Field sampling from Maracas Valley!
Sorry for the long delay. We have been hard at work in Trinidad over the last few months and I would like to share with you our progress. We have had many good adventures and we have many more to come. First, with a group of national and international students from Trinidad's University of the West Indies, we ascended to a high pass between two large mountains. On the trail is a sign that tells hikers that they are on their way to the second highest peak in Trinidad, El Tucuche. On that mountain lives the golden tree frog. The sign had fallen down and had been taken over by the jungle.
As we walked up and up the mountain, we often spread out along the "tail", each of us looking for unique plants and animals. Some of us blend in better than others... Look at Elsa hiding in the back!
The hike was steep at the top and the steps became difficult as the rain started falling.
As we reached the last few hundred feet of mountain, we finally started seeing the giant bromeliad seen in the picture above. This tree, one of the few with the giant tank bromeliad and possibly the golden tree frog, was perfect for climbing. As you can see below, I was very excited.
Our next step was to climb the tree and find ten bromeliads from which to sample. Dan and I ascended into the canopy to take water samples from the Bromeliad's leaf whorls. The tanks of water the frogs call home were full of rain water. We safely got our ten samples and spent some quality time enjoying the view from above. We look like birds in a nest!
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