An eight-week summer program is sponsored by the University of Central Oklahoma. The first week will consider aspects of the scientific process and experimental design before spending seven weeks in the country of Turkey (based at Uludag University in Bursa) to study aspects of the foraging ecology of solitary bees and honey bees in their native region of the world. These pollinator species are invasive in the United States but have potentially positive impacts on agriculture in both the US and Turkey. 

Understanding the link between organisms and their history in other regions of the world is a major goal of this program. In addition, undergraduates will be shown the importance of international scientific collaboration as they participate in research objectives (described below) with a multinational team of scientists from the US, Turkey, Greece, and Bulgaria.

Research Information: 

Three broad areas of investigation will be included in the project. These include: 

1. biogeographical comparisons of pollination systems in native and non-native settings that explore mechanisms of biological invasion; 
2. foraging dynamics of bees as mediated by visual clues and/or handling time at flowers; and 
3. behavioral assays to test effects of food quality and conditioning to various stimuli. Within these areas we test hypotheses that are ecological, behavioral, physiological, and genetic in nature. The PI and Senior Personnel links below, allow you to see the nature of the investigators' work in these and other areas.

• Travel, housing, AND meals will be covered 
• A $4,200 stipend will be provided 
• Cost of the Turkish visa (about $25) will be subtracted from the stipend. 
• Course credit is optional.

• Biological Sciences
• Ecology
• Environmental Science
• all related fields