Instructors: LaRoy Brandt, Ph.D. and Bonnie Price, DVM, MPH. The health of people, domestic animals, wildlife, and the ecosystem is inextricably linked and influenced by environmental, cultural, economic, and political factors. One Health is the emerging field that recognizes this interconnection and seeks to solve the complex challenges faced at the interface of humans, animals, and the environment. In this course we will explore the unique challenges and opportunities of an interdisciplinary One Health approach in Costa Rica, Central America, and Tropical Ecosystems. Students will gain hands on experience in public health education, preventative veterinary health (including physical exam, vaccination, and client communication), environmental health measures, infectious disease monitoring, and laboratory skills. Students will have an opportunity to explore the local rainforest, observe local horticultural and agricultural practices, participate in on-going One Health research projects on site, and volunteer with local schools and healthcare clinics. This course is designed for undergraduate students with an interest in multiple careers, including conservation biology, medicine, veterinary health, public health, wildlife ecology, and others.

Instructors: Dr. Mauricio Rodriguez and Dr. David Love

Designed for pre-veterinary students in their undergraduate studies. Students will learn about veterinary medicine and practical veterinary knowledge in a developing country. Along with locals vets, the class will be helping animals in need of  medical attention and offer services to horses, cattle, dogs, cats and other animals. Course will cover basic clinical information about diagnostics and treatments including basic veterinary skills such as parasitological surveys, blood work, physical exams and more. Get hands-on experience by finishing your time with a spay and neuter clinic alongside your team!

Instructor: Amo Oliverio, M.S.

Neotropical Natural History is a field course in the basic principles and methodologies of natural history studies in a tropical environment. Topics include climates and ecosystems, rainforest structure and diversity, evolutionary patterns, coevolutionary complexities and the ecology of fruit, the neotropical pharmacy, land use in the neotropics, savannas and dry forests, mangroves and coral reefs, and deforestation and conservation of biodiversity. Field and lab activities will focus on amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals. Students will study the taxonomy and ecology of each of these faunal groups and will develop skills in locating, observing, handling, and field identification of common neotropical species.

Online lectures and course work precede the field portion at La Suerte Biological Field Station.
Cost: $2295 for out-of-state (MD) tuition, registration fees, station/program fees, three meals a day at the field site, room & board at our facility, group chartered transport. Tuition rates vary, depending on the student’s U.S. state of residence.

This course is designed to provide a detailed knowledge of Neotropical bats within an ecological framework. Extensive capturing of bats during nightly field excursions will supplement lecture material; provide opportunity for gaining extensive experience in capture techniques and identification of bats in hand, and lay the groundwork for individual research problems and projects. The class will take place on Ometepe Island, a volcanic island in Lake Nicaragua. As a class we will camp in the cloud forest and survey bats at higher elevations for at least one night.The end of the class will include a visit to Masaya Volcano National Park where we will observe a large nightly emergence of bats from a cave and we will explore the local culture of the historic city of Granada.

• Overview of the science of ethnobotany
• Natural history, volcanism, botany, and ecology of Ometepe, a world heritage site
• Comparison of natural history and ecology of the old and new world tropics
• Land management, the environment, and health
• Ethnobotanical research ethics, methods/techniques, and project design
• Different perspectives from which to explore the relationship between people and plants
• Botanical history of medicine
• How plant medicines work in the body
• Herbal medicine making and medicinal specimen collecting workshops
• The food-medicine-poison continuum and food/herb-drug interactions
• Conduct original ethnobotanical research in a unique cultural and ecological environment