It’s all go again here at PLT. We have had an influx of new volunteers. First to arrive were Emma, Yvonne and Laura from Ireland who are stopping off with us during their trip around South America. They had planned to come for 3 days but having been here for a week they have now booked on for another 2! (Be warned readers, Laguna Blanca has this effect on people!). Shortly after the girls arrival, Maria joined us, coincidently also from Ireland. Maria is here on one of the volunteerships and will be assisting Jonny in studying the capuchins in the Atlantic Forest. And our 3rd arrivals were Dave and Jess from Australia who are also touring South America. They have been here a couple of days and already have done wonders with my garden (and know what they are doing too which is more than I can say for myself!)
Everyone’s arrival could not have been better timed as they were all here for St Patrick’s Day. Needless to say with Paddy’s day being so big in Ireland it wasn’t long before a table of events had been drawn up for the day which included a “donkey” derby, the inaugural Laguna Blanca St Paddies Day Parade and a enactment of the banishing of snakes from Ireland! The president of Ireland was invited to participate in a Skype link up but due to other commitments on this very important day was unable to accept our offer. But, according to his secretary, he thanked us for the invitation and wished us well for the day.
We had a real turn up for the books a few days ago too. While I was off site Karina and JP were handed a rattlesnake in a bag by one of the local people. This may not sound like much (and probably isn’t everyone’s idea of a gift!) but the point is it was alive and unscathed. Normally these docile snakes are killed at first sight due to the fear they instil in the local people here (which, let’s face it is not unreasonable as they do have an extremely potent venom). However this one had been brought to us so we could release it back into the reserve. This is such a great achievement and if we can turn this into the norm we could save a lot of snakes here in this area.
And finally today is the 1year anniversary of me leaving the UK to come to Laguna Blanca. It has been such an amazing experience I don’t know if it is possible to even begin to list the highlights. I have met so many wonderful volunteers, learned so many new skills and watched this project develop so much over the last 12 months. Thank you to all the amazing volunteers who have made it what it was. I am really so proud to be part of this fantastic project and can’t wait to see what the next 12 months have in store!
Until next time
Helen
martes, 20 de marzo de 2012
sábado, 18 de febrero de 2012
Amphisbaenas bite! (Luckily the coral snake didn’t!)
Yes you guessed it guys, we caught another amphisbaena and yes it was me that got bitten! They look so docile with their little dog-like faces and tiny eyes, who would have thought that actually they have a very strong beak and aren’t afraid to use it? I now have two holes in one of my fingers where it drew blood. Actually it wasn’t very painful but was pretty amusing as it bit in and I couldn’t get it off. Being doubled over with laughter with a 40cm amphisbaena attached to your finger is not conducive to getting it photographed and back in the bag! Fortunately we know that they are not venomous but it was worth cleaning the wound with antiseptic once I finally managed to unhook it! (And yes typically I had an audience for the whole event!)
One thing I am really glad didn’t bite me was the coral snake JP found in the Atlantic forest. JP is a volunteer who joined us a week or so ago and shares my passion for herps. He is unstoppable and is always off hunting for snakes (or running around after butterflies – his other passion). Normally we don’t allow volunteers to go snake hunting on their own as it can be pretty difficult to identify a lot of them in the field. However JP has a vast amount of experience in snake surveying back home in South Africa and knows what to bag and what to leave well alone. So you are probably wondering why, if he is this experienced, he brought back one of the deadliest snakes we have in the reserve. The reason was that it wasn’t actually a coral snake. It was a mimic. The coral snakes we have here are a very brightly red with black and yellow stripes. The mimics are also these colours, but there are some subtle yet significant differences. The corals have virtually no neck and their head is not unlike a sausage, whereas the mimics have a clearly defined head and neck which makes them a touch prettier, (in my opinion at least). The markings are also much more fuzzy on the mimics where as the banding is clearly defined on the true corals. And, should you be confident enough to check their bellies (!) the bands stop on the underside of mimics whereas the true corals have complete banding across their ventral side. JP’s ability to correctly identify the snake he found meant that not only did he avoid handling an extremely venomous animal but he was also able to bring us another specimen for the museum. Good work JP.
This last fortnight has also been a sad one for us as we have had to say goodbye to two wonderful long term volunteers. Becky has now completed her research here and has left to spend a month exploring South America (very bravely on her own) and according to her last email she is currently freezing in Peru! Gemma our botany volunteer from Australia has also finished her work and is heading back to Australia in a few days time after taking in some of the museums and culture Asunción has to offer. It was great fun having them here and now they are gone the male to female ratio has switched and it’s just me and Augusta in the house with 3 boys!!! More girls please!
The burrowing owls are all doing well but are spending less and less time with us these days. We thought they had flown the nest (or burrow I should say) a few days ago but then they reappeared again. We are all bracing ourselves for the day they don’t return. However this is a happy/sad event. Happy, that all 5 have made it to adulthood and such a privilege for us to have them living so close to us, but obviously sad for us as we have become so attached to them. Good luck to the burrowing owls hopefully one will return with a mate next season to occupy the burrow again.
And finally if you want to see for yourself what Laguna Blanca looks like and who we are why not check out our new youtube channel http://www.youtube.com/user/ParaLaTierra. Admittedly most of the posts are of me getting very excited about the animals we catch here but I am trying to persuade more of the volunteers to get involved and talk about their projects on camera. They are still a little shy though! So apologies that it is a bit “Helen heavy” at the moment but I hope it will give you a taste of what we are up to and who knows might even persuade you to come out here and volunteer with us ;O)
Thanks for reading folks, until next time
Helen (aka the next David Attenborough!!!)
One thing I am really glad didn’t bite me was the coral snake JP found in the Atlantic forest. JP is a volunteer who joined us a week or so ago and shares my passion for herps. He is unstoppable and is always off hunting for snakes (or running around after butterflies – his other passion). Normally we don’t allow volunteers to go snake hunting on their own as it can be pretty difficult to identify a lot of them in the field. However JP has a vast amount of experience in snake surveying back home in South Africa and knows what to bag and what to leave well alone. So you are probably wondering why, if he is this experienced, he brought back one of the deadliest snakes we have in the reserve. The reason was that it wasn’t actually a coral snake. It was a mimic. The coral snakes we have here are a very brightly red with black and yellow stripes. The mimics are also these colours, but there are some subtle yet significant differences. The corals have virtually no neck and their head is not unlike a sausage, whereas the mimics have a clearly defined head and neck which makes them a touch prettier, (in my opinion at least). The markings are also much more fuzzy on the mimics where as the banding is clearly defined on the true corals. And, should you be confident enough to check their bellies (!) the bands stop on the underside of mimics whereas the true corals have complete banding across their ventral side. JP’s ability to correctly identify the snake he found meant that not only did he avoid handling an extremely venomous animal but he was also able to bring us another specimen for the museum. Good work JP.
This last fortnight has also been a sad one for us as we have had to say goodbye to two wonderful long term volunteers. Becky has now completed her research here and has left to spend a month exploring South America (very bravely on her own) and according to her last email she is currently freezing in Peru! Gemma our botany volunteer from Australia has also finished her work and is heading back to Australia in a few days time after taking in some of the museums and culture Asunción has to offer. It was great fun having them here and now they are gone the male to female ratio has switched and it’s just me and Augusta in the house with 3 boys!!! More girls please!
The burrowing owls are all doing well but are spending less and less time with us these days. We thought they had flown the nest (or burrow I should say) a few days ago but then they reappeared again. We are all bracing ourselves for the day they don’t return. However this is a happy/sad event. Happy, that all 5 have made it to adulthood and such a privilege for us to have them living so close to us, but obviously sad for us as we have become so attached to them. Good luck to the burrowing owls hopefully one will return with a mate next season to occupy the burrow again.
And finally if you want to see for yourself what Laguna Blanca looks like and who we are why not check out our new youtube channel http://www.youtube.com/user/ParaLaTierra. Admittedly most of the posts are of me getting very excited about the animals we catch here but I am trying to persuade more of the volunteers to get involved and talk about their projects on camera. They are still a little shy though! So apologies that it is a bit “Helen heavy” at the moment but I hope it will give you a taste of what we are up to and who knows might even persuade you to come out here and volunteer with us ;O)
Thanks for reading folks, until next time
Helen (aka the next David Attenborough!!!)
viernes, 17 de febrero de 2012
Introducing Carlos
Hi All,
I wanted to take the opportunity to introduce myself. My name is Carlos and I’ll be working at PLT Ecological Station under the title of Research Scientist and Intern Coordinator.
I’ve only been here for a few days and I’m amazed at the natural beauty of this place. The people here are certainly special, including those associated with PLT in a staff/volunteer/intern quality as well as the locals in and around Laguna Blanca. Paraguay is certainly an interesting and poorly-known country and provides a unique experience which I doubt you’ll find in any other South American country.
The reserve itself has the potential to support a wide-range of projects in biology/ecology, physical (and even human) geography, due to the different biotopes present within it. In the few days that I’ve been here I’ve become familiarized with at least 7 different types of habitats representing both aquatic and terrestrial systems.
In addition to helping interns and volunteers with their projects, I’ll also be carrying my own research and I’m planning to set up a research project involving aquatic systems present at the reserve. Laguna Blanca provides the opportunity for the study of both lentic and lotic systems. The Lake is certainly an interesting system and is the source of a stream that runs beyond the boundaries of the reserve. There are additional riverine systems nearby which might be useful for replication. More specifically, I’m planning to study the invertebrate community of the lake and stream and its association to different physico-chemical parameters.
I already started doing some Geographical Information System (GIS) work, mapping the different habitats present at the reserve. In this context, Laguna Blanca is also a good place for those interested in honing their GIS skills as part of their project or even basing their entire project in the application of GIS techniques.
Evidently, terrestrial and transitional environments also interest me and I’m very looking forwards to establish projects in these systems and work with individuals interested in them.
I’ll discuss this further in the near future.
I’ll be writing regularly in this blog so keep reading for updates on life in this amazing place and how our research efforts fare!
Cheers,
Carlos.
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Hola,
Quería aprovechar esta oportunidad para presentarme. Sé que generalmente en este Blog no sé que escribe en Castellano, pero a partir de ahora va a ser más común. Mi nombre es Carlos y estaré por los siguientes meses trabajando con PLT como Investigador y Coordinador de Pasantes (Interns).
Solo he estado por pocos días acá en Laguna Blanca y la verdad que este lugar es una preciosidad. No solo eso, la gente acá es muy especial, incluyendo a los que están asociados con PLT en calidad de personal/voluntario/pasante, así como la gente autóctona alrededor de Laguna Blanca. Paraguay es un país muy interesante y muy poco conocido. Yo creo que pocos países en Sur América ofrecen una experiencia tan única en términos de cultura y belleza natural.
La reserva presenta una excelente base para desarrollar una cantidad variada de proyectos en diferentes campos incluyendo biología/ecología, geografía física (e incluso humana), gracias a la variedad de diferentes biotopos presentes en la misma. En los pocos días que he estado aquí me he familiarizado con 7 diferentes tipos de hábitats en la reserva incluyendo sistemas acuáticos y terrestres.
Además de ayudar a los pasantes y voluntarios con sus proyectos particulares, yo estaré desarrollando y poniendo en práctica mi propio proyecto(s). Estoy planeando hacer una serie de estudios en los sistemas acuáticos de la reserva. Laguna Blanca ofrece la oportunidad de estudiar sistemas loticos y lenticos y siendo más específico planeo estudiar la comunidad de invertebrados en el lago y el rio que se desprende del lago y va más allá de los límites de la reserva. Hay sistemas de ríos adicionales alrededor de la laguna que ofrecen la oportunidad de replicación. Por lo que veo los dos sistemas son muy interesantes y han recibido casi ninguna documentación en materia científica.
Ya he empezado a trabajar con Sistemas de Información Geográfico (SIG), mapeando los principales hábitats e información relevante sobre la reserva, en este contexto Laguna Blanca representa una buena oportunidad para aquellos que buscan poner en practica sus habilidades con SIG usándolo en su proyecto, o incluso desarrollando un proyecto orientado específicamente al uso de SIG.
Por supuesto, proyectos basados en sistemas terrestres son ciertamente interesantes y busco emprender proyectos en esta área y estaría encantado en ayudar a cualquier pasante interesado en el área. Este aspecto lo discutiré más por este medio en el futuro.
Yo estaré escribiendo regularmente en este blog así que estén pendientes para nueva información sobre investigación y como es la vida en este curioso lugar!
Carlos
I wanted to take the opportunity to introduce myself. My name is Carlos and I’ll be working at PLT Ecological Station under the title of Research Scientist and Intern Coordinator.
I’ve only been here for a few days and I’m amazed at the natural beauty of this place. The people here are certainly special, including those associated with PLT in a staff/volunteer/intern quality as well as the locals in and around Laguna Blanca. Paraguay is certainly an interesting and poorly-known country and provides a unique experience which I doubt you’ll find in any other South American country.
The reserve itself has the potential to support a wide-range of projects in biology/ecology, physical (and even human) geography, due to the different biotopes present within it. In the few days that I’ve been here I’ve become familiarized with at least 7 different types of habitats representing both aquatic and terrestrial systems.
In addition to helping interns and volunteers with their projects, I’ll also be carrying my own research and I’m planning to set up a research project involving aquatic systems present at the reserve. Laguna Blanca provides the opportunity for the study of both lentic and lotic systems. The Lake is certainly an interesting system and is the source of a stream that runs beyond the boundaries of the reserve. There are additional riverine systems nearby which might be useful for replication. More specifically, I’m planning to study the invertebrate community of the lake and stream and its association to different physico-chemical parameters.
I already started doing some Geographical Information System (GIS) work, mapping the different habitats present at the reserve. In this context, Laguna Blanca is also a good place for those interested in honing their GIS skills as part of their project or even basing their entire project in the application of GIS techniques.
Evidently, terrestrial and transitional environments also interest me and I’m very looking forwards to establish projects in these systems and work with individuals interested in them.
I’ll discuss this further in the near future.
I’ll be writing regularly in this blog so keep reading for updates on life in this amazing place and how our research efforts fare!
Cheers,
Carlos.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hola,
Quería aprovechar esta oportunidad para presentarme. Sé que generalmente en este Blog no sé que escribe en Castellano, pero a partir de ahora va a ser más común. Mi nombre es Carlos y estaré por los siguientes meses trabajando con PLT como Investigador y Coordinador de Pasantes (Interns).
Solo he estado por pocos días acá en Laguna Blanca y la verdad que este lugar es una preciosidad. No solo eso, la gente acá es muy especial, incluyendo a los que están asociados con PLT en calidad de personal/voluntario/pasante, así como la gente autóctona alrededor de Laguna Blanca. Paraguay es un país muy interesante y muy poco conocido. Yo creo que pocos países en Sur América ofrecen una experiencia tan única en términos de cultura y belleza natural.
La reserva presenta una excelente base para desarrollar una cantidad variada de proyectos en diferentes campos incluyendo biología/ecología, geografía física (e incluso humana), gracias a la variedad de diferentes biotopos presentes en la misma. En los pocos días que he estado aquí me he familiarizado con 7 diferentes tipos de hábitats en la reserva incluyendo sistemas acuáticos y terrestres.
Además de ayudar a los pasantes y voluntarios con sus proyectos particulares, yo estaré desarrollando y poniendo en práctica mi propio proyecto(s). Estoy planeando hacer una serie de estudios en los sistemas acuáticos de la reserva. Laguna Blanca ofrece la oportunidad de estudiar sistemas loticos y lenticos y siendo más específico planeo estudiar la comunidad de invertebrados en el lago y el rio que se desprende del lago y va más allá de los límites de la reserva. Hay sistemas de ríos adicionales alrededor de la laguna que ofrecen la oportunidad de replicación. Por lo que veo los dos sistemas son muy interesantes y han recibido casi ninguna documentación en materia científica.
Ya he empezado a trabajar con Sistemas de Información Geográfico (SIG), mapeando los principales hábitats e información relevante sobre la reserva, en este contexto Laguna Blanca representa una buena oportunidad para aquellos que buscan poner en practica sus habilidades con SIG usándolo en su proyecto, o incluso desarrollando un proyecto orientado específicamente al uso de SIG.
Por supuesto, proyectos basados en sistemas terrestres son ciertamente interesantes y busco emprender proyectos en esta área y estaría encantado en ayudar a cualquier pasante interesado en el área. Este aspecto lo discutiré más por este medio en el futuro.
Yo estaré escribiendo regularmente en este blog así que estén pendientes para nueva información sobre investigación y como es la vida en este curioso lugar!
Carlos
jueves, 2 de febrero de 2012
New records walking straight in the door
Actually to say “walking in the door” isn’t very accurate. Firstly because I am referring to 2 bats and an amphisbaena, neither of which walk! Secondly because we found the amphisbaena outside and the bats probably came in through the windows! What am I talking about? Maybe I should start at the beginning.
It was a few days ago that I was just settling down for bed when Jonny called out “Um Helen there’s a bat in my bedroom”
“That’s quite exciting” I thought and went over to the boy’s dorm to have a look. And sure enough there was a large bat with enormous ears sitting on the wall looking most perturbed. We decided the best course of action would be to try and catch it with a butterfly net and then transfer it into a pillow case, and low and behold we managed to bag it within about half a minute (another example of how easy things can be when there is no one around to witness it!). We waited until the next morning to identify it and were delighted to discover it was Lophostomia silvicolum; a new species for Laguna Blanca. Interestingly it is a high flying species (which probably explains why we haven’t caught it during our surveys) and has a preference for nesting in termite mounds. And, best of all, 3 days later we had another one fly into the house – I wonder if this species is like buses, can we expect a third?
However even more excitingly than the bats (or maybe I’m just biased because I love herps…) Karina caught a big fat amphisbaena by the water tank. Amphisbaenas are a type of fossorial lizard that have no limbs, scales over their eyes and move like an accordion. They are extremely difficult to survey as they spend so much time underground so this is a really great find for us. The one we found is one of the biggest species in Paraguay reaching up to 45cm in length!
I’m currently sitting at my window over looking the horse coral and I can see 4 of our burrowing owls all sitting in a row on the fence shaking the rain off their feathers and looking like they are quite enjoying the novelty of rain. They are getting so bold now; the other day one flew into our porch and grabbed a preying mantis from the light. Plus they are also learning to hoot now which is really rather sweet, especially as they are not quite there yet resulting in some rather amusing noises.
See you next time folks
Helen
It was a few days ago that I was just settling down for bed when Jonny called out “Um Helen there’s a bat in my bedroom”
“That’s quite exciting” I thought and went over to the boy’s dorm to have a look. And sure enough there was a large bat with enormous ears sitting on the wall looking most perturbed. We decided the best course of action would be to try and catch it with a butterfly net and then transfer it into a pillow case, and low and behold we managed to bag it within about half a minute (another example of how easy things can be when there is no one around to witness it!). We waited until the next morning to identify it and were delighted to discover it was Lophostomia silvicolum; a new species for Laguna Blanca. Interestingly it is a high flying species (which probably explains why we haven’t caught it during our surveys) and has a preference for nesting in termite mounds. And, best of all, 3 days later we had another one fly into the house – I wonder if this species is like buses, can we expect a third?
However even more excitingly than the bats (or maybe I’m just biased because I love herps…) Karina caught a big fat amphisbaena by the water tank. Amphisbaenas are a type of fossorial lizard that have no limbs, scales over their eyes and move like an accordion. They are extremely difficult to survey as they spend so much time underground so this is a really great find for us. The one we found is one of the biggest species in Paraguay reaching up to 45cm in length!
I’m currently sitting at my window over looking the horse coral and I can see 4 of our burrowing owls all sitting in a row on the fence shaking the rain off their feathers and looking like they are quite enjoying the novelty of rain. They are getting so bold now; the other day one flew into our porch and grabbed a preying mantis from the light. Plus they are also learning to hoot now which is really rather sweet, especially as they are not quite there yet resulting in some rather amusing noises.
See you next time folks
Helen
domingo, 29 de enero de 2012
A new wave of volunteers, fantastic foxes, a giant snake and an opossumarama!
Hi everyone,
It’s been all go here for the last couple of weeks; we have had a wave of new volunteers join us at Laguna Blanca. Augusta, Jonny and Marcela all arrived on the same day – the same bus in fact which is pretty impressive considering they were coming from the UK, Buenos Aires and Asunción! In the same week we also had a couple come all the way from the Czech Republic, Andrej and Katerina came for 5 days as part of their 2 week annual holiday. Needless to say they wanted to cram in as much as possible so we used their stay as a great opportunity for everyone to have a go at surveying as many taxa as possible. In those 5 days we went bird watching, smammal (small mammal) and reptile trapping, frogging and camera trapping. I think everyone’s highlight was frogging and it was great for me to have such a big group of interested people to show some of our amazing amphibians to.
Jonny, Augusta and Marcela are all here to volunteer on specific projects, Jonny will be taking the lead on our new capuchin project. Augusta is working on our long term study of Clyomys sp. out in the cerrado and Marcela is working on our Lepidoptera inventory. We were also fortunate enough to have Sergio with us to help get Marcela’s work off the ground. Sergio is an expert on Lepidoptera despite being only 22!
We have been having so much fun with our camera trap recently. One of the ways we are being most successful is by collecting all of our cooked kitchen scraps – that don’t go on the compost (the garden is coming along great by the way) and waiting a few days for it to get really smelly and then using it as bait. Not the most pleasant job it has to be admitted but very effective. We have some lovely shots of seriemas (an extremely elusive bird species that are similar to secretary birds from Africa), some great close ups of agoutis (like guinea pigs on stilts!) and most recently and most exciting a pair of crab eating foxes that you would almost think were showing off for the camera! We are placing it in a new location later today and we have some new ideas up our sleeves – I’ll let you know if they are a success...!
Do you ever have one of those moments when you do some thing really well and there is no one around to notice? Exactly that happened to me the other day when a massive black snake was in our kitchen. I wasn’t at all sure what it was but it couldn’t stay hiding behind the cereal cupboard so I decided to have a go at catching it in the hope that at best it would escape outside. However I managed to bag it straight away without any hassle or bother and was there anyone around to witness this amazing Steve Irwin moment? No of course not! Once I had a chance to cool it down a bit I got some photos and sent them over to Paul our scientific co-ordinator. Turns out it was a Hydrodynastes gigas, or false water cobra, a non-venomous but highly aggressive species. I wonder if I would have been so confident if I had known this before I tried to catch it!! It was however a new species for our inventory and so we took it as a specimen for the museum – when I eventually found something big enough to put it in!
And finally I am back out every morning checking my traps. This time however the target isn’t reptiles and amphibians it’s opossums. Because I keep finding new and exciting species for the reserve in my pitfall traps we have decided to step up the search and see if we can create a really comprehensive list of opossum species we have here. Therefore my trapping arrays have evolved from simple bucket traps to Sherman traps too. It’s a lot of work but I can’t pretend I don’t enjoy it and love being back out there at the crack of dawn! More more more!!!
And I think that is everything I had to tell you this time so until February
Hasta Luego
Helen
It’s been all go here for the last couple of weeks; we have had a wave of new volunteers join us at Laguna Blanca. Augusta, Jonny and Marcela all arrived on the same day – the same bus in fact which is pretty impressive considering they were coming from the UK, Buenos Aires and Asunción! In the same week we also had a couple come all the way from the Czech Republic, Andrej and Katerina came for 5 days as part of their 2 week annual holiday. Needless to say they wanted to cram in as much as possible so we used their stay as a great opportunity for everyone to have a go at surveying as many taxa as possible. In those 5 days we went bird watching, smammal (small mammal) and reptile trapping, frogging and camera trapping. I think everyone’s highlight was frogging and it was great for me to have such a big group of interested people to show some of our amazing amphibians to.
Jonny, Augusta and Marcela are all here to volunteer on specific projects, Jonny will be taking the lead on our new capuchin project. Augusta is working on our long term study of Clyomys sp. out in the cerrado and Marcela is working on our Lepidoptera inventory. We were also fortunate enough to have Sergio with us to help get Marcela’s work off the ground. Sergio is an expert on Lepidoptera despite being only 22!
We have been having so much fun with our camera trap recently. One of the ways we are being most successful is by collecting all of our cooked kitchen scraps – that don’t go on the compost (the garden is coming along great by the way) and waiting a few days for it to get really smelly and then using it as bait. Not the most pleasant job it has to be admitted but very effective. We have some lovely shots of seriemas (an extremely elusive bird species that are similar to secretary birds from Africa), some great close ups of agoutis (like guinea pigs on stilts!) and most recently and most exciting a pair of crab eating foxes that you would almost think were showing off for the camera! We are placing it in a new location later today and we have some new ideas up our sleeves – I’ll let you know if they are a success...!
Do you ever have one of those moments when you do some thing really well and there is no one around to notice? Exactly that happened to me the other day when a massive black snake was in our kitchen. I wasn’t at all sure what it was but it couldn’t stay hiding behind the cereal cupboard so I decided to have a go at catching it in the hope that at best it would escape outside. However I managed to bag it straight away without any hassle or bother and was there anyone around to witness this amazing Steve Irwin moment? No of course not! Once I had a chance to cool it down a bit I got some photos and sent them over to Paul our scientific co-ordinator. Turns out it was a Hydrodynastes gigas, or false water cobra, a non-venomous but highly aggressive species. I wonder if I would have been so confident if I had known this before I tried to catch it!! It was however a new species for our inventory and so we took it as a specimen for the museum – when I eventually found something big enough to put it in!
And finally I am back out every morning checking my traps. This time however the target isn’t reptiles and amphibians it’s opossums. Because I keep finding new and exciting species for the reserve in my pitfall traps we have decided to step up the search and see if we can create a really comprehensive list of opossum species we have here. Therefore my trapping arrays have evolved from simple bucket traps to Sherman traps too. It’s a lot of work but I can’t pretend I don’t enjoy it and love being back out there at the crack of dawn! More more more!!!
And I think that is everything I had to tell you this time so until February
Hasta Luego
Helen
sábado, 7 de enero de 2012
Large Animal Releases!
Hello folks,
Let me start by wishing you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. The end of 2011 really went out with a bang for us here at Laguna Blanca as we had an influx of large animals to add to our species inventory.
I think it is safe to say that the most exciting find for December was a southern tamandua (an arboreal anteater) we helped to rescue a few weeks ago. Karina and Jorge, one of our forest guards, were called to a local house where the family had it in their shed. They had caught it as it was up a tree looking lost and a bit distressed and they asked us to come and collect it. Needless to say we were more than happy to oblige and after a few false starts Karina and Jorge managed to get it secured in a sack and into the back of the car. We then took it out into an area of cerrado that borders the transitional forest and let it go. It was a little bewildered when we let it out of the bag but soon realised it could make a bid for freedom and off it went. If you would like to see a short film of the release you can watch it on you tube at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-M6R5zLVyg4
But the anteater wasn’t the only large animal to add to our list, whilst out driving in the cerrado recently Karina managed to photograph 2 lesser grisons (a black and white mustelid that look similar to honey badgers in Africa). We caught an agouti on our camera trap and on New Years Eve I got a call from one of the forest guards to come and get a snake. This wasn’t that unusual as I often get called out for snakes, however I don’t usually have a 1.72m long boa constrictor to contend with! Actually this one was the model capture, slow and not even slightly aggressive it was easy to handle and get into a sack (which was lucky as I had an audience of about 10 people!). We released it that afternoon after finding a set of scales big enough to weigh it first (2.5kilos by the way)!
The animal releases didn’t end just because the year did. On the morning of New Years Day a fisherman appeared on the doorstep with a water bird for me. He was actually trying to sell it to me but when I explained that it would not be possible for me to give him any money for it because we don’t want to encourage people to catch animals in the reserve he was quite happy to give it to me anyway. We took some photographs and measured it and Paul our scientific co-ordinator identified it as a Pied Billed Grebe. Then later that day when the weather had cooled down a bit we took it to a nice sheltered spot by the lake and released it – but not before it gave Becky an indignant peck!
And finally, speaking of pecking (ok this is a really tenuous link) our burrowing owls are all doing really well. They have all mastered the art of flying and are really very tame, allowing us to get within about 2 meters and occasionally joining us on the porch of the volunteer house! Whilst this is lovely they have also discovered they can get an easy meal by steeling the moths from our moth light sheet, something they are not so welcome to do!
OK guys that’s all for this time and think, if you haven’t made a New Year’s Resolution yet maybe it should be to come and volunteer with us here in paradise!
Byeeeeeeeee
Helen
Let me start by wishing you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. The end of 2011 really went out with a bang for us here at Laguna Blanca as we had an influx of large animals to add to our species inventory.
I think it is safe to say that the most exciting find for December was a southern tamandua (an arboreal anteater) we helped to rescue a few weeks ago. Karina and Jorge, one of our forest guards, were called to a local house where the family had it in their shed. They had caught it as it was up a tree looking lost and a bit distressed and they asked us to come and collect it. Needless to say we were more than happy to oblige and after a few false starts Karina and Jorge managed to get it secured in a sack and into the back of the car. We then took it out into an area of cerrado that borders the transitional forest and let it go. It was a little bewildered when we let it out of the bag but soon realised it could make a bid for freedom and off it went. If you would like to see a short film of the release you can watch it on you tube at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-M6R5zLVyg4
But the anteater wasn’t the only large animal to add to our list, whilst out driving in the cerrado recently Karina managed to photograph 2 lesser grisons (a black and white mustelid that look similar to honey badgers in Africa). We caught an agouti on our camera trap and on New Years Eve I got a call from one of the forest guards to come and get a snake. This wasn’t that unusual as I often get called out for snakes, however I don’t usually have a 1.72m long boa constrictor to contend with! Actually this one was the model capture, slow and not even slightly aggressive it was easy to handle and get into a sack (which was lucky as I had an audience of about 10 people!). We released it that afternoon after finding a set of scales big enough to weigh it first (2.5kilos by the way)!
The animal releases didn’t end just because the year did. On the morning of New Years Day a fisherman appeared on the doorstep with a water bird for me. He was actually trying to sell it to me but when I explained that it would not be possible for me to give him any money for it because we don’t want to encourage people to catch animals in the reserve he was quite happy to give it to me anyway. We took some photographs and measured it and Paul our scientific co-ordinator identified it as a Pied Billed Grebe. Then later that day when the weather had cooled down a bit we took it to a nice sheltered spot by the lake and released it – but not before it gave Becky an indignant peck!
And finally, speaking of pecking (ok this is a really tenuous link) our burrowing owls are all doing really well. They have all mastered the art of flying and are really very tame, allowing us to get within about 2 meters and occasionally joining us on the porch of the volunteer house! Whilst this is lovely they have also discovered they can get an easy meal by steeling the moths from our moth light sheet, something they are not so welcome to do!
OK guys that’s all for this time and think, if you haven’t made a New Year’s Resolution yet maybe it should be to come and volunteer with us here in paradise!
Byeeeeeeeee
Helen
miércoles, 21 de diciembre de 2011
Dorothy, Rolex, and angiosperms
Becky Graham is now half way through her four month investigation into the effects of weather variables and intrahabitat differences on certain small mammal abundance, distribution, and movement. It is still early but already her capture records do not seem to follow the typical expected trends around new and full moon cycles. This is where the other variables Becky is testing will come in as an interesting avenue of explanation (strata, temperature, humidity, rainfall, and foliage cover). Presently she is in the middle of her third live trapping session. When she is not trapping Becky has also been making good progress with habitat surveys within her four trapping grids. So far Becky’s intern experience has allowed her to develop handling, micro chipping, and trapping skills as well as species and habitat knowledge. When not in the field she has learnt how to enter, store, and upload her data properly in preparation for analyses at the end of her field time. Becky’s project gets a mixture of new and repeat catches. So Becky now has a ‘three capture naming policy’. The newest addition to this club is ‘Dorothy’ the female Oligoryzomys.
Gemma Bach is now just a few days away from launching her project. Her research will focus on Langsdorffia hypogaea Mart, a parasitic angiosperm, and its interactions with the surrounding plant community and the factors effecting its distribution. This unusual plant parasite is only found within the semi-deciduous forest at Laguna Blanca, and the populations here are only the second record for Paraguay. Gemma will assess the impact these parasites have on their host through measuring the differences in height and diameter of trees as well as leaf length and breadth. Gemma will also attempt to explain how and why these parasitic plants are non-randomly distributed. She will be taking systematic soil samples in order to record different levels of Ph, conductivity, and salinity. Finally, Gemma will be using a light sensor to assess whether sunlight exposure is a contributing factor to their distribution.
A couple of weeks ago our botany friends Juana and Gloria visited for a day and a half. They collected a lot of plant samples and processed them into a temporary herbarium. Juana and Gloria are in the process of documenting all plant life within Laguna Blanca with the view to producing the first field guide for this reserve and the surrounding area. Juana and Gloria’s visit was particularly well timed as Gemma had only been with us for a few days, so all three botanists had the opportunity to spend some time together in the field.
Recently, a senior consultant from Rolex visited Laguna Blanca. Norm Scott and PLT scientific director Paul Smith were also in the visiting party so we thought it would be interesting for all camp members to make a presentation. I presented on the three long term projects I have here at the reserve and what impact our research will have for science and conservation efforts. It is always good practice to verbally present your research, but it is especially beneficial for interns. Many interns who visit us have done very little verbal presenting so this is an additional professional development practice which we encourage at PLT.
Finally, our draft paper on the behaviour and grouping patterns in wild Plush-crested jays is now completed and will be reviewed. Once we have made any corrects we want to make it will hopefully be submitted for publication.
Until next time I’ll say goodbye.
Best wishes,
Luke
Gemma Bach is now just a few days away from launching her project. Her research will focus on Langsdorffia hypogaea Mart, a parasitic angiosperm, and its interactions with the surrounding plant community and the factors effecting its distribution. This unusual plant parasite is only found within the semi-deciduous forest at Laguna Blanca, and the populations here are only the second record for Paraguay. Gemma will assess the impact these parasites have on their host through measuring the differences in height and diameter of trees as well as leaf length and breadth. Gemma will also attempt to explain how and why these parasitic plants are non-randomly distributed. She will be taking systematic soil samples in order to record different levels of Ph, conductivity, and salinity. Finally, Gemma will be using a light sensor to assess whether sunlight exposure is a contributing factor to their distribution.
A couple of weeks ago our botany friends Juana and Gloria visited for a day and a half. They collected a lot of plant samples and processed them into a temporary herbarium. Juana and Gloria are in the process of documenting all plant life within Laguna Blanca with the view to producing the first field guide for this reserve and the surrounding area. Juana and Gloria’s visit was particularly well timed as Gemma had only been with us for a few days, so all three botanists had the opportunity to spend some time together in the field.
Recently, a senior consultant from Rolex visited Laguna Blanca. Norm Scott and PLT scientific director Paul Smith were also in the visiting party so we thought it would be interesting for all camp members to make a presentation. I presented on the three long term projects I have here at the reserve and what impact our research will have for science and conservation efforts. It is always good practice to verbally present your research, but it is especially beneficial for interns. Many interns who visit us have done very little verbal presenting so this is an additional professional development practice which we encourage at PLT.
Finally, our draft paper on the behaviour and grouping patterns in wild Plush-crested jays is now completed and will be reviewed. Once we have made any corrects we want to make it will hopefully be submitted for publication.
Until next time I’ll say goodbye.
Best wishes,
Luke
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