Answering some questions....

Good morning from La Selva!

We have been receiving emails from people and we are going to take a moment to answer a couple here.  Brent Nolan asked "how many plant species are in the rainforest?" and "How many animal species are in the rainforest?"

Answer:  More than 50% of the world's plant and animals live in the rainforests around the world and the rainforests only cover 7% of the world.  Here at La Selva, there are 124 mammal species and 72 of them are bats!  We found that there are approximately 1500 flowering plant species and 730 species of trees that can be found in rainforests.  But by far, the most numerous animals in the rainforests are the insects!  Every time we go outside, we see a new beetle we haven't seen before or a bright red dragonfly like we saw yesterday on the hike.  One thing to remember is that there are new species being found and added to these records so the numbers may vary in the information you read about rainforests.

Hope this helped, Brent!

If anyone has a question they would like answered, you can email Judkins@mail.usf.edu and Dr. J can pass along the questions for us to answer.  Hope to hear from you!

La Selva Recon

Authors: Aaron, Erin, Rachael, Rob Collins

Word of the day: Secondary succession-  process of regrowth that occurs in an area that has recently been subject to disturbance. There are several types of disturbances that result in the destruction of an ecosystem, such as floods, forest fires and other natural disasters. These disturbances provide new fertile ground for a new generation of vegetation.


Example of gap succession, a type of secondary succession that occurs after a tree falls.



Science of the day: Today we performed a reconnaissance hike in preparation for tomorrow's sampling. As we traveled through the forest we were able to distinguish between areas of primary and secondary succession. Our main focus of our testing tomorrow is the comparison between old growth, new growth and transition forests.

Although we observed a lot of biodiversity yesterday, we were also able to identify many new species today, which included the green and black poison dart frog, a mating pair of great curassows, a troop of white-faced capuchin monkeys, and peccaries.

Great Curassow (male)

Black and Green poison dart frog

Two Toed Sloth

After our recon hike, we ate lunch, showered, then divided and conquered in our groups. Some groups worked on species identification at the La Selva library, others analyzed soil samples in the lab, and others caught up on writing journals, reading, and organizing data.

Today's Culture: We received a question asking the following, "Latin music and dance is so very romantic. How do men and women interact? What kind of roles are traditional."

Salsa music and dancing comprise a subculture of their own. Tradition dictates that the man always leads and the female plays the part of the subdued partner. Its acceptable for both men and women to change dance partners many times. Salsa had its heyday from the 70s to the mid 80s where people danced salsa at all types of different events. Currently, salsa has changed its image and has become increasingly meshed with rock and hip-hop. The traditional dance steps are still popular with the addition of newer hip-hop influenced moves.

Question of the day: Why are the tropics so hot and humid? One of our group member's dive watch even said "ready to dive" because it was so humid out!

Stepping into Biodiversity

Authors: Kris, Lena, Kelly

Word of the Day: Castilla elastica, the scientific name for the common species of rubber tree found in the La Selva neotropical rain forest.  This is the cousin of the tree used in commercial rubber production.  

Science of the Day: Today we arrived in La Selva after a four hour drive from La Fortuna.  We immediately unpacked the van and put away our equipment so we could meet with Kenneth and Albert to take an exploratory walk in the rain forest.  On our introductory walk we briefly stepped into the secondary sucession of the neotropical rain forest.  Here we found  many new and interesting animals: 

• A two toed sloth was nearly mistaken for an epiphyte high in a canopy tree 
• A crested Guan alongside its juveniles  
• A green iguana resting on a branch over a river
• A red eyed leaf frog (as seen in picture to the right)
• A troop of Howler monkey's calling in the thunder
• Two species of ants: Leaf cutter ants (the most common) and Bullet ants (very nasty bite and sting)
• Two species of Motmots: Rufous and Broad beaked
• A red and black poison dart frog
• A colony of long nose bats
• A miniature bat lodged in the crack of a wooden sign post
• A Caiman, a species of crocodile 
• A female marine toad
• Two species of Toucan
• A pair of Green Parrots, which mate for life

Today's Culture:  We were a hungry bunch of scientists, and to satisfy our appetite we stumbled upon this road side restaurant.  Because this was a small town we had the opportunity to engage in conversation with only Spanish speaking people.  This gave us a chance to explore our knowledge of the language and their culture.     

with our driver Luis (front left).

Question of the day:  The La Selva Biological research facility is a protected natural preserve.  If your back yard was part of the wilderness and  left undisturbed, would it be as bio-diverse as a tropical rain forest?

Unidentified bat species located in highlighted hole

Field day at the Arenal Volcano

Authors: Karleigh, Lena, Rob, JJ

Diagram: http://tolweb.org/notes/?note_id=3920

Word of the Day - Nitrogen Fixers: Microbes that live in plants on land and also found in the ocean, that capture diatomic nitrogen out of the atmosphere to make it usable for the biotic community. All living things are mostly composed of carbon, phosphorus, and nitrogen. Carbon and phosphorus can be introduced to early communities by rocks that contain the elements. Nitrogen, however, does not occur within the Earth naturally. The microbes are the only way to take nitrogen out of the atmosphere and convert it to begin early succession. They are crucial for community development and energy flow through a system.

Dr. Herzfeld aiding in JJ and Aaron's sampling

Today's Science - Today the different groups continued to collect data for their projects in the Arenal Volcano National Park . There are six different research groups that are investigating six totally different subjects. Karleigh and Kelly are studying herbivory by calculating the percentage of surface area eaten on randomly selected species of plants. J.J. and Aaron are using a sensor to measure levels of carbon dioxide emissions from the soil in different habitats. Erin and Lena are measuring the biodiversity of plants and animals along a ten meter transect. Rachael and Kris are surveying the pollinators and plant relationships by observation. Rob and Rob (aka Rob squared or the Robs) are sampling the varying air compositions by bringing water samples into equilibrium with the atmosphere. Brittany and Jamison are collecting soil samples to measure nutrient and pH levels. All of these projects will be used to collectively compare the different ecosystems from the peak of volcanoes to coral reefs.

Last dinner at Arenal Hostel Resort, La Fortuna

Today's Culture - The focus for today is that of our group. BGPG 2012 consists of two professors, Dr. Judkins and Dr. Herzfeld, and twelve students who for the most part are strangers. We are either Biology or Environmental Science and Policy majors. The twelve students have been divided into 3 groups of 4 to divide responsibilities such as cooking dinner, writing the blog entries with a lead author daily, and dedicating time towards the science experiments. The cohesiveness of the group is pretty amazing considering that we have all been thrown together for three weeks in 2 different countries. The professors have continued to give lectures which are enhanced by the field experience. We are all thrilled to continue what is an already amazing study abroad adventure!

Question of the Day: Which of the 6 student projects interests you?  Or describe a project you would conduct if you were able to visit volcanoes, rainforest and coral reefs.  Can't wait to hear from you!

Arenal Volcano Survey Day

Authors: Aaron, Erin, Rachael, Rob Collins

Word of the day: Buttress root- large, wide based roots that extend from the base of a trunk of a tree to provide stability.

The buttress root of the "Tree of Life"- Kapok tree

Today's Science:
 At the start of our trail at Arenal Volcano National Park, fifteen foot high walls of elephant grass flanked our sides. Elephant grass is a pioneer species and has begun to overtake other plant species around the base of the volcano. As we hiked further we entered an area of secondary succession that was more densely forested. Deeper in the forested area we spotted a White-nosed Coati which is an insect eating member of the raccoon family. The solitary male coati our group saw foraged through the leaf litter for insects and then scaled a tree and checked beneath the tree bark for more insects. At one point we heard a bird call that sounded more like a monkey than a bird, it felt like the bird was taunting us because we couldn't seem to find the bird producing the monkey-like call.

Eventually we tracked down the mystery bird and found it to be a male Montezuma Oropendola. The male tips forward on a branch while spreading its wings while simultaneously making its call to attract females. As if the Montezuma Oropendola wasn't showy enough, he had bright yellow tail feathers, a bright orange beak with two white jowl markings, and a brown body. The trail reached the edge of the pyroclastic flow from Arenal volcano, we scaled the twenty foot high ridge of volcanic rock and found only a few plant species living on the nearly bare rock surfaces. The wax myrtle shrub is a nonnative primary succession species that grows on Arenal's old pyroclastic flows. The shrub arrived in Costa Rica via migratory bird species from the US.

Our trail descended back into the dense forest where we saw numerous other plants and animal species on our way back to the trail head. One of the most amazing sights was the massive Kapok tree, also known as the "Tree of Life". The Kapok tree has buttress roots extending from the base of its trunk to stabilize its extensive branches that reach nearly 200 feet high. The tree is home to many species, like the bats that live in between the buttress roots and that also feed off the tree's night blooming flowers. The tree's canopy provides shelter and food for birds, mammals, insects, and other plants.

Today’s Culture:

The combination of nature and spirituality is a relationship that dates back thousands of years. This holds true with the indigenous people of South and Central America. Their beliefs were often centered around the Kapok tree, which was considered the source of all life. They believed that the roots of the tree extended into the underworld and the branches held up the heavens. The trees were considered sacred for both their spiritual and physical needs. Before harvesting a Kapok tree, the wood cutters of the Taino people needed to receive the blessing of the tree spirit. Even in modern times, the Kapok tree is considered extremely important for a variety of modern products. The large trunks are still used to make dugout canoes, and the fibers of the bark are often used to pad pillows, blankets, and even life preservers. Various parts of the tree, including the bark, seeds, and leaves, have been used to treat dysentery, fever, asthma, and kidney disease.

Question of the day:

What do the terms r-selected and k-selected mean in reference to competition and growth? Which type is the elephant grass considered?  

La Fortuna or Bust...

Authors: Kris, Jamison, Britt, Kelly

Today was a travel day from Volcano Tirrialba to Volcano Arenal. Even though we did not experience much science today, we created our own as we traveled. We spent time reflecting on ideas for our projects as well as problems we may encounter on the way.

Word of the Day:
Acromyrmex: Scientific name for leafcutter ants
We stopped in La Selva today briefly on our way to Arenal and got a sneak peak view of our rainforest ecosystem. We witnessed a colony of leafcutter ants bringing pieces of leaves to their habitat.


Science Focus:
                                                                  Arenal......or bust

The volcano above shows Arenal, our next expedition. We spent most of the day traveling, took a detour in La Selva to retrieve distilled water, and ended up at Volcano Arenal 7 hours later. We look forward to our next hike up Arenal. Comparing the two very different volcanoes is a collaborative interest in all of our projects.

Culture Focus:

                                             Charging up for the ride with our electrolytes

On our way up Volcano Arenal, we stopped at roadside stands to taste native fruits. In the picture above we are shown drinking out of the Pipa Fria, aka coconut water. The locals use these coconuts to restore their electrolytes after a long laborious day. Pixbae is a cooked fibrous fruit with a taste similar to an artichoke or boiled peanut. We also tried Guavas, a seedpod containing seeds comparable to a sweet cottonball. Exploring exotic fruits on the side of the road gave us a better understanding of the diet of the local people.

Question of the Day:
What different types of fruits would you be willing to try?

Journey to the Summit

Authors: Karleigh, JJ, Rob and Lena

Word of the Day: Cima- The spanish word for summit. Rather appropriate considering our nearly 10 hour hike up to the breathtaking summit of the Turrialba Volcano. The total hike was 10.9 miles and it was our first real day out in the field working on our projects. The highest elevation was 10,754 ft above sea level. That's almost 7.5 times the height of the Empire State Building!

Today's Science: This is the view of the crater at the summit of the Turrialba volcano. In the upper left hand side of the picture you can see the fumaroles (gasses) being emitted from a newly formed vent. The prevailing winds in the area are generally from the south and carry the acidic fumerals to the north side of the volcano, killing most of the vegetation and making it inhabitable for the local farmers. The main fumaroles are mostly composed of water vapor, carbon dioxide as well as sulfur dioxide. Just below the vent you can see a yellow sulfur deposit. In the lower right hand side of the picture you can see the old crater which is no longer active.

Today's Culture: To follow up on yesterday's post, the typical life here on the Turrialba Volcano is agricultural. In addition to raising cattle and other livestock for food, they produce dairy products such as cheese (queso) and milk, and vegetables. All of the meals we have had at the Turrialba Lodge have been produced on property. Turrialba specializes in queso production for all of Costa Rica. Overall, this type of lifestyle is far more sustainable and environmentally friendly than practices we typically see back at home.  This could be due to the rural setting and lack of access to supermarkets, shopping centers, and other amenities we tend to take for granted.

Question of the Day:  Do you think you could live in a rural setting similar to Turrialba?  Why or why not?  Send us your thoughts- we'd love to hear what you think!

Climbing to the top and how to post comments

Author:  Heather Judkins

Today is our long hike day to the summit of the Turrialba volcano! 4 hours up to the summit, and work our way back with our 6 research projects.  The students are grouped and have their projects refined.  The projects are wide ranging and will give us a great overall picture of the areas we are going through during the trip.  They include:  nutrient comparisons of soils and plant biomass, pollinator diversity and plant species, overall biodiversity of the study sites, herbivory comparisons, atmospheric composition and impact on areas, and carbon dioxide uptake in soils.

We would love to have you ask some questions about our trip- it can be about anything related to our trip: the science, the area, the culture, you name it.  If you would like to post a comment, you can click on the highlighted "comment" under the entry and post it to the blog.  You can also become a follower of the blog which will give you an alert when we post.    Hope to hear from you!

Welcome To Turrialba

Title: Introduction to Turrialba Volcano, a "light" hike.

Authors: Aaron, Erin, Rachael, & Rob Collins

Word of the day: Soil Zonation- The process of sediment deposition over time, due primarily to natural disturbances (in this case volcanic eruptions). The different zones are defined by several attributes, including particle size and composition (which is often identified by color). An example of soil zonation can be seen in the picture below.

Soil zonation around skirt of Turrialba volcano

Today's Science: Today we hiked around the skirt of Turrialba volcano. The volcano releases an almost constant stream of sulfur rich fumes, which combine with water in the atmosphere and is released as acid rain. Where this acidic rain falls the vegetation is chemically burned, which also displaces animal life. However, when the land is not subject to acid rain for an extended period of time (due to changing wind patterns) the vegetation is restored.  How are these changing wind patterns often defined?

An example of severe chemical burns on the side of Turrialba as a result of acid rainfall.

Today's Culture: The area in which we are staying is inhabited by primarily by farmers and herders. A large part of their daily lives involves chores like the movement of livestock from field to field, which we witnessed this morning. Movement of livestock is vital to the maintenance of fields, because overgrazing can lead to loss of vegetation and eventually erosion of soils.

Cattle hooked to a cart used to haul supplies while farmers move livestock from field to field.

Farmers moving cattle to new grazing area on skirt of volcano.

Question of the day: What do the terms "leeward" and "windward" mean in reference to weather/wind patterns around mountains/volcanoes?

Stay tuned for more exciting news!

Hello everyone!

Author: Karleigh Chase

The BGPG group has safely landed in beautiful San Jose, Costa Rica. Everything is packed into the van, and we are making a few stops in town before we make our trek up the mountain to the Turrialba Lodge.

Stay tuned for more exciting information!

Lena Wray Introduction

Hello Readers :)
     My name is Lena Wray. I grew up on the island of Key West, FL, which conditioned me at a young age to love everything about the marine environment. I took this passion to college and immersed myself in the Bachelors degree of Biology, which will turn into Marine Biology at the Graduate level. I am now going into my third year of college at USFSP. My passions of life include sunsets, scuba diving (A must do item for the bucket list.), miscellaneous nature and/or beauty, and learning. When one is learning about a subject, they can either see it as work or opportunity. When taken as an opportunity, the possibilities with knowledge are infinite.
Please use it to infinity...and beyond.

Kelly O'Connell

Hello everyone! My name is Kelly O'Connell and I am a junior here at University of South Florida. I'm currently studying biology and hope to eventually move on towards graduate school and a future in the scientific field. I have always been interested in understanding the world around me by gaining knowledge and living life to the fullest. I am so grateful to be given this opportunity to see the science and culture of different countries and ecosystems. I have always found passion in the ocean and beauty in nature. I hope to spend my life traveling the world, learning from others, and gaining the experience to help me grow as a person.

Jamison Tarter

Hi

My name is Jamison Tarter, I transferred to the University of South Florida in Tampa last summer where I am currently a Junior with senior credits. I have an Associates in applied sciences from Illinois Central College. I am currently pursuing my bachelors in Bio-medical which I hope to obtain by the end of next summer. I then plan to attend med school where I hope to become an anesthesiologist.  

Personal Information: Karleigh Chase

Well, hello blogosphere! My name is Karleigh. I am currently enrolled as a senior at USF St Pete, majoring in Environmental Science and Policy. My interests are conservation biology, ecology and teaching the public about animals and nature.  Other random things about me: I am an actress and have been acting since I was 10. I plan on moving to NYC after I graduate next spring. I love Audrey Hepburn and Marilyn Monroe. I have been surfing, skydiving, zip lining, and snorkeling on a coral reef. I have two tattoos and I was born in Connecticut. The picture below was from a recent trip to NYC on top of the Empire State Building.

Well, I think I've talked enough about myself. Thank you for reading this post, and stay tuned for more amazing updates while abroad!

Brittany Copeland

Greetings everyone!! My name is Brittany Copeland and I am a senior or should I say super senior at USFSP. I am currently studying environmental science and plan to continue my studies with getting my Masters and hopefully PhD (someday) in marine biology. I heard about this amazing opportunity last year by Dr. Herzfeld and couldn't let it slip through my fingers. I feel so lucky to be given the chance to study on foreign soil, dive into a beautiful new culture, and gain a wealth of knowledge. So stoked about the adventures ahead of us! 2 days and counting... :)

Pre-departure Info Rachael Moran

Hi, my name is Rachael and this summer session marks the beginning of my senior year at USF St. Petersburg. Looks like I'll be starting off my senior year with an amazing study abroad trip, go big or go home I guess! I hope to graduate in the coming year with a degree in biology. I can't wait to get on the road. I've been interning in a microbiology lab for almost two years now so this will be the perfect opportunity for me to catch a glimpse of what field research is all about and to top it off, I've yet to venture outside of the US so the trip will be a double whammy.  More posts to come.

Personal Bio-Aaron

Hi, my name is Aaron Burnham and I'm entering my senior year at USFSP. I plan to graduate with a degree in biology and I hope to attend graduate school, first working towards a masters and eventually a PhD in marine biology/botany. I've always wanted to perform research in the field so this trip to Panama and Costa Rica is a great opportunity and fun learning experience. I did participate in a 10 day sea scallop survey with NOAA last summer and had a lot of fun, but I was stuck on a boat in the Northern Atlantic where the only changing scenery was sunrise and sunset. Hopefully the constant traveling, hiking and swimming on this trip will offer a good change in pace; I can barely wait to take off Wednesday morning. More to come...

Pre-Departure for Robert Cuba

Hello everyone! My name is Rob. This is my second semester at USF as a Biology major. I found out about the study abroad program from one of my professors in spring and decided to jump on the opportunity. I have never been out of the country. The trip seems like a great chance to gain field experience with Professors Judkins and Herzfeld right there with us. I am incredibly excited to learn about the different cultures of Panama and Costa Rica and to explore the rain forest, volcanoes and coral reef. I am a little bummed that we will not be scuba diving but I will survive. I cannot believe the plane leaves on Wednesday!

Erin Walters

Hello! My name is Erin Walters and I have attended the University of South Florida since the Fall of 2009. I am currently a senior in college and pursuing my B.S. in marine biology. I have high hopes of attending grad school and continuing my studies in marine biology. When I saw the flyer for this course several  months ago, I thought "wow, how awesome would it be to start researching as an undergrad on foreign soil!" I believe this is the start of my journey as a biologist and it will do nothing but spark my interest and love for the biological world and pave the path for many more exciting adventures to come. Our class will be visiting several volcanic sites, the rain forest, an old growth forest and my personal favorite, a coral reef system! It will be a incredible trip, so stay tuned!

Pre-departure Post, Joseph J. Kimmel IV

Hi there everyone! My name is Joseph J. Kimmel (everyone calls me J.J.) and I am a junior  in the Environmental Science and Policy program at USF St.Petersburg in Florida. When Dr. Iuri Herzfeld told me about his idea for this trip a few semesters ago, I knew that it would be an adventure of a lifetime that I could not pass up. I have been to Costa Rica several different times for surfing trips with my friends and was absolutely intrigued by the stunning geology and the immense biological diversity. I am extremely excited and very grateful that I have this awesome opportunity to travel to this special part of the world with a geologist (Dr. Herzfeld) and a biologist (Dr. Judkins) to help me understand this beautifully complex place. We will be blogging along the way, so check back to see what we have learned!

Hello,

My name is Armando Robert Collins and I go by my middle name (Rob). I am a junior at the University of Southern Florida St. Petersburg and my major is environmental science and policy.

I have always been interested in our precious environment and It saddens me to see it being destroyed for future generations to come. That is why I am in this program. Hopefully, I will be able to make difference, to help improve the water quality for human use on this planet.

 I was so excited when I was accepted to this study abroad program, what an amazing opportunity for  my peers and I. This course is going to teach us valuable skills that you cannot ascertain from the class room. In my opinion this is a once in a life time experience and I am going to maximize this opportunity to the fullest. I will try not to waste a moment of time because I know that it will be over in a blink of an eye. My goal is to learn as much as possible from my professors and the local people of Cost Rica and Panama. This is just one small step in my goal to become a productive environmental scientist, but in my opinion, a very important one. I look forward to blogging with you and sharing my experiences with you over the next few weeks.

Sincerely,

A. Robert Collins

In the beginning (Krishna Nayak)

  My name is Krishna Nayak, I go by Kris.  My class mates and I are all leaving for the Central American countries of Panama and Costa Rica on Wed. May 23rd.  The goal of this trip to preform quality research about the ecology of the fragile ecosystem.  I personally am pretty excited to explore and learn about the coral reefs, there is so much life down there.  The group of students that I am going down there with are going to make this a great research trip (they're pretty smart).  Our instructors, Dr. J and Dr. Herzfeld are both very dynamic instructors which should lend for an exciting time in the field.  What I am personally looking forward to is the cultural aspect of this trip.  Even though these countries are close to the US I do not know much about their history and culture, this will give me plenty of time to immerse my self in it.  Well that is all I have at the moment, talk with you soon.



Kris