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Seeing sloths, ocelots, monkeys and bats up close in a Costa Rica rain forest is an experience that 16 91��ɫ students will never forget as they spent 10 days in spring as part of the Research in Tropical Terrestrial Ecology class led by biological sciences Assistant Professor Theodore Stankowich, accompanied by Professor Dessie Underwood.

With more than 25 percent of its land dedicated as conservation areas, Costa Rica draws thousands of ecotourists and researchers each year, and it’s an excellent place for students to learn how to conduct field studies, said Stankowich, an expert in mammalian evolution. Underwood specializes in insects and stream ecology.

They initially spent three days in Palo Verde National Park before traveling by bus over the mountains to La Selva Protected Zone, one of Central America’s best-known tropical rainforest research stations, for four more days. “During the wet season, Palo Verde is very green, but during the dry season it’s very sparse and arid, so we go during the dry season to demonstrate the major ecological differences between dry tropical forests and rainforest at La Selva,” Stankowich explained. Four master’s students and 12 undergraduates took part. “The idea is to immerse the students in an experience they’ve never had before,” he said. “Most of the students who take the course are local undergraduates who’ve never spent much time outside of Los Angeles, have never been in a forested environment, and certainly have never been to a tropical rainforest,” although the graduate students may have some field experience. Students pay $750 for the trip and 91��ɫ covers the remaining costs.

Students submit a research proposal and the professors ensure they bring the right gear, from regular and motion-activated night vision cameras and measuring devices to waterproof notebooks and protective leg guards, he said. Underwood typically directs the class, which is offered during odd years, but turned it over to Stankowich while on sabbatical and now as interim department chair. She continued to assist with trip planning and in the field.

On return, students give an oral class presentation and write a complete research report, plus do four mini-projects on different topics.

“One of the great things that comes out of the class is that you see the students change in both their attitudes toward science and their expectations of other scientists’ work,” Stankowich said. “When they go out and do the experiments, they find out just how hard it is to do science,” especially in a tropical rainforest.

But he noted the students love the experience, gaining a new appreciation for science and exposure to a different culture. 

Written by Anne Ambrose