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"Nature Island" is Our Classroom: Aggies Learn about Scientific Research and Other Cultures as They Study in Dominica
July 30, 2009
Writer: Helen White, h-white@tamu.edu, 979-845-2211
COLLEGE STATION-- “One evening a group of us hiked to Stinking Hole, a cave-like lava tube in a rainforest,” said Kelly Korth, wildlife and fisheries sciences major and ’09 graduate of Texas A&M University. “It gets its name from the smells of sulfur and bat guano that waft out of it. Each night thousands of bats emerge to hunt in the surrounding forest, and we were there to catch a sampling of bats for one of the group research projects.
“We huddled around the hole, some of us with nets, until the bats slowly began to trickle out. Before long, hundreds were flying out of the hole in a dense bat tornado, circling several times before taking off into the night. As I heard the sound and felt the rush of air from their beating wings, many times I also felt a bat brush my arms and legs,” she said.
For Korth and Mason Locke, two former Aggie students from the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, their study abroad experience last summer in the Caribbean island nation of Dominica deeply affected them.
A “life-changing” experience
Korth described her experience as “life-changing.” Locke, also an ’09 graduate who majored in agricultural leadership and development, describes the chance to experience another culture while completing research in a tropical paradise as “the highlight of my undergraduate experience.”
Drawn by the wide diversity of topography, wildlife, and plant life, the Study Abroad in Dominica program includes three courses taught at the Archbold Tropical Research and Education Center at Springfield, Dominica, West Indies.
Program provides realistic field research
For more than a decade, the program has provided students with realistic field research experiences on diverse topics in field and tropical biology as well as geography, industry, health care issues, and other aspects of Dominican life.
To prepare for their experience in Dominica, the Aggies attended a study abroad orientation workshop during spring semester as well as weekly seminars to learn about Dominican history and culture, Caribbean geography and tropical biology.
Texas A&M faculty lead the program both on-campus and “in country.” Dr. Tom Lacher, professor and head of the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Sciences, and Dr. Jim Woolley, professor in the Department of Entomology, work closely with students to design a research project, collect and analyze data, and prepare a final report for a professional journal article.
Frogs, birds and rodents studied
Students complete a group research project, an individual research project, and a journal detailing their activities, earning six course credits in the academically intensive program.
For her group project, Korth was part of a team that recorded and compared the calls of different frogs on the island. Her individual project involved observing and quantifying the Gray Kingbird’s foraging behaviors.
Locke’s team surveyed the rodent population at the research station and, through the use of radio transmitter collars, tracked several specimens. In his individual project, he studied the management of Dominican livestock in the tropical island environment.
Group and individual research topics each year correspond to the students’ individual and shared professional interests.
Student projects have included studying the effects of ecotourism in Dominica, preparing a field guide to the reef fish of Tarou Point, observing the vertical distribution of spiders in various rainforest habitats, and measuring Dominican beach profiles and wave energy.
In addition to field research experience, the study abroad summer session offers plenty of rugged outdoor recreation. Dominica is a small nation—just 290 square miles and 70,000 inhabitants—but is home to 1,200 plant species, multiple micro environments, beautiful tropical rainforests, and mountainous terrain.
“Not one flat spot anywhere!”
So mountainous, in fact, that when Christopher Columbus reported back to his royal patrons in Spain and was asked to describe the island, he is reported to have crumpled a piece of parchment, thrown it on the table, and said, “That is what the island of Dominica looks like. There is not one flat spot anywhere!”
Field trips expose students to the diversity of environments and the conservation issues associated with their protection.
“Nature Island” provides abundant diversity
Nicknamed “Nature Island,” Dominica offers a wide range of habitats and ecosystems. Field trips offered on Dominica include: Middleham Falls (montane rainforest), Cabrits National Park (dry forest/historical site), Syndicate Trail (rainforest), Traflagar Falls, Roseau for Market Day and church, Emerald Pool, Carib Territory, East Coast Beaches, Boiling Lake and Titou Gorge, and Dive Dominica where students view marine mammals, whale-watch, and snorkel.
“The whole trip was amazing, but one experience that sticks out was our hike to Middleham Falls,” said Locke. “ We hiked for a couple hours through beautiful rainforests and were able to hear the falls long before we saw them. After climbing down a steep valley, we emerged from the foliage and saw the 300-foot waterfall cascading down. The roar of the water was really loud, and you could feel the windblast and mist. It was just an assault on all the senses. Being from the coastal plains of Texas, I’d never experienced anything remotely like that. It was awe-inspiring!”
Students are also immersed in the country’s cultural environment—living, working, and participating in many aspects of Dominican life—giving them an informed perspective and the chance to evaluate and appreciate their own culture and values as well.
“For one, I gained insight and perspective into a culture that is different from our own,” said Locke, who has graduated and is now commissioned into the Air Force. “Reading or watching TV shows about cultures is simply no substitute for getting to experience it first-hand, and this has led to an expanded world view. Another benefit was getting to enjoy some of the most beautiful landscapes in the world!”
Looking back a year later, Korth said the study abroad program, “in short, changed my life.” The research experience in Dominica “gave me confidence and direction in my career—I am a field technician working with grassland birds, doing exactly the kind of research I did in Dominica.”
To learn more:
The Dominica Tropical and Field Biology trip is offered during the first summer session and also includes a weekly seminar that meets throughout the spring semester.
About the college:
With an enrollment of almost 6,700 students in 14 academic departments, the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Texas A&M University offers more than 80 undergraduate and graduate degrees and has a faculty of nearly 400 members, including two Nobel laureates. Research programs include food sustainability and safety, human and animal health, genetics, renewable natural resources and bioenergy. Mark Hussey is Vice Chancellor and Dean.
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