Our Last Day of Night Work

Tuesday marked the last night of going out and collecting data. We finished our fourth and final collection on the big grid. It had previously been scheduled for Monday but due to storms and the ensuing rain it was deemed too dangerous for us to work. As usual we split into three groups with two groups doing 13 plots and one doing 14, depending on which group finished their original 10 first. the quickest group always ends up with the 14th. Finishing our night work is bittersweet. Yeah it's awesome knowing that the most labor intensive work is done and we no longer have to hike through the rainforest at night, but it also means the trip is now over halfway complete. So here's a little recap of what we've done/ learned to do so far

• gained mark/recapture experience
• navigate through the rainforest at night with a compass and map
• data entry for both CTE and Big Grid data
• plenty of exercise from hiking in the rainforest
• collected leaves for a decomposition study
• experienced Old San Juan
• visited waterfalls
• explored swimming holes throughout the rainforest
• experienced plenty of Puerto Rican cuisine

I'm sure I've left out plenty of stuff from that list and I will post as I come up with more. As for stuff still to come. We have some plant work left, more decomposition work, and some fun for ourselves (visiting a bioluminescent bay, hammers, and possibly a day at the beach)