SEEDS » Component Programs » Chapters
Chapter Directory » University of Puerto Rico at Humacao
"Eos" » Humacao, Puerto Rico
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The Chapter's primary goal is to increase the opportunities of its members to achieve a higher academic (graduate school) level in ecology. We will work to serve as a first step in the ladder of opportunities that the students may be exposed to during their academic years at UPR-Humacao. The chapter's website is www.uprh.edu/seeds. |
Plans for 2008-2009
- To make our Eos-SEEDS webpage the main reference and warehouse for students’ opportunities in ecology related fields. This will include internships, graduate studies with assistanships, fellowships, seminars, conferences, travel awards, etc. We plan to portrait local ecologists and ecology related activities and projects that are conducted in Puerto Rico.
- We want to show our students the wide range of opportunities that they have if they look beyond Puerto Rico for graduate studies and job opportunities. For this objective, we plan to invite people that have had the opportunity to study and/or work outside Puerto Rico, to talk about their experiences.
- We plan to deliver several workshops on skills and tools that are important for the modern ecologist and related jobs (such as GPS, GIS, remote sensing, etc.).
- We want to apply for the Research Grant with a proposal to establish a monitoring site in two mangrove areas. The monitoring will include: sea level, physico-chemical properties of the water, species and community level variations in abundance and structure (including spatial patterns).
- We will invite other SEEDS chapters to conduct join activities in our campus (BioBlitz, georeferencing trees, movie production).
Activities of 2007-2008
- The past academic year (2007 – 2008) has been one of low activity in our chapter, but by no means that is because lack of interest. Several academic and personal situations of the advisors and student representative affected our ability to accomplish with our objectives (Deborah finished her doctoral studies and is now Dr. Parrilla, D. S. Fernández del Viso was completing the documentation, and submitted an evaluation for full professor status request, and Marielle was sick several times, but now is recovering). But now we are all prepared to implement the activities that we had planned and new ones.
- However, some chapter’s related activities
were conducted, and the students and faculty participated in ecology related
events:
- The students participated in several field trips and two camping activities in Puerto Rico. Our sisters Wildlife Management Student Association, and the Marine Biology Student Association organized the activities.
- Wilfredo Falcón was in Antarctica for four months, with the Raytheon Polar Program.
- Mara Castro and Frederick Abbott participated in the SEEDS Field Trip to Santa Barbara, CA, October 2007.
- D. S. Fernández del Viso attended and presented in the ESA Meeting in San José, CA, and served as mentor of one student.
- Frederick Abbott and D. S. Fernández del Viso, attended the SEEDS Spring Field Trip to Alaska.
- In terms of services of the chapter to its
members and undergraduate students in general, we have been doing the
following:
- Continuous distribution of information on internship opportunities, jobs, seminars, and graduate studies through an e-mailing list.
- Dr. Zdravko Baruch, from Universidad Simón Bolívar, Caracas, Venezuela, presented a seminar on research opportunities in Los Llanos, Venezuelan savannas. Our chapter invited Dr. Baruch. Sixteen students attended.
- Wilfredo Falcón is preparing our Eos-SEEDS webpage, and will serve as Webmaster.
- Deborah was the main organizer of the latest edition of the annual Symposium of the Caribbean Flora and Fauna, in the University of Puerto Rico at Humacao, April 25. All our members helped in the organization.
Faculty Advisors
- Denny Fernández del Viso
- Deborah Parrilla
