Summer Update!

 

Data collection at the last trout farm on this river system.

Hello! I just wanted to write about the progress we made this spring and where our project is currently at, as well as share a couple of pics.

 

A successful day of data collection!

Dr. Krynak and I (Dana) got a lot done during the rainy season in Mindo, Ecuador. We jump-started our week with Dr. Snyder at a series of trout farms along the same river in a very packed week. We were collecting our macroinvertebrate samples, chemical and physical parameters, and took glass frog call surveys in the evening. We also got the opportunity to talk to the owners of the trout farms and ask them about how their farms operate, some challenges they face, etc. On our later evenings, we ate at a little restaurant one of the families of the trout farms for dinner (everything was delicious and produced at their farm!), and thankfully we were able to return and see this wonderful family several times.

 

Dr. Krynak using the frog's call and a powerful flashlight to find a male glass frog.

We continued our data collection as the rain started to pick up in late March, switching between the reserve and the trout farms. Our latest night kept us out until about 6 in the morning - we found a population of a critically endangered glass frogs so we were determined to swab as many frogs as possible. Definitely worth it! I quickly learned that listening/searching for glass frogs is not for the feint at heart. We were looking for a tiny, green spot on the upper surface of leaves (often not even visible from below) as the males called from several directions above. Much harder than it sounds, but a great feeling of satisfaction when we found one.

 

One of first nights swabbing glass frogs at a site around the reserve.

After a successful field season, Dr. Krynak returned to the states to continue her lab work and I am currently in Cumbaya working in the lab at the Universidad San Francisco sorting macroinvertebrates, analyzing our chlorophyll and nutrient samples (and learning a lot more Spanish in the process).

 

Securing the cotton strips in the water for the decomposition portion of our project.

Thank you again for your support! We are so glad we were able to accomplish so much in our field season, and now the lab work continues!

 

Our last night frogging - thankfully we didn't have to go down the deep, dark hole behind us.