Skip to main content
  • Home
  • About
  • Faculty Experts
  • For The Media
  • Videos
  • Topics
    • Alumni
    • Events
    • Faculty
    • Library
    • Research
    • Students
    • All Topics
  • Contact
  • Submit
STEM
  • All News
  • Arts & Culture
  • Business & Economy
  • Campus & Community
  • Health & Society
  • Media, Law & Policy
  • STEM
  • Veterans
  • |
  • Alumni
  • The Peel
  • Athletics
Sections
  • All News
  • Arts & Culture
  • Business & Economy
  • Campus & Community
  • Health & Society
  • Media, Law & Policy
  • STEM
  • Veterans
  • |
  • Alumni
  • The Peel
  • Athletics
  • Home
  • About
  • Faculty Experts
  • For The Media
  • Videos
  • Topics
    • Alumni
    • Events
    • Faculty
    • Library
    • Research
    • Students
    • All Topics
  • Contact
  • Submit
STEM

Earth sciences major spends summer in Costa Rican cloud forest

Saturday, August 11, 2012, By News Staff
Share
College of Arts and Sciences

tealeWaking up to howler monkeys greeting the morning, hiking past colorfully plumed toucans flying through the trees and looking out for poisonous vipers winding through the forest, Natalie Teale, a senior Earth sciences and geography major in Syracuse University’s College of Arts and Sciences, spent the summer as part of an immersive research experience in the cloud forest of Costa Rica. Teale was one of 12 students selected to participate in a summer Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) program at Texas A&M University’s Soltis Center for Research and Education near the Monteverde Forest in central Costa Rica.

“The students investigated how the vegetation, moisture content and soil composition in a tropical cloud forest interact, from the scale of an individual leaf to the entire forest,” says geography professor Chris Houser, principal investigator for the National Science Foundation-funded program.

Teale and the other students in the summer 2012 REU class were prepared for the experience during two-week introduction at Texas A&M. During this time, they met with faculty mentors to produce research proposals, prepare equipment for their experiments and participate in seminars on research methods and field safety. The students kept a record of their experience on the blog, “Exploration of a Cloud Forest.”

After arriving in Costa Rica, the students set up monitoring stations and began collecting field data. Each of their projects will contribute to the understanding of the water budget of a watershed in the forest. Outside of their own projects, the students learned from faculty about their research in hydrology, biogeography, climatology, geomorphology and ecohydrology to better understand the dynamics of the cloud forest.

Cloud-forest vegetation plays an important role in absorbing water from clouds, but the amount of moisture absorbed and its impact on the rest of the water cycle is not well understood. The students collected data from areas that were untouched by humans and other sites that have been logged or completely cleared.

The students’ research provides a valuable service to local Costa Rican communities. Since cloud forests exist near the top of Costa Rican watersheds, an understanding of the role of vegetation in the water cycle will help predict the availability of water downstream, where most people live. It also will help identify how human activities have changed the cloud forest and whether these activities have a negative effect on local development.

The students returned to Texas A&M on July 22 to complete their analyses and present their findings during a research symposium. This was the second year of a three-year program at the Soltis Center for Research and Education in Costa Rica. Charles William Soltis and his wife, Wanda, established the center to provide international experiences for students while protecting the unique ecological setting and creating preservation awareness.

  • Author

News Staff

  • Recent
  • VPA Faculty to Present World Premieres at Society for New Music Concert Jan. 31
    Saturday, January 23, 2021, By News Staff
  • ‘Democracy on Trial: Can We Save It?’
    Friday, January 22, 2021, By News Staff
  • COVID-19 Update: Answering Your Frequently Asked Questions
    Friday, January 22, 2021, By News Staff
  • Future of News Production the Focus of NSF Planning Grant
    Thursday, January 21, 2021, By Wendy S. Loughlin
  • College of Law Adds Vincent H. Cohen ’92, L’95 to Board of Advisors
    Wednesday, January 20, 2021, By Martin Walls

More In STEM

Arts and Sciences Welcomes New Director of Forensics Kathleen Corrado

After 25 years working in the field of forensic science and over two decades of executive experience as a laboratory director, Kathleen Corrado has been named director of the Forensic and National Security Science Institute (FNSSI) in the College of…

Hehnly Lab Awarded $1.2M NIH Grant to Research Critical Tissue Formation

A key process during the development of an embryo is tissue morphogenesis, where the number of cells in an organism increase through cell division and tissues begins to take shape. Heidi Hehnly, assistant professor of biology, has been awarded a…

The Role of Digital Forensics and Tracking Down US Capitol Riot Criminals

With just under a week left before President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration ceremony, investigators and law enforcement agencies across the country are working speedily to identify as many of the Jan. 6 U.S. Capitol riot offenders as they can. Knowing exactly…

A&S Researchers Awarded $2.1M Grant to Study Causes of Congenital Heart Defects

Congenital heart defects are the most common type of birth defect, affecting nearly 1 percent of births in the United States each year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Doctors have been unable to lower that number…

$1.5 Million NIH Grant Funds ALS-Linked Research

The human body is made up of trillions of cells. Within each cell are proteins which help to maintain the structure, function and regulation of the body’s tissues and organs. When cells are under stress, as in response to heat…

Subscribe to SU Today

If you need help with your subscription, contact sunews@syr.edu.

Connect With Us

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Youtube
  • LinkedIn
Social Media Directory

For the Media

Find an Expert Follow @SyracuseUNews
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Youtube
  • LinkedIn
  • @SyracuseU
  • @SyracuseUNews
  • @SUCampus
  • Social Media Directory
  • Accessibility
  • Privacy
  • Campus Status
  • Syracuse.edu
© 2021 Syracuse University News. All Rights Reserved.