1999 Tropical Ecosystems Field Course Report
Students see a juvenile Harpy Eagle!
Tapir tracks found on trails at Tiputini
Yippee for YUPI! - Tang meets its Match
This year's field ecology course in Ecuador, "Tropical Ecosystems:
Andes to Amazon," was a great success! We had a terrific group of students,
who braved sweat wasps, tropical downpours, lemon-flavored ants, and gallons of the
local Tang-substitute, Yupi, while visiting some of the most spectactular sites in
Ecuador.
The course spent its first day in the El Pahuma Orchid Reserve, getting a close
look at a beautiful montane forest overflowing with orchids, bromeliads and other
epiphytes. Later, we walked in the paramo of Papallacta Pass, 4100m above sea
level, examining the unique plants that thrive this harsh but breathtaking environment.
It was cold and windy up there, but the thermal baths we plunged into before lunch
helped wipe the chill away!
The impressive San Rafael Falls were our backdrop during our stay in an
eastern slope example of a montane forest. Green Jays were a colorful (and noisy!)
treat, and everybody got to see an adult and juvenile tree frog hanging out on top
of some giant aroid leaves. We all mourned the loss of the group frisbee, which
was flung errantly over a cliff, but managed to have fun without it. We left
San Rafael the next morning, just in time to witness a gorgeous sunrise over the Amazon
Basin, into which we descended lower and lower, on our way to the deep rainforest.
During our week-long stay in the lowland primary forest at the Tiputini Biodiversity
Station, the students saw tons of plants and wildlife including, birders hold your
breath, a superb look at a young Harpy Eagle ("the world's most powerful bird of
prey," as it is grandiosely
described) perched high in the tree during our canoe ride out from the station!
I think I shot a whole roll of photos of just that one bird. We also saw seven
kinds of monkeys which, for those of you who are scoring at home, included Dusky Titis,
Capuchins, Red Howlers, Spider Monkeys, Golden-Mantled Tamarins, a troop of about
50 Squirrel Monkeys that hung around camp for a day or two, and Night Monkeys, the
only nocturnal primate in the new world, and a new species for me!
The students were treated to glimpses of a spiny tree rat, a little opossum, an
extremely large and beautiful tarantula, and one of the biggest whip-scorpions (not
a scorpion at all, but rather an extremely mean-lookin' but totally harmless spider
that is a scorpion mimic - Fam. Amblypigidae) I've ever seen, and all
these delights were sighted within or on top of the student cabins! Needless
to say, there were a few students who didn't sleep well at night after seeing the
tarantula - I of course explained that they are harmless, though that didn't help
some.
On the trails we saw fresh tracks of a Tapir and an Ocelot, but never caught sight
of the genuine articles. We also saw a pair of exciting snakes, one a gorgeous 
black-and-red coral snake spotted during a night walk coiled in an understory
shrub. The other was a pygmy tree python which was caught in the dining hall
just after dessert, and displayed for all to see by a member of the visiting BBC film
crew. A researcher from Boston took us out one night while he mistnetted for
bats, and we caught two different species before falling prey to a wicked practical
joke masterminded by the film crew!
From the river and the canopy tower, we saw at least 6 kinds of Toucans, many
Parrots, Tanagers and Flycatchers, and even got some very nice looks at Scarlet Macaws.
Adrenaline ran high as we climbed around on the canopy walkways with a breath-taking view of the treetops. A night float
on the river produced a whole bunch of caiman (crocs), a Paca with a baby (large, delicately spotted nocturnal rodents), some
attractive Ladder-Tailed Nightjars (whip-poor-will relatives), and the pair of Night Monkeys. We all marvelled at the
ability of our Huaorani spotter to see wildlife in the inky blackness of night. He would regularly point his flashlight
to the sandy riverbank more than 40 feet (13m) away and give us a glimpse of a tiny "sapo" (spanish for toad!) - he was that
good!
The highlight for many was standing in camp while the troop of Squirrel Monkeys
rushed around within 10 feet of the students, climbing and leaping
about in the vegetation, and plucking tasty-looking cucurbits from the vines on which
they were ripening. Everybody got incredibly good looks at these darling little
primates, and nobody was shat upon (often a risk with the bigger monkeys). We
also witnessed an interesting ecological phenomenon when we spotted a Double-toothed
Kite (a small forest falcon) following the troop, which they often do in search of
prey items flushed by the foraging of the monkeys - a nice example of one species
helping another (a comensalism).
Student projects at Tiputini
ran the gamut. One group, protected in a high-tech mosquito tent, tested the
attraction between sweat wasps and humans (the famous Sock Trials). Another
of our intrepid scientists spent their afternoons tasting lemon-flavored ants that
live on a special tree (Duroia hirsuta) that offers them free housing
in long, hollow dormitories. The rest of us only stuck around for the first
few, before leaving them to it! Another group compared the abundance and coloration
of butterflies found in closed forest and those preferring light gaps; these students
got some unexpected help when the authors of the forthcoming Butterflies of Ecuador
arrived at the station.
After we, wistfully, returned to Quito, we immediately went to our favorite restaurant,and
treated ourselves to some of the more tasty trappings of civilization. After
spending our last day shopping at the artisan market in Otavalo, we all-too-soon found
ourselves enjoying our final fiesta in a wonderful Ecuadorian restaurant, with up-close
musical entertainment courtesy of our private band, Las Alamas (their name means,
"hello friend!," in Quichua). The next morning we said our farewells, ending
a very successful 1999 field course season.
For more information about current field courses, now including a semester-abroad
program in tropical conservation, please visit the Ceiba field
courses webpages.
