EcoMap Costa Rica

Leaves & Lizards 4yr Anniversary

Thu, 11 Feb 2010 17:51:35 -0600

Debbie & Steve have put together a video slide show of the past four years of Leaves and Lizards:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ha2WFzVH1uA

Watch closely and you might spot some Univ.Dallas students!

Student Reports are now online

Fri, 12 Jun 2009 13:55:50 -0600

The student reports have now been published as PDF documents:

http://www.ecomapcostarica.com/reports/index.shtml

The last post from Asis

Fri, 05 Jun 2009 14:44:11 -0600

This is my last post from Costa Rica. I would like to say that I´m very busy wrapping up my work, but I did everything last night in a fit of mild panic. Now I´m killing time and mostly hanging around Asis like a bum. I suppose I could feed the animals or machete something, but after the last few work-filled days, I´m content to waste a few hours.

I have enjoyed my week very much! Today was the first morning that I didn´t see any new birds for my birdcount which is at 43 I think. Considering my inaptitude at birding and severe depedence on my fieldguide, I´m proud of that number. I tried to do some ant-watching this morning and got myself all set up. I staked out a huge anthill and surrounded it´s perimeter with tunafish. I was still only getting litter ants after about 40 minutes and was distracted for the most part by birds. I had a very difficult time feeling like ant-watching was more important than bird-watching (sorry Nick)! Then the hound dogs came through and ate my experiment. I never saw a single ant come out of that hill, not even after I obnoxiously poked a stick into every hole, so I decided it must be a dead colony. Morale was low and I packed up in haste, getting back just in time for the coffeebreak. I feel like I´ve been taking a coffeebreak ever since!

I suspect that Alvaro is happy with the work I´ve done, since he just came in to ask for advice. He would like to offer some sort of ecology program to university students was looking for advice on topics or areas of study. I dusted off my brain and came up with reforestation, diversity studies, an ongoing behavioral study at Asis of broad-billed herons (they have one of the most stable communities in this area), and a sustainable agriculture program with homestays and first-hand experience. Who knows if any of that is feasable! Alvaro is very much in his own head and is particularly difficult to read. He has been very helpful in arranging my visit here and at least, in return, I overwhelmend him with lots of ecology information to offer to visitors. Alvaro has been trying to read them all and keeps apologizing for being behind. I did not intend to give him ¨homwork!¨

My ride tomorrow leaves for San Jose at 8:45am. My flight is at 2:45pm and I think I might get there with time to spare. Good! I have non-negotiable plans to visit all the free CafeBrit chocolate samples, which is something like a marathon. Dedication, persistance, and honor! These are the virtues I will need to complete my mission (honor because after I´m done I think I´m duty-bound to buy something).

I am very grateful to everyone who made this week possible! I have had a wonderful time! I think that I´ve learned a lot and perhaps I have been able to help a lot.

-Katheryn

I'm finished..! :)

Fri, 05 Jun 2009 11:23:37 -0600

I'm both happy and sad to be finished with field ecology Mayterm. It was definitely a new experience for me...but a great one! I enjoyed getting to know my classmates so well especially in the Costa Rican rain forest! Dr. Brown is really an incredibly smart and talented lady from whom I learned a lot. Before this class, I hadn't had the opportunity to put into play my environmentalist concerns. The most I had done for the environment was to decrease my water bottle purchases and take my own cloth bags to the grocery store. Now I can say that I have really done something for the environment. My project falls under the umbrella title of "Habitat Monitoring" that called for me to work with and analyze water and soil samples. I also had to take photographs of the habitat and compare the plant life from the photographed points in 2008. Obviously my favorite part was the photographs since it retained my more artsy-not-so-sciency personality, but my other jobs were just as fulfilling because as I said, I finally got to explore my environmentalist side. All in all, I think this was a great experience for me, so I am sad that it is over, but am glad that it happened. :D

My spectacular bird-find

Wed, 03 Jun 2009 17:22:20 -0600

Greetings once again! My project here at Asis is going well and I´ve produced some rather good information sheets on island biogeography, ecosystems, wetland habitats, riparian habitats, rainforest habitats, as well as probably doubling the birdcount. I think Alvaro is happy with it all, at least I hope so. I´ve been waking up early and watching birds before Señora Flora feeds me breakfast. They start the day late here. I don´t get picked up until 8am and by then the birds are more subdued.

I´m waiting on my flaculation tubes so I can determine the soil composition, and have been stalking one particular hummingbird all day. I think it´s a juvenile black-crested coquette female, but it may be a juvenile white-crested coquette female. Isn´t that an absolute bear? Oh, exciting news for anyone who birds - I identified a rather uncommon species of bird called an agami heron. It´s been hanging around for two days. I´m positive it isn´t a tricolored heron. I have photographic proof, yarrr!

PhotoSynths are online

Wed, 03 Jun 2009 15:32:57 -0600

I've created the PhotoSynths and put them online at the new PhotoSynth page. PhotoSynth is a Microsoft product which htye have recently released from their R&D labs. It allows you to create a pseudo-3d image of an object or space using lots of photographs. The photographs are matched up, allowing you to navigate around the object or space. Some liken it to Google's StreetView product.

Due to the long time taken to process and upload the PhotoSynths, I had to store the images and process them back here in Texas. Therefore it wasn't possible to correct any potential problems. Overally they can be described as "fair". They could be better, but some bits work very well.

There are two PhotoSynths. The first covers the area around the cabins, concentrating on the path connecting the three cabins, but also including the steps up to the 'Monkey Cabin'. It includes a number of 360 degree views.

The second PhotoSynth attempts to give a walk along the 'Bird Path', starting at the turnaround (below the cabins) and finishing at the bottom of the slope below the stables. Some parts of this work well, but PhotoSynth had problems connecting some sequences to each other, and with the darker areas. It is recommended that you view this PhotoSynth in "slide show mode".

Your field assistant has promoted herself

Tue, 02 Jun 2009 09:16:27 -0600

I arrived at Proyecto Asis this morning and found a very charming 8 acres of restored habitat to wander around in for the next 4 days. There are some cages with animals that are being rehabiliatated (monkeys, parrots, a pecary, etc), some natural streams and wetlands, and a secondary forest that is growing up just swimmingly. Steve and Debbie´s will hopefully resemble this in about 13 years. Asis was farmland 15 years ago but things grow quickly in the tropics.

Alvaro is working very dedicately to educate visitors about Costa Rican ecoIogy. Native Costa Ricans in particular are lacking in science education so he wants me to make interpretive guides. Consequently, I spent the afternoon typing up some background information on island biogeography, ecosystems, and diversity. I have plans to make some for the particular habitats here at Asis and perhaps some for specific animals here. I´m also trying to extend his bird-list with a bit of success today. Tomorrow I´m starting soil analyis and will be ant and bird-stalking.

I´m going back to the nice old lady, Flora, who is hosting me. She unfortunately does not speak English and my Spanish is pathetic, so everything is rather hilarious. Her house is beautiful and has about 4 rooms!

Back in Dallas

Tue, 02 Jun 2009 08:56:33 -0600

The group is back in Dallas and the students are enjoying a well-needed day off. We're having a very rainy morning here, which could make us believe we're still in Costa Rica, if not for the absence of the songs of toucans and hummingbirds. We arrived late last night after a very long journey, which included a longer than usual trip from Monterrey to San Jose for our flight. There are three main roads from the capital toward Monterrey--one lost nearly 19 km of road due to the earthquake in January, and a second road was washed out due to a landslide the morning of our departure. So with all of the traffic (animal and automobile) diverted to the sole remaining road we had slow travel.

We dropped our field assistant, Katheryn, at Proyecto Asis (www.institutoasis.com) on the way. The site is a wild animal rescue center that allows homestays by volunteers. Katheryn will be helping the director, Alvaro del Castillo, with some of the work he would like to do on a guide for visitors. She'll be blogging from the project, and will return to Dallas on the 6th of June.

Thanks to all of you following the blog. The reflection the students have put into their blog entries has enabled them to think more about what they've done, and its significance for both the course and for what the ultimately would like to do. We'll be posting the data from this year's research soon, and updating the maps with Richard's help.

Final Day

Sun, 31 May 2009 21:03:00 -0600

The last day had a productive final round of sampling even with the frequent rain. Many new butterfly species were recorded including many individuals of a rather uncommon species typically only found in intact forest. Upon reviewing the notes and data for the butterflies the highest areas of diversity were, as expected, in the disturbed forest patches that did not have tree monocultures. The tree plantations especially the teak stands were very low in butterfly diversity. The butterflies of the teak areas were the most common species that were present to nectar on the lantana. The tiger pattern mimetic complex of Heliconians, Ithomiines, and a single Charaxinae was very well represented in the two main disturbed forest patches. For the ants diversity was greatest in the forest patch bordering bird points a-n. There were several dominant species of ground dwelling ants. Their dominance should lessen as the restoration process continues and the leaf litter becomes thicker. This gives less dominant species more available niches and microhabitats to live and forage in, and it makes it more difficult for dominant species, like the fire ant Solenopsis geminatta, to establish colonies.

Final Ends!

Sun, 31 May 2009 20:08:29 -0600

Well, we've come to the end of our research and it was a sad but really awesome end. Today was a test for me and at first I was a little bit nervous about it but it turned out really well. This is because I did not have Geovanni with me to help me identify the birds today. However, I did have Dr. Brown for the first half which was amazing and we got alottt of the birds down. For the last half I did on my own which went wayyy better than I expected it to go. I am sad that I am leaving tomorrow, but I am happy to go back to dallas. Yesterday was our free day. We lots of cool animals on our boat ride including the golden monkey and a snake bird. They were awesome. Going through Canuonegro reminded me of going through Essequibo River back home. It was a really sensational experience. Taking all the trees and weather and animals was just very sensational. Costa Rica has been an amazing experience and I am really happy I came. All the people here are really nice and really hospitable.The tour guides are really passionate about what they do and everyone seems to have this really great appreciation for life. Anyway, I am off, not feeling so well right now so will pack and go to bed. Until next time, Esta muy pura vida y adios.

More about the project @ the animal rehabilation center

Sun, 31 May 2009 19:55:33 -0600

I'm both excited and nervous about the coming week. I'll be relatively on my own and in charge of my own project at Alvaro's animal rehabilitation center and I don't know what I'll find there. Consequently, my plans for the interpretive guides are rather amorphous. I am certain that, given a good look-around tomorrow, I'll have a much more clear idea what I want to focus on and what Alvaro expects. I've learned a lot this week from Nick about how ant communities relate to the forest as a whole and how different species interact. This in mind, I have carefully packed some tuna fish and am plotting to set some bait sites for observation. I'm also planning on classifying their soils and generally determining the floral, faunal, and habitat types that are present. I'm rather excited about this project and hope that I have internet so that I can continue the blog.

Pura Vida!
Katheryn

Final Field Day

Sun, 31 May 2009 19:48:09 -0600

Well, we've just about finished the last day. For scheduling reasons we swapped Field Day 5 with the free day, so yesterday the group spent their field day with a boat trip along Cano Negro. The students are posting their comments, but this year we saw quite a few good views of unusual birds, Caimens, and all three types of monkey (howler, white faced, spider). This was followed with an hour in La Fortuna, and some time at the reserve that Giovanni is managing.

Here is a photo of the students on the boat trip (from left: Nick, Aliza, Kathryn, Natalia):

Today, the final field day, has been a day of tidying things up. We retrieved the last HOBOs (automated water temperature samplers), and both Aliza and Nick have been collecting their last field data. I've also converted the Trimble data into a form that can be used by Aliza and Nick in their write-ups. I've created a new map with bird nest locations. The plan is to add bird nest locations each year as their own layers, so it should be possible to compare the number of bird nests over time. Marcy reports that there are a lot more bird nests this year than in the 2008 field season. This is good news. An intermediate version of the map should be online before we leave Leaves and Lizards. Aliza is preparing a set of photographs for each bird nest point. I shall publish these later in the week after we return. I'll post a note when these are completed.

blissful boat ride, fortunate Fortuna shopping, Geovany's forest, Monterrey Mass, now pack pack pack

Sun, 31 May 2009 19:46:15 -0600

This weekend has been glorious. The end. Haha no but seriously it has been a little piece of wonderful. First, the horseback ride through the mountains on Friday. Then Saturday was our "free day". We took a boat tour in search of MONKEYS!!! and other animals/birds of water down el Cane Negro that reaches the Nicaraguan border. Our journey began with a 5am wakeup call, a 3 hour car ride to the river, and a successful boat ride. We saw howler monkeys, spider monkeys, white-faced monkeys and the "light haired" monkey (apparently a very rare monkey). We also saw "caimanes" (or crocodiles) and many, many birds (my favorite being the kingfisher). Our tour guide, Dauren, brought lunch for us on the boat form a nearby restaurant with actual dishes and silverware and a table with a tablecloth..it was just precious! We had this huge boat all to ourselves and it was so fun! Then we went to the teeny town of Fortuna to visit Geovany's Parque Natural, which was "Natalia-friendly" ;) since it had nice clear and snake-free dirt trails with many gorgeous flowers among all the trees. After that we did some souvenir shopping, had dinner and crashed when we got home. Today I went bird watching with Aliza before Kat and I went to Mass in the lovely church in Monterrey. I have to mention that the homily was great! However it was a bit comical that there was a tiny chihuahua running around the open-doored church during mass and no one thought it was strange at all..! haha It was actually quite funny because Kat and I had to walk from church to the "Super Christian" (the town grocery store) and find a "ride" (what they call taxi rides) back to Leaves and Lizards or else we'd have to hike up 3 km of rocky roads..luckily we found one and just spent the afternoon packing. It's our last night here in Costa Rica--a little bitter sweet, but all in all I can say it was a satisfying and happy week..totally worth the "Murphy's Law" ailments..ha! ;)

Winding down

Fri, 29 May 2009 21:37:44 -0600

The work here is definitely winding down, and while we still have some final loose ends to finish, energy levels are sometimes low, and so we all need a break. While the girls went horseback riding for their break, Nick had some well-needed rest, and Rich and I went over the data thus far. Things look good. The first major discovery may be Nick's finding of a new Azteca form (still pending examination under the microscopes in the lab). Though his blog entry might seem more calm, this is a great find.

Several pieces of data from the bird and habitat studies have become quite important as well. Unlike last year, we are finding quite (through Aliza's work) a few bird species breeding on the property, and so we plan to add the locations to the map soon. From Natalia's work on photopoints, it is evident that the vegetation has grown significantly from last year, with the teaks quadrupling in size, and much of the mixed forest filling in. This is a good sign for Steve and Debbie's work on reforestation, and the changes are immediately evident from the research.

Posting to the blog may be limited tomorrow--the students will have their free day, and we plan to travel the Cano Negro river with a guide. This will be a switch from the original free day planned for Sunday, but nicely gives them a chance to go to Sunday mass in Monterrey rather than Saturday night. Finishing touches on the research will fill the rest of Sunday, and then the packing and travel will begin. Watch for more news here on any last-minute discoveries....

All the Panoramic Photos are up!

Fri, 29 May 2009 21:25:05 -0600

I've just published all the panoramic photos, and they have been aligned (as best as is possible). Just go to the main menu and go to the panoramas page, and click on one of the thumbnails. This will display the photo comparison program which lets you fade from one year to another. You can also select different locations.

The red lines on the left and right edges mark North. I will make this more explicit in the descriptive text when I get back.

Not much other news: I've taken lots of photos for PhotoSynth, but it isn't practical to do process these until we're back (Microsoft in their wisdom wrote PhotoSynth so that it only processes when online). Oh, and another big rock/lava fall on the north side of Arenal visible (and audible) from the cabins. Two in one week. Activity does seem to be swinging around to the north side.