Tropical Forests (Thailand) Field Course

Wet-tropical forests of Southeast Asia are different from Ohio forests. They are full of strange growth forms including lianas, epiphytes, strangler figs, palms, and leafy liverworts. Troops of monkeys call raucously, asserting ownership of territory in the tree canopy. Frogs chorus at night, sounding like cars all blowing their horns at once. Trees are really big, commonly 2-3 times as tall as forest trees in Ohio. Rainforests even smell different: almost every plant species produces copious displays of fragrant flowers. These sensual impressions only hint at the enormous variety of life forms and evolutionary strategies displayed in tropical forest communities.

In this year's Global Studies course, we will explore the richness and complexity of tropical rainforest communities in Sarawak, the western (Malaysian) section of the island of Borneo (Where's Borneo? Click here).

Sarawak consists of several river valleys running westward from the spine of Borneo into the South China Sea. Ranging from low coastal areas to the central highlands bordering Indonesia, the country's varied landforms support several tropical forest types. We will hike through coastal mangroves and epiphyte-rich kerangas forests in Bako National Park. We will visit lowland dipterocarp forests in Kubah and Lambir Hills National Parks, and climb to cloud forests on the flanks of Mt. Mulu, which we will approach by longboat up the Sungai Tutah River. Along the way, we'll visit the world's largest caves at Niah Caves NP. We'll see bearded pigs, oriental hornbills, gaudy butterflies, noisy geckos, monitor lizards, thieving macaques, and perhaps wild orangutans if we're lucky. Students will collect vegetation and environmental data at forest sites, learning ecological sampling techniques and performing statistical community analyses.

People have inhabited Sarawak for close to 40,000 years, developing distinctive art, music, and culture often based on creatrues of the rainforest which you still encounter in towns and villages (the doodles in this webpage are traditional tatoos!). True to the legends, many of the fierce Iban and Kayan tribesmen once collected the heads of their enemies. Today, Sarawak is home to ca. 2.4 million friendly, modern people (we will meet many of them). They have an ethic of courteous accommodation, and take a cheerful interest in the welfare of visitors. They have a tasty cuisine with world-class sea food, which you can buy almost anywhere very cheaply.

Click on map for enlargement

The course will consider human ecology as well as natural science, examining the effects of logging, plantation agriculture, and tourism on the rainforest. We'll examine second growth forest outside the park, and hear about forest regeneration strategies from the Sarawak Forest Commission. We will study botany by sampling luscious tropical fruits like rambuttan, mangosteen, pudding apples, salak, and (if you like) the pungent durian. We will visit mountain villages around Gunung Mulu to view subsistence agriculture and its impact on the forest.

Our goal is to become familiar with tropical forests of Sarawak, and develop a feel for their local variation in structure and composition. To this end students will learn to recognize the dominant plant families and genera, and participate in field exercises examining the structure and dynamics of tropical forests. Students will also view the impacts of humans in tropical forests, and evaluate efforts at regeneration. Beyond science, we hope students will gain a degree of appreciation for a rich and complex non-western culture. This web site provides an outline of the course; more detail is available from Glenn Matlack (matlack@ohio.edu).

In the field section of the course we will visit several National Parks and a University. We will stay in local hotels and Park lodges, and eat the wonderful Sarawak food. Although we will rent vans in Bintulu, and ride longboats at Mulu, most of our travel will be by public transportation. Days in the forest will involve moderately strenuous hiking and several hours of data collection. We will also have free time, with the opportunity to sightsee, shop, swim, or just relax.

The group will fly from Columbus on 1 December, arriving in Kuching two days later (having crossed the International Dateline). After a "rest day" in Kuching we will travel to Bako, the first of several National Parks, by minibus and ferry. We will spend 3-4 days at each park, using the Park lodge as a base camp. Hotels and lodges have been selected by the leaders on previous trips. Accommodation varies in character but in all cases will be clean, secure, private, and reasonably comfortable. Students will lodge 2-3 per room.

Students will eat on their own, either in the hotel, Park canteens, or nearby restaurants. Sarawak food is delicious, filling, and very cheap. In the field, bag lunches will be provided.

After breakfast, we will assemble at 8:00 o'clock and walk to the trail head. We hike for 1-2 miles to the field site and begin data collection. In teams of 3, we will measure tree density, composition, and size structure by the point-centered quarter method. Then we survey the shrub and herb flora using quadrats. We make measurements of light, litter depth, slope, canopy openness, humidity, and other parameters (jobs will rotate so that everyone gets a chance to do them all). The leaders will offer guidance with all methods and plant identification. After 30 minutes for lunch around noon, we will hike to another location and repeat the data collection. We will return to our hotel at 4-5pm. Students have free time to rest, wash, have dinner, etc. until 8pm, when we meet for an hour to collate data and enter it into the computer for analysis. On some days we will be accompanied by Sarawak botanists or Park rangers who will give presentations.

On travel days, we all pack up and carry our luggage to the train/bus/ferry/plane and watch the scenery go by, following our progress on the maps provided. One-two free days are scheduled each week in interesting towns. Maps and descriptions of interesting sites will be provided, but students are free to do as they please (Although free day activities are up to the student, we require that everyone keep us informed of their whereabouts). Many of the hotels have swimming pools; we'll stop at a world-class beach on the coast.

The more you know before you visit a new place, the more you see when you get there. Thus, preparation for travel is important. To help students fully appreciate forests of Sarawak, there is a required series of lectures in Fall quarter 2004. We will meet twice a week at times arranged to be convenient for everyone. Students will enroll for PBIO 409 (or 691 if you're a grad student) and will receive two hours credit. These lectures are considered part of the course and passing this section is a firm prerequisite for the field section of the course.

We will discuss

- Climate and geography of southeast Asia

- Ecosystem types within Sarawak

- Major plant groups and prominent species

- Wildlife of Sarawak

- Forest dynamic processes

- Plant-animal interactions

- Human impacts on SE Asian ecosystems

- Conservation and restoration issues

In addition, we will devote time to practical topics such as plant identification, travel health, Sarawak culture and history, travel formalities, and what to pack. We will have a few lessons in speaking Malaysian!

Students must attend Ohio University's "Bobcats Abroad" program (a 2-hour lecture and discussion).

At the end of the preparation lectures, we will have a written exam and students will hand in a short term paper. We strongly suggest that students also take Tropical Ecology (PBIO 322/522) which is also offered in the Fall, although this is not required (click here to take a look at the Tropical Ecology homepage).

This course will be an intensive field experience. Students are asked to commit most of their time on most days to field work in the forest. We will function as a tightly integrated group, together 90% of the time. We will be immersed in Sarawak culture from the moment we wake to the moment we go to sleep. The educational rewards of this approach are potentially enormous: a non-superficial appreciation of tropical forests and their interaction with a human culture, gained at low cost in a short time.

If you come to the course with an open mind and a willingness to work, it will be great fun. Some qualifications are necessary, however. This is not a vacation. If you come expecting to chill out, drink a lot of beer, and get a tan, you will not have a good time. We expect all participants to cooperate cheerfully in the group effort described above.

We will be out-of-touch with American culture. Although good food is always available, you will not be able to buy American dishes (there really are places McDonalds has not reached). Although friendly, some of the people we will meet do not speak English. Sarawak culture will often surprise you, requiring on-the-spot diplomacy. If you feel uncomfortable in such situations, you should stay home. We expect all participants to take a positive, flexible approach the local culture and interact cheerfully with the Sarawak people. We must always remember that we are guests in their country, and the success of our trip depends on their willingness to help us. The people of Sarawak are by nature cheerful, polite, and helpful; we must meet them half way.

These are the details as we have them at the end of Winter quarter 2007. We provide them to give the fullest possible description of the course for prospective students. However, they may be updated as we get closer to the enrollment date. Firm details will be available in mid-July.

Participants will receive 2 credit hours for successful completion of the preparation segment (credited in Fall 2007) and 6 hours for the field segment (credited in Winter 2008).

The projected cost for the field section of the course is $3,800, which covers air fare, lodging, in-country transportation, and program expenses. In addition, students must pay the normal tuition fee for six credits, and carry a small amount of money for food and incidental expenses (we recommend $500).

Financial aid can be applied to field courses expenses and tuition, with advance planning. Scholarships are available (Grants and scholarships).

Students must register and sign the financial agreement by 1 September. A non-refundable deposit of $500 will be required by that date. No delays are allowed for payment of time-sensitive fees such as passports and their associated items (photos, birth certificates, etc.) and no refunds are permitted once the airline tickets are purchased and lodging and other arrangements are made.

Participants must have at least one 200-level course in evolutionary or environmental biology (e.g. PBIO 209, 211 or the equivalent). They must have "junior" status at the time they board the airplane, a GPA of at least 3.2, and must have permission of the instructor. Written permission is required at the time of Enrollment.

All students must pass the preparation segment (PBIO 409/691) with a grade of 3.0 or better to be eligible for the field segment (PBIO 485/691). Tropical Ecology (PBIO 322/522, offered Fall 2004) is also strongly recommended as preparation.

Whitmore, T.C. 2001. An Introduction to Tropical Rain Forests. Oxford University Press, New York.

Richmond and Harper. 2007. Lonely Planet Guide to Malaysia, Brunei, and Sarawak. Lonely Plant Publications, Oakland.

A grade will be assigned for both the preparation segment (Fall 2007) and the field segment (Intersession 2007):

Preparation segment (2 credits):

Final exam 50%

Term paper 40%

Class participation 10%

Field segment (6 credits):

Field exam 30%

Final report 50%

Participation 20%

There are a number of official forms and documents that must be submitted both at the University and Government levels. We will discuss these in detail at the first class meeting. In the meantime, please read

The days and times of the Preparation lectures will be arranged for the convenience of students. Note: the field section of the course returns 21 December, several days before Christmas.

Sarawak is a tropical country, so it's generally fairly warm. Light cotton shirts and pants are adequate most of the time. A swim suit is a must. It will be cool in the north around Mulu, however, and it will be distinctly chilly when we climb Gunung Mulu, so bring a long-sleeve shirt and a sweater or fleece pullover. It rains a fair amount (remember, this is rain forest), so a waterproof parka is a good idea. Definitely bring shorts for lounging after work, but you will need long pants in the forest and the town. You will need a sturdy pair of light hiking boots. Sandals or sport shoes are OK in town, but not on the trail.

Choice of clothing also has a cultural dimension - people judge you by what you wear. Our goal is to fit in as unobtrusively as possible. The peole of Sarawak dress fairly conservatively (notwithstanding the tropical climate) and may take offense at particularly revealing or outrageous dress. You will not be allowed to enter temples, hotels, or decent restaurants with bare shoulders or midriff, short shorts, or cleavage showing. Leave the body-piercing hardware at home. Although Sarawak people will never be rude to you, they may view revealing dress as an insult. They will be a lot less helpful than they could be.

Sarawak has good standards of public health. The CDC (US Center for Disease Control) recommends vaccinations against

hepatitis A and B, typhoid and tetanus as ordinary precautions, although there have been no recent outbreaks of these diseases. At all times we will be within a day's drive of a modern medical facility (and usually much closer). We always carry a well-stocked first aid kit in the field.

We will continue to monitor SARS and Avian Flu, although at the time of this writing the CDC does not consider these to be serious threats in Sarawak. Malaria occurs occasionally in the region, and we require that students take preventive measures. For further information, please read the "Travelers Health" section of the CDC website (http://www.cdc.gov/travel/seasia.htm).

Crime is minimal in the areas we will be visiting, but we always encourage common-sense precautions.

Glenn Matlack teaches forest ecology and tropical biology in OU's Department of Environmental and Plant Biology. He received his PhD in plant population biology from the University of Wales, Bangor, in 1984. He has traveled extensively in Southeast Asia, and has led field courses in Thailand and Queensland, Australia. In Sarawak, he will be primarily responsible for plant science, data collection and analysis, and course administration.

Christine Fahl teaches tourism and eco-tourism in the OU School of Human and Consumer Sciences. She has degrees in wildlife biology, environmental planning, and a PhD in landscape modeling from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. She has traveled extensively in Southeast Asia, Australia, and Central America, and was co-leader of the 2004 Global Studies Course in Thailand. In Sarawak, Dr. Fahl will be responsible for animal ecology and travel logistics. She is an avid bird watcher.