COSAM News Articles 2023 March Biological Sciences Study Abroad Program visits Costa Rica during Spring Break 2023

Biological Sciences Study Abroad Program visits Costa Rica during Spring Break 2023

Published: 03/20/2023

Four Department of Biological Sciences faculty members spent Spring Break 2023 in Costa Rica with 18 students on a study abroad program trip. The course, entitled “Biodiversity, Conservation and Sustainability: Costa Rica,” included introductory class sessions before Spring Break. Student groups collected data for short-term research projects during the trip to Costa Rica for analysis and presentation to the class at the end of the semester. The students included 13 undergraduate and five graduate students.

Faculty member Dan Warner said, “We ran this program last year and it was quite successful, and it was this year as well. Moving forward we’d like to do this every year to give our students the opportunity to experience tropical biology in a safe and stable country just a four-hour flight away from Atlanta.”

The highlight of the program was a 10-day trip to Costa Rica in which participants stayed at two Organization for Tropical Studies (OTS) field stations as well as a hotel. The field stations were located in two tropical forest types (seasonal dry forest, low elevation rain forest) while the hotel was in mountain rain forest near the iconic Arenal Volcano, giving students the chance to experience several different habitat types during the trip.

Faculty member Djibo Zanzot, a senior lecturer in the department, said, “This program was an outstanding way for students to experience incredible biological diversity as well as a very different culture. And each student had the chance to expand their worldview in other ways. For example, at least one of our students had never flown before and so they got to experience a new mode of travel.”

During stays at the field stations students went on tours led by OTS staff, as well as short excursions to learn about sustainable farming, chocolate farming, and medicinal use of native plants. At the mid-point of the trip, one day at the hotel was devoted to excursions of each student’s choice, including horse-back rides, kayaking, rafting, caving, zip-lining, guided tours to see sloths and other wildlife, and more.

Faculty member Wendy Hood said. “My PhD student, Kaylene Yamada, and I are qualified to capture and handle bats. We were able to show students 12 species of bats during the trip, giving them a rare chance to view these beautiful animals up close.”

Faculty member Bob Boyd said, “Each of the four faculty members for this course have expertise in a different group of organisms, so together we were able to teach students about a wide variety of plants and animals.”