Day 7: 9/1/09

Most of the work done today was about concluding all of the projects set up around Boquete. We started out the morning with a drive up Volcan Baru with Professor Hubbell and Professor Gowaty to the entrance of the national park where we hung the baits on Sunday. The drive up the hill was as bad or worse than the one on Sunday; both of the cars ended up getting stuck at some points. It looked as though some of the more solid parts of the trail had been washed out by yesterday's rain, leaving large holes among the rocks that made up the trail.

Before taking down the baits, we made another collection for Professor Hubbell. He instructed us to separate and each take a bag into the forests off the path to collect the leaves of 20 different woody plants. We took these leaves back to our cottage and separated them out, identifying them morphologically as species, and then counted the number of each type. From this data we calculated the fisher's alpha value for woody plants in the area to be 15.8, indicating a high level of species diversity.

As for the baits up on Volcan Baru, we were able to collect six out of the seven baits; one of them was missing. We think that it was probably taken down by someone walking by, rather than being taken by some animal, because the bait, string and flag were all gone. Of the other six traps, two of them had no flies, and the other four contained very few flies, much less than in the traps set in Gamboa.

Once we collected the baits, we came down the mountain, dropped off Professor Hubbell and Professor Gowaty and then went down to the Chiriqui river to collect the baits set up there. Of the four traps hung down there, only three remained. One of them had been taken down by someone passing by. Though the other three were still there, only one of them had any substantial number of flies.

Sorting and keying flies later that evening.

Day 6: 8/31/09: Boquete

The main focus of the activities of today was to help us on the path to being able to accurately collect data discerning the Drosophila flies as well as using that data collected to greater understand the biodiversity of the Drosophila fly throughout Panama. This morning began with a discussion of the three aforementioned papers by Dr. Sarah Pipkin on Drosophila populations and diversity in the neo-tropical regions of Panama. From our observations in the previous days of setting baits to collect flies we were able to see the significance of the work that Dr. Pipkin performed in relation to the data our group will be collecting throughout the remainder of our trip. After the discussion had been completed the students began to construct more baits to set up by the Chiriqui River that runs through the city of Boquete. After crossing an old dilapidated cable bridge, which you can see in a picture below, we proceeded to set the baits at different sites along the river varying the distance from the river, ranging from on the river bank to approximately 100 yards from the water’s edge, as well as the variety in general habitat in which the bait was hung, which included rocky area, a pine tree grove, a banana tree grove and lush tall grasses. Below are some pictures of us crossing the bridge as well as placing the baits along the river.

We took a break after the placing the baits down by the river to go to the “supermercado” and buy ingredients for our lunch of nachos and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. We came back to our cottage to eat our lunch and prepare for our afternoon of data collection. Following lunch Dr. Hubbell gave a lecture explaining Fisher’s Alpha, which is the fundamental biodiversity number that can make an accurate estimation of the number of species in an area based on the number of species collected correlated to the number of individuals found in the area. We spent the afternoon practicing our comprehension of Fisher’s Alpha on the Drosophila fly data in Dr. Pipkin’s papers so that we will be able to apply that knowledge to our data from the baits that we have placed across the country.

For dinner tonight we went to a small local restaurant in downtown Boquete which was a great experience. It was a buffet style meal so that we were able to sample many different kinds of Panamanian foods as well interact with the locals. After dinner we headed back to begin our work of collecting baits we had placed around the cottages to see if there was any variances in the flies collected around the house in Gamboa. We were able to find significant changes in numbers of certain species but there was little variance in the species present. Hopefully the data that will be collected tomorrow from the additional baits placed in Volcan Baru National Park will give us a better sample exhibiting a wider range of species of Drosophila.

Day 5: 8/30/09

After a fun night visiting with the locals in David, we set off for Boquete bright and early. One of the things Boquete is known for is its great coffee, so the first stop we made was at a cafe. Sipping our drinks, we discussed a paper called Ecological Consequences of Recent Climate Change by John P. McCarty. Prof. Hubbell wanted us to express our opinions on the piece and questions that came up while reading the paper. We all agreed that review papers, like the paper we discussed, can be informative, but more data and concrete evidence would be needed in order to feel secure about the results.

Once we had finished we checked in to our new home for 4 days: Isla Verde. Each room is its own little villa, and the vibe of the area is very serene. Once we settled in, the students ventured into town in search of lunch. This time we chose another hole-in-the-wall with an African Safari theme. The food was similar to the place we chose in El Valle. When lunch was finished we met with Prof. Markow back at the hotel and prepared more baits to set out around Boquete.

Volcan Baru National Park, located in the Provence of Chiriqui, is at an elevation of approximately 1800 to 3474 meters, and can be described as a highland tropical rainforest habitat that contains a high degree of biodiversity. This is due to the tropical climate and the remains from the previous volcanic eruption that occurred millions of years ago. Seven banana baits were placed within and around Volcan Baru National Park, specifically around pine trees, coffee plants, and one on an oak tree. Upon returning from Volcan Baru National Park, four more baits were placed around the premises of our hotel. We decided to place the baits in a banana tree, citrus tree, and trees containing flowers already swarming with unidentified Drosophila species. We plan on returning to collect the baits tomorrow and the day after to examine the variety of flies from the various locations.

Tonight we re-read and discussed four papers assigned to us written by Sarah Pipkin. Sarah Pipkin studied a range of aspects of Drosophila ecology within various parts of Panama. Our goal was to become familiar with her work in order to gain perspective on what was already known about Panamanian Drosophila. Our discussions consisted of trying to understand how and why Dr. Pipkin did her work in order to better prepare for our discussion with the professors the next morning.

Day 4: 8/29/09

This morning we enjoyed breakfast at the Park Eden, the bed and breakfast we stayed in while in El Valle. We then prepared 7 banana baits, and set off to find secluded fly filled locations. Nestled in a caldera, the El Valle region has a less humid more temperate climate. We placed 2 at the hotel (a park-like landscaped habitat), 2 in tropical settings (where we also found promising rotting fruit) a few meters from the road, and 3 in a contrasting pine area. We made a local coffee stop at El Valle Gourmet and Coffee Shop and shopped around the local market for tourist-y crafts and various produce.

While placing our baits, we noticed a petite man emerging from the jungle onto the road, clutching a basket to his chest. He wore a tattered hat and a colorful collared shirt that was dulled by sun bleaching and dark dirt. Speculating about his age, we wondered if his wrinkles were a sign of his age or rather a consequence of his life style here in El Valle. We discovered in our broken spanish conversation with him that his name is Lionel Lorenzo and his basket contained "bananos". We offered to give him a ride to his home, and he gratefully accepted. Joel, being the only spanish speaker in the car, asked Lionel questions on behalf of both himself and the curious Patty. In response to hearing that Patty and Steve have been visiting Panama on and off for 30 years, Lionel offered with a smile (striped with missing teeth) that they're practically locals. When we arrived at his destination, we parted ways with our new Panamanian friend and he offered that we may see him at the market where he sells his bananas. Hopefully, we will see him on our way back through El Valle as I'm sure his bananos are the best in town.

El Valle to David is 400km total. Cautiously driving through torrential downpours, it took us 6 and a half hours to make the trip.

It took some impressive directional intuition on Terri's part and the help of the locals to find the city of David. It's pleasantly unlike Panama City, or any other city I've ever seen. Old lightly dilapidated structures line the streets on which aggressive drivers will not hesitate to give you a tap if you're in the way. We walked in a cluster around the central square in search of dinner, finally settling on an Italian restaurant for lack of more interesting options. We then meandered over to the gaudy casino, where we were conspicuously underdressed. We enjoyed our night people watching and hanging out with the locals while celebrating a "Salsa Festival" and watching a boxing match.

Day 3: 8/28/2009

Today we began the day in search of crocodiles down by the river in front of our hotel with no success. After our excursion down by the river we headed to Professor Hubbell and Professor Gowaty's house to observe some of the flies we collected from the pipeline road baits we had set up two days ago. Just by the first sorting we were able to determine that there were differences in species from the flies surrounding the house to the ones found on pipeline road and the flies collected on pipeline road showed an extreme female biased. This is exciting news as we continue to collects flies from all across Panama.

This morning we observed some hummingbirds enjoying some feeders that we set up yesterday below are some pictures that we were able to capture of them.

Then it was time to move locations, we prepared our baits for the next site, packed up all our stuff and set out on a four hour journey to El Valle.

We got into El Valle at around 3:30 local time. It's a small town built in the valley formed when a volcano cone collapsed in on itself. It was a very small and rural, yet full of local personality. At first we decided to get acquainted with our Bed and Breakfast, wandering around looking at the various plant life. While roaming the area we came across a rooster and hen in the street. We figured they were harmless as we passed the home they appeared to belong too until an entire swarm of them noticed us and began charging at us. We deduced they were just used to associated humans with food as the reason for the mobbing, but we couldn't be sure. We managed to get video of the traitorous scene and will post it if we can figure out how to. After the excitement we set out to find a good spot to eat. With Joel behind the wheel we stopped and various locations checking out menus, and finally ended up picking a small hole-in-the-wall called Del Mar y Tierra. The food was described as classical Panama cuisine, which we are coming to learn are typical chicken, fish, and steak meals served with either rice, fries, or patacones (fried plantains). Since it gets dark by 6:30 here in Panama we decided to go back to our room and enjoy some down time before our long ride (about 6 hours) to David.

Walking around El Valle.

Getting chased by the chickens and geese.


Dinner at Del Mar y Tierra.

Day 2: 8/27/09

Yesterday we started our day with an orientation on the identification of different fly species caught in a trap outside the house in Gamboa. We also took pictures of insects that we observed walking around our neighborhood.

At noon we all went into Panama City to register at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI). We got ID cards to identify ourselves at official research technicians. Then half of us went to fill up CO2 tanks for knocking out the flies while the other half went to the Artinisal Center, where local merchants sell hand-made carvings, baskets, and other Panamanian goods. Both groups got to explore the Panamanian capital on the way.

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.