Day 4-School Visit and La Selva Biological Research Station

Several of us rose early to go on a morning birding walk with Jimmy. A chestnut billed toucan was spotted high in a tree.

 

We crossed the road to explore a new area. Jimmy pointed out several birds and interesting plants; then suddenly, there was a rustling in the trees overhead. We watched a troop of capuchin monkeys feeding on leaves and fruits, leaping from branch to branch. Jimmy warned us: “If a monkey smiles at you, don’t smile back!” Showing your teeth is a sign of aggression.

Returning to the Selva Verde Lodge for breakfast, we were greeted by a large iguana sunning on a branch outside the dining area.  

After breakfast we walked to the Sarapiqui Learning Center where the director explained the variety of classes and learning resources they provide for the local community, including adult education. 

We walked to the local school where we met with a 6th grade teacher in the computer lab (only room in the school with air conditioning) and her students (no photos allowed of students). In a round robin, each student shared what they wanted to do for a career. The top answers were policeman, doctor, and teacher. Asked what their favorite school subject was, mathematics and science came out on top! We had a nice conversation with the teacher about the Costa Rican education system and its challenges. Page presented her with one of her recent books, translated in Spanish.

Returning to the lodge, we had some time to wander around the beautiful grounds, marveling at the fruits and flowers of the rainforest plants and the ambiance of staying in a rainforest ecolodge. 

Our afternoon was spent at the La Selva Biological Research Station. La Selva is a key research and training site for scientists. We were met by a Joel, a La Selva guide, brother of Eduardo (who taught us about chocolate). He started off our walk by giving us some background on La Selva.

Established in 1968, La Selva has1,600 hectares of well-preserved old-growth and recovering wet lowland tropical forest that abuts the Braulio Carrillo National Park. The 4 to 6 km wide forested corridor that connects La Selva at 35 m above sea level to the Barva Volcano at 2,906 m is one of the best-preserved elevational gradients in the tropics.

We began our afternoon hike by crossing the footbridge over the river to enter the forest trails.

Like Jimmy, our La Selva guide has a sixth sense when it comes to spotting birds and other organisms. Between the two of them, with their acute sense of observation, we added over 50 more species of plants and animals to our biodiversity list, including many birds viewed through the birding scopes and binoculars. Jimmy not only spots and identifies plant and animal species for us, he also explains the ecological relationships. 

One of the coolest finds was when Joel spotted a group of tiny Honduran tent making bats sleeping under a broad banana-like leaf. One by one we stepped into the forest and viewed them as Joel held a mirror under the leaf.

There was so much to see. Besides the bats, a partial list of our animal sightings included two-toed sloth, howler monkeys, black guan, iguanas, northern bark woodpecker, trogan, jackamar, red lore parrot, collared peccary, agouti, green and black poison dart frog, bullet ant, chestnut billed toucan, black and white owl, great currasow, and so much more!

After our two hour hike in the forest, we returned to the Biological Station where a young research manager took us on a tour of the labs and explained the research programs and opportunities at La Selva.

La Selva has some of the longest running ecological data sets in the tropics, spanning up to 40+ years. Long-term research of terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems has generated data on nutrient cycling, plant and animal demography (e.g. birds, trees, frogs, etc.), community interactions, and their responses to a changing climate. Key research areas include:Forest dynamics and nutrient cycling, forest succession, global change and human-nature interaction, agroecology, and aquatic ecosystems. Over the years, La Selva has hosted several international student researchers seeking to use Selva Verde as their field site.

After our visit to the labs, we emerged from the facilities to a crashing sound coming from the forest perimeter. Suddenly a pack of collared peccaries came out of the forest to feed on the grass. Not only could we see them up close, we could smell them as well!

Looking up, Jimmy spotted a green parrot through the scope. 

Lots to see looking up but there is just as much to observe looking on the ground. We watched a long trail of leaf cutter ants. It was amusing to watch everyone stoop down to photograph these tiny, strong denizens of the forest floor. 

Jimmy showed us the tree they were coming down where they cut pieces of leaves from the top of the tree and climb down to the ground, following a long pheromone trail, until they get to their underground nest where the leaves feed a fungus which in turn provides food for the colony. Another example of mutualistic symbiosis. Jimmy focused the scope so we could actually see the ants cutting the leaves. In proportion to the size of their bodies, these are heavy lifters indeed!

Watch a time lapse video of the leaf cutter ants.

La Selva was definitely a highlight of the trip so far. It was a real life example of the John Muir quote, “Tug on anything in nature and you will find it connected to everything else.”

Following dinner, we met in the bar for a talk by one of the researchers at La Selva, collaborating with researchers at the University of Georgia. The beer was on Jimmy this night (Thanks Jimmy!) and in a relaxed setting, we enjoyed a super engaging talk about stream ecology from a very animated scientist who obviously loves his work! He showed us instruments he uses to collect data on the chemistry of the water and collection of benthic insects. He collects long term pH and other data looking for shifts that explain what is happening over time in the area including effects of climate change. 

He showed us some tools he improvised including a device to suck up insects using the fan from a hair dryer and a water siphoning device made from a power drill. Great example of how science and technology (development of tools needed to do research) intertwine!

It was another STEMtastic day!