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March 2010

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IN THIS ISSUE
New Lodges in BCNP/La Selva
Great Green Macaws Courting at La Selva
Design the OTS t-shirt
Graduate Field Courses
Las Cruces Book
Bandera Azul Awards
2009 TAX RECEIPTS
Tax ReceiptLost your 2009 gift receipt? Just e-mail us for a copy, we'll be happy to send you one by e-mail!

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Inquiry in Rainforests: an in-service program for teachers
July 14 - July 29, 2010

Joe Levine
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New Lodges for Researchers in Braulio Carrillo

HelicopterThe OTS Project TEAM (Tropical Ecology Assessment and Monitoring) has been monitoring the biological diversity of the altitudinal transect between La Selva Biological Station and Braulio Carrillo National Park since 2003. Braulio Carrillo NP is well known as an area of steep topography, harsh climate and limited access. In fact the only way to access the Park and walk the altitudinal gradient is a path on the slope of the Barva volcano called path-transect, which is a 20 km (12 � miles) hike.
 


Currently, there are four lodges for this transect, however, scientific research at intermediate elevations is limited by the lack of shelters. An example of this is that reach the nearest shelter from 1500m sector can take up to 3 hours crossing a damp and difficult topography.
 
With the aim of increasing the chances of developing studies in this poorly known elevation, it was decided to build a small shelter at this elevation and which can house a team of at least five people. The process of securing the permits as well as the search for funds began at the end of 2008. Finally in February 2010, six OTS workers began the next task of selecting the location and preparing it for the arrival of materials.  Due to the difficult locations, materials were flown in by helicopter. Everyone was thrilled when the materials arrived safely, after several attempts were delayed by fog and rain.
 
The new lodge will provide a basic structure for researchers to stay overnight and conduct research in the area as well as allow the Rangers a refuge for their surveillance patrols.

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Great Green Macaws Courting at La Selva

Great Green Macaw (Ara ambiguus) nesting at La Selva
Photo by Rodolfo Alvarado
Lapa Verde
Taconna Mhoon and Jeff Pasko always anticipate their annual trip to La Selva with enthusiasm but this year they got even more than they expected.  On their first day here they observed a pair of great green macaws (Ara ambiguus) courting.  Taconna and Jeff returned to the same spot every afternoon for five days to watch the pair in their elaborate ritual.  If these birds nest successfully, it will be the first such case in the Sarapiqu� area for at least twenty years.

Jeff reported, "We were walking along the dirt road between the cabins and the police station [next to the Starkey field] where we saw a Nicaraguan seed eater last year.  Two macaws flew overhead and we followed them to a large almendro tree in a field.  They were dancing, locking beaks, hanging from each other's beaks with their wings open, nibbling and grooming each other, and looking inside a cavity in the tree.

Taconna and Jeff went back to the same location every day and consistently found the macaw pair in the tree between 4 o'clock and 6 o'clock in the afternoon.  Although the macaws visit La Selva every year to feed on the almendro fruits (Dipteryx panamensis), they usually return north along the R�o San Juan to nest.  Experts have been puzzled about why the birds do not nest in the Sarapiqu� region, where the habitat seems entirely appropriate.  This species is considered highly endangered (CITES I), with only about 50 breeding pairs in Costa Rica and a total population of about 3,700 individuals.

Taconna Mhoon and Jeff Pasko at La Selva
Taconna Mhoon and Jeff Pasko
Taconna and Jeff are engineers for a medical device company in Minneapolis.  Both are biologists by training, however, and it is their love of the natural world that keeps them coming back to La Selva.  Jeff bought Taconna a pair of binoculars for Christmas in 2008 for their first trip together to Costa Rica.  La Selva captured their hearts.  Once here on their annual trip, they get a field lunch every morning and spend all day hiking the trails. 

"This is our winter fat burning routine," explains Taconna.  "We go back home 10 pound lighter and we tire out our dogs.  They can't keep up with us after our time at La Selva."  Taconna and Jeff add a day to their visit every year, so soon they will be spending a whole month at La Selva on each visit.
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Submit your design for the next OTS Membership T-shirt
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We're leaving it up to you - our members. Send us your design, illustration or photo to [email protected] by June 1, 2010.


In June, we will send an online poll to everyone on our E-Canopy electronic mailing list. The design with the most votes will be selected as the new Membership t-shirt!


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Graduate Field Courses: Spaces Still Available

Tropical Butterfly Ecology 
May 14-28, 2010
Bird Count

 
Tropical Plant Systematics 2010-9           
June 10 - July 13, 2010
 
Biodiversity of True Bugs (Hereroptera)
August 8-21, 2010
 
Expanding the Frontier in Tropical Ecology through Embedded Sensors
August 16-31, 2010
 
Information and application forms are available on the OTS website or e-mail Barbara Lewis for more details.


OTS Memberships
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Las Cruces Book to Document Fragmentation

Utricularia from Las Cruces
Photo by Jonathan Singer
LC Book Photo Sample
Through a collaboration with Jonathan Singer and John Kress from the Smithsonian, a sequel to the highly received Botanica Magnifica, will document the process of forest fragmentation in the cloud forests of Las Cruces through images of plants and habitats of both pristine forests as well as degraded landscapes. 

Although books on tropical deforestation and land degradation are numerous, no book has attempted to address these issues from a photographic perspective in the style of Botanica Magnifica.  In that regard, the message of the volume will not solely emphasize the negative impacts of civilization on these forests, but capture the beauty of the plants in all of these habitats, whether pristine, fragmented, or restored. 
Even in the most scarred zones of forest ruin can be found the beauty of nature.
 

The book will contain five sections, each dealing with a specific aspect of the habitats surrounding the Las Cruces forest reserve.  These sections include the primary forest of Las Cruces and adjacent forested regions, the fragmentation process and fragmented forests, invasive species, restored agricultural lands, as well as the Wilson Botanical Garden at Las Cruces. 
Four initial photo shoots are planned for April, June-July, September-October, and January-February 2010/2011 to capture the seasonal variation in flowering.


Information on how to purchase this book will be made available after publishing.
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Las Cruces and La Selva Honored for Sustainability


Bandera Azul
This year both Las Cruces and La Selva will be flying the coveted Bandera Azul (Blue Flag) awarded by the Costa Rican government for best sustainable practices.

The award started out as an incentive offered by the AyA, the Costa Rican water and sewage ministry, to hotels and beaches that could demonstrate good water management.  In recent years, the program has expanded to include several different categories, and other ministries have become involved in the evaluations.
 
This year both Las Cruces and La Selva were awarded three stars, the highest designation, in the Natural Protected Areas category.  The process for certification is quite lengthy and all-encompassing.  Reserves must meet standards for waste management, completeness of species inventories, reforestation, forest protection, and environmental education, among many other criteria.
 
La Selva also received the award in the Mitigation of Climate Change category.  This required a 5%-25% decrease over a one year period in use of paper, electricity, water, and combustible fuels.  Meeting these standards in future years will necessitate stronger conservation measures, including a conversion to solar power for producing hot water and electricity.
 
The ceremony for accepting the Bandera Azul will be held on 26 March 2010 at Inbioparque  in Santo Domingo de Heredia.

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