Quetzal Education and Research Center

The Quetzal Education and Research Center (QERC) is a biological field station in San Gerardo de Dota, Costa Rica, that serves as a second campus for Southern Nazarene University (SNU). The center’s research focuses on the tropical cloud forest’s flora and fauna, and its goal is to promote sustainability, biodiversity, and conservation in local and global communities. QERC also helps students learn about field biology and research, and to develop social responsibility through a biology-focused study abroad program.

Year Founded
2004
Year Joined OBFS
2023
Size of Field Station (hectares)
1-100
FSML Web Address
https://www.qerc.snu.edu

Private nonprofit organization?
Yes
Universities affiliated / Parent Organization
Southern Nazarene University
Federal, state, or local governmental partners?
No
Member of the Virtual Field
No

Additional Information

Private nonprofit organization?
Names of Universities affilated
0
Federal, state, or local governmental partners?
No
Name of partner
Tribal partners/users
No
MSI/HBCU users
No
Community College users
No
Member of the Virtual Field
No

Visiting a FS/ML

Open to the Public
Yes
Year round staff
1-2
Seasonal staff
1-2
Overnight housing facilities/# of beds
21-50
Distance to emergency services
61+
Library
Yes
Hiking trails
Yes
Internship employment
Yes

Environmental Information

Biomes
Tropical Rain Forest
Minimum Elevation
1501-3000 meters
Maximum Elevation
3000+ meters
Köppen climate classification
A (tropical)
Freshwater habitats
Yes
Urban or rural
Agricultural fields
Yes

Research

REU host station
No
Dry lab space
Yes
Wet Lab space
No
Research vessels available
No
GIS capacity on site
No
Long term data sets
Yes
On site herbarium or voucher species
Formal Data Management Plan
Yes
Mesocosms, plots, stream diversions, or other sets ups for outdoor manipulative experiments
Yes
Date Joined OBFS
July 11, 2024