7-14-12

Well were to begin? There has been so much going on and talk about! Like I said in the first blog we went to the CTE plots. The following night which was Wednesday 7-12-12, we started on the Big Grid. It was very overwhelming at first because you have to learn your way around the forest very quickly or you will be there all night! Unlike the CTE, calling out the species and measuring certain ones is all you do, however on the Big Grid, you have a piece of PVC pipe painted black and red.

We measure out from the pvc pipe to a 3 meter radius and inside that 3 meter radius we look for snails for 15 minutes, once the 15 minutes is up we start tagging them. The tags are pieces of flagging tape cut up into very small retangles with a number such A58. Each plot has its own letter and number. There is a total of 425 plots on the Big Grid (hint why its called the Big Grid lol). Tagging the snails, is actually kind of relaxing, besides the super guel you get all over your hands and won't come for days! We  survey 40 points at a time. The first time we did the Big Grid, there was three different groups going at one time. Dr. Zimmermann and I we were in together and other groups contains two or three people.Dr. Zimmermann and I surveryed a total of ten plots and the other two groups surveyed a total of twenty plots.

Thursday night we did both of the experimental plots, lets just say that was a very long night! Just  being in the forest is very relaxing hearing all the frogs, crickets and the owls. You find it to be very soothing to your ears! While walking through the forest, there is one mean creature you have to watch out as you grab the trees to hold on for support and that is a tailless whip scorpion. Lets just say you do not want to get stung by one...ask Dr. Zimmermann, he knows first hand lol! On friday we got a day off and went to the beach! Which was very exciting! We parked at Seven Seas beach and walked for about twenty through a mangrove, which was very cool, and finally came to a "Hidden Beach." Lets just say it was very well worth the walk!