The Owl Monkey Project has a long history of offering opportunities for students. The project has access to a field station in Argentina that provides lodging quarters, office, and lab space for the students when they take a break from field work. In Argentina, the NGO Fundación ECO provides local logistics and administrative support.
In partnership with the Tropical Resources Institute of the Yale School of Forestry, we invite forestry students to participate in and contribute to one of our many research projects in the area. Visiting researchers and students have the opportunity to gain substantial field experience, hone an independent research project, and make use of our extensive database that includes 10 years of monthly phenological data, over 7,000 tagged trees in a 16 ha area, climate data going back almost two decades, and a system of trails spanning 20 km in an undisturbed section of gallery forest in the humid Chaco of Argentina.
Any student should be prepared to work collaboratively with our existing research team, conduct field research independently, as well as fully immerse in a different culture. A love for the outdoors and a high tolerance for the difficulties of field work (ticks, mosquitoes, cold, heat, etc.) are a must.
Students can learn more about the project at the following sites, including a National Geographic video and a TEDx talk in Spanish:
owlmonkeyproject.wordpress.com/
fernandezduque.wordpress.com/
video.nationalgeographic.com/video/news/animals-news/argentina-owl-monkey-parenting-vin/
tedxtalks.ted.com/video/De-amor-monogamia-y-monos-Eduar
Specific research opportunities may include…
- Assessment and management of monthly phenological sampling of 400 trees
- Assessment and management of long-term recruitment plots
- Investigation of the impacts of topography and soil quality on forest structure
- An analysis of the forest gradient from river to grassland
- Camera trapping monitoring and first attempts at the use of drones
- Survey of tayras, potential predator of owl monkeys