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Research
 It
seemed to me that something extraordinary in the forest
was very close to where I stood, moving to the surface and
discovery.
- Edward O. Wilson
The ACEER Foundation supports applied research activities
that will help inform and guide the management and sustainable
use of tropical forests, and to provide resources and information
in an effort to promote greater synergy and learning between
educators, researchers, local communities, and eco-tourists.
The ACEER education and research centers in the Madre
de Dios region provide dedicated space and equipment to
permit scientists to process samples and analyze and exchange
data. The facilities consist of basic lodging for researchers
and students, meeting rooms, and a laboratory area. The center
accommodates university students, local educators, and students,
as well as scientists.
Topics
for study include the following:
-
 Botanical systematics
- New species identification.
- Censuses of major flora/fauna.
- Establishment of botanical plots for temporal studies.
- Monitoring of climate for long term global climate change
studies.
- Monitoring of fluvial processes and characteristics of
aquatic ecosystems.
- Where present, pollutant transport monitoring and modeling,
i.e. oil, non-point source agricultural pollutants, mining
pollutants.
- Ecosystem studies that address broader issues such as
edge effects, forest gaps, air/water and water/land interfaces,
and human impacts on natural systems.
- Comparative studies, such as the dynamics of highland
cloud forests versus lowland rainforests; or tropical ecosystemsversus temperate ecosystems.
ACEER Sponsored Research
The ACEER has hosted and sponsored research in two main regions
of the Peruvian Amazon in the past years. Projects included:
- Species inventories in the Itaya River Watershed near
Iquitos by Peruvian scientists in support of the creation
of a new conservation protected area.
- Basic botanical and zoological species inventories at
ATI that will lead to a site management plan.
- An integrated assessment of the spatial distribution of
mosquito habitat in the vicinity of the Madre de Dios River,
using field data and satellite imagery in an effort to assess
mosquito-bourne disease risk factors to the pubic.
Contact us about how to conduct research at the ACEER:
P.O. Box 2549
West Chester, PA 19383
Phone: 610-738-0477
Fax: 610-436-2860
Dr. Mustalish: rmustalish@wcupa.edu.
Marguerite Gould, Director of Operations: mgould@wcupa.edu |
