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BIOEE 2650: Tropical Field Ecology and Behavior in Kenya

Summer Session: June 23-July 11, 2008

Overview

This three-week Summer Session course offers a small group of students the opportunity to study ecology and animal behavior in one of the most biologically spectacular settings imaginable: the wildlife-rich savannas at the base of Mt. Kenya and the adjacent lakes of the Great Rift Valley of Africa.

In addition to gaining sophisticated experience with fieldwork and biological research, students have many opportunities to see and study organisms ranging from acacia ants to giraffes, and go-away birds to cheetahs. Students of all majors are welcome to apply.

For more information, read the sections below and visit the program Web site.

Course

Students are enrolled in BIOEE 2650 Tropical Field Ecology and Behavior. This four-credit course is designed to give participants a broad understanding of tropical ecology and behavioral ecology. Some of the goals of this course are to help students:

Although this course is as academically rigorous as any other course, its focus is very different. Instead of attending regular lectures, students read and discuss primary literature, design and conduct field experiments, and write research papers. Students work more than 12 hours per day for the entire length of the course. There is very little down time as participants are constantly doing, seeing, and learning new things.

Eligibility

This course is open to students of all majors as long as they:

Participation in this course will be determined by the permission of the instructors.

Faculty

Irby J. Lovette is an Associate Professor in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and Director of the Evolutionary Biology Program at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Irby has many years' experience teaching tropical biology field courses in places such as Panama.

Dustin R. Rubenstein received his Ph.D. from the Department of Neurobiology and Behavior at Cornell in 2006. Dustin has spent time in Kenya since childhood and has worked intensively at the Mpala Research Centre for the past six years. He is now a Miller Research Fellow at UC Berkeley.

Travel information

Airfare

All students arrive in Kenya (and leave) on the same British Airways flight. Students can fly from whichever gateway they choose, but all participants meet in London and travel together on the overnight flight to Nairobi, where Irby and Dustin meet the group at the airport. The leaders will provide students with the specific flight numbers and dates in the spring. Students are responsible for booking and paying for their own flights.

Passports, visas, and permits

Students need a valid passport to travel to Kenya. Participants who do not have a U.S. passport, or whose passport will expire before the end of the course, must visit the U.S. State Department's Where to Apply for a Passport page. Students who plan to travel on a non-U.S. passport must contact the program leaders.

In addition, all visitors to Kenya must purchase a $50 tourist visa.

Participants also need a research permit to study in Kenya. To obtain one, participants must submit a copy of their CV/resume as well as four passport photos to the program leaders at least two months before leaving for the program.

Health and safety

Upon acceptance to this program, students must complete a Student Health/Emergency Treatment Authorization form. Students are responsible for ensuring that all of their routine immunizations are up-to-date, inquiring whether there are recommended and/or required immunizations for the country/countries they wish to visit (including any countries they will visit that are not part of this program's itinerary), and reviewing educational issues relevant to their personal health and safety.

Please see the BIOEE 2650 "Health and Safety" page for more information.

SECURITY UPDATE: MARCH 2008

We canceled the January 2008 offering of our Kenya course in response to the election-related turmoil that began in Kenya just a few hours in advance of our planned departure. Now that the in-country security situation has stabilized, we will be offering the course again in June/July 2008. This decision was reached in close consultation with Cornell’s risk management and international programs professionals. All of us believe that the safety of our students is the paramount consideration.

While in Kenya, we are based at the Mpala Research Centre, which is located in the Laikipia District of central Kenya. During the January 2008 period of political unrest, there was no violence in this region of Kenya. The Centre itself is highly secure and isolated in the African bush, far from all major cities or population centers. We spend all of our time with the students and never leave them unsupervised for any appreciable period. When in the field, students are also accompanied by staff field guides who grew up in the Mpala area, to keep them away from areas that might harbor dangerous animals. We have in place an extensive series of fully developed and documented contingency plans to guide our actions were anything to happen (politically or medically, mild to emergency) while we are in Kenya.

We continue to monitor the political and security situation in Kenya closely and are prepared to cancel the course again if the situation in Kenya unexpectedly worsens between now and late June 2008.

Program cost and refund policy

The total program charge is $4,200. This includes a tuition fee of $3,700 and a program fee of $500, which covers housing, full board, course materials, and all field trips. Students are responsible for their own air travel expenses. A nonrefundable deposit of $1,500 is due as soon as students are notified of their acceptance into the program. The deposit will not be returned to the student for any reasons other than cancellation of the program.

Application

Students interested in participating in this course should e-mail Irby Lovette (IJL2@cornell.edu) and ask to be placed on the course e-mail list. Irby will e-mail all interested students a formal application. All students may also be interviewed before a final decision is made.

Note: Participation may be denied or participation approval may be revoked if a student's conduct before departure raises doubts as to her/his suitability for program participation.

For more information

For more information, visit the course Web site or contact the program instructors:

Students chosen to go on the course will receive a detailed packet of information before departing for Kenya.