Successful frog survey!

We found hundreds, if not thousands, of frogs on our survey. We tried our best to count all the frogs in a 100 meter section of the rainforest. The total numbers have not been calculated yet... but it took us three hours to do the survey. Check out the pictures below. In addition to frogs, we found other creatures too.

Looking for little frogs...Watch your step!

One of the more dangerous creatures in the rainforest... a scorpion! It's only about two inches long, but I was sure to avoid it.

Another amazing stick bug. This one really wanted its picture taken!

Yes, the coqui do come in small sizes! This is a baby coqui that we found on the forest floor.

Adult male coqui frog (about 2 inches long)

Gabcast #2

Gabcast! Mr. Lafond in Puerto Rico #2

And... here comes the rain!

After a couple dry days, all the visitors here (including myself) were beginning to wonder why they call this a "rain" forest. Well, today I got a taste. I awoke to heavy rains at 4 a.m. and then it continued most of the day. Despite making the steep forested slopes extremely slippery, the rain didn't stop us from trekking into the forest to collect more data. Equipped with rain gear and waterproof notebooks, we surveyed an acre of forest. I worked with another teacher on the trip, Ms. Matheson, to determine of how wide the canopy of the largest trees are. This wasn't an easy job since every time we looked up we would get large rain drops in the face. As you could guess, we had fun getting wet and muddy.

Hiking in the forest... ready for the rain!

My muddy boots!

Some snails I encountered during today's trek.

An amazing stick bug that literally fell out of the tree on to my sleeve.

One of my favorite trees, the prickly ash.
Check out those crazy spikes on the bark!

Eco-friendly behavior here in the rainforest

The folks that live here at the research station (las casa de la selva) are very conscious of their effect on the environment. After all, they are sharing this place with the local wildlife. From recycling to growing their own food, the residents here are committed to having a low impact on the environment. The waste water from the toilets even gets recycled into a waste water garden.

... sign posted in the kitchen.

Compost bucket in the kitchen. All food scraps make their way into the compost bucket.

This is the compost pile where the bucket is dumped daily.
(It is located beyond the dried palm frond in the picture.)

...herb garden near research station.

...tomatoes in the garden.

...papaya tree. Yummy! We have been having papaya for dessert.

... waste water garden.

Assignment for Kiwi Students!

Howdy Kiwis,

For Tuesday's class with Ms. McCarthy please be prepared with the following:

1. Journal Response: If you were in the middle of the forest (any forest, even one near your house) and you wanted to collect data on that forest, what kind of things would you measure and how? Try to think of at least 3 features of the forest you would measure. When explaining your methods, remember that someone else should be able to repeat your methods.

You ideas should be written. If it helps, you can use diagrams to explain your ideas.

2. Journal Response: What is your favorite picture from the blog and why?

On Tuesday, I will post more about the techniques we are using to analyze the forest and what exact features of the forest we are focusing on.

I look forward to hearing about your ideas.

~ Mr. Lafond

Another cool frog... this is a white lip wood frog.

Into the Forest...

On Saturday, we set out early in the day to measure the trees in a particular acre of the forest. An acre is 208 feet wide x 208 feet long. It took us 6 hours to survey the trees in half an acre. I was working in a three-person team with two college professors, Alice and Jeff. We made an excellent team and managed to learn many of the tree names.

Can you guess what I might be doing in these pictures?
























Once again, it was surprisingly dry. It hasn't rained in two days. The wildlife, especially the reptiles and amphibians, stay hidden when it is dry. I did, however, see a few anolis lizards. Here is one posing for me!

Sunny Friday!

Today we got introduced to the methods the scientists use to study the rainforest and their objectives. Tomorrow, I'll be able to show us surveying the forest to see how fast (or how slow) the mahogany trees are growing.
The ultimate goal of this research project is to find a way to harvest trees from the forest while having the least impact on the local wildlife. Tons of data has to be collected in order for the scientists to be able to decide if their techniques are effective. The local frogs, coqui, are being monitored to gauge the impact of the logging methods. In a place where there are no large, natural predators, the 4 species of coqui present here in this forest are indicator species. The logic is: If the coqui are healthy, then so is the forest.

In the afternoon, we went out on a hike into the rainforest. Although we were ready for an afternoon thunderstorm, it never came. This is bittersweet because I'm told the frogs don't sing as much when it's not wet... my gear and tent will stay dry though. Tomorrow, we will get to collect data in the forest and I'll be able to better explain what the scientists and volunteers are doing in this unique environment. Check out the pictures below. They get bigger if you click on them.

This is a coqui I saw last night. They are so fun to watch, but they stop singing when the flashlight is on them.
This is an anolis lizard.
They are common around the research station... scurrying on the walls and ceilings.
This little guy is about 6 inches in length.
This is my tent. It is actually pretty comfy! I slept great last night amongst the coqui orchestra.

This is the outdoor patio/classroom where we hang out when meeting or when it is raining.

This is a picture of Sally Silverstone, the Principal Investigator (Head Scientist), giving us an introduction to the site.


This is a view of the forest from my tent!