Dear Tanzania field coursers, 

Just a reminder:

We have to buy flights to and from Tanzania as soon as possible. This will enable us to get a much less expensive flight. We need you to do TWO things right away. Believe me: we hate asking for money but we have to get going with this flight booking or risk much higher costs later. So...

1. Send us course fees (see below)

2. Give us your name AS IT APPEARS ON YOUR PASSPORT (e.g. JEREMY T KERR), your date of birth (e.g. January 1, 1844), and whether you will choose to depart from Toronto or Ottawa. (So, three points of information). We can't book flights without all this. Contact me if you have other questions - we are here to help. Remember to stay abreast of the course updates at tzcourse.blogspot.com and www.macroecology.ca/tanzania

ABOUT FEES: 

We need you to send the University of Ottawa the course fees. We estimate that the course fees will amount to $4850 for this year's version of the course, actually the least expensive yet. We believe that this will fully cover the costs and we will let you know of our progress. I know this is a drag: travel to Tanzania is expensive.

Please send us the fees ($4600, so the $4850 less the $250 deposit) as soon as you can, or according to arrangements we have discussed individually.

Cheques should be made payable to:

University of Ottawa

Do not make them payable to an individual or to our department.

Please mail the cheques (and preferably use a CERTIFIED cheque or money order), or give them directly, to:

Doreen Smith 

Department of Biology

University of Ottawa

30 Marie Curie Pte

Ottawa ON K1N6N5

Our financial officer reminds me that sometimes cheques are returned with "Not sufficient funds" (i.e. they bounce). This causes the Department to incur a large banking fee that they will then ask you to bear. It's on the order of $75, so PLEASE DON'T SEND THE UNIVERSITY A CHEQUE THAT WILL BOUNCE. A certified cheque or money order should eliminate this problem. 

Course page back up

As you know, there was a very unfortunately timed hardware problem on the course web server here at University of Ottawa. The computing services folks have helpfully restored the site and its content is fully functional. The site includes things like links to the course waiver and the risk management seminar.

Here it is: http://www.macroecology.ca/tanzania

A few general points while getting ready

Part of the fun for this course will be that we camp in some of the most interesting places on the planet. Campsites will be dark at night. There are no city lights or campsite lights to provide the kind of twilight you might find in many camping locales in Canada. So, you're going to need a light source on the trip. Almost any light will suffice - no need for anything especially pricey. Some people use headlamps, which are inexpensive and can easily be found at MEC or other retailer. I usually use a small, LED flashlight that is really bright and has long battery life. If you need replacement batteries in the Serengeti, you'll pay an arm and a leg for them, so come prepared.

Bring sunscreen (I use SPF 30, which seems good enough for my pale skin) and lots of lip balm. Chapped lips are painful and you will probably not be able to find lip balm once you are there. It's the little things like this that make a big difference.

A note on the FLIGHTS. Flights will be departing from either Ottawa OR Toronto. When we ask, just tell us which.

Some course participants may not have travelled far on airplanes before. For this course, you're travelling around the world and crossing into the opposite hemisphere (eastern, southern). It's a long trip and it's gruelling. Some people take something gentle (e.g. sleep-eze, or Ambien) to help get a little more sleep on this leg of the journey. Be careful about this if you choose to do it - don't take something you aren't sure you can tolerate and be aware of possible interactions with other drugs you may require/be taking. Take medical advice. Expect to be tired when we arrive in Tanzania and to have a few days of jetlag. We'll be outside a lot (read: lots of sunshine), so jetlag passes reasonably quickly for most.

Dehydration can make you feel very uncomfortable on the course. It's easy to get dehydrated. You may arrive a little dehydrated from the flights (rules I follow on these trips: no alcohol, lots of water). It will usually be very dry during the days and perhaps a little warm. Your body will lose water fairly quickly. We're not travelling through any intense deserts, so that is not the kind of situation you'll encounter, but it is still easy to get dehydrated. Dehydration causes lots of problems, including dizziness and faintness, headaches, a host of digestion problems, and potentially urinary tract infections (among other things). These problems can differ in likelihood among men and women. Drink lots of water. 

Suitcases: fit your stuff into a single duffle or suitcase. This should not be hard. Make sure you can carry what you are bringing with you. You'll have to carry your stuff sometimes and everyone else will have their hands full. While generous gestures such as carrying large amounts of old textbooks may seem kind, consider the logistical challenges and the actual priorities of the people in Tanzania. We will probably, as per our previous course iterations, engage in very significant community work while in Tanzania. Such activities are intended to be as helpful for local communities as possible and are geared to known needs.

Keep valuables and important personal items well out of view in your room. Remember that an ipod touch has a pricetag equal to about twice the annual income of some of the people in Tanzania. Keep your travel documents safe. Losing a travel document in Tanzania is a serious logistical problem and effectively may remove you and an instructor from the course while we drive across the country to the capital city to get new documents from the High Commission, which may cause missed flights that you must then repurchase yourself. Be extremely cautious about all valuables, including documents.

Insecticidal bednets: should you or shouldn't you?

This is a decision for you to make. The mosquito nets that students have purchased in the past have been largely unused. It is unlikely that you can hang a net in the tents you will stay in for most of the course. Tents normally function like mosquito nets in that they prevent mosquitoes from getting to you.

If used in an environment where it is possible to hang the net properly, nets are good at stopping mosquitoes from biting you. Nets, if tucked in properly around the sleeper, will also kill bedbugs should you be unlucky enough to be in a room with some of these in it. The problem is that nets require hangers and a bed, which we generally won't have. The dry season in Tanzania has few mosquitoes that bite humans, so insect repellent and anti-malaria drugs (that is: malarone, doxycycline, or lariam, depending on your doctor's advice) are effective at addressing this problem. 

A properly treated mosquito net will set you back very roughly $50 and it lasts two or three years (at most). After that, the insecticide has faded out of it, and it's just a regular net that creates a physical barrier against mosquitoes. 

VISA information - CRITICAL

Dear Tanzania course participants,

You will need a VISA to travel to Tanzania. The VISA is valid for THREE months, so you should not request until we get closer to the time of departure (I usually do this around mid-June or early July). Don't leave it too late, and don't request it too early. The application process is simple and here is a bit of information on it:

CRITICAL STEPS.

1. Get out your passport. Your passport must be valid for six months after the day you will return from travelling (i.e. until April, 2015, roughly speaking). If you don't have a passport, you cannot travel for the course and must get one: See http://www.ppt.gc.ca/index.aspx?lang=eng

2. Read and follow the instructions on the second page of the VISA application form extremely carefully. Complete the application form for the VISA and send/bring it to the High Commission WITH your passport and a $80 fee. In the "Purpose of visit" section, check the "Tourism, Leisure, Holiday" box. You need a single entry VISA but non-Canadians may be required to get a different kind of VISA. You must bring (or send) your VALID PASSPORT to the Tanzanian High Commission, which is a 10 minute walk from University of Ottawa in Sandy Hill. You also need to fill out the Tanzanian High Commission's form and attach a passport-style photo to the application. Read the instructions on the form (linked below).

Link to VISA application form (instructions on second page of the downloadable form): http://www.tzrepottawa.ca/visa.html

You'll need to include information on exactly where we are staying. This will be made available later this spring/summer. It's too early to get your VISA yet!!

2014 In-country presentations

Presentations in the field: TOPICS MARKED BY STRIKETHROUGH ARE ALREADY TAKEN.

Prepare a 15-minute presentation on a subject listed below. When you select a topic, enter your name and the topic number ON THIS BLOG so fellow students know that topic is now taken. Your presentation must be verbal only. It can be given at any time during the course (will be randomly selected) and no visual aids are possible. Prepare it entirely before departure. Remember that you might be giving this talk on a noisy rooftop, in the dark in the meal area of Seronera, or in a village gathering spot near Tarangire. You will be roughing it.

Grading expectations: To receive a very good mark on your presentation (B+ to A), you must demonstrate that you are thinking of underlying processes and causes for the issue(s) you discuss. This must include critical assessment of evidence. In other words, you must demonstrate that you are aware of the scientific or other evidence behind the issue you address and have formed a strategic view of how that evidence supports, or does not support, a particular viewpoint you present. If you demonstrate thinking at this level, you will do very well. To get a middling grade (C to B), present a thorough summary of information without apparent critical thinking or consideration of points are debated in the scientific literature. To get a poor grade (E to D), regurgitate a wikipedia-style entry on the topic you select for yourself, or use poor quality information sources. Such superficiality is extremely obvious. We expect better.

Climate and geology
1) In what ways does the geology of East Africa influence ecological processes?
2) How do climatic processes influence the distribution of ecological regions (e.g. savannahs) in East Africa spatially and through time?

Ecosystem ecology
3) How do the soils of savannahs differ from those of other ecosystems? What are the ecological consequences of these differences?
4) Do termites structure savannah ecosystems and influence ecological dynamics?
5) What are the effects of fire in savannah ecosystems in terms of influences on ecological processes?
6) What factors influence desertification across space and through time, and how to human activities influence this process?

Animal ecology
7) Describe the role of herbivory, including key herbivore guilds, in shaping spatial and temporal patterns of vegetation in east African savannahs?
8) What determines temporal and spatial variation in elephant abundance? How does elephant abundance influence the distribution of plant communities and their dependent animal species?
9) What factors influence the population dynamics of flamingos (lesser and greater) in East Africa and why?
10) What factors influence spatial differences in species richness in East Africa and why?
11) To what extent does predation regulate the populations of east African ungulates? Discuss whether population dynamics of herbivores and predators track each other and the basis for those similarities/differences.
12) Discuss the interactions among ants, Acacia species, insect pollinators of Acacia, and herbivores that consume Acacia. Discuss the evolution of this mutualism and provide critical evaluation of factors that have shaped it.
12.1) Discuss the conservation trajectory of cheetahs in terms of their population trends, habitat availability, and whether their intraspecific genetic variation (inferences from which have been sometimes controversial for cheetahs) is likely to have contributed to those trends.
12.2) Wild dogs in Africa are one of the most effective predators but their populations have dwindled to dangerously low levels. Discuss the key issues that have caused their decline and address particularly the relevance of wild dog population genetics to the survival and recovery.

Plant ecology
13) What determines the local vegetation patterns, spatially and temporally, in the Serengeti-Mara area? Do processes influencing vegetation dynamics affect the population dynamics of significant animal species? Why (or why not)?
14) How important is herbivory in the population dynamics of plants in east Africa? What are the main plant defences against herbivores? How effective are they?
15) Discuss the relative importance of vertebrate vs. invertebrate herbivores in East African grassland/savannah ecosystems. Explain the biological processes and population dynamics that may shape their influences.


Human impacts and conservation
16) How do human activities currently contribute to endangerment of large vertebrate populations in East Africa and what strategies could be/are being adopted to mitigate these effects? Provide critical evaluation of the likelihood of success for each strategy using specific examples.
17) Discuss the potential impacts of highway creation through the Serengeti ecosystem, including reasons for proposing such a project, as well as ecological consequences expected from it.
18) Discuss the role of protected areas in wildlife conservation in East Africa and ways in which that role has evolved in the past century. What role will these protected areas occupy in the future and why?
19) Discuss the creation of national parks (e.g., Serengeti) versus conservation areas (e.g., Ngorongoro) in Tanzania. Has the issue of human use of these areas been successfully addressed?
20) Discuss the patterns of species endangerment in East Africa. Are they driven by the same factors in Africa as in other parts of the world? Evaluate differences/similarities.
21) Discuss the issues involved in the conservation of migratory ungulates. Evaluate prospects for their conservation in the future on the basis of critical assessment of present day and past trends.
22) In what ways does wildlife provide economic benefits, or incur economic costs, in East Africa? Do the costs outweigh the benefits? Why?

History and culture
23) Discuss emerging hypotheses and evidence concerning hominid evolution, emphasizing Africa. Use specific examples that relate to locales we may visit (e.g. Oldupai (Olduvai) gorge).

Human disease
24) To what extent has disease influenced human land use in East Africa and why? How has that situation changed in recent years and how/why might this change in the future?
25) Discuss progress in controlling malaria and evaluate the reasons for perceived progress (if any). What are expectations for the near future and what is the basis for those expectations?

Risk Management assignment and waiver

1. EVERYONE must complete the waiver and return a signed copy to us. The waivers should be provided ASAP but no later than June 30. Waivers should go to Professor Jeremy Kerr, Biology Department, University of Ottawa, 30 Marie Curie, Ottawa ON, K1N 6N5 or fax it to the attention of Professor Kerr at 613-562-5486.

2. Those who could not attend the risk management seminar must complete the risk management assignment, described below. The assignment is due June 30.

Watch the videos of the presentation posted on the main course page (not this blog) and create an Individual Risk Assessment. The idea of a risk assessment is to identify potential threats to personal safety, their likelihood and severity, and ways to minimize them. These are discussed in detail in the presentation and you are encouraged to think of others. Your risk assessment assignment should evaluate the severity of risk relative to likelihood of incurring that risk. It should address two examples of risks you might incur, one of which should be particular to an urban area, and another of which is particular to field settings (e.g. while in the Serengeti). State each risk clearly and describe it. Evaluate and defend its likelihood and severity. Identify clear strategies to control the risk (i.e. to reduce its likelihood, or minimize its severity). State an appropriate and effective response if you incur the risk. There is no single set of "right" answers, but assignments must demonstrate analytical thought and risk preparedness.

Email completed assignment to Rachelle and Jeremy (rachelle.desrochers@gmail.com, CC to jkerr@uottawa.ca) by June 30. At the same time complete the waiver, linked below, and send to us by post or bring it to us physically at the Department of Biology (Jeremy: Room 373 Gendron Hall, or bring to secretary in Biology office).
Professor Jeremy Kerr
Department of Biology
University of Ottawa
30 Marie Curie
Ottawa, ON K1N6N5


Waiver link: http://www.macroecology.ca/tanzania/waiver.pdf
The waiver will be available soon after the server hardware is fixed and the web site remounted.