2/18/17
Hello Old Chaps,
Ben, Andrius & Sarah – Biodiversity of different size tide pools
It’s Hope, Sylvia, Liam, and Sara here describing another intrepid adventure from Achotines Panama. We write to you after a long hard day working on our research projects in the beating sun. Yesterday morning we all awoke quite early and were given the choice of bird watching with Will, or Biodiversity with Pete. And we chose to go birding! We grabbed our binoculars (or “binns”) and fled up the trail with good Ol’ Will. Though it was at first a slow start, we saw many unique birds and even learned some interesting bird calls from Will.
Sylvia, Liam Hope & Sara – Psuedomyrmex ants selective defense of Acacia collinsii
After breakfast, some partook on a hike, and after lunch we were given our choices for our research project. The four of us decided to research the ant-acacia plant and its symbiotic relationship the acacia-ants, while other groups decided to focus on the biodiversity of tide pools. After a quick siesta, we headed off into the field to start our research. We formed a hypothesis and began to start testing our theories on what part of the plant the ants protect more when faced with a foreign object. After doing trials of our experiment, we met up
Gracie, Charlotte & Philip (& Dr. Peter Lahanas) – Acacia size & colonization by Psuedomyrmex ants
with the rest of the group for dinner and heard about each other’s research projects. After dinner, some in the group decided to take a quick swim in the ocean that our field station has access to before listening to a presentation on tropical rain forests from Pete Lahanas, the head-director of ITEC. After the presentation we all went to bed to get some rest.
The next day our group woke up at the crack of dawn to get started on research before the sun made it unbearable to be outside. After collecting all of our data, we ate a well deserved bre
On Playa Venao
akfast, then spent the rest of the day completing our group research paper of our ant experiment while other groups did the same or completed their field research.
We left for a birthday excursion to a nearby surfing beach, Playa Venao. We spent time in the HUGE waves (everybody wiped out at least once), then we ate a great meal to celebrate Steve’s birthday. Happy Birthday Steve! Back at the field station, we surprised Steve with a birthday “cake” made completely of his favorite fruit and doughnuts. Sylvia in particular had a very interesting experience with the Passion Fruit which tasted like a “lemon on steroids.” Now everyone is working hard on their research projects, for they need to be completed by tomorrow afternoon. Check in later for more from Panama 2017! See more photos in photo tab or by clicking Achotines Feb 17-18.