Conservation & Environmental Research - Brazil

Forget the Amazon. Brazil's Pantanal region- a tropical wetland basin that covers over 200,000 square kilometres- boasts the greatest concentration of wildlife in the Americas. Spilling over into neighbouring Bolivia and Paraguay, it is a sparsely populated region (there are no towns) and transportation is challenging at best. But for budding environmentalists looking to gain experience in one of the world's most unique ecosystems this programme provides an unmissable research and conservation opportunity.

You will take part in ongoing academic research into the diverse flora and fauna in this area of rich beauty and biodiversity. Working alongside other scientists and researchers, you will develop and implement skills necessary for a career in environmental research and conservation. Specifically this project will help understand how the Pantanal's peccaries, tapirs, agoutis, and other frugivores, like macaws, certain fish, and numerous insects, affect tropical forest dynamics. The work at the plateau region of the Pantanal will attempt to discover which species of fruiting plants and frugivores are key to the survival of the entire forest ecosystem.

In addition, by extending the project from the Pantanal basin to the plateau regions, the project will further measure cattle impacts on palm recruitment, fruit diversity, and aquatic habitats. Preliminary data from censuses show that fruit availability varies widely between habitats, seasons, and years. Focal observations have revealed plant-frugivore interactions that have important conservation implication. Therefore, studies of frugivores, and peccary populations in fragmented habitats will be essential for their long-term survival and will assist wildlife managers establish viable conservation units.