Horti Selbyani: Building Capacity in Canopy Research: The Brazilian Experience

Abstract

This article describes the necessary logistics and comments on the scientific-educational aspects to run the field course "research in canopy" first carried out at the Reserva Particular do Patrimonio Natural da Serra do Teimoso (state of Bahia) in northeastern Brazil. The field course is divided into three weeks: one devoted to climbing techniques; the second to developing "short" projects in the canopy; and the third to formulating hypotheses and developing "long" projects in the canopy. Different field course versions indicate that twelve "short" projects are developed during the second week of canopy investigation and about six "long" projects during the third week. During the course we involved postgraduate students in the learning process of undergraduate students. In order to conciliate safety protocols and data collection in the tree crowns, strict safety protocols had to be followed. Groups could not exceed 3-4 students. For the first time, Brazilian students were faced with canopy research, data analysis, and testing hypotheses. Their activities also furnished valuable information about canopy organisms to the field station owner, who develops environmental education on his property. Our experience indicates that canopy ecology can be a sub-discipline within ecology in regular post-graduate courses, in order to foster research projects and ecological questions.