Professors Lowman and McCord, Graduate Voirin Attend Canopy Conference in India

New College was well represented at the Fifth International Forest Canopy Conference in Bangalore, India, at the end of October. Biology professor Meg Lowman co-chaired the conference and teamed up with colleague professor Elzie McCord to chair a symposium on Canopy Outreach and Education, which included various talks highlighting advances in ecology outreach and education from “K through gray.” McCord’s presentation was on incorporating physically disabled students in canopy research and Lowman’s talk focused on integrating religion and science through education to save the church forests of Ethiopia.

James Bryson Voirin, a 2007 graduate of New College now working on his Ph.D. at the Max Planck Institut in Germany, co-chaired the student symposium entitled “Current Trends in Canopy Research and Exploration.” He also made a presentation on sleep behaviors in sloths, “Sleeping Outside the Box: Sleep in Wild Three-Toed Sloths.” Voirin and his colleagues conducted cutting edge research by implanting electrodes under the skin and against the skull of the animals to track their activities in the wild.

In addition to co-chairing a symposium, Lowman delivered a public talk on “Life in the Treetops: Exploration and Discovery in Forest Canopies Around the World.” She made six other presentations during the seven-day conference and was the recipient of an ACE, or Achievement in Canopy Ecology, award from the organizing group, the Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment (ATREE).

Lowman received the award for “her canopy research across three continents and for engaging proactively with the community towards conservation of forests and ecosystems.” She is director of environmental initiatives and a professor of biology at New College, where she draws on a lifetime’s work in research and conservation to facilitate policy solutions using science education as a tool. This was Dr. Elzie McCord’s first trip to India, and his first presentation at this prestigious conference focusing on forest canopy conservation, climate change and sustainable use.

“The consequences for the Earth look bleak if we continue to cut down trees,” says McCord, an entomologist. “Socially, it’s a delicate balancing act. How do we tell indigenous people in need of fuel not to cut down trees? That’s one reason why we need to study the biodiversity of the church forest in Ethiopia before it’s all gone.” McCord and Lowman, along with Dr. William Miller, a tardigrade ecologist at Baker University in Kansas, are in the process of writing a grant to study the last remaining church forests in Ethiopia growing on sacred church land.

The three scientists are also working on a National Science Foundation grant to study invertebrate biodiversity in North American forest canopies while inspiring the physically-disabled to pursue field biology. The project would be a mentored undergraduate research community centered on the unexplored temperate forest canopies of North America. Teams of student researchers will be composed of one physically challenged student and one not. McCord said that the goal would be preparing undergraduates for graduate school, using new technologies, increasing the opportunities for physically-disabled students in field ecology, mentoring to foster research collaboration and inspiring students to pursue careers in science.

Forest canopies are often called the “eighth continent of planet Earth” due to their complexity and high biodiversity. With the development of safe single rope techniques, canopy ecology has burgeoned over the last two decade. Vertical ascent into the treetops via ropes is critical to answering important scientific questions about global forests. In Japan, single rope technique has become a tool for recreational and therapeutic climbing for people with physical disabilities. Lowman received a National Science Foundation award to fund attendees to the conference.

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