Category Archives: from the field

from the field, Kathleen, Week 2

Songs of a present paradise

Strolling through the misty rainforest at the break of light, resting for a few minutes every 50 meter-interval to enjoy the songs of a splendid array of tropical birds – a birder’s paradise. I have been fortunate to be able to enjoy every morning for the past 9 days, in an ‘effort’ to collect data for a conservation project that my buddy, Ben, and I are working on. We start each day with a hike to one of six observation sites within Refugio Bartola, where we then traverse a 200 meter transact, pausing for 8 minutes each at 5 points and recording all the birds we hear. This usually lasts for an hour, after which we hike to another site and repeat the same procedure. Following 2 hours of soaking in the serenity of the forest, we return for a treat – Breakfast!

Our project aims to study the diversity of birds and mammals in 3 different areas of the forest. These areas are categorized by their distance from the forest edge. Just as some people love to be at the center of the party while others enjoy the less chaotic atmosphere in the corners, so do the birds and mammals (in a different way of course)! We hope to find how various species occupy different areas of the forest, and how the dynamics changes from the edge to the interior of the forest. This dynamic gradient is crucial to the ecosystem of the forests as a whole, as every organism relies on another, and many are sensitive to changes. This would be an important implication if the Nicaragua canal goes through to completion, as it would create edges in the forest where the interior used to be and change the dynamics around it.

So far, I have definitely been enjoying every part of the process in just retrieving the data. Staying still in the forest brings the animals to us more than actively searching for them. Most of the best moments have happened during these periods of waiting…seeing white-faced Capuchins foraging and grooming on the canopy above us, then having a mommy Agouti with two babies stroll up right to us…the most precious by far is a special encounter with my favorite animal in the world: hearing grunts coming from the shrubs, then seeing the stripes of an ocelot appear, until the cat was in full view of us just 3 meters away. It walked delicately and cautiously, never once hesitant even though it knew full well of our presence, giving us one short glance and continuing on its way back into the shrubs…

Emily, from the field, Week 2

So what’s your question?

Coming up with my conservation experiment was a test all on its own. Deciding on a question, figuring out variables, and executing the whole plan is much easier said than done. Being here for only 4 weeks, time has also been another stress factor. The most difficult part, in my opinion, was coming up with a question. Even though I have heard this being said over and over again, it truly does come down to “What is your question?”. Every part of your project centers around what you are trying to ask and sometimes I have gotten so caught up with methodology that I forget to think back and remember what my focus was.

After multiple trial and errors and an infinite amount of assistance from Professor Shier and my TA Rachel, Tinh and I were finally able to come up with a project! We are focusing on group size and the effects they have on the activity of leaf-cutter ant trials. The reason we decided on this topic is because we realize that as ecotourism increases, more and more people will be traveling the trails of natural reserves. Although this is a positive change, the effects of different size groups walking through trails are still unknown.

In order to try and figure out if there are any effects, we will be conducting “walk-through” trials where we simulate different group sizes on different leaf-cutter ant trials and seeing how the activity changes after 30 and 60 minutes.

So far, we have picked out the 10 different colonies we will be testing and ran 20 successful trials. Within the next 3 days, we should be done with this part of the project and hope to move on to the second part of our experiment. In the second part, we will use the baseline information we collected from the first experiment and using it to compare how the frequency of visitation by these different group sizes affect the activity of the trails. With only 9 days left here at Refugio Bartola, pressure is on to get as much data as possible, definitely crunch time!

from the field, Joey, Week 2

The Fleeting, the Flying, and the Undescribed

Science is like any great craft in that the amount of effort placed upon the object of desire is proportional to the quality of the yield. Finding my interests through literature and observation was a challenge (but an enjoyable one), but when compared to the difficulties of refining my product, seems trivial. I don’t think I could have ever understood the true complexity of addressing a scientific question regardless of how many papers I wrote or articles I read back at home. While it is easy to confuse my time here with vacation because of how beautiful my surroundings are, I am here for work, to produce something tangible from the fleeting, the flying, and the undescribed.

While the product of my science may be challenging, I have enjoyed every second of it. Coming into the field with only a gardener’s perspective on neotropical flora, I am awestruck by how much there is to learn about the plants here. I came to Nicaragua with the skeleton of an idea surrounding the biological systems supported by the pools of water that collect within bromeliads. I predicted that the link between human presence and community assemblage in these pools would be simple; more people, more selective logging, less diversity. Using local openness and closure of the canopy surrounding the bromeliad as a proxy for logged forest and unlogged forest, our results have been anything but simple. Each time I sample a bromeliad with my partner Michelle, we find untold treasures. And by treasures, I mean worms. And sometimes scorpions… Again, I am really just beginning to understand that nothing is simple in science and very rarely can anyone capture the infinite intricacies of a biological system with a preliminary prediction.

The same can be said for my behavior project on orchid bees. While bromeliads are kind enough to remain stationary during sampling, orchid bees seem spiteful in comparison. Shying away from further anthropomorphic musings, orchid bees are truly the most fascinating thing I’ve seen here. Try to imagine a study species that seems to change size and coloration every time you meet it. The permutations of color are enough to make sitting and observing for 40-50 minutes fly by—some deep sapphire blue, some marrying teal and green, others a rainbow of color (one, with a blue head, orange abdomen, and a green thorax we literally named rainbow). But as before, our research is complicated by the complexity of their behavior. Every trial, which we accomplish by eucalyptus oil lures, shows that these bees have a vast repertoire of behaviors when competing for the oils. Each new behavior we observe, while surprising and intriguing, means we must refine our question further for fear of generalizing the details.

In light of the difficulties, I am in love with my surroundings. I will surely miss digging bromeliad gunk from my nails at the end of the day. Well, maybe not.

Cheers,

Joey

from the field, Lindsey, Week 2

The Other Side of the Paper

I’ve read many scientific papers for class. I’ve searched for them endlessly on Web of Science, a database the UCLA libraries subscribe to. I’ve had to critique them with classmates and discuss how they could be better, how their methods weren’t exactly right, how their sample sizes could be larger or their collected data simply doesn’t answer the question they are asking. But what I’ve never discussed in class, what I had never previously really thought about, was how challenging the entire process of answering a scientific question can be. It is almost surreal being here in Nicaragua and having to come up with a question on my own, creating a set of methods that will answer that question precisely, and carrying out those methods while making sure to collect a large enough set of data. While sitting on the floor of a rainforest moving leaf cutter ants onto a section of trail I’ve cleared of other ants, squished between the fronds of a short palm tree, as it turns dusk and the playful noises of the day begin to sound eerie, I realize how very different an experience it is from reading a paper in the safety of a classroom critiquing what could have been better.

It was definitely difficult coming up with a question I found interesting and then proper methods to follow. There were many observations made, notes taken on random things I saw and where, ideas brought up and decided against. It was exciting then landing on an idea and deciding to stick with it. Although there were then endless obstacles while conducting pilot trials of issues I didn’t previously think about (like the difficulty of picking ants off the trail when most of them are 2 mm long). For my project that is not on leaf cutter ants, I’m studying the effects of hiker group size on strawberry poison dart frog calls. It is a simple concept, recording calls for two and a half minutes, having a group of hikers walk by while talking, and then recording the calls for another two and a half minutes after. What will not be included in the final paper though, is how difficult collecting that data can be. Although I know the frogs do not truly know that we are trying to find and study them, I am convinced they have some ulterior plan and choose to avoid us at all costs. We have wandered the rainforest for hours only to find two strawberry frogs in the midst of calling. We have set up our experimental stage (a 15m pink string laid out on the trail in front of the calling frog) only to wait for an indefinite amount of time before deciding the frog isn’t going to start calling again. And doing all of this while dragging around our very kind classmates that are helping us by being additional hikers for the experimental trials. I’m aware now of how much thought and effort goes into these projects, which I will forever think about while reading the endeavors of others in their published scientific papers.

from the field, Juan, Week 2

Conserve the Agouti

After multiple days here, I feel as though we have settled in to a routine. Everyone is focused and working hard on their projects, with just enough time to squeeze in three meals per day. Some do not even manage to do that. Although data collection may be a difficult and strenuous process, the most complicated part was definitely coming up with a question and proper methodology to answer that question. While exploring the rainforest during the first few days here at Refugio Bartola, there were so many new things that I had never seen before and I was full of questions. The only problem is that all of my questions already had answers. Caleb (my partner) and I had originally settled on an experiment focusing on the biodiversity in the crevices of buttress trees and the effects of selective logging. We were finally able find a question that had not been answered by previous research. The only problem with this experiment was that it was extremely difficult and time consuming to carry out and would not be feasible in the short amount of time that we were going to be here. So it was back to the drawing board.

While spending more time with Debra and Rachel, we were able to come up with a question based on a previous paper we had read on Agouti foraging behavior. Since agouti are mostly diurnal and base their foraging behavior on the presence of predators, we wanted to know if they prefer to forage in open or closed understory to determine the potential effects of selective logging. Once the question was established, determining the methodology for answering the question proved to be another difficult process. After some brainstorming, some bumping heads, and some guidance, we were able to come up with a process for answering our question that we believe can be successful. This was all an eye opening experience about the processes behind coming up with a question and determining proper methods to answer that question. Besides a few set backs, it was all a great learning experience and I’m excited to see what new information we learn and the potential conservation implications it may have.

from the field, Vivien, Week 2

“I see three coconuts in the water. Oh wait, one’s a turtle”

Our time here has gone by much too quickly. Now that we only have about one week left, everyone has realized that it is crunch time when it comes to completing our projects. For our conservation biology course, Callan and I have decided to conduct a project which assesses the water quality of streams below human impact sites and above these sites. Due to recent dredging in Nicaragua, we decided that we want to focus on the effects human can have on water quality and species abundance when they directly impact a water source. Coming up with a project idea was rather simple because we have similar interests. However, deciding what methods to use and what kind of analysis to record became a little more difficult. We didn’t realize how tricky it would be to conduct an experiment which incorporates all of the factors we were interested in testing, but allows us to test each of these factors in a feasible way. In addition, I don’t think our bodies were prepared for waking up every morning at 5:30am and working all day in 96% humidity. However, after a few days of locating streams and finalizing our methods, we have been able to collect all of the data we need for our analysis, especially with the kind guidance of Dr. Debra Shier.

In our study, we have decided to focus on ten different pools: five below the sites of human impact, and five above the sites of human impact. Of the five pools below the human impact, three of the pools are located downstream from a generator, which is used to supply electricity to the Rancho, while two pools are located downstream from a pipe, which leads from the kitchen into a stream. With the help of Dr. Greg Grether mapping all of the streams using GPS coordinates, we have discovered that the stream that is affected by the generator and the stream that lies below the kitchen are not connected. Therefore these sites can be treated as independent. The five pools above the human impact sites have been chosen randomly.

Our data consists of taking water samples to analyze, recording the dimensions and characteristics of each pool, and recording species abundance in the pools we are extracting samples from. Our water analysis focuses on the amount of dissolved oxygen pH, and the presence of bacteria. For our species abundance tests, we are focusing on animal species directly affected by the pollution of water such as different species of fish, water striders, and damselflies, just to name a few. During our species abundance analysis, we have seen a large variation in the presence of species depending on the location of the pools. We have also confirmed the presence of bacteria in pools affected by human impact. Hopefully once we have completely analyzed our data, we will find statistically significant results. These results will allow us to contribute to the goal of developing a conservation strategy that involves depleting human impact on rainforest streams.

P.S. Hi Papa! Tell Mama that I have been making lists every night of animals I saw and things that have happened to me, so she will get a detailed description when I am back home. Counting down the days until I can tell you about all of my adventures! (Also, happy belated birthday). Sending all my love!

Ben, from the field, Week 2

Bird Songs and Bullet Ants

This past week has been very productive at Refugio Bartola. Kathleen and I finished our final bird call recording session this morning. Our conservation project is focused on how bird and mammal diversity is affected by the distance from the edge of the forest. We mapped out three zones that include the edge, intermediate, and interior areas in the rainforest. Each zone is 200m in length and has two sites in different locations. Each site has 5 points 50m apart where we perform our data collection, which involves recording bird songs for 8 minutes and setting up camera traps to take pictures of small animals passing by throughout the day and night. We hypothesize that there will be a difference in bird and mammal diversity in relation to the edge to interior gradient. Specifically, we predict the interior zone to have a greater diversity of animals and more specialist species.

Our camera traps (pictures) have been very successful so far. We have documented multiple cute agouti, an armadillo, and skunk. While performing our point observations we have also spotted spider monkeys and playful white faced capuchins. One early morning while we were far off trail collecting data we heard a peculiar rustling and grunting nearby. Unbelievably, a beautifully patterned ocelot walked within 3m of where I stood and gave a nonchalant look our way.

Finally, yesterday I had quite the memorable experience. While collecting harvestmen in the crevices of trees for our animal behavior project I stumbled upon an angry nest of bullet ants. These ants have a reputation of biting and stinging, releasing a very painful toxin. Well, it turns out I was the lucky soul thus far in the group and while walking away from the nest felt an extreme pain on my hand. A bullet ant had somehow fallen on my hand and bit through my thin cotton glove. Three hours of intense piercing and throbbing pain passed slowly but thankfully by night the pain was gone.

Brigit, from the field, Week 2

In the Middle of the Middle of Nowhere

This morning I woke up at the crack of dawn, put on my muddy boots, and slopped down a muddy and miserable trail in search of spiders. Not only did I find these spiders (clustered in a tree of over 200), I poked a stick at them to chase them down a tree (that is covered in spines both on the bark and on the leaves) towards a mesh cube to later determine their sex and transport them to another spiny palm site on the other side of the reserve. I then spent the afternoon poking around in leaf-cutter ant holes.

I never imagined that I would love field-work this much. Yeah, it is exhausting and frustrating (so many hills and so many insect bites), and sometimes I have no idea if the data my partner and I are collecting is making any sense, but I truly enjoy every moment of it. Each venture out there has a purpose and we are finally starting to see some interesting results. The procedure of coming out here to the wilderness, running around and observing behaviors, and developing a testable question and predictions about a system has been more stressful (and more fun) than I ever imagined it could be. However, I am still not a fan of reaching my bare hand into a fabric cube of spiders and watch them bite my hand- nor do I like poking sticks at them in a tree and having them fall in my hair.

We have almost completed our harvestmen (spider) project. Our question focuses on whether or not these spiders that live in spiny palms in clustered groups of up to 300 individuals have sex specific chemical cues since it has been established that they are sexually dimorphic and rely on chemical cues left by other individuals when finding a roosting site. We have translocated 510 individuals into 17 trees and thus far it seems that females attract both males and females whereas males only seem to attract more males. But we still need to do the stats. Just three more translocations are needed and then we will collect the last of the data involving the habitat characteristics of each translocation site

With regards to our other project looking at the potential difference in leaf cutter ant colony quality and behavior when living in un-logged or selectively logged areas, we still have a lot of data to collect. We tried doing our data collection at night but…there was a large animal in the canopy above us, a wasp that stung my partner and professor, and a giant tarantula. So we have to collect our data during the late afternoon. But I am sure we can complete everything over the next seven days.

I look forward to finishing up early and having some time to eat lunch on the river. I also look forward to one last easy hike through the jungle before going home.

Ben, from the field, Week 1

Pirates of the Rio San Juan

Planes, a bus, riverboat and 15 hours later we finally made it to Refugio Bartola and the neotropical rainforest along the Rio San Juan, Nicaragua. The amount of abundant wildlife and astonishing biodiversity I’ve encountered in the last three days is almost indescribable. To get a picture, at night time while sloshing along one of the countless muddy trails the ground glistens with the eyes of the largest spiders and unidentifiable insects I’ve ever encountered. Whether it is the chirping red Strawberry Poison Dart frogs, the rambunctious White Faced Capuchin swinging from branch to branch 30m in the air, or the venomous Coral Snake slithering among the leaf litter (I’m wearing calf high boots Mom it’s all good!) I have yet to feel that I’m not actually in a Planet Earth documentary on National Geographic, but actually experiencing the real thing.

In terms of the research aspect of the trip I’m currently in the beginning stages of developing and working on two projects. My partner (Kathleen) and I are working on an animal behavior study aimed at understanding interspecific competition among ground dwelling spiders, while our conservation study is looking at the effects of distance from edge environments on bird and mammal species richness.

So far it’s been quite a surreal experience. Having such an incredible opportunity in the rainforest is both a daunting and humbling experience. And maybe, just hopefully, I’ll stop having vivid images of spiders crawling all over me every time I close my eyes in the next couple days.

from the field, Lindsey, Week 1

Refugio Bartola: We Have Finally Arrived

Being at the field station the past four days has been unlike anything I have ever experienced. The rainforest is massive, endlessly full of noises that I’ve never heard before and animals that I have most definitely never encountered before. We have been here four full days, but it feels like I have been here for weeks. For one, I have already become accustomed to feeling dirty at all times, but it has become the norm and doesn’t bother me. I’m covered in a layer of bug spray, dirt, sweat and dampness from the humidity, but it’s actually quite fun, I just focus on trekking through the rainforest day in and day out. It’s interesting because I already feel settled. We have all found somewhat of a daily routine here, which is nice. I break my days up into before breakfast, between breakfast and lunch, between lunch and dinner, and after dinner. I go on at least two hikes a day, most often after breakfast and after lunch, with the occasional morning or night hike or canoe ride. It is mildly exhausting going on so many hikes throughout the day (a majority of the hours of my day are spent wondering the trails here, which is awesome) but you get used to it after a while and I feel like I am getting in superb shape. Plus, one of the research studies my partner, Jeff, and I are planning involves locating strawberry poison dart frogs by their calls (we are getting quite good at it), which requires stopping along the trail and listening for multiple minutes, which is very peaceful.

And as for the research, the main reason we are all here, it is amazing to see the range of different questions people are choosing on focusing on. I am currently typing while sitting in the common area of the field station, an open dining area with hammocks looking out at the Rio San Juan, while some of my peers are shining a UV light on a spider they caught that fluoresces. Another group has an arena made in a Tupperware with a spider and ant enclosed, seeing if the spider will eat the ant (the last time I went over to check, the spider seemed afraid of the ant). Other groups are looking at things from the contents of the water in bromeliads to trying to catch agoutis. There are just so many variables, controls, and possible directions when thinking of questions for something you want to research, it is overwhelming at times but exciting.

I have loved so many things being here, one of which being the food, more will have to come on that later, but my favorite part so far has to be standing in the rainforest when the wind passes by. The rush of wind builds up and sounds like an ocean wave passing over you. The entire forest moves, the trees and the leaves, and it feels like you move with it and you simply can’t help but smile. It will be a long three weeks, but it is off to a good start.