Happy Week 3 from these happy Cappuchin monkeys!
January 28th, 2018
The morning was spent cleaning bee observation nests and the evening was spent taking a boat to assist a spider researcher find a small endemic genus called Wendilgarda. This genus doesn't spin webs but instead casts vertical lines that stick to the surface of the water. Read more about these fascinating creatures here.
January 29th, 2018
Monday= a long day of hunting for nests! With some cool nature sightings in between.
January 30th, 2018
Today's blog post is about FOOD
The meal schedule at BCI is:
6:30-7:30am Breakfast
12:00-1:00pm Lunch
6:30-7:30pm Dinner
Here are some typical dishes for each meal:
Breakfast- Pantacones, Panamanian corn tortillas, pancakes, french toast, eggs, meat, oatmeal
Lunch- Rice, beans, meat, tofu/corn, plantains, salad bar
Dinner- Similar to lunch. Sometimes there is pasta instead of rice and on occasion there are deserts, such as ice cream, flan, or cinnamon cake
Meals are also a great time to meet and catch up with other researchers on the island. At meals am engaged in scientific discussion about monkeys, fig wasps, and ants, and I get to learn about all of the interesting places people are from.
To summarize: the food is really great, thank you so much to the wonderful and committed team of chefs!!! They are the real heroes of BCI, fueling science and adventure!
The meal schedule at BCI is:
6:30-7:30am Breakfast
12:00-1:00pm Lunch
6:30-7:30pm Dinner
Here are some typical dishes for each meal:
Breakfast- Pantacones, Panamanian corn tortillas, pancakes, french toast, eggs, meat, oatmeal
Lunch- Rice, beans, meat, tofu/corn, plantains, salad bar
Dinner- Similar to lunch. Sometimes there is pasta instead of rice and on occasion there are deserts, such as ice cream, flan, or cinnamon cake
Meals are also a great time to meet and catch up with other researchers on the island. At meals am engaged in scientific discussion about monkeys, fig wasps, and ants, and I get to learn about all of the interesting places people are from.
To summarize: the food is really great, thank you so much to the wonderful and committed team of chefs!!! They are the real heroes of BCI, fueling science and adventure!
January 31st, 2018
History of Trail Nomenclature (Vol.2)
Today's topic:
William Mortan Wheeler, a social insect King! William Mortan Wheeler (1865-1937) was an Insect Behaviorist and Myrmecologist (ant biologist) from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Throughout his career Wheeler was a professor at the University of Texas, a curator at the American Museum of Natural History, and during his later years he was a professor in applied biology at Harvard University. Interestingly, Wheeler started out his academic life as a troublemaker. After numerous complaints from teachers his parents transferred him from a public school to a German academy praised for its strict discipline. Wheeler is often credited for being the first Ethologist, a biologist of animal behavior, in North America. He also discovered ant species from the Galapagos, Morocco, and the Canary Islands (to name a few). In addition to being an awesome scientist Wheeler spoke four languages! Wheeler made contributions to many biological fields in his lifetime and published about 250 papers on ant taxonomy before his death in 1937. A really interesting guy and I will surely think of him as I see ants ruling the forests of BCI! |
The Path to Wheeler
The William Morton Wheeler trail is abbreviated as WMW. To the right is a zoomed in version of the BCI trail map. Highlighted in dark green is the the trail that leads from the STRI buildings to the WMW trail. Recall: The black squares on the north east corner of the island are the STRI buildings (aka residence communities/labs) The WMW trail passes the radio tower, a helpful landmark for getting onto trails that weave to the end of the island in all directions. The WMW trail also snakes through the 50 acre plot (pictured in the yellow rectangle) that has restricted access and is only for scientists doing research in that zone, aka not me. Additionally, there is a small cove at the southern tip of the island called Wheeler cove (not pictured). Yay WMW! Map Fact: The numbers are meter markers along the trail, so 5= 50 meters from the start of the trail and 20= 200 meters from the start of the trail. The higher the number the further you are from the beginning of the trail. |
February 1st, 2018
!4:30am Alarm!
This morning I woke up before 4:30am to join the WONDERFUL post-doc Sol Balbuena on her quest for Pseudobombax and Ochroma flowers. We went to a cove where she could reach the flowers from the boat. Sol attached the flowers to a suction like device to collect their volatiles where they were later separated by chemical in the lab using a GCMS machine.
This morning I woke up before 4:30am to join the WONDERFUL post-doc Sol Balbuena on her quest for Pseudobombax and Ochroma flowers. We went to a cove where she could reach the flowers from the boat. Sol attached the flowers to a suction like device to collect their volatiles where they were later separated by chemical in the lab using a GCMS machine.
February 2nd, 2018
~Collection Updates~
Above is a photo of my BCI collection! I have about 2/3rds of the labels printed, so that is exciting. I am still working on ID's but will be posting to iNaturalist soon.
Above is a photo of my BCI collection! I have about 2/3rds of the labels printed, so that is exciting. I am still working on ID's but will be posting to iNaturalist soon.
February 3rd, 2018
*Island Roommates*
This week I moved out of my old room in CN and to a new room in building B. The 2nd photo is of the view from our balcony. The first photo is of my roommate (I have a human roommate too) but the pictured one with 8 legs just moved in this evening. Today was spent mostly in the lab preparing protocols and data sheets for lots of bee collecting this week!
This week I moved out of my old room in CN and to a new room in building B. The 2nd photo is of the view from our balcony. The first photo is of my roommate (I have a human roommate too) but the pictured one with 8 legs just moved in this evening. Today was spent mostly in the lab preparing protocols and data sheets for lots of bee collecting this week!
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Tales of the Tailless
Meet the Tailless Whip Scorpion. Though it is in the name, these are not scorpions at all and instead they come from an ancient order of Arachnids called Amblypygi. The Amblypygi look quite fearsome, however, they are harmless to humans! Be sure to check out the Amblys long "whips" which are modified forelegs used like antennae to feel around their environment. These creatures are most famous for their appearance in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. You can check out their IMBD page here. Just kidding they do not have an IMBD page... maybe someday! |
How Ron Weasley feels about Amblypygids |
How I feel about Amblygpygids |