{"componentChunkName":"component---src-templates-article-tsx","path":"/Primeecologyabroad","result":{"data":{"primeArticle":{"slug":"Prime.ecologyabroad","excerpt":"Ecological field research teaches students about science and themselves.","headline":"Boots, Bugs and the Scientific Method","author":"Lyah Fitzpatrick","authorbio":"","authoremail":"","authortwitter":"","coverimg":"https://assets3.dailybruin.com/images/Prime.ecologyabroad/Copy_of_IMG_9363_Original-3410298535a20edb437a320c07e01706.JPG","covercred":"Photos courtesy of Lyah Fitzpatrick, Greg Grether, and Ethan Kahn","coveralt":"Photograph of a person walking on a dock on a lake surrounded by greenery.","articleType":"article","updated":"","content":[{"type":"text","value":"Journal Entry: 1/22, 6:20 p.m. Pillcopata, Peru"},{"type":"text","value":"\"My name is Lyah Fitzpatrick and I am spending a month in the Peruvian Amazon to research wildlife.\""},{"type":"text","value":"–"},{"type":"text","value":"Sweat pouring down my back. Biting insects buzzing at my face. Sloshing through bogs, step by step, in waterlogged boots. Navigating the Peruvian Amazon rainforest was no typical study abroad adventure. It was a quarter of intensive, scientific research in one of the most undisturbed environments on this planet. Temperatures pushing 90 degrees, drenching exposed skin in deet, shaking snakes and spiders off tent flaps."},{"type":"text","value":"I would not trade my experience for the world."},{"type":"text","value":"Quarters of field research, offered by the Ecology and Evolutionary Biology department, give students a taste – a full bite, in fact – of life as a full-time biologist. By executing the entire scientific method while battling forces of nature, students develop skills that cannot be found in the classroom. However, this program faces funding challenges on both a university and national level, as the general practice of scientific discovery comes under threat."},{"type":"pull","value":"{\"caption\":\"I would not trade my experience for the world.\\\"\"}"},{"type":"text","value":"The Field Biology, Marine Biology and Field Marine Biology Quarters at UCLA are research-intensive capstone programs where students spend a quarter in the field studying natural environments. Students design original experiments in groups, collecting and analyzing data to include in a professional-grade research paper."},{"type":"text","value":"These programs have existed since the 1970s, said Dan Blumstein, professor of ecology and evolutionary biology. Options range from local, Los Angeles-based sites to international locations – most recently, a Spring 2024 MBQ exploring the reefs of Moorea, French Polynesia, and a Winter 2025 FBQ amid the rainforests of Manú National Park, Peru."},{"type":"text","value":"\"We’ve gone all over the place with all sorts of students, and they are remarkably transformative,\" Blumstein said. \"These are things that in many cases take students ... that are amazing consumers of knowledge, and make them producers of knowledge.\""},{"type":"text","value":"For some of the international quarters, students are on campus preparing for two and a half weeks, off campus for three to four weeks then back on campus for the rest of the quarter formulating their research paper. Blumstein has been teaching FBQs and MBQs every other year since 2001. He said each set of professors teaches the field quarter slightly differently in terms of mentorship and research goals."},{"type":"image","value":"{\"alt\":\"Photo of a group of students posed in front of a sign in Parque Nacional Del Manu.\",\"url\":\"https://assets3.dailybruin.com/images/Prime.ecologyabroad/Copy_of_IMG_1648-eabceee88b168ca140b58f4796be59c1.jpeg\",\"credit\":\"Photo courtesy of Lyah Fitzpatrick\",\"caption\":\"\"}"},{"type":"text","value":"My FBQ professor Greg Grether and lecturer Rachel Chock organized us into groups to focus on a singular, shared research project. Despite proving impressive troves of knowledge – and good company – they were less assertive advisors, letting us formulate project design with little interjection."},{"type":"text","value":"\"I didn’t expect it to be quite so hands off, but I also found it super rewarding in the end, because it really is your own (research) that you’re doing out there,\" said Emma Gobbell, a UCLA alumnus who attended the Winter 2023 FBQ trip to Peru with Grether."},{"type":"text","value":"The program aims to equip students with skills they cannot acquire in a traditional lecture format, said Paul Barber, EEB professor and curriculum committee chair, in an emailed statement. Rather than sitting in a classroom, students are following the scientific process: from question generation and hypothesis testing, to field collection, writing and analysis."},{"type":"pull","value":"{\"caption\":\"It can’t be field ecology or biology without actually getting in the field.\\\"\"}"},{"type":"text","value":"Chris Sayers, a doctoral student researching the impact of gold mining on bird communities in the Amazon rainforest, was one of two teaching assistants on the Winter 2025 Peru FBQ. He said that students have learning styles that may not be satisfied in classrooms and the field quarters provide a more direct, hands-on learning experience."},{"type":"text","value":"\"It can’t be field ecology or biology without actually getting in the field,\" Sayers said. \"That’s something that a lot of lecture-based courses do not offer.\""},{"type":"text","value":"Perhaps what makes the learning experience so profound for students is the opportunity to conduct research in a pristine habitat."},{"type":"text","value":"–"},{"type":"text","value":"Journal Entry: 1/23, 5:33 p.m. Limonal Ranger Station, Peru"},{"type":"text","value":"\"I can’t even begin to describe the environment. Lush, rich, stirring foliage crowd the banks. Rain clouds drift through the treetops. Insects hum and birds flit through the sky. On one shore bathroom break, I squelched through mud that swallowed my feet. There were capybara tracks!\""},{"type":"text","value":"–"},{"type":"text","value":"I, along with my groupmates Caressa Wong and Sylvia Zhang, chose to study nocturnal orb-weaving spiders. We dragged ourselves out of our tents at 3:10 a.m. each morning to traverse the trails and measure spiderwebs before they disappeared at dawn. Critters of all kinds – frogs, spiders, insects, birds, snakes and more – darted across our path. Plants grew from every possible nook or cranny."},{"type":"text","value":"Cocha Cashu, the biological station we stayed at in Peru, was hundreds of miles from the nearest urban center. After a series of plane flights, we spent a full day busing over the Andes while battling altitude sickness, followed by two days boating down rivers. Here and there, we would pass by indigenous communities and villages. But the nearest, fully equipped hospital was days of travel away."},{"type":"image","value":"{\"alt\":\"Photograph of a male dusky titi monkey grasping a tree branch.\",\"url\":\"https://assets3.dailybruin.com/images/Prime.ecologyabroad/Copy_of_1P3A6120_Dusky_titi_monkey_male-593a265f398b6a2ab56caae6570869d9.jpg\",\"credit\":\"Photo courtesy of Greg Grether\",\"caption\":\"\"}"},{"type":"text","value":"Most of Earth’s biodiversity is found in the tropics – right where our field station was located. On the boats, each one of us had our binoculars on hand, ready to scope any signs of wildlife in the trees. Yelps of \"monkey!\", \"parrot!\" and, one time, \"sloth!\" punctuated the drone of the motor."},{"type":"text","value":"\"You can just tell you’re completely in the middle of the jungle, and you’re covered by these beautiful tall trees,\" Gobbell said. \"Every step you take, you can just see a different wildlife species.\""},{"type":"text","value":"Blumstein said traveling abroad is essential to studying tropical ecology. Environmentally harmful phenomena such as algal blooms, frequent storming, crown of thorn starfish epidemics and reef-damaging heat may be less evident locally. It is one thing to review these topics in class, eyes flitting across photographs on a projector screen. But it is another to observe them in person, interacting with the environment and unearthing dynamics through research."},{"type":"text","value":"Fourth-year ecology, behavior and evolution student Ethan Kahn attended the Spring 2024 MBQ at Moorea, French Polynesia, spending hours each day snorkeling among coral or tromping through mud. His group studied the distribution of snails and clams based on water quality, and later the invasion history of spotted mangroves throughout the last century."},{"type":"text","value":"\"I couldn’t study corals in the California intertidal because we don’t really have the same kind of reef forming corals here,\" Khan said. \"There’s a bunch of organisms and biological interactions which I couldn’t study without visiting someplace like Moorea.\""},{"type":"text","value":"But these research programs are not only an academic opportunity to investigate important ecosystems – they are a chance for students to seriously consider career options."},{"type":"text","value":"–"},{"type":"text","value":"Journal Entry: 2/4, 8:10 a.m. Cocha Cashu Biological Station"},{"type":"text","value":"\"Dr. Grether hit me out of nowhere, with my toothbrush in hand, toothpaste mistakenly swallowed in surprise. ‘What do you plan to do with your life?’ he asks. We get into a really great chat about natural history & science museums, and I am invigorated! Inspired, even.\""},{"type":"text","value":"–"},{"type":"text","value":"Executing a professional-grade field project gives students a glimpse of a career in scientific research – directly confronting a slough of setbacks, problem solving, malfunctions and design innovation."},{"type":"text","value":"Some, like Kahn, leave the FBQ with a solidified interest in research. Others, however, find the field may not be their calling – clean rooms and thermostats beckon."},{"type":"text","value":"Gobbell’s experience at Cocha Cashu nudged her away from a life of field research, but it confirmed her passion in the environmental field. She got close with the professors and made great connections, both of which inspired her to continue working in the environmental and conservation field."},{"type":"text","value":"\"This is just kind of a once in a lifetime experience that not everyone gets to do,\" Gobbell said. \"I think it’s totally worth it, even if you know that you don’t necessarily want to go into research.\""},{"type":"text","value":"One of my classmates on the trip had already applied to various PhD programs in ecology. Another two classmates were on a pre-veterinary track. While I learned that research may not be my own preferred path, spending time in the Amazon Basin solidified my passion for the life sciences."},{"type":"image","value":"{\"alt\":\"Photos of a student carrying a bag walking into green bushes.\",\"url\":\"https://assets3.dailybruin.com/images/Prime.ecologyabroad/Copy_of_P4251103-4815dd2ba3c41054ba4a76fe4059a7ee.jpg\",\"credit\":\"Photo courtesy of Ethan Kahn\",\"caption\":\"\"}"},{"type":"text","value":"It also reminded me of my love for human interaction. While I greatly enjoyed the company of my cohort, I missed bustling farmers markets, the murmur of students in Kerckhoff Plaza and the liveliness of spontaneous interaction. As I discussed my interests with classmates and both of my professors, the notion of a career in science communication bubbled to the surface. My FBQ experience inspired me to forge a brand new career path – one that tugs at my passions and tickles my enthusiasm."},{"type":"text","value":"However, perhaps above all, the field biology course taught me resilience."},{"type":"text","value":"–"},{"type":"text","value":"Journal Entry: 1/28, 8:55 a.m. Cocha Cashu Biological Station"},{"type":"text","value":"\"Oh, my. Cocha Cashu has been a rollercoaster of emotions. ... Arduous physical labor under intensely hot and humid conditions marked our arrival! ... A mouthful of flies in the morning? Got it. Pouring, soaking rain filling my wellies on the trails? Sure. 3 wasp stings on my neck, face, and ear? Why not.\""},{"type":"text","value":"–"},{"type":"text","value":"Conducting diligent research in a remote, sometimes overwhelmingly biodiverse environment was no easy task. On one occasion during the winter 2025 Peru trip, the team had to lug hundreds of pounds of equipment a few football lengths distance through sticky mud, sand flies and beneath a scorching sun. In another instance, when trying to cross a river to sample new types of forest, a group had to wade through chest high water, navigating spiky bamboo and bullet ants."},{"type":"text","value":"Sayers said he and the teaching staff were impressed by the strength and capability of the students. Blumstein, too, said he and Fong are often humbled by the resilience of their students."},{"type":"text","value":"\"You can take a bunch of Angelinos ... and stick them in one of the most rugged environments on Earth,\" Sayers said. \"Temperatures pushing 90 degrees Fahrenheit every day, above 90% humidity, biting insects, risk of tropical illness ... and they can come out with nearly publishable research,\" Sayers said."},{"type":"text","value":"Not only was the physical environment a challenge, but research comes with a whole host of frustrating trial and error. Sylvia, Caressa and I used 12 different lanterns for our experiment, to study the impacts of artificial light at night on spiders. Every single one of them broke. But we persisted, managing to gather enough measurements for a usable dataset."},{"type":"text","value":"Through difficulty, comes growth. Kahn warns that the field environment has the potential to be harsh, but urges the immersement is worth it."},{"type":"text","value":"\"You learn so much about how the natural world works,\" Kahn said. \"It’s just a really incredible experience.\""},{"type":"text","value":"But the experience is not cheap. To help cover airfare, transportation, lodging, food and other research costs, the student contribution for Peru 2025 amounted to over $2,000. EEB department funds subsidize the cost, and students may be considered for financial aid or scholarships. However, especially with in-house grants from the university drying up, Blumstein said the trips need more funding."},{"type":"text","value":"Through a trickle-down effect, federal defunding of academic research may indirectly impact scientific programs like the FBQ, MBQ and FMBQ. Sayers said, especially in this political climate, it is especially important to ensure the financial stability of these programs."},{"type":"text","value":"\"Without academic research, there’s little truth we could garner about the world,\" Sayers said. \"Science is essentially the closest we can get to ‘the truth’ by standardizing experiments and observations.\""},{"type":"text","value":"When formulating their projects, students are often interested in investigating the influence of humans on natural systems, Blumstein said. Gobbell, for example, studied the response of pheasant-like tinamous to anthropogenic noise. My project investigated the effect of different colored artificial light on spider web building behavior."},{"type":"pull","value":"{\"caption\":\"Without academic research, there’s little truth we could garner about the world.\\\"\"}"},{"type":"text","value":"Blumstein said that, by investigating human impact on ecosystems, researchers can help identify and remove stressors to aid survival in a rapidly urbanizing world. Earth is tumbling towards massive species loss, with human impacts implicated in these population declines, he added. Sayers added that without research, misinformation may persist."},{"type":"text","value":"\"We’re under threat in many ways right now with a national dialogue that is weaponizing universities, with a national dialogue that is not purposefully recognizing the good that comes out of universities in general and higher education in specific,\" Blumstein said. \"So I think that’s a problem.\""},{"type":"text","value":"Blumstein said that there is an unfortunate, unmet demand for FBQ, MBQ and FMBQ participation. The teaching capacity is too limited to open the opportunity to all students. But the experiences are life changing, Sayers said."},{"type":"text","value":"\"You are quite literally making a scientist by allowing them to pursue that. So I think it’s totally worth the investment from an academic university budgeting standpoint,\" Sayers said."},{"type":"image","value":"{\"alt\":\"Photograph of a dusky sky with palm trees and a turquoise coastline in Cocha Cashu.\",\"url\":\"https://assets3.dailybruin.com/images/Prime.ecologyabroad/Copy_of_PXL_20240427_034737628-44e129dd51c8ae6c259d11b845ff3b81.jpg\",\"credit\":\"Photo courtesy of Ethan Kahn\",\"caption\":\"\"}"}]}},"pageContext":{"term":"spring25","slug":"Prime.ecologyabroad"}},"staticQueryHashes":[]}