Don't forget to secure your membership before applying for GTÖ grants

Tropical Ecology Student Research Grant Program

OBJECTIVES

The Society for Tropical Ecology supports innovative ecological research in tropical ecosystems that is part of  M.Sc. or Ph.D. dissertation projects. Grants of up to €1,000 are awarded with the aim to expand and improve particularly promising research.

DEADLINES AND REQUIREMENTS

There is one deadline a year with the call being published here. The current deadline for research grants is 31. March 2025. The applicants will usually be notified by the end of August and funds will then be made available by mid-September. The grants should run for a maximum of 12 months, the Final Report will be due by October of the following year. The Society for Tropical Ecology grant must be acknowledged in any resulting publication, and a copy of the publication sent to the Society for Tropical Ecology. We further expect successful applicants to provide a short (maximum 0.5 -1 printed page) description of the project including a supporting picture or graphical abstract to be featured on our web page and the newsletter upon receiving the grant money. Sucessful candidates are also requested to prepare a 1-min project video from the field or the lab that should contain some real work experiences from the project to be fetured on our social media platform.

APPLICATION PROCESS

M.Sc. and Ph.D. students from any country and institution may apply, as long as they are members of the Society for Tropical Ecology.  Applications will be evaluated by a scientific panel nominated by the board of the Society for Tropical Ecology. The quality, innovation and feasibility of the planned research are the main criteria. 

One application per deadline is permitted, resubmissions of previously unsuccessful applications are possible if invited by the evaluation panel. The grants are awarded to individuals, not organizations.

The application comprises a CV (1 page maximum, including contact details and information demonstrating the applicant’s eligibility), a support letter by the supervisor (1 page maximum) and a project description in the standard grant proposal format (Theoretical Background, Aims, Methods, Personnel, Calendar, Broader Impacts, References, and Budget; 3 pages maximum, A4, font 11 pt, single spacing, 2 cm margins, graphs and images allowed in the text).

We expect that the grant will fund only a part of the study in most cases. That part (and its budget) should be clearly defined in the proposal, and the source of the additional research costs specified. The funding can be used only for research expenses (field and lab activities, including travel for field work), but not for PI’s salaries, attendance of conferences and training courses, overheads, or publication costs.

The application should be submitted as a single PDF via email to gto.student.grants[at]gmail.com with the subject line including the name of the applicant.

 

Manual: Field Trip Video and Photo Content 

By following these guidelines, we can gather rich and informative video and photo content that will help create engaging social media posts about the field trip and your research.

1-minute video: 

Please create one video of yourself during the field season sponsored by our society. In the video, please introduce yourself, your project and the location of the field trip. Clearly state the country and location where you are conducting the research. Please mention some facts about your trip, see examples below. You don’t need to mention everything in detail, but a brief insight is beneficial. You don’t need to show faces if you don’t want to. Although we would love to see people in the videos, we respect if people would like to stay anonymous. Please state at the end of the video that you thank the support of the Society for Tropical Ecology to partially cover the costs of your field work. 

Be yourself, choose your own wording that comes to you easily. Say what you, the expert, considers important about your project, the research site and general situation and what you feel comfortable with. Don't overthink this. If needed, take several 10-second videos that we can cut and compile. It doesn't need to be perfect and isn't meant to require a huge time investment.

Example details to mention:

Provide information on the duration of the fieldwork, including the total time you will spend in the field and leave a comment on the conditions, site description, etc

  • “We are here in (country / next city etc) and we are looking for (....)! 
  • What is your main research question? What are the methods?
  • Highlight any special requirements or precautions that you need to take during the fieldwork.
  • Discuss any specific challenges or unique aspects related to the research.

Photos: 

Take 4-5 photos of your surroundings, your activities, and/or specimens (if any) (hold the camera vertically)- Make sure everyone agrees to be in photos and have them shared on social media.

Camera settings:

Your phone camera will be okay, especially if no photographer is around. Make sure to optimize your settings and consider the below:

  • First thing: Make sure your lens is clean. 
  • Camera to be held vertically
  • Increase resolution (standard settings mostly have the resolution lowered to safe storage). 
  •  Turn on 4K in phone settings > camera > resolution if possible. 
  • Always increase the number of shots per second if possible (phone settings > camera).  
  • For close ups, turn on Macro if possible (either in camera app settings or phone settings > camera) 
  • Keep camera stable. 
  • Always: ditch the digital zoom. Move closer to whatever you’re shooting instead of using the zoom.