Research Projects

Ecuador is one of the most biologically diverse places on the planet.  Moths as a group play an important role as pollinators as adults and are a critical food resource in most ecosystems Using a light trap and a sheet, this nocturnal  research team will compare abundance and diversity of moths at 7 different sites along an elevational gradient from the Andes (12,000’) to the tropical rainforest (2,000’).   Stay tuned for research updates!   

With over 1657 bird species, Ecuador is literally BURSTING with bird biodiversity. This early-rising research team will conduct morning bird surveys to better understand the roles that habitat and human activity play in species richness.  Repeat surveys in the same locations will allow this research team to explore the notions of common and rare as well as gain a better understanding of species diversity and richness patterns in areas that have differing levels of human disturbance as well as habitat complexity.  

To gain a better understanding on the environmental concerns and perspectives of people in the world, we will use the same survey instrument to ask people in Ecuador, the U.S. and Italy about their top environmental concerns and their sense of how these concerns will impact their lives, the future, and natural systems.  It is our hope to develop a richer understanding of the diversity of perspectives in the world and to relate how these perspectives may differ between countries and different levels of connectedness to nature.  People in the US will be surveyed before January, and we will engage folks in Ecuador along our journey while Hollins students going to Florence will survey Italians.