dixon.537 | Tropical Ecology

The last blog post I wrote we were two full days into our study abroad here in Panama. Now, we’re two days out from leaving this beautiful country. The experience has been incredible, rewarding, educational, exhausting and full of new friendships. I think the thing that’s set this study abroad apart from others, and why most of us chose it in the first place, is because here it’s truly all about nature. For almost two weeks we’ve hiked through a variety of terrain- from rainforest to mountain tops. We’ve not just seen incredible plants and animals directly in their wild homes, but we’ve been learning about them along the way. We’ve tested our research skills as well as our patience. We’ve fought off swarms of vicious ants. We’ve hung in the canopy 120 feet above the ground and been no more than 12 feet from a slow-climbing, seemingly smiling three-toed sloth. We visited an indigenous village of the Embera people and ate a delicious meal in bowls we made out of leaves. We climbed a mountain and took it down (we didn’t take it down, I just couldn’t resist a Dixie Chicks/Stevie Nicks reference).

So basically, this experience has been more than we could ever ask for.

As I sit on a balcony overlooking Barro Colorado Island, my classmates are in the background collaborating on the final details of our group research projects. Remember how I told you how great the mango trees are here? Well my group ended up doing our research on them…and it wasn’t just an experiment to see which mango tree tasted the best (even though that would have been wonderful). But instead of getting into the gnitty gritty of our research, let’s step into the clearing so I can tell you a bit about something that’s NOT about nature. Woah, unprecedented, I know. But I can’t avoid the fact that yesterday we visited Panama City. A few nights ago the group ate dinner at a wonderful little restaurant called Las Tinajas. It was fantastic, but we didn’t really get to see the city because our dinner excursion took place mostly while it was dark. Yesterday, however, we were in the city in the afternoon and got to experience the difference of the city lifestyle when compared to our everyday rainforest lifestyle.

First, apparently nobody in Panama City gets up before noon. We arrived in the city around 10am, hungry and ready to explore. In that order. But the city was empty and so were its restaurants. Most don’t open until after noon. As it got hotter and we got hungrier, we realized why nobody comes out until later. THE HEAT. Don’t get me wrong, it’s hot and muggy in the rainforest, but the city is a different kind of climate. Finally, we found a nice little pizza place that opened early for us and served us delicious slices and coca cola served in bottles. The owner played us Enrique Iglesias music videos, pumped up the air conditioning, and raved about his home country of Venezuela. It was wonderful.

We then left our new friend to go explore the city and the incredible architecture. We did some shopping at local side stops, found an incredibly old and beautiful Spanish inspired church, and gazed out at the ocean and the large ships making their way to the canal.

Interior of Church

The rainforest follows us everywhere though, as we did all of this in the pouring rain. I’m proud to say that rain doesn’t really phase us anymore. I think we must’ve really become one with nature! (I know I said this part isn’t about nature but I mean really, what isn’t?)

Simon Bolivar

This trip will stay with me for a lifetime and maybe the next time I visit I’ll know a little more Spanish than just “Hola” or “donde es el baño”…

Adios y tienes un buen dia! (Ashlee helped me with that one..)

It’s only our second day here in Gamboa, Panama, and I think everyone is awe of the amazing biodiversity surrounding us! It seems like as soon as we step outside of our schoolhouse here at STRI, there’s a beautiful array of tropical fauna- ranging from tall palms and gracefully draping lianas (a type of woody vine), to incredibly vibrant flowers and a plentiful number of mangos. Yesterday, we all took turns taking a bite out of an almost-ripe mango and learned one thing: when mangos aren’t quite ripe, they’re very fibrous and you WILL have mango stuck in your teeth all day (like I did)…so be forewarned.

Here’s a taste of the beauty that is Panama:

Yes, these are bananas!

Just part of a mango tree, we’ve seen some pretty big ones!

As beautiful (and tasty) as all of this plant life has been, I can’t help but favor our experiences with the animals of Gamboa. This morning, we left the schoolhouse at the prime hour of 5:30am for some quality bird watching at the Discovery Center. Here, we hiked back to a canopy tower and made the climb to the very top. When we reached the top of the canopy, everything we had been looking up at with amazement was now below us and so dense that we couldn’t even see the forest floor. In the distance were rolling, green hills topped with misty clouds, it was honestly breathtaking being up there. We saw what had to be over 30 species of birds, all unique in their own ways. Some were vibrant colors, others had really cool pattern variation throughout their body and wings. Our guide and her wonderful eyesight even spotted a sloth! YES A SLOTH!! From a distance it looked like a lump in a tree. Through the scope it still looked like a lump in a tree. But we were able to see the face as it moved ever so slowly and the black fur around it’s eyes let us know that this was a three-toed sloth (aka the cutest thing I’ve ever seen).

Here’s some of the canopy that we could see from up in the tower:

Pretty incredible, right?!

We were up in the canopy tower for about an hour and what honestly stuck with me the most was the sounds of howler monkeys off in the distance. The noises they make are actually pretty terrifying. To put it into perspective, our TA, Alex, informed us that howler monkey calls were used in part for those scary dinosaur sounds in the newest Jurassic Park. As you can imagine, it was pretty chilling and it really made me wonder why (and how) in the world could a monkey make such a crazy noise. So I looked it up, and thanks to Montclair State University (see here), I got some answers. To give you some background, howler monkeys (Alouatta palliata) are a species of primate whose habitat ranges from Central America through Colombia. These tropical noise-makers have reddish hair and live a vegetarian lifestyle, feeding mostly on fruits, flowers, and leaves.

We never saw them, but google images was kind enough to provide me with some reference:

It turns out, those eery roars we heard so early this morning, is called the howler monkeys’ “dawn chorus”. Professor Katherine Milton of Montclair explains that male howler monkeys make these calls in the early morning to let other howlers know where they are. I thought it was interesting that they also make these calls just before a heavy rainstorm, because we got a heck of a downpour today and I noticed the loud howls of these monkeys again right around that time! Apparently, howlers are able to make this noise by drawing air into an enlarged hyoid bone in it’s throat (a horseshoe shaped bone that anchors the tongue).

My attempt at capturing their call:

Here’s what they actually sound like: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-vxlnZ8BihI

Although howler monkeys aren’t carnivores, based on their sound alone I don’t believe that I would like to come in contact with one here in Panama. However, they would be pretty cool to see from a distance! Based on how much we heard them today it makes me wonder if locals think of howlers calling like we think of dogs barking back at home. I guess I’ll just have to become a local to find out!

Here’s some more of my favorite photos from the past two days!