Course announcement: Harvard University/CTFS-AA Field Biology Course: The Biodiversity of Borneo

In association with the Harvard University Summer School, the Center for
Tropical Forest Science and the Arnold Arboretum (CTFS-AA) will offer a
field biology course to be held in Sarawak and Sabah (East Malaysia) from
23 July to 26 August 2007. Southeast and South Asian participants will
join US students to study terrestrial and marine biodiversity, ecology and
conservation, with instructors from Harvard University and other
institutions.

The forests and reefs of northwest and north Borneo have some of the
highest levels of alpha diversity in the world. The forests are home to
orang-utans, hornbills, rhinos and thousands of tree species, and the
reefs offer some of the best diving in the world. We will visit
world-class parks and reserves (e.g., Lambir, Kinabalu and the Maliau
Basin), to gain a thorough understanding of abiotic controls on species
composition, and will contrast processes that maintain biodiversity in
forests with those operating on coral reefs. Throughout Borneo, intensive
logging and marine harvesting have occurred for many years. Our course
will explore the complexities of conservation today, including trips to
sustainably-managed, carbon-traded, and restored forests. We will also
provide opportunities for the students to meet people living in and off
the forest, to understand their motivations for forest conversion and
conservation, and to consider the human health dimensions of forest
change.

A key feature of the course will be the development of skills in research
project design, execution and analysis, based around the statistical
platform R. The students will complete two independent projects, from
conception to presentation, and participate in a group project on the
coral reef. The students will gain database and web publishing skills by
developing a community digital record of the trip.

The course is aimed at advanced undergraduates, recent graduates currently
active in biological research, and postgraduate entry-level students. For
more information on the course (including instructions for
application) see:

http://www.summer.harvard.edu/2007/programs/abroad/borneo/

Queries and completed application materials should be directed to Cam Webb
(cwebb@oeb.harvard.edu). Please note: the application deadline has been
extended for US students to 15 March 2007.