STRI Panama - June 17

Clockwise from top left: Students disembark at Barro Colorado Island; the STRI logo in Spanish; A lizard found on the trails; An agouti prances away from our group

Saturday, we took a morning boat out to Barro Colorado Island, a mountain that became an island when the enormous man-made Lake Gatún was formed as a result of the Panama Canal. It is now considered the world's foremost tropical forest research site.  It includes a 50 hectare plot that for many decades has been regularly censused and observed by some of the world's top scientists.

Clockwise from top left: A red-eyed tree frog was sleeping when we first came across it; The frog wakes up; It jumps onto the shoulder of Mitch Kucy '14 shoulder; It jumps onto his camera.

Upon arriving, we split up into four smaller groups to explore some of the island's trails for several hours, with experienced jungle researchers as our guides. Some animal highlights of these treks included red eyed tree frogs (along with their eggs and tadpoles), poison dart frogs, golden orb spiders, a family of howler monkeys, agoutis, hummingbirds, lizards, a huge colony of leaf cutter ants, and the amphibious cecilia.

Clockwise from top left: A red-eyed tree frog showed its leg extension as it climbs up our guide Marcos's arm; It then jumped unbidden onto the head of Maddy Spear '14, as Mrs. Johnson looked on; A poison dart frog on BCI; Two golden orb spiders (the female is the larger one).

Some of the plant life we observed included “beer-belly trees,” “walking trees,” liana vines, heliconias and more. Many of the trees and liana vines were over two hundred years old.

Clockwise from top left: Marcos shows a group a "walking tree," a species that has been known to move its location up to a meter a year in pursuit of sunlight; twisting liana vines; Nature's hummingbird feeder, the heliconia; A group of students observe an enormous tree

We also heard from some of the STRI researchers about the incredible biodiversity of Barro Colorado Island and its key role in the study of tropical forest dynamics.

Clockwise from top left: Croc warning at BCI; A croc; Tommy DiBona '15 and Jordan Davis' '14 talk to Isabel from Colegio Brader; Jessie Wallace '14, Blair Chase '14, Amanda Siviter '14, Hayley Greason '14 and Hlif Olafsdottir '14 enjoy the view from the front of the boat

Clockwise from left: CHC group departs BCI; Madison Land '15, Brooke Castleberry '15, and Carly Rosen '15; Lucy Willis '15, Maddy Spear '14, and Ethan Crawley '14.

After returning from the island, we had the opportunity to meet with Ricardo Moreno, a jaguar researcher who founded the NGO Yaguará to help save the endangered jaguar and other wild cats from extinction. His group educates Panamanian locals to discourage poaching and to compensate farmers whose animals are killed by big cats (to keep them from seeking to wipe out the jaguar population). They also have put GPS tracking collars on many of the jaguar to better understand their behavior and potentially intervene in situations where they may threaten farm animals. Students were very inspired by his story, with some expressing interest in volunteering with his group in the future.

Top: Alex Ghenea '14 is ready to explore;
Middle: Ricardo Moreno shares about his work saving the endangered jaguar;
Bottom: Jessie Wallace '14 and new friend Isabel from Colegio Brader prepare to leave on a jungle hike.

Sunday, we traveled to Portobelo, where we took a tour of the historic center of the city, built by the Spanish as an important stop on colonial trade routes.

Clockwise from top left: Spanish colonial ruins in Portobelo dating to 1752; Hollis Jennings '15 at the old fortress; Portobelo's cathedral; Curtis Kirby '14 and Kevin Cunningham '14 stand watch at the harbor's defensive barrier

After several very full days, students had the chance to relax on the shores of the Caribbean at the beautiful Scuba Panama Center in preparation for a big day of coral-reef snorkeling and jungle ziplining on Monday.

To be continued...
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Clockwise from top left: Collin Smith '14 relaxes in a hammock with matching soda outside a Scuba Panama bungalow; Several caught lionfish, an invasive species whose population Panamanians are trying to reduce; Lucy Willis '15 smiles after successfully splitting a coconut; John Napolitano '14 drinks some coconut milk

Clockwise from top left: Sunset over el Mar Caribe at the Scuba Panama center, Curtis Kirby '14 whips his hair back and forth; Crabs come out of their holes at night and are caught with a camera flash; A very sociable bird; Palm trees by moonlight outside our bungalows