Imagine escaping the blistering Central Valley heat this summer for a two-week trip to the cool Chilean coast. You’ll rise early in the morning to help Douglas Kelt, assistant professor of wildlife, fish and conservation biology, and Peter Meserve, a professor at Northern Illinois University, with data collection on the foraging behavior of small desert animals, birds and ants.
In the evening you’ll come home to a comfortable home within a national park, located close enough to the Pacific Ocean to hear the breaking of the waves.
These experiences are part of the University of California Research Expedition Program. Based at UC Davis, the system-wide effort will offer 15 projects this year, giving participants a variety of field experiences. Last year, 189 volunteer researchers –mostly retirees, but also students, teachers and other professionals–traveled all over the world in the name of fun, intellectual curiosity and a commitment to academic study.
"The (volunteers) are interested in working hard, not sitting around," Kelt said. "The people who apply to UREP are interested in contributing to science."
Fauna, flora and more will be observed
Members of other trips this spring and summer will track and photograph endangered small cats like the ocelot and margay in tropical Belize. Field workers in Israel will excavate relics important to the study of Islamic history and art. And in southern Arizona they will document the creeping habits of the filaree storksbill, an alien plant quickly displacing native desert flora.
The trips not only are fun for participants, but they certainly also benefit the leaders, said Kelt. He leads the Chilean trip to gather data for a long-term National Science Foundation study on the factors contributing to the ecology of plants and animals in arid northern Chile. He has led several previous expeditions, during which he teaches participants to trap small animals and monitor their eating habits under different conditions.
"My expenses and those of my students (assisting on the trip) were almost covered by UREP," he said. "This allows me to extend my grant money over a longer period of time."
Other than Kelt, plenty of other UC Davis researchers are leading UREP trips. They include Kevin Rice, associate professor of agronomy and range science, and doctoral candidates Jeanine Pfeiffer, Marcella Kelly, Ken Kriese, Daniel Bolnick, Rob Klinger, Mikaela Huntzinger and Rebecca Trout.
The program’s new interim director, Dennis Dutschke, hopes to expand the opportunities available to expedition participants and leaders. Dutschke, a professor of Italian and associate vice provost for international programs, took over for Jean Colvin, the veteran director of the program, who retired Feb. 1.
Academic credit is available for participants
For the past couple of years, students taking part in the program have been able to receive academic credit through Summer Sessions. But Dutschke would like to make the field program a viable and popular alternative to other study abroad options.
"The thing that is missing from them (study abroad and international internships) is field research," he said. "UC prides itself on being a research university."
Expedition sessions involve hands-on work in animal behavior, archaeology, geology, arts and culture, and environmental studies–something for almost any student, Dutschke said.
Expedition costs are listed as tax-deduc-tible in the program brochure and range from $895 to $1,685. The cost includes meals, lodging, ground transportation, field gear and research equipment and supplies. Participants are responsible for paying for their own airfare or other travel to the program site.
The program accepts applications until right before a trip is about to embark. However, it is best to apply early as some projects fill several months early, organizers say.
One of the best things about the program is the way it bring different segments of the campus and the community together, Dutschke said.
"I think it’s a very exciting program not only for the participants but for the university and the project researchers involved," he said. "It’s a way to share knowledge and to engage the community in what they do."
For more information about upcoming research expeditions, call (530) 757-3529, go online at http://urep.ucdavis.edu or e-mail urep@ucdavis.edu.