Day 1: 8/26/09 Hanging Fly Baits on Pipeline Rd.

This morning we went for a walk down by the river out in front of our hotel.

View from the hotel room overlooking Chagres River.

Professor Markow looking for flower breeding drosophila larvae in a heliconia flowers.

This morning we set out with the task of setting fly baits to collect drosophila flies over the next few days. The baits were set up along Pipeline Road. This is a very popular area to observe and collect different species of insects and plants. This morning we set six baits, five were banana baits and one was a mushroom bait to attract and collect different species of drosophila flies. The next pictures show Alec and Joel setting one of the baits along the road.

This afternoon, we set up an experiment to see if the local hummingbirds in Steve and Patty's yard had a preference for sugar content in feeders.

These photos show our set up. Results to follow!

We were able to observe many beautiful insects, plants and animals on our trip today, below are some pictures of them.

What's this trip about?

The International Programs Americas Program at the National Science Foundation, through a grant to Therese Markow at University of California San Diego, has funded this International Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) for our projects in Panama. We are here for two weeks.

Our professors are Therese Markow (UCSD), Patricia Gowaty (UCLA) and Stephen Hubbell (UCLA).

We are from three UC campuses: UCSD, UCLA, and UCSB.

We arrived the night of August 25 to Gamboa.

Group Members

Names and pictures of group members

From left to right: Alec Asbridge, Andrea Ippolito, Doug Hooton, Jenna Castle, Joel Schumacher, Katie McLean