Science Capstone abroad: Decadal Changes in Urban Bird Abundance in Singapore Report, NUS, Singapore

Assignment Brief:

Can we discuss more via a different mode of contact please so that I can provide more information After reading your email previously I have been thinking about possible solutions that would provide an opportunity for you to complete Science Capstone abroad? This will not be easy and will require a significant investment of your time to completing the project.

There is probably not much in the way of the choice of the project either as I need to make sure that you will have data available to analyze. Nevertheless, I am able to supervise a project for you remotely.

As you are undoubtedly aware the Science Capstone course is a research-focused course where the intention is that you undertake a small research project on a particular topic. This includes the full life-cycle of the project from the conceptualization and planning stages through the data collection and analysis and then the interpretation.

There is a major written report that forms the core of the assessment as well as an oral presentation. After considering your circumstances and being located in Singapore I think that the best approach would be to complete a project on urban bird communities in Singapore.

This project would combine the collection of field data for comparison with online data (i.e. via eBird – www.ebird.org) as well as historical surveys. The idea would be to assess and report on the composition of bird communities in Singapore across an urbanization gradient (e.g. high-density infrastructure – residential – rural – natural).

Alternatively, it may be feasible to compare managed parklands (urban green space) with natural remnants to assess changes in bird communities and relates this to landscape variables (e.g. distance to water, housing density, etc.). Each of these topics would use a slightly different underlying theory and approach. To get you started I have attached a couple of papers here that have explored aspects of bird communities in Singapore.

Take a look over these, think about some of the options I’ve outlined above, and consider any additional options. This will inform your planning for the project and how we go about designing the project from here. We can then set up a Teams meeting to discuss this further (perhaps on Monday next week – and then we can have regular Teams meetings after that, I just need to check my diary and set aside a time that works for both of us.