The past few weeks have been a very unique experience. This has been the first time I have ever had to design an experiment from scratch, and to make things more challenging, we have been assigned two projects to do. Even before leaving for Nicaragua, I always had a nervous feeling in my stomach whenever I thought about finding a project to do, and when I finally arrived, the feeling only got stronger. There were so many different animals that we saw, but the ones I found particularly interesting were very difficult to find.
The first of the projects my partner Lindsey and I decided on was the strawberry poison frog. We saw many along the trails, and it is honestly very fun to watch and hold. We wanted to design an experiment involving the capture and release of an individual to examine its stress, but despite seeing many frogs the first few days, we could not for the life of us spot any when we specifically looked for them. We turned our attention to hiker noise, which still proved to be difficult because we have to wait for the frogs call. We have gotten very skilled at recognizing its call. Whenever I hear the frog make its sort of quacking call, I just smile and think to myself, “Yup, that’s my frog!” This has been a test of patience so far, but we are getting some good data!
The second project is a bit more… tedious. We are studying the directionality of leaf cutter ants while they are walking on their trails, and in order to test this we are setting blockades to clear a path, moving an ant into that cleared trail, and watching what direction it moves. The setup is actually very fun. We basically spend ten minutes picking up ants and throwing them over a wall. I have never felt more powerful in my life! The actual experiment is very long and tedious, and involves a lot of yelling at ants to run a certain direction. I never thought I would spend an afternoon throwing and yelling at ants, but this is all in the name of science!
When I think of science, I imagine a man in a lab coat looking through a microscope. This experience has shown me so far that science can actually be a very gritty experience. It takes a little getting used to, but I am now fully engulfed in the routine. The data collection phase is in full swing, and I am excited to see our results when we get there!