Marlborough Native Studies Biology in Peruvian Rainforest

From SUNY Oneonta:

Maggie Doolin of Marlborough, MA, saw not one, but four jaguars in the wild while traversing Peru's Manu River in a small boat filled with fellow SUNY Oneonta students.

The jaguar sightings were among many exciting moments during the 22-day tropical biology summer field course, which also included a rare glimpse of an anaconda curled up on a tree trunk in the Manu River.
After a week in the Andes Mountains, including a visit to the ancient Inca ruins of Machu Picchu, the group settled at a tourist lodge adjacent to Project Buena Vista, a nonprofit organization founded by Reyda and his wife to protect the flora and fauna of a 100-acre swath of rainforest in southeastern Peru.

There, the students immersed themselves in tropical biology with hikes and lab activities. A highlight of the trip was a week-long visit to Manu National Park, a 6,000-square-mile protected area that's accessible only by boat.

"No matter how much I brief the students on it, they don't really realize how much wildlife they're going to see," said Associate Professor of Biology Florian Reyda, who co-led the course with Biology Professor Donna Vogler.

A liberal arts institution with a strong focus on undergraduate research and service learning, SUNY Oneonta consistently gains recognition for delivering excellence and value. The college has been named to Kiplinger's list of "100 Best Values in Public Colleges" for 10 years running and sits at No. 9 on the 2016 U.S. News and World Report list of the best public institutions in the region. SUNY Oneonta enrolls 6,000 students in its 70 undergraduate majors and 14 graduate programs.

Photo 1: Tropical Biology Lab

Photo 2: Peru-Spider Web

Photo 3: SUNY Oneonta group