Masters by Research

Operation Wallacea is offering a limited range of field based placements for students to collect data for their Masters theses. These placements are for 6 months (January to June) and are at one of three Operation Wallacea research sites (see below). Each of these sites has a portfolio of background papers, data sets and research questions that have been developed by the Opwall academic teams and the reserve managers as research topics available for those completing a Masters by Research.

In order to qualify for one of these placements the student has to apply first to Operation Wallacea (email Dr Kathy Slater kathy.slater@opwall.com for the South Africa topics, Dr Dan Exton dan.exton@opwall.com for the Indonesia marine topics or Dr Steve Green, steve.green@opwall.com for the Peruvian Amazon projects). Note the first date for making an initial query is 15 September 2012 and the application form will be available from January 2013. The first intake of students, which must have a minimum number of five (maximum 8 students) at each of the sites in order to run, will be in January 2014.

In approving applications for acceptance of one of these placements, preference will be given to those students who have completed their undergraduate dissertations with Operation Wallacea or have worked as Research Assistants on one of the field projects, preferably at the site they are choosing to carry out their Masters research. The reason for this is that if you are doing one of these projects you will be living in the bush, on a remote desert island or on a research ship/station in the Amazon so we need to be sure that you are suited to this sort of independent living and research.

In addition a condition of acceptance is that you need to be registered at a University for a Masters by Research. Prior to going into the field we will need to see a rigorous literature review and a detailed research proposal from you, that has been accepted by the University at which you are registered and which has to be accepted by the relevant Opwall academic providing supervisory assistance for projects in those countries. This will normally require you to be registered for the Masters by September of the year before you start in the field so you have at least 4 months to complete this literature review and research proposal.

The cost for the 6 months in the field is £7,200 or $11,500 and this includes all the food, accommodation and support for the project. In the case of South Africa the support covers the costs of the support vehicle and armed guard for foot based field work. In Indonesia the support element covers the costs of diving and Dive Master support, whilst in the Amazon the support costs cover the costs of being based on a research ship and local guides. Note students doing more traditional lab based Masters projects and living in a city will probably spend as much as this on living expenses over the 6 months! Students doing one of these field based projects will also need to cover their own flight and visa costs for the project.

Note there will be regular (mainly weekly) availability of email access to University supervisors throughout the 6 months. However, the support conditions are not like the normal Opwall operating season when there are numerous academic support staff on site to provide assistance to students doing their undergraduate dissertations. For the Masters by Research the student has to demonstrate an independence of thought and be capable of managing their research with occasional input advice from their University or Opwall academic supervisors.

Where can I register for a Masters by Research?

There are a number of Universities that offer Masters by Research. One option is the Durrell Institute of Ecology at Kent University (http://www.kent.ac.uk/sac/studying/programmes/pgr/biodiversity.html) and the costs for the Masters would be £3,732 for UK/EU students and £13,400 for non UK/EU students (prices based on postgraduate tuition fees 2011/2012).

Research site in South Africa

The Welgevonden Reserve in the Waterberg Biosphere Reserve is a Big Five high veld reserve. Accommodation is in safari tents in a fenced compound and the students have daily access to a game viewing vehicle and a well qualified and armed ranger to accompany them. There are some excellent long term data sets here on the distribution of herbivores and carnivores, birds and GIS overlays for various management aspects (e.g. fire burnt areas, trails etc.). The camp has electricity, hot showers and an internet connection so students can be supervised remotely. Projects would need to be based around the research requirements of the Reserve but could include topics such as herbivore and predator distribution, effects of fire burning on bird communities, herbivore carrying capacity, elephant herd structure and ranging behaviour etc.

Research site in Indonesia

In Indonesia, we have a very well set up marine research station with boats, dive centre, computer network, dry and wet labs etc. Accommodation is in stilted cabins with individual bathrooms. This research centre has produced more than 65 peer reviewed publications over the last 5 years and publications are currently at around 20 per year. There are projects here on various aspects of reef ecology, mangroves and intertidal communities.

Research site in Amazonia

In Peru, Masters students would be based on research ships operating in the Pacaya Samiria Reserve in the Amazon. There are existing long data sets on a range of indicators of disturbance (eg macaws, dolphins, primates) and levels of exploitation (eg fish communities, number of game birds and large mammals, turtles) that can be used as the basis for developing Masters projects. Communications from this site are more difficult, but there is a very experienced, well published resident academic on site with this project so the level of external support required is less.