Tag Archives: Dyllan

Uncategorized

Bye rainforest! 5/22

Leave a comment

Its our last night at Las Cuevas, and I am exhausted. Luckily today was a pretty chill day so I got some downtime to rest. In the morning, we did our last hike to collect all the cameras that we set up earlier this week. We were all hoping to find a big cat, and we did!!!! We got a few pictures, that we think could be up to 3 different pumas! Pumas are territorial, so they are likely to be the same one, but it’s fun to think we caught a bunch. We found that animals like the man-made trails that experience low-traffic compared to undisturbed areas. It was so fun going through these pics.

IMG_3300.jpeg

Today I also gave my last presentation. It marked the beginning of our coral reef ecosystem, with my taxon, hard corals. I’m so glad to be done with my presentations and it made me so excited to start exploring Glover’s reef soon

To end the day, we hung out by a fire near one of the mayan ruins. We found a huge moth wing here, which I think belongs to a polyphemus moth.

IMG_3301.jpeg

We all laughed and looked back at our week here. My favorite part so far was definitely catching a butterfly. My least favorite part has to be how much my feet ache, especially in the rubber boots. And overall, I can’t wait to identify hard corals, see stingrays, and watch sunrises and sunsets from the island.

Uncategorized

Me and Stella

Leave a comment

Hello again. We just got back from our night hike, and it was quite lovely. Although we didn’t see a snake, we did smell some sort of big cat where some people had heard cat sounds before, so we think there’s a puma or ocelot around. I really hope our camera traps get a picture. We also saw a few cool bugs. We found lots of moths, but it was difficult for me to identify them or get a good picture because they are moving so fast. Sadhana got a picture of a really big one, so I plan to ID it later. Another cool bug we saw was a weevil. I covered weevils in my presentation today on plant insect interactions in the tropics, so it was nice to see one out in the field.

Earlier in the day, we saw another example of an insect plant mutualism from my presentation, which is leaf cutter ants! We excavated a young mound first and found the fungal garden and the queen. This mutualism is so cool because despite leaf cutter ants being known for their ability to cut and carry leaves, these leaves are actually to feed the fungus that they maintain in their own garden of sorts. As fungivores, these leaves fungus is their source of food. The queen that we saw started her nest by taking a piece of fungus from her origin nest, initiating a mating flight, and then finding a new spot to start laying eggs for her colony. The success rate of these new colonies are low, but they can be maintained for dozens of years, like the next mound that we excavated to find the fungal garden, which was ENORMOUS. I was really nervous about how we were standing right in the midst of all these giant, angry ants with giant mandibles, but the boots did a great job at keeping us safe.

While not a mutualism, my favorite part of the day was finding a stick bug friend that hung around with us for a little bit. His names is Stella, and he seemed to enjoy crawling up and down our faces and backs.

Uncategorized

mutualisms and morphos

Leave a comment

It seems fitting that my topic presentation is tomorrow because today we saw so many great example of plant insect interactions that I plan to discuss in my presentation! 

To start of the day, we set up pitfall traps around the forest to collect insects. We made one set of traps using our own pee as a source of Nitrogen to attract the bugs that are nutrient deficient. When Dr. Solomon first said we had to use our pee, I totally thought it was a joke, but no. We did in fact hide vials of our pee on trees and in the ground to observe how forest structure impacts nutrient limitation. 

On this hike, I saw another blue morpho, which I was able to get a (blurry) picture of. In real life, the butterfly is big, metallic, and majestic, but in the photo is more of a blue blur. 

Another cool thing we saw was lichen  growing with visible sporophytes. These little adorable contraptions allow the lichen to reproduce by releasing spores for the gametophytes. I’ve read about this process, but it was so cool to actually see it!

After lunch, we went out on a hunt for a colonized and uncolonized cecropia tree, as well as 6 herbivore insect generalist for our next project. Me, Serenity, and Claire immediately caught to katydids in the station and then we set out to find the rest.

We found our first cecropia tree pretty quickly, and we cut it down. Immediately, the ants that live inside of it began to swarm, defending they home and source of food. This symbiotic relationship is covered in my presentation tomorrow, so it will be a cool call back. Additionally, next to this tree, was an Acacia tree that also started swarming with ants once we disturbed it. This is the first of a few Acacia trees that we have seen, which is so exciting because this is another classic relationship that I will cover in upcoming presentation. As we searched for the uncolonized tree, we found a bug fig tree, where we discussed the fig tree and fig wasp relationship, where the wasp eggs are placed in the fig and develop within the fig— yet ANOTHER classic relationship that I will talk about tomorrow. Studying these relationships up close is so cool after learning about them for so long. 

Along our walk, we made many pitstops to try and catch some flighty insects. This was so fun for me. At this point, the weather was much nicer and we were essentially just wandering around trying to catch some useful bugs. We were trying to find two individuals in the same species of orthoptera, but instead we found and caught 4 different species of grasshoppers and one cricket. While this wasn’t what we wanted, it ended up working and it was a blast running around trying to catch them. I also caught a bunch of nymphs and adults of this red insect that we keep seeing hundreds of on all of our paths. I thought at first we could use them in our experiment, but I soon saw that they have haustellate mouths instead of mandibulate, which would be more ideal for our experiment. While we couldn’t definitively ID them, We think they were true bugs. I kept collecting them because I thought they were cool. I thought they were even cooler when they started fighting hunger games style, with the larger ones sucking the bug juices of the smaller ones. We kept them in a jar to see who is the final winner tomorrow. 

In addition to these bugs, I saw another Dirce beauty on the road, and I got a good picture and came so close to catching it! I don’t think butterfly catching is particularly my strong suite, but I still have hope. Maybe tomorrow will be the day.

Uncategorized

New career: butterfly catcher

Leave a comment

Believe it or not I caught my first lepidoptera today! It was a mini, pale yellow moth. Even though this wasn’t what  I was ideally trying to catch, this was still a win! Now I have my eyes on a much larger prize: one of the butterflies on my taxon ID sheet.

Today, I saw SO MANY BUTTERFLIES. We spent the day hiking around the research station and setting up camera traps to measure the biodiversity on and off of manmade trails. I definitely noticed that the butterflies prefer the open areas like the wide paths and the open area around the research station. In these areas, I saw a variety of species including the Mexican Fritillary, Mexican Cycadian, and LOTS of Dirce Beauties. The Mexican Fritillary is quite large in comparison to the Dirce Beauty, which I hadn’t thought about. Despite all of these sightings, I don’t really have any pictures to share because whenever I saw one I would immediately take off with my net. While this was kind of embarrassing and ultimately unsuccessful, it was fun and now I know to be alert. I even got close to catching a blue morpho!! We actually saw two blue morphos today, which was so exciting! They are so huge and beautiful with their giant metallic blue wings. I hope to see one a little bit closer on our trip so that I can observe the false eye marks that they have on their underwing.

Besides these butterflies, I also hope to see or capture an image of an ocelot or a jaguar. While these are more difficult to see, we found a claw mark today that suggests there is a large cat around, and Dr. Solomon said that they have seen one before. We set up 14 cameras total in a variety of areas, and we plan to collect them when we leave. I am eager to look at mine and see what species we find!

Uncategorized

Off the grid!

Leave a comment

We have finally arrived at Las Cuevas! Before getting here, I was obviously aware that I was going to be in the rainforest, but it just hit me that I am IN THE RAINFOREST. The drive through the forest seemed to go on forever as we got deeper and deeper. We saw a toucan and howler monkeys along the way, which I have only ever seen in zoos, so it was so beautiful to see them in their natural habitat. The research station is something out of Tarzan! I feel so off the grid because we only have about 6 hours of internet access a day, no AC, and limited electricity! Time to test how strong my Instagram addiction is.

It’s day 2 and I have yet to see a butterfly up close— but I am holding out hope! Serenity has seen quite a few, and she showed me a picture of one that she found. I identified it as an Erato heliconian. I am glad that I was able to ID my first Lepidoptera. Today, I also gave my Lepidoptera Taxon briefing, which I think went well. I was able to answer all the questions, and everyone was so nice. Tomorrow is our first day really in the field, so I am excited to find a few on our explorations!

Last year, I took a class that covered the natural history of Maya forests, and I loved it! So i have been looking forward to seeing the Maya ruins and forests, which we saw today. The stairs at the ruins were BRUTAL; I definitely got in my leg workout today. But, it was so worth it! The views were incredible and it felt like truly a once in a lifetime experience. Our local guide, Leo seemed to know so much about the ruins and the history. After reading about these civilizations for so long, it was incredible to see them in real life!

Uncategorized

Leaping lizards!

Leave a comment

As I am writing this, my lower back hurts and my neck is sore, but I feel great! My day began at the ungodly hour of 5:30 AM, but I guess I better get used to it.  I had never flown internationally before, so it was really cool to get my first stamp in my passport.

My rainforest taxon is Lepidoptera, so I have been keeping my eyes peeled for butterflies and moths. I saw one of each today! Both of them were too speedy for me to get a good look at them, but I will be more prepared next time. The butterfly was HUGE and dark colored. We saw it during the day when we stopped for lunch. The moth was much smaller, and we saw it at night during the presentations. I present my taxon tomorrow, and I am a little nervous that someone will ask me a question I am not prepared for, but I am also excited because I really like my taxon. My goal for the trip is to see– and hopefully catch a blue morpho, which is a very recognizable species, known to locals as a symbol of healing or luck.

Besides my taxon, today, we stopped for lunch at the most lovely restaurant. It was so peaceful eating outside in the rainforest, and the weather wasn’t too bad. Here, we saw giant iguanas in the trees. I wouldn’t have noticed them at first, because all I could see at first was big blurs falling from the trees into the small lake below. In the photo below, you can see one iguana hiding in the trees.

 

 

 

 

 

 

After a lovely drive, we arrived at our destination: Crystal Paradise Resort. This place is BEAUTIFUL and the family that runs it is so nice. We all went for a walk down to the river to explore a bit before it got dark, as you can see in the picture below. Two dogs kept following us everywhere– it was adorable! They said that this small hike was just a warm-up for what’s coming, so I’m a bit nervous, but also excited to explore more.

Uncategorized

Hooray! My first blog!

Leave a comment

Hello! My name is Dyllan, and I’m a rising junior at Jones! I’m double majoring in Environmental Science (EEB) and Social Policy Analysis. I am writing this blog right before I leave for my flight to Houston, and I couldn’t be more excited!

Ever since I was young, one of my biggest dreams has been to study a prominent coral reef up close before coral bleaching destroys these beautiful ecosystems. My reef taxon is hard corals, and I have really enjoyed researching and learning more about them. I’m really looking forward to seeing them up close. I expect to grow my interest and passion for protecting these environments even more.

I have prepared for the trip by making sure I complete my homework before the trip. Our class meeting to practice snorkeling was very helpful because I don’t have much experience. A few days ago, I practiced again on my own in the pool. The hardest part is the pain in my ears.

I hope to learn about how to study ecosystems without intruding and disrupting the natural environments. I want to learn field study techniques that respect nature because I hope to apply these skills to my future studies.

I am most nervous about being tired or sunsick. I packed lots of protein bars and liquid IV packets to prepare for this. Even though I am nervous about the physical activity and early mornings, I am also very excited because I think it will get me into shape lol. The backpack I brought comes with a water bladder to make staying hydrated easier, too.

I am the most excited about seeing the Mayan ruins and ancient Mayan forests. I’ve learned a lot about the natural history of these forests, and I think it is fascinating how ancient Mayan sustainable agriculture can still be observed in these wild forests. The Maya were able to cultivate biodiversity that has lasted to this day, and I think their relationship with nature is something we should learn from.

I don’t really have any experience in the tropics and the only fieldwork I have done was in BIOS 213, so I am excited to gain this experience.

See everyone soon!