7/12/2013

7/12/2013


Despite my best efforts, OTS may just make a decent scientist out of me.


It's starting to become painfully obvious that writing a publishable manuscript in an eight week course is a little extreme.



Instead I will turn in a knock-out paper and walk away with more data than you can shake a stick at.


My time here is becoming increasingly precious.



The new moto is: "data collection, data collection, data collection..."


I'll worry about paper writing when I'm not in a biodiversity hotspot.



This morning I went out with some birders and took some notes on bird song strength in relation to proximity to the cabins. Collected some data on pH balance of bromeliads at different heights of a tree. Then spent the rest of the day snatching up any lizards I could find.



It has gotten to the point in the project where I'm just snatching up any lizard species I can get my hands on.



'Tremble ye lizards, for the steady hand of my noose is near!'

(don't worry it doesn't hurt them)





I have tried for years to not be interested in birds.


But damnit if they're not the coolest things some time. You can bet that there will be days when you're skunked trying to find snakes, lizards, or frogs. In the jungle at least, there's always a cool bird lurking around somewhere.


Trogon violaceus (Violaceous Trogon) Not the best picture, but definitely one of the coolest birds I've seen so far. They have a very distinct call that seems to increase in frequency but not pitch as they get closer to human settlements. Hmmmm....

Some things in life can't be learned the first time around.




I don't know when I'm going to learn my lesson.



First the red-eyed tree frogs.



Okay, they were adorable. What was I supposed to do? Work slowed down, but it was still acceptable.




 Then came the geckos.



Equally adorable and photogenic. Plus they were so mellow and easy to handle. How could I not burn some time taking a million photos?



If someone anyone ever found my camera...


"Like animals much?"



I'm here to admit I did it again.



I can't help myself!




Iguana iguana (Green Iguana) Look at those faces though! And they each have an arm on the others head. I just can't enough of these! I should admit that they were not as easy to catch as the other lizards. Well worth it though. You can't put a price on those faces!

And... my proudest lizard noosin' to date.





 I never thought I'd be able to catch one, and I caught two!





Basiliscus vittatus (Striped Basilisk) In terms of difficulty to catch, these two put all other animals I've caught to shame. They have excellent vision, are fast, and are smarter than you'd think. My first ~20 attempts were fruitless.

I had to recruit two other REUs for these two. One had to stand 4m away waving their hands as a distraction.


The other had to use the lazer pointer on the thermometer and shine it in their eye... (how dare you question my field ethics)




Then I'd sneak up, real slow like, and try my best to slip the noose over their head.




Problem was, if they felt the noose at all, saw me getting to close, or generally got bad vibes from the situation, they'd bolt...


One of their common names in english is 'Jesus Christ Lizard' because the juveniles are able to run across water.
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=45yabrnryXk)




Needless to say, it took quite a few tries to catch these two.



It paid off though!

I think watching Jurassic Park too much as a kid permanently damaged my imagination. All I can picture are two velociraptors jumping up at me like in the movie.





Too nerdy, I know.








One odd defense I didn't see coming was their tail.

 The first few failed attempts to catch these two left me with a whip-crack across my face. At first I thought it was just chance, until it happened again.



Their tails aren't thick compared to other lizards, but they're long. I'm here to tell you, besides the scare factor, it gave my face a pretty good sting.


Getting slapped in the face by a basilisk tail was not how I thought my Friday would turn out.

(I think I'm in heaven)



Tomorrow is more lizard grabbing.


So far I have 200+ individuals. 9 species done. 4 more species at acceptable levels. And another 4 with only 1 individual for the species.

Not bad for still having two weeks to go.