Let's Put All the Scary Things in One Blog Post

The past few days have been a whirlwind- everything has been so busy!

Following the completion of our faculty-led project, we immediately jumped into working on our independent projects. For my research project, I decided to stick to what I have the most experience in: pollination. After I suggested my idea to my professor, he suggested that I take a look at predator-pollinator interactions. There's a very common species of spider here known as the Green Lynx Spider (Peucentia viridans) that has an ambush strategy for hunting. Essentially, the spider hides out among the flowers (in this case, Ruellia inundata- a herb that is common in disturbed areas) and waits for the pollinator to come. Once the pollinator is feeding, the spider will spring onto its prey and immediately puncture a hole in the eye and suck out the juices.

Look at how adorably vicious it was to this honeybee!

Overall, the presence of a predator can affect how a plant reproduces- if the plant can't pollinate, then its genes won't be passed on to the next generation, thus lowering its fitness. It's actually a really cool example of some top-down effects on trophic levels of ecosystems. I'm hoping that we'll see something interesting out of this experiment, especially since I think the topic and the theory behind it is super cool. Apparently too cool, since my professor pulled me over after my proposal presentation to tell me that I was too excited and spoke too fast during my part of the presentation. Whoops.

Despite being sucked into the never-ending vortex that is our Independent Project, I've still had a little time to enjoy Palo Verde. One of my favorite activities at the end of the day is to go out on the boardwalk to watch the flocks of birds. There are some beautiful ones- including spoonbills! Also watching the sun set over the marsh is just a gorgeous sight in general. My friends and I often return to the boardwalk at night to do a bit more stargazing. I definitely can recognize more constellations down now as a result, so at least I'm learning something while I'm down here.

We also just tend to run into interesting animals every day anyways, which freshens things up a bit . A fun game that I play with myself is the "What Animal am I Going to Find in the Bathroom Today" game. So far, we are currently up to one bat, five frogs (staring at me while I was showering- a bit disconcerting), an assortment of beetles, a katydid, ants, and a few other unidentifiables.

This is one of the tarantulas that lives OUTSIDE of the bathroom, so it doesn't count for the game. 

Additionally, sometimes the organisms just wander into our midst when we're least expecting it. Last night, my friend suddenly burst into the classroom with this frightened look on his face and immediately said "There's a giant wasp out here, and I can't catch it and I'm scared". At first we all thought he was just being a sissy, but no. This wasp was giant, and terrifying. Eventually, another girl and I managed to snag the (very angry) wasp in a net and into a (double) plastic bag. We were later told that if we had been stung we probably would have been hospitalized. Also whoops. 

I was not kidding about this wasp.

I additionally just saw peccaries for the first time just outside of our classroom/bedrooms. I'm not kidding when I say that organisms just pop up very unexpectedly.

We also often have encounters with animals based on the staff that work at the station. Sergio works in reception, and is working with bats for his university studies. So he brought a few to show us:

He's got a great smile, don't you think?

We also encountered a sea snake because the station director, Mahmood, studies snakes and just happened to receive a specimen that day. This snake I could tolerate a bit more. Possibly because it was in the plastic case and not actually out and about. But tolerate is the key word in that sentence.

So despite the Independent Project filling my brain constantly (I seriously see green spiders when I close my eyes), I'm still managing to have a great time here. Wish me luck on the experiments!

Palo Verde 101

As I sit here writing this, I am currently sipping on some peach iced tea on the porch in front of my room with the balmy temperature of 97 degrees. So needless to say, life is pretty good here at Palo Verde National Park. Palo Verde is located at the northwestern part of the country, which is about four hours from San Jose. The habitat here is dry forest with a huge wetland attached to it, so there are plenty of interesting animals abound.

Coatis!

Iguanas on the roof!

And Capuchins, oh my!

The past couple days have been really packed though- we've been in class a lot. This is so we can have full days in which we can work on our independent projects that are coming up in the not too distant future (if anyone has a good idea for one, hit me up). Additionally, we've also been doing work on our first faculty-led project, which is being led by Chris Mowry from Berry College. Chris has worked with coyotes and primates in the past, but we unfortunately didn't have great sample sizes for either of these organisms here (although we did see Howler monkeys yesterday!). So we've been working on conspecific defense cues in mosquito fish. Basically, when the fish senses a predator, they release a chemical to alert the members of the same species. So we've been doing some behavioral tests to determine reaction times as well as the number of attempts that they make to get to shelter. As of writing this, they're still crunching the numbers, so I can't tell you what the answer actually is. But long story short, we got to play with fish, and got to finger paint:

So fierce.

We also had the opportunity to visit some rice and sugar cane fields, which was also really interesting. There is a lot of agriculture surrounding the park, so it's always a delicate balance between public relations. Actually, some of the farmers are permitted keep their livestock IN the park as an attempt to keep down some of the invasive species of grasses. All in all, it was an interesting morning. Not to mention, we got some free samples of freshly harvested sugar cane, which was delicious.

Our guide, Don Miguel, slicing up some sugar cane for us. 

Other than class and working on our projects, we've mainly devoted our free time to exploring the park. Palo Verde is around 71.04 square miles, so there's plenty to see. One of my favorite trails so far was a lookout point that led us up through the dry forest and then up to a rock scramble. Once past the rock scramble, the trail led to an amazing view of the marsh, which extends for miles around:

Last night, our exploring took us to the boardwalk that extends over the marsh. From there, we were able to shine our lights out over the marsh and spot some of the glinting eyes of the caimans. We finished off the night by laying down on the deck and doing some stargazing, which was incredible. There's very little light pollution here, so the amount of stars that we could view was amazing. I think we're going to do it again tonight, which I'm really excited about.

I will provide more updates as they come!

In the Páramo...

The past few days have been so awesome, I don't even really know where to begin!

The last couple days were great at Las Cruces. Once we had finished our work (and a plant tax exam- blech) the professors pretty much let us have run of the place.  A couple friends and I hiked out on one of the trails as a last hurrah, and we actually ended up at a really cool waterfall. It wasn't a super impressive height, but we still all got in and played around in the water a bit before we decided that it was too cold.

The next day, we headed out to Cuerici Biological Station. Cuerici is located in the Cartago Province in Costa Rica, which is slightly in between the Panama border and the capital of Costa Rica, San Jose. The station was pretty remote. It's located in the upper elevations of Costa Rica (~2700m), and down a very bumpy, twisty, and dirt road. The worst part about the altitude though was trying to make it up hills and being out of breath by halfway up.

The station itself was pretty much just a log cabin in the middle of the forest with a classroom attached. There was no central heat, so most of our almost freezing nights were spent huddled under at least four pairs of blankets or around the wood stove/fireplace. It actually became an art to throw on as many clothes as possible and as many blankets as possible before going to bed.

Cuerici is also a farm run by Don Carlos and his family. Primarily, he grows blackberries and additionally runs a trout farm. We actually got to sample both (after picking and fishing), and both were delicious.

Attempting to catch trout with nets. Marginal success.

I did actually catch a fish, but we had to throw it back because Don Carlos said it was too small. I also was offered the opportunity to kill a fish with my hands, but I gave a hard pass on that one. Additionally, I almost gutted a fish, but I got distracted by the appearance of Neblina, the pack pony. By the time I had returned from pony snuggling, Don Carlos had gutted three fish in less than five  minutes, while it took four of us to gut three in fifteen. Practice makes perfect, I guess.

I think this was a great reason to miss out on gutting a trout.

The main part of Cuerici is the portion of the land devoted to the preservation of the montane oak forests. The property is actually some 500 acres of cattle pasture land that Don Carlos inherited. Most of the land he has allowed for the oak forest to return. However, there is a noticeable difference between the untouched primary forest and the secondary forest that used to be pasture land. Nevertheless, the forest was still gorgeous. I also just really enjoyed being around oak trees again. Not quite the same as back home, but it still felt a little more like home than the other places that I've been so far.

Additionally, the view from the top of this trail was absolutely amazing. I kind of had the same feeling that I did when I was at the Grand Canyon. I wanted to take all of the pictures to try and remember it, but I knew that it wouldn't be the same as the real thing.

The next day, we had a hike up in El Cerro de la Muerte, which is a rather infamous part of Costa Rica. Here, you will find a type of habitat known as the páramo, which is basically a tundra located in Costa Rica. The páramo is host to all sorts of endemic species, and is known for being one of the harshest conditions in the world (tropical sun + tundra conditions = ouch). This place was super cool, and we ended up hiking up to ~3300m. It also ended up being a perfect day for hiking as well, since the mist didn't really roll in until we started to descend.

The páramo has definitely been one of the coolest places that we've seen so far. We also had our first midterm in Cuerici too, which was a bit of a struggle. There was little to do on the farm, so one was rather forced to study in order to avoid being bored. But I think the exam went well, and it helped to have our study buddy:

On our last evening in Cuerici, we decided to go on a hike to try and find a spot where we could take pictures of the sunset. After talking with Don Carlos, he suggested that we go to one of his blackberry fields. It actually ended up being really amazing (although cold), and it was a great way for us to end our time in Cuerici. 

So now we are currently back in San Jose after a trip to San Pedro this morning. In particular, we went to the language academy at which we'll be studying at in the next couple of weeks. There, we all took an oral exam to determine our level of proficiency for Spanish. I think it went okay, but my Spanish is definitely rusty. Whoops. Still don't know what level I'll be in, but from what it sounds like, I made it a similar length through the interviews as other people. So hopefully I'll have friends in my class.

But on a side note, I actually managed to go rock climbing with a couple of guys from my program! I actually had a great time, and it was SUPER cheap ($6 for a day pass, including rental shoes and chalk- pretty much unheard of in the States). The problems weren't actually that hard, but it was still pretty cool to do something across cultures like climbing. I hope to go back during my home stay to climb a bit more - or maybe even an outdoor trip if I'm feeling adventurous.

Jake, Evan and I at Mundo Aventura.

And that's the update! Headed out to Palo Verde in the morning- so pretty much moving from the coldest place that we stay at to perhaps the hottest one that we stay at. Should be fun though- looking forward to tromping around some wetlands and dry forests! 

Coffee, Chiggers, and the Final Days of Las Cruces

Prior to arriving to Costa Rica, I had been trying to cut back on my consumption of coffee. I had low expectations that I was going to keep up this goal for myself in Costa Rica. Spoiler: I was correct in assuming that this goal would not last long. The coffee down here is just so good. I've pretty much had a cup every morning since I've arrived (also the waking up for a 6:30 breakfast also has enforced the consumption of coffee).

However, the area around Las Cruces is actually filled with a lot of farms and plantations. We actually had the wonderful opportunity to go and visit a coffee plantation. Don Roberto, the owner of the plantation, was very kind and explained to us a lot about the production of coffee. Essentially, if you don't buy fair trade coffee that are run by successful and respected co-operatives, the farmers are being highly exploited for their produce. In many instances, farmers are being paid less than US dollar for their coffee. Don Roberto recently made the switch to roasting his own coffee and attempting to sell it locally in order to make more money. 

Don Roberto in the drying tent. 

Up close and personal.

Additionally, he also had other crops planted along with the coffee in an attempt to make some money on the side. The addition of the other crops are also ecologically more sound, as it provides habitats for birds and insects that can use the plantation to get to other portions of the forest. Don Roberto has also added some plants to reduce erosion, and has even donated part of his land to reforestation. 

Everything that we had at Don Roberto's was delicious- the bananas, the coffee, and the biscuits that we got with the coffee. In addition, the family had a lot of adorable animals that we fawned over. There was even a pony, but I unfortunately did not get to snuggle with it. But I did get to play with the bird and the dog, which was an A+ in my book anyways. 

Two of my new best friends.

Additionally, if you would like to learn more about the unfairness of the coffee industry, I highly suggest you watch the movie "Black Gold". The movie highlights the struggles of a coffee co-op in Ethiopia, but it details the exploitation of coffee farmers in the industry today. It is a very interesting subject, and it definitely got me thinking about where I should purchase my coffee (i.e. not  brands owned by Kraft, Nestle, Sara Lee or Proctor & Gamble). 

The next day we took a bumpy one hour car ride to Las Alturas. Las Alturas is a satellite station that is considered to be attached to the Las Cruces station. The station itself was very remote, but was a beautiful little cabin. Additionally, it's located in one of the most gorgeous parts of Costa Rica. Las Alturas is right next to La Amistad International Park, which is the largest contiguous piece of preserved land in Costa Rica that also extends into Panama. The park is home to thousands of species, and has actually been largely unstudied simply due to the fact that it is so big. Not many people get to enter the park since they must go through a couple of hoops to do so, but OTS had us covered. We were basically VIPs for this park, it was pretty awesome. 

So, we began on a trek that was probably the hardest hike I've ever done. The trail was only 3km long, but we went from 1500m to 2200m in around 2 hours. I tried to enjoy the scenery as we went up, but an unfortunate amount of the hike was me concentrating on not dying. But the view from the top was still pretty fantastic (albeit a bit misty). 

The way down was not as hard of a hike, so I was able to actually look at what was happening around me. It actually turned out to be really cool, because there were at least four different habitats on the hill, just based on the microclimates created by the elevation we were at. Also the hike down was a lot shorter than the hike up. And when we got back to the station, cookies, coffee and tea were waiting for us, so that was a welcome sight as well. 

Unfortunately, the next day I realized that the chiggers had gotten to me during the hike, despite the DEET. So now my entire torso is itchy, which isn't super fun. However, my professor and a few of my friends here also got them, so I don't feel as targeted. Cortisone is my best friend right now. Also the fact that this is really the first vaguely bad thing to happen to me is probably a good track record (minus the mosquito bite right under my eye that appeared after the night hike- ow). 

Another aspect of the course is that we are supposed to go out into the forest and write about what we see/hear/smell/etc. I actually really enjoyed this assignment. I found a nice little spot by a creek and observed everything for about 2 hours. It was nice to just sit and have a little zen moment with nature  (and a slight sunburn, whoops). Additionally, I saw really cool insects, like this beetle:

Tomorrow we have our plant practical, which I'm slightly nervous about. But I still have most of the day to study for it, so hopefully it'll go well! On Wednesday we say good-bye to Las Cruces and head out to Cuerici. It's a little weird to be leaving Las Cruces, I've mentally labeled it as the home away from home (also the food here is delicious- shout out to the kitchen staff). But I suppose it is time to move onto other places. Cuerici doesn't have internet, so I will attempt to post and update when we reach our next field site, Palo Verde. 

In the meantime, here's a picture of a butterfly:

See you in Palo Verde!

Creepy Crawlies and Forest Restoration

My apologies for the delay in the blog posts- the past couple days have been super packed and I've really only been able to hop on the computer to check up on things back home. That being said, the past couple days have been unbelievably fun.

For one, classes are going really well. I'm really enjoying the more hands-on approach that the classes are based off of. For example, we've recently been doing a lot of plant and insect taxonomy. For plants, we walked around the botanical garden and our professor and TA pointed out examples from the 20 families that we'll be tested on next Tuesday. I think I'll be able to recognize the features of the plant, it's more a question of the family names that I'll be able to remember. Insect taxonomy was also a lot of fun- our professor basically handed us nets and told us to go forth in the garden and see what we could catch and identify.

Clearly in my element here. (Also HHMI Scholars represent!)

Funnily enough, this also lead into our first assignment, where we have to collect and identify the order and family of 10 insects for each of the major sites that we visit. Thanks to my previous classes, I was able to identify all of my insects that I caught (except an assassin bug that seriously looked like a mosquito).

We also finally went on a night hike in which many more creepy crawlies were found. Frogs, lizards, and arthropods are abound during the night, which makes for a really fun time. Some of the highlights included a glass frog, a whip scorpion, giant cockroaches, and a lizard. Additionally, we saw birds sleeping in the trees in the garden- they basically just poof up their feathers so they look like adorable little bird balls. I also finally got to hold a frog! Although I only held it for about 0.2 seconds before it decided that my shoulder was a better place to be. I did freak out a bit when it jumped, mainly because I had just witnessed it jump on the face of one of my classmates (in my defense). But in the end I managed to calm down enough to enjoy being a frog pirate for a couple minutes. Probably my favorite part of the night hike though was the end. Our professor took us to the canopy tower and then asked us to turn off our lights. Unfortunately, it was too foggy to see any stars, but we did manage to see the fireflies all through the trees. It was probably one of my favorite things that we've seen so far (especially because the fireflies back home don't come out until around June!).

We've also recently been talking a lot about forest restoration, which is also a really interesting topic. In other words, what is the best way to return a piece of land to the forest that it used to be? This is especially true for parts of Costa Rica where agriculture has played a large role in the development of the country. Yesterday we hiked to an area in Las Cruces known as Melissa's Meadow, where some attempts at reforestation have begun. Essentially, each plot was treated with a different kind of rehabilitation (burning and then leaving the plot, cutting and leaving the plot, cutting and planting some primary species, etc.).

Forest to the left of the path was cut, had some primary species planted. Forest to the right of the path was burned and then left alone. Main difference is in the height of the canopy and the diversity of the species between the two. 

The long story short that I've learned about forest restoration, is that while very cool, it takes a LOT of effort and time. Melissa's Meadow is about 14 years old now, but the director of Las Cruces told us that the forest pictured above is still not what we would consider to be a fully developed forest. In addition, there are so many factors that contribute to each individual site (like animal species, seed dispersal, etc.) that it makes it very difficult to come up with an overarching plan that could be used for reforestation in other spots.

One of my favorite class activities so far was the fruit lab. One of our professors, Mau, clearly takes this very seriously and apparently spends weeks preparing for it. As we walked into the lab, we quickly understood why. There were at least 30 different kinds of fruits that were produced in Costa Rica in a circle around the lab. We were able to sample all of them, from the familiar (pineapple, papaya, mango) and some of the not so familiar (limon dulce, cas, caimito). Pretty much everything was super delicious. The only thing I hated was a fruit called noni. The fruit already looked weird, and then when you leaned in close, it seriously smelled like vomit. I did brave a taste, and it tasted disgustingly like soap. Despite that, I loved everything else and ate way too much. BUT IT WAS SO WORTH IT.

Last Sunday was also our free day, which also happened to coincide with the Presidential elections. So we drove into San Vito and were able to see a little bit of the action. It was pretty interesting to see so much campaigning happening outside of the school where the voting was taking place. Apparently, the citizens of Costa Rica are really not impressed by any of the candidates, so most of them simply refused to vote. The results of the election showed that no candidate achieved the 40% necessary to gain the presidency. So the top two presidential candidates will go to the secondary elections in April, and the new president will finally be inducted in May. So we'll actually get to see the whole process, which should be really interesting.

We also finally went swimming on the same day, which turned out to be a little cold, but really fun. Following, we also did a bit of exploring on some other trails that are in the park, and found a pretty neat one that just winds its way back and forth to the same river that we swam in. We finished off the free day by watching the Super Bowl. Albeit in Spanish, and lacking the witty commercials, it was still nice to be reminded a little bit of home in the end. Additionally while we were watching, we had this nice visitor come up right behind my head and scare the crap out of me:

Clearly just came to root on the Seahawks.

So that's the update! Hopefully I'll be able to post a little more frequently!