Greetings from Las Cruces Biological Station (8.7853° North, 82.9587° West, 1,200 meters above sea level), in the southwest Pacific highlands of Costa Rica! The 2023 Canopy Biology course arrived yesterday afternoon from the capital city of San José, and today was our first full day of canopy climbing and canopy contemplation. In the course we hope to learn not only the technical aspects of climbing trees, but also consider the unique ecosystem ecology of the three-dimensional treetop environment.
In the dawn, early risers were rewarded with a sighting of three tucancillos collarejos (Pteroglossus torquatus) eating bananas on the patio of the station (photo by Abby Lyons).
On our morning orientation walk through the botanical garden, sightings included a magnificent fallen log, which was generously hosting vegetal members of the Araceae, Bromeliaceae, Orchidaceae, Begoniaceae, and a plethora of ferns, lichens, and bryophytes. As our professor Cat Cardelús had said prophetically the night before, “There is just nothing better than a fallen branch”. One couldn’t help but agree as we inspected the diversity of interacting organisms existing within a single meter of substrate. Fallen branches and logs provide canopy researchers with the special opportunity to examine treetop organisms from the luxurious comfort of standing on two legs.
In the afternoon, we divided into canopy climbing and canopy contemplation groups. In canopy climbing, our instructors David Anderson, Felipe Barrera Rodriguez, and Jeremy Quirós demonstrated using a Stationary Rope System (SRS) with a rope wrench to ascend into trees. We practiced inching up and down the lines using foot and knee ascenders, and worked to find the necessary rhythm of stepping, pulling, and sliding to move upward into the canopy.
After switching groups, Cat walked us through the process of conceptualizing relevant questions in the canopy and identifying methodologies to address those questions. Throughout the next few field stations, we will attempt to collect data on the communities of bromeliads and invertebrates living along tree trunks and branches. As of today, our research questions are, “How do bromeliad species and functional traits (leaf size, stomatal density, nutrient content, leaf thickness, etc.) vary across vertical and horizontal canopy space?” and, “How does the diversity and abundance of tank invertebrates vary with vertical and horizontal stratification of host bromeliads?” We will see how our first day of data collection in the canopy goes tomorrow. As is inevitable in field biology, something will probably not go according to plan.
Our student group course represents a diverse range of research interests, countries, and climbing abilities. We come from Costa Rica, the United States, Nicaragua, Colombia, Guatemala, Mexico, and Ecuador. The organisms that we each study range from bats to butterflies, mammals, lizards, lycophytes, orchids, and frogs. Some students have conducted previous research in the canopy, while for others today was their first ascent into a tree. Despite our distinct origins and biological fields, we are united in our curiosity for arboreal spaces, and the floral and faunal critters which inhabit them. We now embark on a two-week journey to celebrate and explore the challenges and delights of conducting science in the tropical forest canopy.
Second Day
Today is the day. Today we will test the quick introduction to the techniques of arborism, but not before preparing everything we have to take to the rain forest. So we divided into 2 teams, the first one was in charge of getting all the equipment ready to climb the trees and set off on the first adventure in search of trees that fit the objectives of the proposed project. The second group was in charge of all the equipment to take data in the field, and once everything was ready, they left to meet up with group one. But as is to be expected, when you plan a project from the desk, things often do not go as you expect. And so it was that we encountered our first setback, it was not possible to carry out the project we proposed because we could not find trees that met the requirements of our objectives. So .... to modify and improvise new objectives.
Once we had established new objectives, we now continued our way through the rainforest in search of trees that we could climb. Once the trees were found, it was the turn of the technicians to set up the lines so that we could climb, so we, a few meters away, watched curiously as the ropes were installed.
The ropes are installed, now it's our turn to shine as canopy scientists, so let's get to work. First step, divide into 3 functional teams. Step 2, decide who will go up first. Step 3, put on the equipment. Step 4, start climbing with the techniques we had been taught previously ......... upss we found another slight problem, not all of us have the same experience climbing trees, for some it was their first time, for others, it was their first time using the new techniques, but what most of them shared, was the slight feeling of insecurity of being hanging in the air. But just take a deep breath and face those fears to get the job done.
Being the first day that we faced all these new challenges offered in this course, we did not do so bad, the plant collection was not as fruitful as we wanted, but it will get better, and most importantly, we all came out unscathed and victorious.
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