Hailey Trefethen studying in the rainforest.
Conducting research in a Costa Rican rainforestHailey Trefethen '08B.A. anthropologyHailey Trefethen, an anthropology major, was pleased to discover in Costa Rica how much she enjoyed conducting field research. “I’d actually been a little hesitant to go,” she says. “But once I was there, doing my own research, being independent, following through the whole way on the project—it was so fun. I guess I’d never thought I could actually do all that before.” Trefethen studied near the town of Cariavai in Costa Rica on a summer research program with Associate Anthropology Professor Michelle Bezanson, whose expertise is in primate locomotion. The group stayed in bunkhouses at a site banked by two forests, one old growth and one secondary growth. All of the students conducted some kind of research: Trefethen studied the play behavior of capuchin monkeys, one of three primate species common in the area. “I’d get up at 5 a.m. and get out into the jungle at daybreak. It was so fun to get to know a forest so well,” Trefethen says. “At first I was worried I’d get lost. By the end, I was running through the place.” Read more alumni profiles. Return to the SCU stories homepage. Watch a video about SCU research in Costa Rica below. |
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