Facilities to enhance collaborative research at UGA Costa Rica

University Of Georgia Research Foundation Inc, Athens GA

Investigators

Abstract

The University of Georgia Research Foundation is awarded a grant to renovate a wet laboratory, add a back-up power generator, and improve network infrastructure at their UGA Costa Rica field station in San Luis, Costa Rica. UGA Costa Rica is rapidly becoming a premier study-abroad location, hosting over 1600 students, faculty, and other leaders from more than 57 educational institutions and NGOs in 2011. These enhanced facilities will improve continuity of operations, connectivity, and scientific research collaboration capabilities at the station. Located at the Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve the station has built a unique relationship with the nearby farming community of San Luis enabling unprecedented integration of training, outreach, service learning, and social and ecological research opportunities. Research opportunities range from focal studies in traditional disciplines to broad socio- ecological studies addressing conservation challenges throughout the Bellbird Biological Corridor (BBC), connecting the cloud forest to the Pacific coast. BBC research needs include addressing important problems facing ecosystems and human communities as a result of historic deforestation and current land use conflicts. UGA offers rich study abroad experiences at the field station and the renovation of the wet laboratory will increase utility and productivity in conducting scientific research. The back-up generator will eliminate frequent power interruptions affecting communications, sample processing and storage, and computational work. Finally, a new server and network switch will enhance network access and data sharing applications, allowing UGA Costa Rica to host a much needed web mapping service to share data with researchers and stakeholders. Through the tight integration of research, education and community service at UGA Costa Rica, enhanced facilities will not only improve research capacity but will also enhance the training of more than a thousand students each year and improve environmental literacy in the surrounding communities. Providing a foundation for reliable connectivity and effective data-sharing will enhance collaborations between disciplines and institutions, among U.S. and Costa Rican academies, industry and government, and also with other international partners through individual research projects. As there is currently no other reliable hub for geo-spatial information-sharing in the Bellbird Biological Corridor, that aspect alone will serve many partners and researchers alike. This project directly addresses the broader impacts of our science by reaching out to current and future scientists in the U.S. and in Costa Rica, as well as addressing local and regional needs for information to inform conservation decision- making. For more information about UGA Costa Rica please visit: http://www.externalaffairs.uga.edu/costa_rica/index.php/front_desk/overview