Let the independent projects begin!!
Another beautiful morning in the rainforest began with the soothing sound of roaring howler monkeys. As usual, the day began with birders birding, while the rest of your favorite tropical ecologists had time to ID organisms and start independent projects!
The species interactions group (Kianna, Nina, Zach, Alex, Maya) headed out first, running into birders on the way. They finally got their hands on our refractometers, spending the early hours of the morning testing nectar quality and quantity. After, they adventured through the successional forest plots to test more plants and looked forward to observing bird pollinators.
The arboretum housed both groups of bromeliad lovers, providing the perfect opportunity to gather samples and make use of the generous array of lab equipment provided at La Selva. The functional characters group (Sophie, Porter, Adam) used their resources to begin measuring chlorophyll content and light exposure.
Mary Thomas and Clay searched for protective spiders in bromeliads, quickly coming to terms with the unpredictable nature of biological field work. After not finding the spiders they had hoped for, the pair decided to study herbivory damage in two different environments, comparing the arboretum and lab clearing.
Frogers (Caroline, Keiona, Matt) appreciated the poison dart frogs we all encountered while hiking, but also unfortunately grappled with the messiness of the field. They ultimately decided to study antlions and the abiotic conditions influencing them. Looking at ant pitfalls, they are also curious in possibly understanding how population densities impact reaction times of colonies.
After lots of discussion and experimental designing, projects began to take shape.
Finally, the fun part (jk jk…maybe) the river! There’s nothing like a fun and refreshing afternoon of white-water rafting to wrap up a busy day of planting, birding nectaring (??) and insecting! We headed out after lunch to the Sarapiquí River, where we split into 3 boats and headed out to face the water. Along the way, we saw countless beautiful birds and monkeys relaxing in the trees. Zach, Kianna, Maya and Clay even encountered a sloth chilling in a tree above. We all surfed the rapids (yes, “surfed”), screamed “Pura Vida” as we cliff jumped into the river, and kept ourselves fueled with fresh fruits and coconut cookies. It was an adventurous study break we all highly appreciated. (Real photos pending)
Later, we took a quick ride to the grocery store and returned for dinner before heading back to our Jaguar classroom. After a long day, we had a relatively early night once again (10 pm bedtime!) to rest for the next busy morning.
Your favorites,
The bloggers (Kianna, Mary Thomas, Nina)