EcoMap Costa Rica : Blog

A few of my photos didn't quite fit in with what we posted from the field, so here are a few more glimpses of the work in Costa Rica.

Another shot of Chris doing his insect sweeps in a teak monoculture.  Note the relatively open understory compared to a true forest, and the regular distances between trees indicative of an artificial planting:



A view of Hector and Chris ascending a relatively steep slope bordering a pasture area that will be planted with trees over the coming year:



A few of the insects on the property, including a lovely metallic beetle:

The research group is back, although not without numerous obstacles on the way home.  It began with everyone waking up early to the volcano making a lot of noise at 4AM, sounding a lot like a train chugging, but significantly louder.  Our van driver had trouble navigating one of the steep hills after picking up our luggage at the cabins, and we almost thought we might not leave.  Without the weight of passengers in the van it didn't have the traction it needed, but eventually did make it and we piled in to get to San Jose.  Not long after getting through the mountains our driver had to stop because the brakes were getting hot, since the traffic was stop and go in the mountainous section and he was on the brake most of the time.  We transferred everything to another van, and made it to San Jose in time for our flight.  However, the new van necessitated a drop-off on a city street and not the airport itself (the new van didn't have the necessary placard for the airport), so each person was carrying a 40lb backpack on his/her back, and another 25lb on a second on the front up the steep hill to the airport itself.

The biggest obstacles didn't happen in San Jose, but in Atlanta.  We arrived again in a thunderstorm (as with the departure last week), and after circling the airport we sat for an hour on various taxiways while air traffic held during lightning was cleared.  We rushed through immigration and customs to grab bags and get to the gate on time for the connecting flight to DFW, but we might have in retrospect been more leisurely.  Due to various stated causes (weather, lack of crew, the crew timing out, etc.) our 9:50PM departure was pushed back to 10:30, then 11, then 11:30, 12:30AM, and 1:20AM as we sat at the gate with 200 other similarly inconvenienced passengers, and when we finally lifted off from Atlanta at 2AM, the group was still getting along but exhausted.

We arrived safely in Dallas just before 4AM, marking about 22 hours from wakeup call to touchdown in DFW, and naturally everyone is exhausted but glad to be home.  The data analysis begins in earnest on Tuesday, and we will be posting here additional photos, data updates and other stories of the trip.

Dear Parents, 

As evident from the student posts yesterday was quite busy.  It was our last official day in the field, and required finishing up bird counts, doing the final insect surveys, collecting soil and HOBO temperature sensors, and writing up as much as we can here.  There is a lot yet to do back in Dallas, but the students had a free day today and were able to get out into the community.

Also evident from our posts is that the geological activity has been significant this trip.  This morning we awoke to find another volcano to the southeast undergoing a fairly large eruption.  The volcano is Turrialba, and has several craters that are active, making it less symmetric than Arenal, but no less active.  The plume of ash was visible through a spotting scope even though the volcano itself is 80 miles away:

 Today was another well productive day. Dr. Brown, Richard, Chris and I volunteered at Proyecto Asis a conservation organization where wild animals are kept that have been confiscated from people.  We worked in construction for few hours building a concrete ramp on one of the cages that is going to be used for a falcon.  We also got to use machetes to clear a space that is going to be used for caimans.  While there we fed some monkeys, birds, raccoons a  beautiful kinkajoo. We also spent few hours at La Fortuna town where we ate a delicious dinner.  After many wonderful experiences in Costa Rica, we are leaving to go back to Dallas tomorrow.

Just a quick note: The panoramic photos for 2010 are now online.

Hello Hello from Tico Town!

     As Richard reported (much better than I will), we had a small earthquake here this morning.  The cabins wobbled a bit, but otherwise, anyone who even noticed probably asked, "Did anyone else feel that or was it just me?"  I think this little event characterizes the last day of our field season.
     Hector, Dr. Brown and I had many odd tasks to finish for the plant and habitat projects--so many that they took until 3:00ish to finish.  HOBOs and marking tape needed to be collected along with soil samples.
     Tomorrow, we will have the opportunity to volunteer with Proyecto Asis, a small organization dedicated to conservation and Costa Rican culture and community.  I am looking forward to a new experience with a different type of conservation group.

Today we wrapped up with my project.  Chris and I finished our last plots for plant sampling.  We collected more insects for his project and picked up all the HOBOs from the trees that we used to hang them.  We also collected all the plastic tape used to mark all the plots for this field ecology study; Chris was very serious about it! Tomorrow will be another exciting day because we get to see more monkeys.

This is a pictured taken this morning milking the cow that Chris and I have been helping with for the last couple days.

 

A couple of days ago we witnessed a series of pyroclastic flows, and this morning it was an earthquake. I was out on the deck of the cabins. The cabins are on stilts but stand firm against the worst wind and rain that Costa Rica can throw at them. However, the structure had what could be described as an unnatural quiver - almost as if the wind had caught it in an unusual way. Except there was no wind.

Others felt it and after breakfast I checked online. The USGS are recording a Mag.4.8 earthquake at 9.894N  85.272W 46.7km deep, "Coast of Costa Rica" (actually locating it just on the Nicoya Peninsula). OVSICORI are giving it a slightly higher energy of 5.1. The differences are probably due to different equipment locations. Also the USGS calculation will be fully automated and as it is only a moderate non-US earthquake, it probably hasn't been examined by a human.

The coastal location means it is NOT an Arenal earthquake but an earthquake related to subduction of the Pacific Plate under the Caribbean plate. The depth is consistent with this - it is too deep for a volcano, and most earthquakes of this depth are related to subduction.

Here's the seismogram recorded by the OVSICORI Volcan Arenal seismometer (VACR):



The earthquake is the largest squiggle just after 6:45am local time. The seismometer even goes off scale.  It is only a moderate sized earthquake but we are fairly close, and the seismometer is set to detect vertical motions (the dominant kind in a thrust fault - which is the most likely for a subduction zone).

Hola!

Today was a very busy day, but filled with lots of excitement. If you have already read Dr. B's blog than you would know that we got to release a sloth into the wild. One of the workers on the property, Enrique, found a sloth in his yard and brought it by Leaves and Lizards to release it to its proper place. We were surprised and over-joyed when he offered the task to us. Of course our answer was YES. Kelly got to carry her and I got to hold her as the sloth grabbed a vine and slowly worked his way up to her new home.

We just feel like this whole trip has been one excitement and priveledge after another. Never did we think we would be witnessing volcanic eruptions or release sloths back into the wild. What a lucky couple of chicas are we?

After releasing the sloth, we headed out to Orlando's forest, which is a property of private primary forest-basically minimal deforestation and tourist activity. Again another priveledge we got to partake it by hiking in it.  With the hopes of seeing a Mot Mot, we entered the forest despite Kelly's outrageous fear of snakes (which this particular forest is full of). Our guide Oscar had promised to help find us a Mot Mot, as a bribe to convince Kelly to join us for the 3-4 mile hike. About half way through the hike, the much desired bird sound was heard- goes something like "hoop hoop or woo woo" . But this Mot Mot was just teasing us, for we hiked miles and miles to find him and ended up disapointed and Mot Mot-less. But we haven't given up yet. Kelly and I will not leave Tico Town until we see one.

Despite not having a Mot Mot in our data collection, all of our observations have been going great. We have seen a few new species at various points including the Lineated Woodpecker-great bird and really exciting to see on the property. This specific woodpecker is related to the Ivory Billed Woodpecker. Another interesting site we got to see today involved a dual between a Rufous Tailed Hummingbird and a Green Brested Mango Hummingbird. The fight went one for quite some time and seemed to be over a nesting spot. From what we could tell the Green Brested Mango was winning, probably due to a slightly bigger body than the Rufous Tailed.

After so much excitement and activity in one day, these chicas are ready to get some good sleep to be ready for our last day of data collection tomorrow!

 

PURA VIDA

 

     Two years ago, when I was enrolled in the field ecology course, my favorite place we visited was Orlando's forest.  This year, I was anticipating the same, and that place delivered.  I think this is because for me, Orlando's mentality toward nature seems to lack the sense of entitlement that seems to have lead to today's problems.  His preserve exists at all because he did not completely use his land.
     A good thing to for the mantled black howlers that live there!  I had only heard these monkeys previously, so it was especially exciting for me as an aspiring primatologist to catch a glimpse of some free-ranging primates.  I'll let my photo tell you something about that experience:

Chris and I got up early to milk a cow today.  Carlos told us she could produce up to five gallons, but we did not quite get that far. After breakfast we got to see a primary forest, forest where succession has taken place fully and where there is no disturbance. We got to see real monkeys: howler monkeys! Before we went to primary forest we have the opportunity to study a sloth  we found that it has 9 cervical segments which allow the sloth's head to be turned almost three hundred and sixty degrees.  During my plant sampling, I found a snake, not a big deal I only took a picture and went away.  Before dinner we got to see beautiful birds and we spent some time with the horses while eating their dinner. Chris and I are very excited to see more monkeys this Thursday!
                                                                       Xibalba!

I've updated the new 2010 map to include the new buildings, the HOBO temperature sensor points, and the changes to the bird points.

The bird nest data has yet to be collected - I will update this map when we get the data.

One thing that can be seen in many of the photos is that the students are having a good time, and are getting a lot of experience.  What doesn't often come across is exactly how much work they are doing, and how tiring it can be.  The girls get out twice a day for five hours of bird counts, and then spend several more hours transcribing data and analyzing it at their cabin.  For the guys, they are out working in the plant plots from after breakfast until just before dinner, taking a brief break each day for lunch.  The extras have also made everyone quite tired--the four mile hike at Arenal, and today's similar hike through a privately-owned primary forest near the Leaves and Lizards site have taken all the energy they have.  So it's no wonder that today everyone really needed a break and a short siesta, but it's only a short time, and they're now gathering to head out again.

The morning bird counts were in areas of more dense forest, where finding birds can be difficult.  Here are Kelly and Elise trying to spot species in a mixed natural reforestation area:



Their view was a creek area below filled with trees, where birds can be challenging to pick out from the background:

Hello again from Kelly and Elise!!

     Probably this is one of those times I wouldn't enjoy lazy days.  Luckily, we aren't having any.  Field work started bright and early again today, as usual.  I was happy to hear the sound of howler monkeys in the distance as I shuffled around the Toucan Cabin porch, rubbing the sleep out of my eyes.  Their roaring sounded like the herald to a good day for us.
     After this auspicious start and some field work with Hector, we made our way to breakfast when, just before I sat to eat, I was stung by a wasp.  How Nick put up with five stings last year is beyond me, but with some ice and a lime (a Costa Rican trick, I'm assuming), I hardly noticed the itch after a few minutes.  Breakfast was, as always, delicious, and, having some warm coffee in our bellies, we headed off for the even warmer volcano...
     ...and wow! what a visit.  I was equally excited to see this wasp:

     She's a digger wasp, related to the very wasps that curious naturalist, Niko Tinbergen himself would have studied (albeit in Germany).  How exciting to see the same preparation behavior when these wasps were leaving their nests!  I suppose I show my true colors here.

After few days of sampling plants, we decided to take a very close look at Arenal, the volcano eight miles south of us. We witnessed, close up, the most action we could have seen in a volcano--pyroclastic flows.  It was incredible to watch these for almost an hour. We came back to finish our work after few hours of our trip to the volcano but we helped treating the horses in Leaves and Lizards for garrapatas, a very nasty parasite that lives outside the body mainly in the ear of the horses. We all learned how to administer the medicine, including Dr. Brown who herself inspired our love for nature.

With two previous attempts cancelled due to weather, we finally made it to Arenal this morning and were treated to a series of pyroclastic flows. Arenal is slowly becoming more quiet although we have observed the opposite over our four visits - each visit is more impressive.

We walked the usual lava trail - as with last year we walked to the middle of the 1990s lava flow and back again rather than a full transect. Arenal was fully visible once we were on the lava flow. The new active lava flow which the Smithsonian and OVSICORI report has been active since January was visible as a dark area above the youngest scree. Most of the boulders were falling from this flow as it slowly inched forward. Often they would be hard to see on the fresh scree, but would kick up clouds of dust as they hit the older (darker) scree. It seemed like an unusually large number were making it to the vegetation.

Early on we had a number of small collapses at the front of the flow which i guess you could call pyroclastic flows but they were tiny and did not last long.
Our timing was spot on and we did not have to wait long before our first proper pyroclastic flow. In the case of Arenal, these are produced by the lava flow front becoming unstable. The lava flow slowly inches forward. Boulders will often fall, but sometimes the gradient of the front becomes too much and it collapses under gravity. This releases the pressure of the hot lava inside the flow which depressurises explosively. Gases in the lava form bubbles (or are already bubbles) which expand quickly with the depressurisation and drive the explosion.

The result is an avalanche consisting of hot air,gas,steam, and rock that can be very hot (1000C has been recorded) and travel extremely fast (speeds over 100mph are typical). Infamous pyroclastic flows destroyed St Pierre on Martinique in 1902, and Pompeii in 79AD.

Arenal's flows are much smaller and are readily channeled by valleys and gorges. We were not in any danger from these particular ones, and the National Park is generally quick to close when the risk is considered too high.

Here's the first one:



This was the first active pyroclastic flow that I have seen. I have seen the products of pyroclastic flows dozens if not hundreds of times. Indeed my undergraduate dissertation covered a part of Wales that included a number of rhyolite tuffs (high silica pyroclastic flow / ash deposits). However, those were about 450 million years old; and this was the first time I saw a 'live' one.

Shortly after the first one, we started to get a larger flow which lasted much longer:



Note the dust kicked up by boulders bouncing ahead of the flow.

The flow itself is at the base where it is well defined. The billowing clouds above this are where air gets entrained and heated up. The result is a buoyant but dilute dust cloud which lifts up from the flow. The plume from this flow reached a height much higher than the volcano and would have been visible from the cabins (although the flow itself was on the far side from the cabins).



Of course this was also the chance to pose for a photo or two:






As we headed back there were further flows. As we were leaving the park, a much darker 'cloud' from a flow could be seen between the trees and the growing cloud. This would appear to have had much more volcanic dust in it. The park was also beginning to close and had already stopped new visitors from entering.

Here is the research team at the volcano, just a few minutes before the pyroclastic flow began (see Day 3 photos for an image of the volcano in action)



In photo (from left to right):  Hector Quijada, Elise Tellez, Dr. Marcy Brown Marsden, Chris Gurguis, Richard Marsden, Kelly Ann Nelson