El Valle, Isla Grande, Miami issues and finally back to Canada

This will be my last entry on this blog site as i am now back in Canada (for now - I can always make up new sites as the need arrises ;-)). The last few weeks in Panama were very memmorable, with a few excursions which were made possible by the co-operation of the last 2 bats who were tested and released quickly.

A stream ecology Phd student from the States, Amanda Rugenski invited Alisha and I to her study site in El Valle (a cool mountainous region, but not high elevation cloud forest). Here, Amanda has been investigating the effects of the 80% loss of anurans (due to chytrid fungi) on ecosystem function (ie. nutrient cycling). In the same region, the ARC program, funded by the Houston zoo has been attempting to breed the dissapearing frogs in captivity with the hope of eventual re-introduction. Sadly, this does not seem like a very hopefull endeavor as Amanda's study sites are being destroyed by developers (the sites that Alish and I visited have probably been machetted down, burned and had all the water drained by now). Some of the most amazing frogs in the area; Golden frogs used to be all over the place have not been seen for several years (unless you see them in an aquarium). They are really interresting in that they are earless and will sometimes signal to each other with arm/leg movements (they do vocalize as well).

For an end of season celebration, Rachel took Alisha, Katie and I to Isla Grande for an overnight stay by the beach. The ocean is always nice and the sea-food there was fantastic (and so cheap too!). On the way back we stopped in the seaside town of Portobello where there is old ruins from forts dating back to around 1700's that were repeatedly sacked by pirates. On display in the town church is "the black christ" which reputedly washed ashore after a local fishing vessel was lost in a storm. The kids there were adorable - hamming it up for the camera.

A few days before our departure, Rachel and I headed over to BCI for a seminar on using Isotope analyses for answering questions related to foraging and metabolism in frugivorous and nectivorous bats. The next day, Rachel, Alisha and I were all quite ill with some sort of stomach flu (thank goodness Katie was around to look after the sickies). Somewhat receuperated we all managed to make it to our respective flights. I was certain that i was going to miss my connection in Miami (I was still trying to get through U.S. customs 15 minutes before my flight was supposed to depart). I ran to the plane all rushed and then sat there for 2 hours and 45 minutes waiting for the MIA pilot to arrive, followed by a tire change and frantic search for the absent ground crew... Was actually kinda funny... Though not too my parents who had to wait in the airport that long for my flight to come in...

So now i'm back in Ontario for the next few weeks and will be flying again to Vancouver shortly to start a summer semester at SFU. I've had a fantastic time, but it's great to be home :-)

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