Background: For those of you interested, here are some links describing some of the work involved here at El Verde, located in El Yunque National Forest
https://sites.google.com/a/ites.upr.edu/el-verde-field-station/internships/luquillo-forest-dynamics-plot-internship-opportunities/seedling-census-announcement, http://luq.lternet.edu/research/projects/forest_dynamics_description.html, http://luq.lternet.edu/, http://www.ites.upr.edu/EVFS/.
Day 1: I arrived in San Juan January 11 around 8:00 pm, and noticed immediately upon descent that there were several baseball fields dotting the cityscape, and the dense, humid air. Met my roomates Sasha and Emily. There are a total of 6 interns working on the seedling census, 3 women and 3 men. Wandered outside to get familiar with my immediate settings, caught a coqui and noticed wild hibiscus, bromeliads and other tropical plants around the dorms. Tried to go to sleep around 11:00, but couldn't (only 8:00 at home). I listened as the coqui chirped by the hundreds all night until dawn. They can be quite loud, but after a while it is like soothing background noise. The coqui have been introduced to Hawaii via contaminated nursery shipments, and according to one study, have dispersed reaching densities of 55,000 frogs/ha. Individual frogs can reach a decibel level of 80 decibels at 0.5 m, which has angered several people in Hawaii, but here in Puerto Rico, they are revered fondly.
Day 2: Met in conference room 8:00 am, received project synopsis and species I.D. sheets and listened to presentation on project background. Went into field - blown away at sheer number of plants in one area and the challenge ahead at identifying species that look nothing like their adult counterparts. It rains hard for several minutes then stops, however it is not too rainy under the canopy of the forest. We hiked the whole site and picked up sound recorders for the bird people and then came back to the station. That afternoon I went on a run, sucked humid air. Later that evening, headed down to town and picked up some groceries. Slept great.
Day 3: Met at 8:00 am in conference room (new routine) and immediately headed out to the field for species identification with John, one of the field techs that has been here for 19 years. Even he has trouble identifying species sometimes. We reviewed about 20 different seedlings, ranging from trees to vines (no herbs). Came back to the field station for lunch, reviewed samples collected in the field and went of protocol. Now - blogging.
Met several interesting senior scientists visiting for the annual meeting being held Saturday, one of them has been studying bromeliads and the infinite microcosms of species and nutrients found inside them from all over the world. He began his career looking at fungus affecting crops and eventually worked in management of fungus in crops in Scottland, but has "retired" studying bromeliads. --Bromeliads are epiphytic plants, living up high in the canopies of trees or on rocks. They do not receive nutrients from their roots, but from the decomposition of litter and organisms like insects that fall inside them. There are beautiful bromeliads all shades of deep purples and reds and greens all over the forest, with long tendrils of roots dangling below. They and orchids are one of the few plants that continue to produce oxygen even without the presence of light. I am looking forward to hiking around with him (don't remember his name right now - I've been calling him the bromeliad dude) and learning about them.
Tonight: Night hike with Paul, who studies arachnids - yay!
I have been hearing news of riots continuing at UPR. Police are still present while students continue to protest. Apparently many of the scientists who work with this project are being looked down upon by many of the protesters for continuing to work. There is a LTER (long term ecological research) Annual Meeting Saturday on campus, so I guess I will get to see the spectacle first hand. Tomorrow night - pot luck social at the stream house.
Well, that's all for now. I am going to try to fit in a workout before our evening arachnid hike.
I can't wait for the pics! Stay dry.
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