The Museum has entered into discussions on potential science teaching and research collaborations between Ahmedabad University and UC Davis. Goals of Ahmedabad University (AU) are focused on developing an experiential learning internship conservation biology program modeled after the UC Davis Museum of Wildlife and Fish Biology’s Internship Program. The first meetings were held in Ahmedabad in January 2020. A second effort is developing, in which we wish to establish a project that would test the collaboration of our two wildlife programs in India. We plan to explore avian occupancy in the state of Gujarat, which offers diverse habitats where we can test the efficacy of using ARU methodology to do simultaneous exploration, documentation and addressing conservation questions in a multitude of understudied habitats. Some key Gujarat related research we are considering is:  

• Characterizing avian richness and occupancy in key protected habitats
• Presence and occupancy of species of conservation interest 
• Ground-truthing of habitat using avian acoustic recordings in conjunction with remote sensing 
• Habitat patch size and it’s influence on richness and relative abundance of birds

There have been few avian occupancy studies of this kind undertaken in India. We hope to complete the planning in 2021 and initiate studies in 2022. Collaborations are developing, but there are currently three primary entities: the MWFB, Ahmedabad University, and Arvind LTD. We also hope to team with the WFCB Lloyd Swift Internship Program and the CA&ES Dean's Experiential Learning Program to provide students with an opportunity to assist with this project. We also may be exploring study abroad opportunities.