This award provides funds to the Department of Biology at the University of Massachusetts at Boston to give ten undergraduate students the opportunity to participate in research projects in ecology and conservation biology. Students will be recruited intensively in the Boston area and also elsewhere in New England. The two major components of the program are complementary: 1) a series of lectures/discussions for all the students, and 2) individual research projects in which each student is closely associated with an advisor/mentor. Initial group meetings that address the theory and practice of research continue as weekly meetings at which students focus on topics that relate to the conduct of research or its implications. Students will also visit one or more field sites and learn directly about each others' projects. A small hands-on workshop on molecular techniques will show the great potential of such methods for ecology. An end-of-session retreat at the University Field Station will serve to articulate impressions and explore philosophical issues. Seven potential research topics will be suggested, some of which can effectively involve two or more undergraduates. The topics are focussed on issues of biodiversity and conservation ecology but are intentionally diverse to illustrate several approaches. They include three on the behavioral ecology of rare/endangered vertebrates, and others on the physiological ecology of hawkmoths, the diversity of naphthalene-degrading bacteria, the genetics of endangered plants, and the genetic diversity of deep-sea molluses. At the end of the session each student will prepare a written report and present a short paper in a mini-conference.
