We are very pleased to announce the XI edition of the International  Pollination Course (2014), an event supported by the Brazilian Pollinators Initiative (IBP), the Brazilian Program for conservation and sustainable use of pollinators and the Bahia Pollinators Network (Repol). The 2014 course is being organized by the Landscape Ecology and Analysis Pack (LEAP), from the University of São Paulo FFCL Ribeirão Preto.

The course is open to professionals and graduate students in biology and related fields and aims to train human resources of higher education for the conservation and management of pollinators worldwide. All persons interested in the subject are elegible, but priority will be given to those in which the course will provide meaningful benefits to their research and/or professionals skills. In depth knowledge about pollination is not required, but a letter of recommendation is mandatory. Due to lodging and transportation constraints, the 2014 Pollination Course will be limited to 30 participants.

 

 

COURSE HISTORY

 

The first edition of this course occurred in Mexico (1990) in co-participation with the University of Guelph, Botanical Garden and the Chamela Biology Station y Los Tuxtlas National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM). In 2001 the course was offered by the National University of Heredia, Costa Rica and the University of Saint Louis, Missouri Botanical Garden, United States of America. Since 2003 the course came to Brazil, being held at the Chapada Diamantina National Park, Bahia (as well as the editions of 2005, 2007, 2009 and 2013), Limoeiro do norte, Ceará (2008), in the Aparados da Serra National Park, Rio Grande do Sul (2010), in Caxiuanã National Forest in Pará (2011), in the Chapada dos Veadeiros National Park in Goiás (2012). The 2014 edition will take place for the first time in the Atlantic Forest, at Intervales State Park (SP).

 

 

THEMES OF THE 2014 EDITION

 

The course will address issues about the evolution of interactions between plants and their pollinators, also discussing important subjects for their conservation. It will consist of theoretical and practical lectures, followed by the development of students field projects. During lectures theoretical issues of pollination ecology and the important study and research tools will be discussed, along with other specific issues, always based on classical and recent scientific publications.

In practical activities, field exercises and demonstrations and in the laboratory practices will be performed. The development and implementation of projects will be conducted by teams of students with an oral presentation at the end of the course. Data obtained during field activities may be converted into articles gathered in a publication.

The course is bilingual, conducted in Portuguese and English. It is expected that at least half of the students be Brazilian and the other half coming  from foreign countries, what will provide good opportunities to make new friends and exchange scientific and cultural experiences.

 

Preliminary course program:

 

1. Lectures (preliminary subjects)

- Local vegetation-types and physical aspects of PE Intervales

- Local flora diversity

- Questions, sources of variation and experimental design pollination studies

- Plant phenology

- Floral-Resources

- Floral-Attractants

- Nectar

- Plants reproductive systems diversity

- Landscape Ecology in pollination studies

-Pollination and plant demography

- Zoological aspects of pollination

- Foraging behavior of pollinators

- Pollintor insects and bee taxonomy

- Canopy pollination

- Plant-Pollinator Interaction networks

- Conservation of pollination services

- Pollination in Agroecosystems

- Evolutionary-Pollination Ecology

 

. 2 Laboratory practices and demonstrations (preliminary issues):

- Functional morphology of flowers

- Methods in biology with emphasis on floral morphology and nectar

- Methods in pollination biology

- Identification of bees

 

3. Field practices, to be developed in accordance with local flora availability of flowers and pollinators.

 

4. Development and project and final presentations by students.