Peru Nature Blog

Birding, Without Even Leaving the Lodges

noreply@blogger.com (Phil Torres) — Mon, 20 May 2013 10:14:43 PDT

For us that work at Rainforest Expeditions, there are at times days when we're too busy working to get the chance to step out into the marvelous forest around us. But that doesn't mean nature disappoints, it often does quite the opposite and surprises us with close encounters and fantastic photo opportunities.

Here are some of the birds that have come right up to us in recent days at Refugio Amazonas.

Golden Collared Toucanet

Fasciated Antshrike

Rufous Motmot

Semi-Collared Puffbird

This is just the beginning, we also get many hummingbirds, oropendolas, tanagers, jays, macaws, parrots, and others that are call the lodge and its surroundings their home. So you can imagine: if this is what you see when you're at the lodge, just wait until you step into the forest.

Follow Phil Torres on twitter.

Scarlet Macaw Genome Sequenced

noreply@blogger.com (Phil Torres) — Thu, 16 May 2013 10:10:12 PDT

One of the famous "chicos" stops by the lodge to check out breakfast.

This is very good news for the chicos and the hundreds of other wild macaws that we see flying around our lodges.

Sequencing the genome of the macaws opens the door for a whole range of conservation efforts that were previously difficult to do. For example, researchers can now do better estimates of genetic diversity within a population by collecting feathers that have fallen on the ground. Or, they can identify key genes that may be affecting the health of the birds, or making one population more unique and isolated than another.

Of course, our Tambopata Research Center was cited in the report, which you can read in full here.

"Scarlet macaw was selected for the first such sequencing of its type because Texas A&M researchers have been studying the bird for many years. Working primarily at the Tambopata Research Center in Peru, Texas A&M bird experts have been investigating macaw diseases, behavior and ecology"

One of the scarlet macaw chicks that the researchers are monitoring at
the Tambopata Research Center.

Exclusive Art Gallery Coming to Refugio Amazonas- Oscar Vilca

noreply@blogger.com (Phil Torres) — Fri, 10 May 2013 15:08:14 PDT

We at Rainforest Expeditions are pleased to announce the opening of our art gallery at the Refugio Amazonas Lodge.

An Amazon Kingfisher, by Oscar Vilca.

Oscar Vilca, coming in June to Refugio Amazonas.

This gallery will include Peruvian artists inspired by the Amazon rainforest in our region, and all works on display will be for sale. For our first exhibit, we are excited to welcome Oscar Vilca.

Vilca is one of the premiere modern nature and science illustrators in Peru, and studied at the Faculty of Arts at the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru and Fine Arts. He is an artist committed to conservation and environmental disclosure.

The Oscar Vilca Gallery will open in late May and will exhibit original paintings, solely from Tambopata National Reserve. These will not only be on display, but also be available for sale at the Refugio Amazonas Lodge. The exhibition will be held in June, July and August.

To visit Refugio Amazonas, see our website.

Starting in September, a group of three Peruvian artists involved in the Bahuaja Sonene Collective will be on display at Refugio. Intended to draw attention to the community and to protect the Bahuaja Sonene National Park, their motto is "Bahuaja Sonene: Know, Inspire."

The Bahuaja Sonene Collective, coming in September.

The Bahuaja Sonene Collective.

The Bahuaja Sonene Collective is currently inaugurating the work on June 1 in the Japanese Peruvian Center, then take the sample to Refugio September 1st where it will run until the end of the year. The 25 original paintings exhibited will be for sale.

In Photos- The White Lipped Peccary

noreply@blogger.com (Phil Torres) — Thu, 09 May 2013 10:04:18 PDT

The term 'ecosystem engineer' refers to an animal that significantly creates, modifies, and maintains the habitat it lives in.

The beaver is an obvious example of this, as its dams actually create small ponds. But for anyone who has ever come across a herd of 200+ white lipped peccary in the Amazon and seen their aftermath, it's not hard to imagine these guys can do equally significant engineering.

Image by Phil Torres

If you ask one of our local guides what peccaries eat, their typical answer is "everything." Peccary are known for loudly chomping on seeds, eating young shoots of plants, and even eating small vertebrates or invertebrates they come across.

But it's not just what they eat, it's how they eat. Using their noses as shovels, they can quickly dig 6" into the ground to get at some roots. And the four hundred hooves stomping the ground leaves a mashed-up earth in their wake.

Not to mention the incredible impact- studies have shown that the removal of peccaries from a forest results in 500% or more increase in the number of seeds on the ground for some palsm.

However 'destructive' these peccaries may seem, it's very important that it is natural- this is the way rainforests have been for thousands of years. These trees, especially palms, have evolved in a habitat in which their seeds get eaten, so if you remove the peccary you will likely get some significant impacts on seed survival, dispersal, and the future tree population of that forest decades down the road.

It's not just the trees they impact with their engineering, studies have shown their muddy wallows provide homes for many frog species, and they are the top prey of jaguars, too.

I have worked in rainforests in which peccaries have all been hunted out by humans. The forest is, simply, different. There seem to be less cleared areas, less muddy wallows, and a definite lack of that peccary smell that permeates some parts of these forests.

So, to celebrate these wild, loud, smelly, and important animals, I present these photos:

Peccaries use their noses as a shovel, digging up roots, tubers, and seeds, and
tearing up the earth while they do it. Image by Phil Torres.

Image by Phil Torres.

Image by Phil Torres

The Answers to the "All in One Afternoon" Wildlife

noreply@blogger.com (Phil Torres) — Wed, 08 May 2013 15:35:16 PDT

Congrats to Mary Bremner who guessed all of these animals right on our facebook post, very impressive!

1. Rufous Mot Mot

2. Orinoco Geese

3. Spectacled (White) Caiman

4. Capybara

5. Spider Monkey

6. Amazon Kingfisher

7. Great Black Hawk

8. Sand Colored Nighthawk

In One Afternoon, All Of This Wildlife

noreply@blogger.com (Phil Torres) — Mon, 06 May 2013 16:20:44 PDT

I've been working in the rainforests of Tambopata for almost a year now and I'm still continually impressed by the quantity of wildlife you can see over the course of several hours. Yesterday a bunch of tourists and I left Refugio Amazonas, took a 4.5 hour canoe ride upriver, and ended up in the Tambopata Research Center.

I had a 400mm camera at my side and decided to see if I could capture all of the wildlife we saw along the way. While I missed getting a good shot a few bird species we saw (like herons, egrets, storks) and a few other creatures, I still ended up with quite the collection of images.

Here are eight highlights, for you to identify in the comments below. I'll post the identities once we have someone who guessed all of the names of the animals correctly, either here or on the same image posted on our facebook.

Image by Phil Torres

Follow Phil Torres on Twitter.

Three Great Reasons To Visit Tambopata

noreply@blogger.com (Phil Torres) — Thu, 16 May 2013 19:25:40 PDT

Just this week we saw a record THREE jaguars on one boat ride on the Tambopata!

During a photo tour we saw these awesome jaguars. To not disappoint, the next day a big group of tourists saw two along the shore. This is a record for the area, while two have been seen on one trip more often, three have only been seen once before years ago. Check out the images below:

Photo by: Carsten Andersen

A male (top) and female jaguar (bottom) resting - Carsten Andersen

Photo by: Carsten Andersen

This jaguar was first spotted swimming across the river, and we got a great look at it as it ran up on shore and into the forest - Photos by Jeff Cremer.

45 minutes downriver, we saw this female interacting with the male, below, and they were likely getting ready to mate

Male jaguars are typically 10-20% larger than females, and this guy sure was big!

Come visit Tambopata to see these jaguars and experience the Amazon.

Follow Phil Torres on Twitter.

The Bridal Veil Mushroom (Phallus indusiatus)

noreply@blogger.com (Phil Torres) — Tue, 16 Apr 2013 17:19:04 PDT

The Bridal Veil Mushroom. Image by Phil Torres

The Bridal Veil Mushroom is odd in so many ways. Here's the countdown:

5. The smell.

Imagine a dead animal mixed with mushroom and garlic? That's the bridal veil's smell. In fact, almost every time I've encountered one it has been from tracking down that unique odor.

4. The appearance.

These images should help prove the point: it is strange and fascinating to look at. The more distinct mushroom look up-top and a cascading eggshell white 'veil' down below (called the 'indusium'), this is a fungus you won't forget.

3. The natural history.

This mushroom is only in this visual fruiting body form for a few days, spending most of its time as a fungus underground feeding on rotting wood. Also, it isn't just found in the Amazon tropics- it's found in the tropics throughout the world!

2. What feeds on it.

Why have such an odor? To attract flies which help spread its spores. In fact, some other Phallus species have a different odor that attracts different flies. Look below and you'll see that it's not just flies that feed on it, but moths do too! This is not typical moth-food, and it would be very interesting to see what nutrients this moth is getting, as well as what function they serve for spreading the spores.

1. The name

If you know what the term "phallic" means, you'll see why these mushrooms have the genus name "Phallus."

Image by Ulrike Fischer

Follow biologist Phil Torres on twitter.

6 Incredibly Important Pictures of Baby Macaws

noreply@blogger.com (Phil Torres) — Thu, 11 Apr 2013 21:22:49 PDT

Because the world needs more adorable macaws.

6.

Red-and-green macaw still working on its colors.

5.

Egg tooth still visible on this guy.

4.

Just add a pinch of salt, four carrots, and some water...

3.

Say "cheese!"

2.

Happy as can be.

1.

Stand up tall!

Click to find out more on the macaw conservation research happening at the Tambopata Research Center.

Bike Riding on Amazon Trails

noreply@blogger.com (Phil Torres) — Thu, 11 Apr 2013 09:36:39 PDT

Ever wonder what it's like to ride mountain bikes through the Amazon?

Hint: It's almost too much fun.

How to measure the distance to an object in a photo?

noreply@blogger.com (PeruNature.com) — Sat, 30 Mar 2013 14:11:49 PDT

How to measure the distance to an object in a photo?

I recently took this video of a White-bellied parrot eating brazil nuts on top of a tree. Its very difficult to see this sort of thing since the brazil nuts they are eating are so high up in the tree.

To get the shot I climbed to the top of the 33m tower at Posada Amazonas then used a Canon 600mm f/4 with a 2x teleconverter and a Canon 7D for a total of 1920mm to take the video. Even though the camera was on a tripod I used image stabilization to remove any vibration that was induced by people moving on the tower. I then moved the video into iMovie and stabilized it even more just to be sure that all the shake was out:

A friend of mine asked me "How far away were you?" I really didn't know so I set off to find out.

I have some experience with macro photography or photomicrography as it is sometimes called. I use a high power lens to magnify subjects up to 7.5x. At this magnification one can see all sorts of cool things..butterfly wing scales, compound eye structure of ants etc.

To find the size on a photo taken with a microscope you use the following technique:

Take a photo of the object.
Without adjusting magnification take a picture of a ruler
Import both photos to photoshop
Superimpose the photo of the ruler over the photo of the object using a opacity of around 50%
You can now measure the length of the object.

I decided to use a similar technique for the bird. Here is what I did.

I started with what was known:

Focal length 1200mm (1920mm with the 1.6 crop factor of the Canon 7D)
The average size of a White-bellied parrot is 23cm

I then made a scale on a whiteboard that was divided into 10 cm increments.

Using the exact camera setup that I used to take the parrot photo, I placed the scale along the street at known distances and took photos:

Scale at ~145ft

Scale at ~405ft

I then superimposed the scale over the photo of the parrot:

When the height of the parrot (23cm) was equal to 23cm of the scale I would check the distance that I took the scale photo at and then know the distance to the macaw.

It turned out to be that the photo was taken at a distance of around 150 meters.

Thats basically how its done. Hope that you liked the blog entry.

To learn more cool stuff about photography you can take a photo tour with me:

http://www.perunature.com/rainforest-nature-photography-tour.html

Jeff

What Animal Can 'Say' 14 Different Words?

noreply@blogger.com (Phil Torres) — Wed, 27 Mar 2013 11:26:55 PDT

A juvenile makes 14 distinct sounds, each with a different meaning, just shy of the 22 noises used by gorillas. Think of it like 14 different words used to communicate with a nearby adult. The adult males and females themselves live with the juveniles to feed them, protect them, and help them grow. They’re considered semi-social organism, living in small family groups. Sounds like a fairly advanced animal, right?

So what is it- A bird? A rodent? A dog? Here’s a hint- it lives in rotting wood, and has six legs.

Yes, it is an insect. Odontotaenius disjunctus, commonly known as a bess beetle (or crying beetle), and it has the most advanced sound-based communication system known in arthropods. You can find it under a moist rotting log anywhere from here in the Amazon up to New York. This beetle is large (~2 inches) and widespread and would be quite noticeable if it weren’t for its rather hidden natural history.

A bess beetle family, under a log.

Flip enough rotting logs, dig through enough decaying leaves, and you’ll eventually find a group of bess beetles get a look inside their fascinating life.. You’ll see a few adults, many grub-like larvae, and some round clumps of dirt that contain developing pupae. Poke around a bit, and the sounds begin. The beetle is known locally as a ‘crying beetle’ due to its ability to make a high-pitched whiny alarm call if you disturb it (like by picking it up). But the alarm noise from the adults isn’t the interesting one; what’s fascinating are the fourteen almost inaudible squeaks that the larvae make below.

All insects have six legs, including their larvae. But take a close look at these beetle larvae, you’ll see only two pairs of legs, for a total of four- so what happened to the other two? Over the course of evolution and thousands and thousands of years, the back pair of legs got smaller. Much smaller. They’re no longer used for moving around in dirt; rather they’re used to meaningfully strum a structure called a plectrum.

Bess beetle larva. Note only 2 pairs of legs.
Photo by Whitney Cranshaw, Colorado State University, Bugwood.org.

Imagine a tiny stump of a leg strumming a comb in various directions- that’s what is happening between the hind leg and the plectrum. As the stump hits the teeth of the comb at different angles or different timespans, the frequency of the sound changes ever so slightly, resulting in overall different noise, or call. Researchers listening in found that there were 14 distinct noises made in a variety of situations via this stump-and-plectrum combo.

What we don’t yet have is a translator. Does one larva squeak mean “feed me!” (which adults do by defecating mostly-broken down wood)? Another angle strummed, “Protect me! Someone lifted the log” or “Help me molt”?

Who knows. What we do know is this is a remarkably advanced sound-based communication system for an insect. Other insects stand out by their use of things like body movements or scented pheromones (ants and bees) to deliver complex bits of information, so it’s no surprise that an insect has evolved the ability to do that by making a noise, especially when living in a medium like soil in which movement is hardly visible and pheromones slow to disperse.

Some day, some scientists will figure out what these larvae are saying. And how fascinating that will be. Until then, flip a log, take a peak at this miniature advanced world, appreciate the wonders of nature, and don’t forget to (gently) put the log back in place.

How to use a telephoto lens to film macaws.

noreply@blogger.com (Phil Torres) — Tue, 19 Mar 2013 07:48:05 PDT

Jeff Cremer our in-house photographer and photo tour guide, is a master of using a high-zoom telephoto lens to capture some incredible wildlife. Watch below as he explains the secrets to using this camera, which you too can shoot with if you join us on a photo tour.

Make sure to watch for the incredible macaw footage at the end!

Steve Gettle Tambopata Photography Trip Report

noreply@blogger.com (PeruNature.com) — Sat, 09 Mar 2013 17:52:06 PST

I (Steve Gettle) just returned from a great trip to Peru where I visited the Tambopata National Reserve, a reserve the size of Belgum with 600 species of birds, 1300 different butterflies and 300 species of mammals. Not only was this trip productive photographically but it was also an epic adventure. After the flight into Lima it was just a short flight to Puerto Muldonado where I boarded a bus for the ride to the Tambopata River, where the real journey begins.

Once on the river I traveled by motorized canoe deep into the amazon jungle. The destination is a series of three lodges which are located along the river, these lodges served as my base while I explored the area. The last lodge deep in the jungle is actually a research center and arguably the most remote lodge in all of South America!

The main attraction here are the macaws. The Tambopta contains 10% of the world’s macaw population. And the world’s largest clay lick. Macaws gather at clay licks to ingest the clay where they get minerals that are not available in their jungle diet. While I was there I was able to not only photograph them at the clay lick but also to photograph them as they flew back and forth. Since they usually fly together as mated pairs, this is exponentially harder than shooting a single bird in flight. Now not only do I have the shadows from the other bird to deal with, but I also have two sets of wing positions to worry about getting right.

In addition to the macaws there were tons of other birds as well as lots of amazing insects and amphibians that I shot on our nightly jungle walks. You can see a gallery showcasing some more of my favorite images from the trip here.

I will be leading a photo tour to the Peruvian Amazon in the fall of 2013. In addition to duplicating this amazing adventure there will be an optional 4 day extension to Machu Picchu as well. More information will be coming in an upcoming newsletter.

A special note of thanks to Jeff Cremer of Rainforest Expeditions who served as my host and guide on this trip. we had a great time and an epic adventure.

A Turtle Drowning In Butterfly Kisses

noreply@blogger.com (Phil Torres) — Wed, 06 Mar 2013 15:30:05 PST

This is a colorful example of how odd behaviors can evolve in the face of a limiting resource. In the Amazon, salt is a much sought-after commodity as it is generally lacking in the environment.

Turtle tears? A prime source of salt, and many butterfly species have adapted by perching on their face and sipping from the source. Although this is generally a common sight along the river, this image taken by our photo tour guide Jeff Cremer is the most adorably smothered I have seen, yet.

Follow Phil Torres on twitter.

Top 5 Strangest Rainforest Animals

noreply@blogger.com (PeruNature.com) — Sat, 02 Mar 2013 07:51:37 PST

From a decoy building spider that would put Charlotte to shame to the caterpillar that has the same barber as Donald Trump, these are only a few of the interesting things that you can see in Tambopata.

1. Decoy-building Spider - Check out the full article with video here

This decoy building spider shows 3D printers what’s up: It's a small spider that constructs a bigger, scarier spider in its web completely out of debris and dead insect parts. These images show the spider 'decoy' that the small spider, seen at the top of the decoy, created. Why does it do it? Researchers are still trying to figure it out, but it likely has to do with confusing predators and increasing its chances of survival. This spider was recently discovered and is the only animal ever recorded to construct a larger version itself. Where's the one place in the world to see this spider? A three-minute walk from the Tambopata Research Center.

2. Triple Rainbow - Full article with video here

A double rainbow once made a grown man cry, but this triple rainbow was so cool it would make Chuck Norris cry: Imagine looking off in the distance and seeing an upside-down rainbow above the trees. A recent sighting of this rare optical event in the sky resulted in the best photos ever taken of this unbelievable, rainbow-filled display as seen here. These solar halos result from interactions of the sunlight with ice crystals high up in the atmosphere, and according to experts Tambopata just happens to offer the right conditions to make this the most impressive sighting of these halos ever recorded. This was seen along the Tambopata River on a photo tour.

3. Donald Trump's Wig

This animal is one of the most bizarre things you can come across in nature- Is it a fruit? A bird? A mammal? No- it's a caterpillar of a megalopygid moth. But don't be fooled by the nice, yellow fuzzy appearance, the hairs on this are full of urticating spines that can inject a very painful poison if touched. This caterpillar was spotted at the Posada Amazonas Lodge.

4. Basket Cocoon.

Humans have such lame growth into adulthood: The incredible woven lattice structure of the urodid moth's cocoon is an astounding example of art in nature. The cocoon dangles from a silken string about a foot long, likely to prevent ants from feeding on it, and the bright orange color can serve as a warning to potential predators that this cocoon may be poisonous to eat. The adult moth eventually emerges from the pupa, resting inside, and exits through the small tubular 'escape hatch' at the bottom of the structure. This pupa was seen at Refugio Amazonas Lodge.

5. Macaw Clay Lick

A five minute boat ride from the Tambopata Research Center takes you to an island that overlooks one of the most incredible and colorful animal gatherings in the world. A wall of clay, over 200 feet across, where hundreds of individuals making up nine species of bright parrots, parakeets, and macaws gather every morning to feed on the sodium-rich clay. This was also featured in a video by Destin of Smarter Every Daywhere he and Rainforest Expeditons photographer Jeff Cremer filmed the macaws with a high speed camera.

Extra: 16,000 Megapixel Image of Machu Picchu

If a picture is worth a thousand words how many words is a 16000-megapixel picture of Machu Picchu worth? This may appear to be a normal image of the Incan ruins of Machu Picchu. But try zooming in and you'll realize that this image is a whopping 16 gigapixels (16,000 megapixels), and the highest resolution image ever taken of the ruins. Using gigapan technology, Rainforest Expeditions photographer Jeff Cremer has brought access to this World Heritage Site to the masses like never before. If you're in Peru and on your way to Tambopata, be sure to stop by Cusco to see it in-person.

Where Did The Roadside Hawk Live Before There Were Roads?

noreply@blogger.com (Phil Torres) — Thu, 28 Feb 2013 18:32:29 PST

The Roadside Hawk. Image by Liz Paipay.

Walk or drive along virtually any road in the Amazon and you’ll hear that unique screech of a roadside hawk and look up to see one perched in a tree. On a particular two mile road I used to walk daily I would typically see three to four of these birds of prey acting true to their name- along the side of the road.

But wait- there haven’t always been roads in the Amazon, they were created by humans! I wondered where they are found naturally, in regions without large clearings like roads as the forest used to be. The answer? Typically either along a river, or in the forest, but in fewer numbers.

Being a visual predator, there is a definite advantage to being in an area like a road- prey are probably easier to see than in the dense rainforest. For some reason, roadside hawks in particular have adapted to this roadside lifestyle more so than other birds of prey, and it seems to have made them more prevalent than ever.

One study compared the roadside hawk nesting activity in an area of untouched rainforest with an area with slash-and-burn farming landscape. The slash-and-burn area likely had roads in it, and at the very least represents a more open landscape for the purposes of our comparison.

What did they find? In the open farming landscape, there were more nests, more young raised per pair, and a higher portion of breeding vs non-breeding pairs. They’re bringing home the same amount of food for their young, but the open area appears to allow more nesting and predation opportunities in general and is thus able to support a larger population.

This is an example of when a human interference and habitat disturbance can appear to ‘help’ a population. But more numbers doesn’t necessarily mean we are helping these birds. Many animals end up falling ill to disease when they are in an unnatural higher density due to human activity (like high density coyotes in neighborhoods suffering from mange in the United States), and the prey that the birds are feeding on may suffer from an unnaturally high mortality rate.

While it doesn’t appear to be affecting the birds negatively at this point, it is a strong lesson that as we modify the rainforest, we modify the animals within, as well.

Follow Phil Torres on Twitter.

What wildlife can you see along the Tambopata?

noreply@blogger.com (Phil Torres) — Sat, 23 Feb 2013 17:23:20 PST

The Andes Mountains can be seen from the Tambopata

Riding in canoes is an experience that is not just for the sake of transportation. It also provides an incredible opportunity to see and photograph wildlife.

Here's a list of some of the more notable animals we've seen in the last few months:

-Jaguar

-Giant Anteater

-Red Howler Monkey

-Puma

-Caiman

-Harpy Eagle

-Black-and-White Hawk Eagle

-Tapir

-Red Brocket Deer

-Capibara

-Macaws

Why can we see so much wildlife while on a boat? A few reasons. Many animals, like jaguars, rest by the river, providing an excellent opportunity to photograph them. Also, virtually all mammals in the rainforest can swim and tend to cross the river on occasion, so you can even find a sloth slowly making its way across!

What's that log in the water?

It's a giant anteater swimming!
Image by John Hannaford.

Also, many animals aren't sure how to interpret seeing a boat- while a jaguar may hide from you when you're on foot, they typically don't interpret you as a threat when you're in a boat. This works great for us, because it allows plenty of time to get the perfect photo!

Jaguar seen along the river from a boat.

Image by Liz Paipay.

Macaw Chick Update

noreply@blogger.com (Phil Torres) — Mon, 18 Feb 2013 10:09:10 PST

Remember this adorable macaw from last month?

We checked in with the researchers at the Tambopata Research Center to see how he's doing. An update from Jordan Harrison, one of the volunteer macaw researchers, and it looks great:

"The Hormiguero chick is doing quite well. Healthy as he can be. His body condition score was almost perfect when we checked on the 16th for his 60 day check up. He weighs about 850 grams, feathers are developing nicely. Not even any parasites. He is a super chill chick. We took our usual measurements and he sat calmly in my lap the entire time."

Here he is, almost all grown up at this point:

Photo by Jordan Harrison

Welcome to Tapir Eden

noreply@blogger.com (Phil Torres) — Mon, 11 Feb 2013 13:28:33 PST

A group of scientists recently came together with park rangers and native communities to solve a difficult question:

How many tapirs are there in the Greater Madidi-Tambopata Landscape of northwest Bolivia and southeastern Tambopata Peru?

Tapir crossing the Tambopata River. Image by Jeff Cremer.

Tapirs are the largest mammal in the Amazon, but their large size doesn’t mean they’re easy to find. In fact, they are notoriously really difficult to see, and most researchers and guides I know who work in the Amazon have only seen a handful due. These odd-looking creatures look similar to a horse but are actually more closely related to the rhinoceros.

My only sighting wasn’t by my eyes, but by my camera trap I set up, a video of which can be seen here. Researchers for this study used this same camera-trap technique, in which you put motion and infra-red detecting cameras in areas of high mammal activity in order to monitor and detect populations.

While many mammal studies rely entirely on camera trap images, these researchers also included the one thing that could give them insight to how the tapir populations have changed over time: humans.

They interviewed park rangers and native hunters to further gain insight into tapir behavior, tapir hang outs, and tapir numbers. The combined data suggested that tapir populations are increasing throughout most of this range due to ecotourism projects and government efforts which help protect the forest and minimize hunting.

The analysis suggested that there are between 15,000 and 35,000 tapirs in this range- possibly more tapirs than there are humans! To read the full study, check it out here.

Note the ticks on the tapir's head and the odd snout.
Image by Jeff Cremer.

Follow Phil Torres on Twitter.

Stephanidae- An encounter with a rare parasitoid wasp

noreply@blogger.com (Phil Torres) — Mon, 04 Feb 2013 15:39:01 PST

This odd-looking creature is commonly known as the ‘crown wasp’ due to a ring of tubercles on its head but is known by scientists as a stephanid.

Stephanus is greek for crown, thus, Stephanidae.

Its strange body structure can be hard to make sense of, so let me try and explain: The orange/brown part to the left is the head, to the right of that the thorax with the wings attached, and the part sticking up into the air is the abdomen, making up the three major segments of an insect.

But what is that long needle-like structure on the right?

That is the ovipositor, the technical term for an insect’s egg-laying device.
The wasp uses this ovipositor to stab beetle larvae and lay eggs in them, which it does by using its legs to sense vibrations from beetle larvae living inside the rotten wood it has landed upon. After a few days, the deposited egg hatches and a wasp larva develops inside the beetle larva, eventually killing it and emerging as an adult, which then flies off to stab a beetle larva elsewhere in the rainforest and start the process all over again...

Some parasitoid wasps actually use a form of echolocation (just like a bat would) to locate their prey. They have modified antennae that tap the rotten wood and specialized ears on their legs that can hear the tap’s echo off of a larva and locate it that way.

This particular rotting tree had several of these wasps on it, so clearly there were some stab-worthy beetle larvae within.

Note: this wasp is a parasitoid because it kills the beetle larva host, opposed to a parasite which just feeds on it but lets it live.

Read more about these wasps here.

Follow biologist Phil Torres on twitter.

When It’s Macaw Breeding Season, Researchers Get To Action

noreply@blogger.com (Phil Torres) — Sat, 02 Feb 2013 07:31:07 PST

A seven-week-old scarlet macaw nestling getting weighed. Doesn't it look like it's smiling?
Image by Phil Torres

Researchers take measurements on a 1-week-old macaw chick.
Image by Phil Torres

The Tambopata Research Center has hosted world-renowned macaw research for 20 years now, with researchers analyzing macaw activity, monitoring the fruiting trees they feed on, and overall keeping an eye on the macaw population.

But this time of year is a special time of year for the researchers. As rainy season comes into effect, the macaws start laying eggs and the researchers begin closely monitoring the nests and measuring the chicks as they develop.

Researcher Jordan Harrison climbs
up to a macaw nest. Image by Phil Torres.

If their research wasn’t cool enough already, they use technical tree climbing techniques to go up 30m-40m into the trees to gain access to the nests. Pretty awesome science if you ask me.

Into the Field

I had the pleasure of joining them and observing one of their morning climbs and chick measurements. In fact, any visitor to the lodges, including tourists, can tag along with the researchers in this activity.

It involves a team of at least three researchers, one doing the climbing, chick removing, and nest check while the others take the chick (which has been lowered in a bucket) and record size, weight, and other observational data.

The chick I was lucky enough to see was a one-week-old red and green macaw. One of the strangest looking creatures I’ve ever seen, it’s hard to imagine it will turn into one of the most beautiful birds in the rainforest.

The chick was plump and healthy by all accounts, and after the measurements were done the chick was raised back up, put back in its nest to await its parents return with a crop-full of food.

A one-week old red-and-green macaw chick getting weighed by researchers.
Image by Phil Torres

Why Do the Research?
Macaw populations are at risk for a variety of reasons. Habitat destruction and the illegal pet trade have taken a tole on wild populations. Some species also require a specific type of tree to nest in, and at times those trees come under high demand from loggers.

By studying these populations, their breeding, and their genetics, researchers can arm themselves with the knowledge necessary to keep populations from going extinct. The information gathered here in non-threatenedTambopata- for example, successful artificial nest designs- can be used in areas where macaws are endangered, like Costa Rica and Mexico.

Led by Dr. Donald Brightsmith, this project has published many breakthrough studies, including figuring out why macaws eat clay (for the salt!), what influences nestling survival (macaw fights!), and why they lay four eggs but only raise one or two young.

Red and green macaws gather on a claylick along the Tambopata. Hard to believe the above chick will turn into something so stunning. Image by Jeff Cremer.

Follow Phil Torres on twitter.

To volunteer as a researcher for this project, visit http://macawproject.org/

Do Butterflies Sleep?

noreply@blogger.com (Phil Torres) — Tue, 22 Jan 2013 08:57:42 PST

If you walk around the forest at night with a flashlight, you’ll quickly find the answer:

Yes, kind of.

Here’s a collection of images of some ‘sleeping butterflies’ I’ve come across in Tambopata.

'Sleeping' Butterflies

In general, there are a few common traits for this nighttime behavior. They almost always ‘sleep’ hanging upside-down and underneath a leaf. This hanging requires minimal energy, as their tarsi (aka ‘claws’) can grasp on to the leaf with little effort, opposed to standing right side up.

Why under a leaf?

Two main reasons. For one, they gain protection from rain that often falls at night. Secondly, they are more hidden from early-rising birds looking for a meal that may be active before the butterflies are warm enough to take off.

I have often noted that butterflies with warning coloration (black and bright yellow, orange wings) sleep more exposed, for example under a thin twig rather than under a covering leaf. This coloration is there as a signal to warn birds that they may be poisonous to eat. So, it may work to the butterflies’ advantage to show their entire color signal (aka wings) to birds, rather than keep their wings partially hidden under a leaf, explaining why they may tend to sleep more in the open.

So, are they actually asleep?

Depends on your definition of sleep. If you want to define sleep as an inactive, low metabolic state: yes. This low metabolic state is often driven by the temperature in the air itself; ectothermic butterflies require outside heat-energy to become active.

There’s really no use in being active at night for most butterflies- they can’t see each other to mate, and empty flowers are restocking themselves with nectar for the following day. So, it makes sense that they would go into this ‘sleep’ state which likely helps them digest the day’s feed, produce eggs/sperm, and basically take advantage of a time in which there is nothing better to do.

During this nocturnal state they are still capable of flying off if disturbed. Also, there are some butterflies that specialize in roosting together at night in groups, and others I’ve seen regularly in pairs. Some butterflies in temperate climates are capable of overwintering as an adult, which is basically a physiologically extreme version of this normal sleep, kind of similar to hibernation.

Now the obvious follow-up question:

Do butterflies dream?

I think not.

Follow Phil Torres on Twitter

Frog Weather

noreply@blogger.com (Phil Torres) — Sun, 20 Jan 2013 14:21:47 PST

Phyllomedusa palliata hanging from a leaf near Posada Amazonas.
Image by Phil Torres

Ask any field biologist who has worked with frogs: there is such a thing as frog weather. I have been on easily over 100 night surveys in the rainforest in search of frogs and it doesn’t take long to notice a pattern emerge uniting the weather with your success in the night’s excursion.

Frog eggs with developing
tadpoles inside. Image by
Phil Torres

Frogs, especially here in the rainforest, require moisture for activity and flock temporary pools/swamps of water to reproduce and lay eggs. I was last here in Tambopata during the dry season when there were very few temporary pools, so many of the frogs were hard to spot and likely hanging out up in the canopy rather than being more visible closer the dry ground. But now, it is rainy season. Frog season.

The perfect weather scenario for frogs based upon my observations: No rain for two to three days. Then, moderate to heavy rain that day, clear weather for a couple hours as the sun sets, and no rain to light drizzle at night. I often look at the leaves to tell me how many frogs will be out- do the leaves look dry and dusty or dewy and glistening? If it’s the latter, you have a pretty good chance of spotting a frog- or dozens of frogs- that night.

If the rain is too heavy at night, there will be few frogs visible. The males come down closer to the ground at night and call to females to reproduce- what’s the point in calling for a mate if they can’t hear you through the rain? This also helps researchers- you can identify frogs and their activity based upon the amount of calling.

Phyllomedusa camba
Image by Phil Torres

So why should you go look for frogs? For one, they are quite photogenic, typically sit still, and make for great rainforest wildlife photos. Secondly, consider one of the reasons biologists go looking for them: frogs can be bioindicators. Meaning, a healthy frog population typically means a healthy environment. Many frogs breathe at least partially through their highly permeable skin, so if there are a lot of pollutants in the water the frog populations may be the first to be affected.

Also, many species of frogs are in decline due the chytrid fungus. Thus, the sad reality is that the frog extinction rate is much higher than many other animals, so you may not have long to photograph some of the more unique or rare species. Tambopata has been tested recently and no chytrid fungus was detected, so you’ll be sure to encounter some spectacular hopping frogs during your visit.
That being said, it is starting to rain here, so let’s hope for another night of frog weather. Happy frogging!

Follow Phil Torres on twitter.

Two Seconds In The Amazon

noreply@blogger.com (Phil Torres) — Fri, 18 Jan 2013 15:15:50 PST

Watch this amazing video put together by Rainforest Expeditions' photo tour guide Jeff Cremer.

Featuring the wildlife you can encounter in the Tambopata rainforests.