Sampling Snails

So once a snail is found in a given site what happens? They're measured and tagged on the spot.

Since I'm not particularly fond of taking my camera into the field with me at night, I took the below pics here at the station during the day to help understanding.

This medium sized Caracola is 22.5mm in diameter.

I gave a temporary tag (using tape for this example) to this snail finding its way up a concrete post. Instead of smiley faces with crazy hair, the snails are actually tagged with 4 different colors of flagging and a letter/number combo. We attach the flagging to the snail with nontoxic super glue. To the best of anyone's knowledge, this does not give a disadvantage to the snails in terms of being prey.

Caracolus caracola

The close up picture is from the snail guide used here. The other pictures are mine.Say hello to my little friends! This snail is the star of my research, Caracolus caracola. Their shell diameters can be about the size of a tennis ball and its believed that they can live as long as 10-15 years. i'm sampling this guy in two forest types: the "forest-forest" and juxtaposed forest that was a coffee plantation. The plantation was abandoned in about 1928. So far, I have found about 4x's more caracolas on the abandoned coffee plantation site than the "forest-forest" site. I will blog more about the research at a later time.

Scorpion: Tityus obtusus

The second picture came from http://www.kingsnake.com/. The blurry first picture is one of the scorpions I saw last night.

These scorpions are everywhere! Last night in the field I learned from another researcher here that their exoskeleton's glow green under a black light due to a metabolic byproduct. (millipedes too) So even after molting, the old exoskeleton will continue to glow for a while.

So, I regret not taking a pic of it glowing. Tonight I will bring out a black light and see if I can get a good picture. He recommended not using it often because it is scary to know how many of them there are.

Whip Spiders

Just about every night I see Whip spiders in the forest. I they're interesting because their bodies are about the same length as a tarantula's, they're very reclusive, and they only use 6 legs for walking; the other two for feelers.

An article about whip spiders was published in the August 2006 issue of Journal of Arachnology stated that several species of whip spiders have been observed to caress their young with their 'whips.' Not many people think of spiders as loving mothers.

We have arrived

Its been a year since I've been here last and yet it feels as though I have never left. Surely part of this feeling is due to being on Puerto Rico Time. Here, everyone seems to move slowly except while driving. There is also a routine here:

Breakfast, office stuff, laundry, dinner, change into field clothes and pack for the night.

Thats right, night field work; Headlamp... check... water...check...watch... check... calipers...check...tags, superglue, compass, tweezers, Snail Extractor (a.k.a. measuring tape)...check... check...check... check... check...

El Verde Field Station lies within the Caribbean National Forest/Luquillo Experimental Forest, and in a past life it was the location of a plantation. The plantation workers laid paths that twists and turns throughout a bit of the forest, this makes the hiking a bit easier; Until you go off the trail. The rest of the hiking consists of mud (esp in the rainy season like now), grabbing on to any tree or root (but first looking to make sure you are not grabbing a scorpion or tarantula), and trying not to step on the peeling of trees which can easily act as surf boards if on the right slope.

Work night 1 was depressing so I won't go into much detail about it other than to tell you that 1) I injured my right ankle, 2) the CTE sites were not found.

CTE= Canopy Trimming Experiment. This is an LTER (Long Term Ecological Research) project to study the effects of hurricane destruction on the forest. Snails, decomposition rates, plant growth, are observed at these sites.

Work night 2 (last night) was oh so long! Snail sampling cannot begin earlier than 8 pm or later than 2 am so we start hiking at about 7:40pm to give ourselves 20-30 minutes to hike to the first plot. The average is 10 plots/night. A plot can be completed in as little as 15 minutes if no snails are found. Travel time between plots is short (3 min) if you know where you're going. The first 5 plots this night took us 3 hours, and we got back at about 2 am with all 10 plots completed.

The good news about last night is that my ankle didn't kill me, I didn't grab the tarantula afterall, and I only got 1 bruise.

Location

These are pics of the station where we sleep, eat, and work.

As you can see, the terrain is varied and beautiful.

El Yunque a.k.a. Caribbean National Forest a.k.a. Luquillo Forest is distinguished in the lime green area on the map above. This is the local for my research.

For a Start

El Yunque, Puerto Rico

Spring semester '09 an opportunity presented itself to assist a group of researchers (lovingly called the Snailers) in a Puerto Rican Forest and while I was there I could conduct my senior research project in any spare time that would be available. I jumped on board like any scientist in the making would do. Many asked "Why?" on the basis that I am a molecular biology major and not required to take such classes as Ecology and Environmental Conservation, as environmental biology maors are required to do. My answer to them is, "It's a learning experience."

Most medical/molecular biology majors spend much of their time in the lab with tissue, bacteria, viruses, etc. and later in professional programs (Vet school, Pharmacy, etc) still spend much of their time in the lab or with people or animals. Many med/molec majors enjoy the luxuries of air-conditioned facilities and lunch breaks to restaurants throughout their time as a student.

Environmental majors spend much of their time observing, sampling, etc in field work; meaning, in the heat of the summer or the snow of the winter. Their course work puts them into the fields of Forestry, Zoology, or to the coasts of Louisiana where they clean up the BP oil mess. Their work can be labor intensive by comparison and, I acknowledge, as commendable. Without the trials that the environmental professionals endure, the med/molec professionals wouldn't have much tow ork with in their settings.

I am one of those few who straddle the fence. While I do love the lab, I need to get out and explore. While I enjoy learning about living organisms on the molecular level, I have the need to know how that organism behaves in their communities as well. Perhaps you are the same way. Puerto Rico offered an array of ecology and field experience that I might not have received on my med/molec pathway. A good example of the differences between the two majors would be the Marine Biology class I took in May Intersession '08. I believe there was a ratio of about 4:11 med/molec to environmental majors respectively. Part of the class experience included wading in hip high mud full of oysters (and who knows what else) in an estuary (salt/fresh water combo) of the Gulf of Medico. I was the only med/molec major willing to 'get dirty' with the environmentals.

So, last summer this research bega, and so far has won 3rd place at a competition. This summer I will finish collecting my data, and present the research at the Ecological Society of America's conference. This Fall I will take Senior Research II, hopefully get the research published, and perhaps go to other science fair competitions. To the freshmen biology majors, hang in there! The degree itself is worth it, but the opportunities you'll find along the way make your undergraduate journey so much better!