January 15, 2010

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Students in the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) Department of Anthropology will travel to the Fiji Islands this summer to work with UAB scientists conducting research in ecology, biodiversity and conservation.

The research experience in Fiji is offered through ANTHRO-TEACH, created by UAB anthropologists Lori Cormier, Ph.D., and Sharyn Jones, Ph.D., to expand opportunities for hands-on student research and to introduce K-12 students to the field of anthropology.

The project was funded through small grants from the Provost's Scholarship of Teaching and the Quality Enhancement Plan grant programs at UAB and a larger grant from the National Science Foundation Research Experiences for Undergraduates (NSF-REU).

The NSF-REU grant made it possible for eight UAB students to travel to Fiji this past summer to conduct research with Jones and Cormier on the remote island of Nayau.

"In Nayau, the students investigated issues of ecological adaptation by looking at how resource exploitation has changed over time," said Jones. "One question they examined was whether the traditional subsistence modes of islanders are sustainable and whether it has led to the over-exploitation and possible extinction of local species."

To apply for a 2010 NSF-REU research experience in Fiji, contact Jones at sharynj@uab.edu.

ANTHRO-TEACH also offers a course called "Voyage in Anthropology" that encourages students to develop research projects and share their findings with students at local elementary and high schools. This past fall, students in the course created teaching tools such as multimedia teaching kits, DVDs, posters and pamphlets that were given to some local schools