Joni recording plant transect data
Katie and Emil measuring a bird's wing length
Osiris, Ryan and Emil photographing bird
The class during La Milpa site orientation
Dr. Wright's lecture on experimental design
Dr. Wright checking on Katie and Ryan's bird extraction from mist net
Dr. Wright and staff leading a morning hike to see study sites
Dr. Wright and the class are doing great! The students (and guides Emil and Kimo) are working very hard on the Tropical Field Ecology projects. One group has been capturing birds in the mist nets for a biodiversity study. A second is drawing a blood samples from these birds and capturing mosquitos to test for avaian malaria. The third group is running plant transects to measure insect herbivory. These students are amazing and the 2 Belizean students are fitting right in. We are all big fans of the hot water showers, nice food and hammocks here at the beautiful La Milpa site. A big thanks to Vladamir, Jorge and the rest of the staff at Programme for Belize.
Here are some messages from this morning:
LISBETH: Hi Everybody. I’m Lisbeth Perez. I am from San Jose Succotz village and I attend Galen University here in Belize. I am enjoying being with the students of New Mexico State University. It is my first time being outside home doing field work but I am enjoying it a lot. I am working with the group of plants and how plants are damaged with insects in Belize. We have been working so hard out and in the bush. We are measuring the outer part and today we are measuring the inner part of the forest. In my team, we are Estrella, Vicki, Joni, Leilani and myself.
KIMO: Good morning, this is Kimo Jolly. I'm the coordinator of the Belize Field School here in Belize. The NMSU students - they are excellent – they are great! I'm with the plant group - we are running a couple plant transacts to compare edges with interior forest ecosystem - comparing insect predation of forest edges and the interior.
COREY: Hello from the jungle, this is Corey Jefferson. I am part of the malaria group. In conjunction with the bird group, we are mist netting birds and attempting to trap mosquitoes. From the birds we are obtaining blood for thin smear preparation; from the mosquitoes we will obtain mid-guts. The purpose is to determine the prevalence of avian malaria parasites infecting Belizean Neoaves and Culex mosquitoes, the major avian malaria vector. Aside from the project, Belize is amazing. A five minute walk from the place we’re staying we can find howler monkeys. Reagan and Blair, I miss you monkeys. I can’t wait to show you this place.
Corey blogging after breakfast
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