Hylidae
Hyla sp.
Smilisca baudinii
*Agalychnis callidryas
"Ranidae"
*Rana "pipiens"
Kinosteridae
Polychrotidaev
Anolis cf altae
Phrynosomatidae
Sceloporus variables
Gekkonidae
*Coleonyx mitratus
*Gonatodes albogularis
Teiidae
Ameiva undulata
Scincidae
Mabuya unimarginata
*Sphenomorphus cherriei
Boidae
Boa constrictor
Loxocemidae
Loxocemus bicolor
Colubridae
Drymobius margaritiferus
Coniophanes piceivittis
Geophis cf godmannii
Leptodeira sp.
Masticophis mentovarious
Tantilla melanocephala (= armillata)
Trimorphodon biscutatus
*Conophis nevermanni
*Oxybelis aeneus
Elapidae
Micrurus nigrocinctus
Viperidae
*Bothrops asper
December 1998, we are offering an advanced primate behavior and ecology field course in Nicaragua. The course will be run by Dr. Paul A. Garber, Professor of Anthropology, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, Illinois. Dr. Garber has studied nonhuman primates in Peru, Brazil, Panama, Costa Rica, and Nicaragua and along with the Molina Family is co-founder of the La Suerte Biological Research Station in Costa Rica. A copy of Dr. Garber's vitae and research expertise is available on the La Suerte Web Site.
Dr. Garber and a team of graduate teaching assistants will offer an 'advanced' primatology course on the behavior and ecology of capuchin monkeys and howler monkeys at Ometepe. By advanced, we mean that the course will be directed to the particular needs of advanced undergraduates (juniors and seniors) and graduate students who are interested in a career in biological anthropology, primatology, tropical ecology, rainforest conservation, and field biology. Each day professors and graduate teaching assistants work intensive with students, give lectures, and provide background information to help students develop a conceptual framework for understanding the remarkable diversity and complexity of tropical rainforest ecosystems. Lectures, group projects, and exposure to real examples of animal-plant interactions and primate behavioral and socio-ecology are designed to help students develop their own original research projects. Our goals in the course are:
Dr. Paul A. Garber
Professor
Department of Anthropology
University of Illinois
109 Davenport Hall
607 S. Mathews Ave.
Urbana, Illinois 61801
Phone (desk) 217 333-0075
Phone (Dept) 217 333-3616
FAX 217 244-3490
Michelle F Bezanson is the teaching assistant for this class. She will be replying to prospective students with questions about the course.
email bezanson@U.Arizona.EDU
Dr. Garber will send students an information sheet regarding how to prepare such a proposal in mid-October. We encourage students to contact Dr. Garber early in the Fall in order to discuss potential topics and ideas for research projects. We also ask each student to seek the assistance of professors at their university who can provide guidance and direction with the proposal. In this way, we feel strongly that each student will be able to develop and conduct a high quality field project during the course. We are proud to say that several of our students have presented the results of their research projects at the National Meetings of the American Association of Physical Anthropologists and at the National Meetings of the American Primatological Association, or used their projects as the basis for undergraduate honors theses.
Possible research topics include:
Prior introductory coursework in biological anthropology, primatology, biology, and/or ecology is required. The material and topics addressed in the course are equivalent to an upper division university level seminar in primate feeding ecology, social behavior, principles of tropical ecology, and animal behavior.
Concepts and theories discussed in lecture will be illustrated through direct observations and field experiments. An outline of the topics are presented below.
These texts can be ordered from your local college bookstore. Please be advised that it may take 3-4 weeks for the books to be received. Do not wait until the minute to order these books. We recommend that you familiarize yourself with the material in these books before you leave for Costa Rica. For more information regarding the field school in Nicaragua or if you have any questions as to whether you have the background or are best suited for the 'advanced' or 'intermediate' course in primatology, please contact Dr. Garber by email at p-garber@uiuc.edu
July 20-August 14, 1999
Ethology is the study of naturally occurring behavior. In this course, we will examine the rich diversity of animal behavior on the tropical island of Ometepe in Lake Nicaragua. Lectures will cover spatial and foraging ecology, communication, reproductive strategies, and conservation. Both invertebrate and vertebrate species will be used to demonstrate examples of material covered in lectures and to teach ethological methodology, with an emphasis on reptiles and amphibians. Students will learn how to form testable hypotheses for field biology and learn different ways of observing, quantifying, and analyzing behavior. This course is intended for advanced undergraduates or beginning graduate students.
Phyllostominae (spear-nosed bats)
Students and ecologically minded tourists who visit our field sites will learn about the natural history, culture, and people of Nicaragua . This will bring prestige to Nicaragua and identify it as a country committed to conservation, education, and scientific research.
Our specific goals are as follows:
Dr. Paul A. Garber
(Dept Phone) 217 333-3616
Department of Anthropology
Phone (desk) 217 333-0075
University of Illinois
FAX: 217 244-3490
109 Davenport Hall
607 S. Mathews Ave.
Urbana, Illinois 61801
email:
p-garber@uiuc.edu