Outlined below is a shortened version of the Proyecto Primates guidelines:
- Anyone wishing to conduct research in the Proyecto Primates field site must submit a detailed proposal to both Peter Rodman and Anthony Di Fiore at least four months in advance of your intended research and at least one month before submitting your proposal to funding agencies, applying for visas or permits from any government, or contacting the Estación Científica Yasuní (ECY) to arrange logistics. This proposal must specify exactly what data will be collected and what aspects of the forest will be manipulated. The proposal will be reviewed by the Proyecto Primates Scientific Board to ascertain whether the proposed research will conflict with either ongoing or planned projects and whether the research is appropriate to a natural population of primates.
- Any changes to planned research -- from fundamental questions being asked to methods being used -- must be submitted in writing to both Peter Rodman and Anthony Di Fiore for approval by the Proyecto Primates Scientific Board.
- A duplicate of all data collected and
an explanation of the methods used sufficient to understand the data
must be sent to the Proyecto Primates Scientific Board prior to leaving
Ecuador for archival purposes. Data may be sent electronically
or as xeroxed copies. These data will be maintained in the Proyecto
Primates data archive in case of theft or loss while traveling or other
unforeseen events.
- Communal data archives are available for the use of all researchers using the Proyecto Primates field site, and individual researchers are expected to contribute to these archives. Communal data includes the following: transect plant identifications and phenological data, locations and identifications of feeding trees, trail map data, weather data, censuses of study groups (births, immigrations, deaths, sightings of solitary animals, and polyspecific associations).
- Researchers must agree to abide by the regulations of the ECY and to pay the camp use fees agreed upon. The arrangement of logistics needs to be coordinated with the Proyecto Primates Scientific Board prior to arrangement with the ECY directly since Proyecto Primates has a general agreement with the station.
- In order to fulfill the research requirements of the government of Ecuador, it may be necessary for researchers to have a national counterpart and/or a national research assistant and to train this individual in field data collection and analysis. Students from the PUCE and other Ecuadorian universities should be given top consideration, and Proyecto Primates may be able to assist in finding and screening appropriate candidates.
- Researchers must have the necessary permits and residency visas from the government of Ecuador prior to beginning research and should coordinate the permit application process with the Proyecto Primates Scientific Board. Researchers must strictly adhere to all of the steps in this process -- e.g., pay the appropriate fees, sending copies of publications to the appropriate agencies, etc.
- Researchers bringing samples into the U.S. must have the appropriate import permits and follow the official procedures of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Centers for Disease Control, the U.S. Public Health Service, and U.S. Department of Agriculture. If a researcher is bringing samples to any other country, the import requirements of that country must be met.
- Researchers and their research assistants must understand that relations with the local Huaorani community are paramount to maintaining the Proyecto Primates field site. At times, meetings will be held with the community and all researchers are expected to attend. Furthermore, it may be necessary at times to temporarily forego your research in order to deal with any number of situations that impact the long term integrity of the ecosystem, such as when an immediate hunting threat arises.
- Researchers must agree to maintain the
Proyecto Primates vehicle, to pay for their portion of gasoline used
and for their share of any repairs, and, above all, to drive in a careful
manner. Any assistants or Ecuadorian students will be the responsibility
of the researcher and are not allowed to drive without prior approval
(i.e., if your assistant needs to go to the field, you must drive them
even if you do not plan to work that day).
- Researchers must agree to participate in communal work at the field site -- e.g., census taking, trail mapping and maintenance, trail tag replacement, etc. A separate trail maintenance schedule will be noted in the Proyecto Primates laboratory. This work should not occupy too much research time but is essential to the long term preservation of the site. If this work is not completed, researchers will be asked to leave the research site or compensate financially.
- Researchers must coordinate any alteration to the study site (i.e., addition and color of flagging, arrangement of new trails, etc.) with the Proyecto Primates Scientific Board, especially if those additions are permanent. Any nonpermanent additions should be removed on completing research.
- Researchers must agree to maintain the laboratory at the ECY and are responsible for the communal library and equipment available in the laboratory.
- As noted above, researchers using the Proyecto Primates field site must be flexible and coordinate their work with one another in terms of scheduling travel to the site and planning site, laboratory , and vehicle maintenance.
- All volunteers and employees working with each individual researcher, whether Ecuadorian or from other countries, are expected to abide by all of the regulations noted above and are the responsibility of the researcher.