Friday, June 27, 2008
Star date 27 June 2008
Just getting started on my blog.
Just thought I would let you know I am still alive. The spider and howler monkeys have not got me yet - they take a keen interest in what I am doing in the creeks on the jungle floor and their howling is something else.
I have been told not to smile at them and keep my head down. When they get annoyed they throw stick down and piss on you.
My study sites, the only places on Barro Colorado Island (BCI) that have water at the moment, are on the other side of the island. It’s a long walk through jungle each way to get there carrying all my monitoring gear. It’s definitely going to get me fit! I have to cover up too as this place is teaming with insects (ticks and mites especially), funny not many mosquitoes.
The jungle plant and animal diversity is amazing, there are 400 different species of birds so there is lots of research going on around me. The researcher in the office next to me is from National Geographic. He is writing a story on orchids that produce female wasp hormones to attract male wasps for pollination. His pictures are stunning.
I now have my boat licence so that I can deal with the ships in the Panama Canal. A boat makes it much easier to get to the other side of the island so I can look at the water processes in the greater part of Lake Gatun (the biggest man-made fresh water lake in the world) and lower end of the catchment. The ships I have to deal with look out of context so close to the rainforest, as they skirt around BCI to get to either the Pacific or Atlantic in a very narrow channel.
Over all it’s shaping up to be a great study and adventure!
Hasta leuago,
Peter.
Find out more about the Institute at: http://www.stri.org/english/visit_us/barro_colorado/index.php 14
Just thought I would let you know I am still alive. The spider and howler monkeys have not got me yet - they take a keen interest in what I am doing in the creeks on the jungle floor and their howling is something else.
I have been told not to smile at them and keep my head down. When they get annoyed they throw stick down and piss on you.
My study sites, the only places on Barro Colorado Island (BCI) that have water at the moment, are on the other side of the island. It’s a long walk through jungle each way to get there carrying all my monitoring gear. It’s definitely going to get me fit! I have to cover up too as this place is teaming with insects (ticks and mites especially), funny not many mosquitoes.
The jungle plant and animal diversity is amazing, there are 400 different species of birds so there is lots of research going on around me. The researcher in the office next to me is from National Geographic. He is writing a story on orchids that produce female wasp hormones to attract male wasps for pollination. His pictures are stunning.
I now have my boat licence so that I can deal with the ships in the Panama Canal. A boat makes it much easier to get to the other side of the island so I can look at the water processes in the greater part of Lake Gatun (the biggest man-made fresh water lake in the world) and lower end of the catchment. The ships I have to deal with look out of context so close to the rainforest, as they skirt around BCI to get to either the Pacific or Atlantic in a very narrow channel.
Over all it’s shaping up to be a great study and adventure!
Hasta leuago,
Peter.
Find out more about the Institute at: http://www.stri.org/english/visit_us/barro_colorado/index.php 14
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