Danvers High Grad in a ‘Biologist’s Dream World’

Amanda Hunt can soon add field biologist to her expanding list of credentials.

Hunt, an honors student who graduated in the top five percent in her Danvers High Scool class, is one of only about a dozen Boston University students selected to experience the opportunity of a lifetime.

The scholarship student has been enrolled in the Tropical Ecology Program at  B.U. and was accepted into a study abroad program this semester. Hunt is one of 17 students (four from schools other than B.U.) who have been living in Quito, Ecuador for the past three months.

Hunt says she’s living with a host family, balancing her time between her classroom studies and her work in the field during day, weekend and weeks-long expeditions into the jungle.

Traveling is nothing new to this biology enthusiast. In high school, Hunt was one of only 13 students selected for a half year Amazon Ecology Class, which culminated in a week long trip to the Amazon with her classmates.

Danvers Patch recently caught up with Amanda to hear about her adventures before her scheduled departure on a four-week field study trip in the Amazonian Rain Forest. 

Q. What is your major at B.U.?

A. My major, as most in the program, is biology with a concentration in ecology and conservation. Some are just biology students, environmental science and even a geologist.

Q. Where do you live while studying abroad and how long will you be there?

A. I’m here...for the entire semester, from January 4 to May 15. We live in Quito each with a host family and attend la Universidad San Francisco de Quito.

Q. What will you be studying this semester?

A. Our program is B.U.’s Tropical Ecology program — we take four classes in a block schedule with corresponding trips.

Our first unit was tropical montane ecology. Living in Quito made easy day trips to study/learn at Mount Cotopaxi and Papallacta, as well as a weekend trip to a cloud forest. The unit after this was tropical coastal ecology. This unit came with a trip to Los Piqueros de Patas Azules for 10 days (on the coast of Ecuador) and a week stay in the Galapagos. Our third unit is tropical rainforest ecology. Tomorrow we leave for the Tiputini Biodiversity Station, located in eastern Ecuador in the Amazon Basin. We will be staying there for four weeks, having lectures and taking time to explore and learn from the forest itself.

Our final section is a capstone and will culminate individual research projects we have each conducted throughout the semester on the topics of our liking. Our two professors are Kelly Swing and Jaime Guerra and they both accompany us on all of our trips.

Q. What special projects have you been working on?

A. I have done two projects so far, with a third in the works. One project was done at Los Piqueros, and was on the feeding substrate preferences of sea hares (slugs) of the species Dolabrifera dolabrifera. I presented my research findings to the class on this subject yesterday. I also did a project with two other girls comparing the density of Olivella snails (surfing snails), along the swash zone of the Los Piqueros beach at low tide. My project in the works is also with two other students, comparing the forest structures of the dry coastal forest and the rainforest, mainly focusing on the relationship between canopy and ground cover.

Q. How does your classwork compare to field study?

A. When we are not away on trips, we have class from 9-12 at the university Monday-Friday, but learning in the field and actually seeing what we have talked about in class is way better than reading a textbook. It makes learning so much easier and much more fun too! It's really wonderful for all of us to have this hands-on learning experience, especially because most of us will likely follow the path to become field biologists.

Q. How is Ecuador different from what you’ve been accustomed to?

A. Quito, and Ecuador in general, is much different from the life I've always known in the Northeast. Ecuador is considered a developing nation, and there are signs of it everywhere, from the level of poverty, amount of teen pregnancy, and even bureaucracy within the laws and government.

Q. What do you want people in America to know about Ecuador and its people?

A. Ecuador has so much to offer, but they aren't quite sure how to show it off.  The Hispanic culture is also, of course, very different from anything I've ever experienced, but Ecuadorians are very warm and passionate people. And of course, our trips are a blast! Our work IS our play, so even having class or doing research is enjoyable.

Q. What has been the greatest challenge for you so far?

A. Of course, speaking Spanish is also quite the challenge at times, but we have all improved so much. We learn in English, but virtually none of our host families speak any English, so that’s good practice for us.

Q. What has been your most memorable experience thus far?

A. My favorite trip so far was the Galapagos — it was absolutely stunning. A biologist’s dream world. We swam with sharks, sea turtles, sea lions, penguins, flightless cormorants, sting rays and tons and tons of beautiful fish. We also saw jumping dolphins and manta rays, whales, sea and land iguanas, birds galore, sally lightfoot crabs, lizards, fur seals and even killer whales. Absolutely unbelievable. The coast and the mountains were breathtaking as well, but nothing can compete with the Galapagos Islands!