This fuller frame of Cecropia includes a large male anole (N. polylepis) in the center of the photograph. I didn’t have a my telephoto lens at the time, so I just sat quietly and observed its display. Zack, a student in the Tropical Field Biology course, and I were also able to spot a red-capped manakin foraging near by, presumably on berries.
Monthly Archives: April 2010
Cecropia
In a light gap off a trail on Osa, fast growing Cecropia thrive with their symbiotic ant colonies.
Bat root
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Students emerge from a hollow, rotten buttress filled with bats on a trail in Campanario.
Asters at Volcan Irazu
Well, I think they are asters….
In areas with relatively high altitude, plant communities in Costa Rica are quite similar to those found in Ohio. Many of the species found in these areas belong to the same genera that dominate plant communities here. For instance, Quercus-dominated (oak) forests are present just below the tree line in Costa Rican mountains. In fact, I believe there are just over 20 species of Quercus, and at least one of which is endemic (e.g., Quercus costaricensis). Vaccinium (blue berries) can also be found mountainous areas, but the berries aren’t quite as delicious.
Snake predation
In Palo Verde, a student noticed this Leptophis mexicanus preying on a tree frog (I think it’s Smilisca baudinii). This is the second time I was able to observe a Leptophis attack a frog, although this occasion was quite different, given that the snake had captured the frog by the hind legs; the frog made distress calls and the snake had some difficulty dragging and controling its prey.
Additionally, I’ve been feeding frozen rats to the two corn snakes I’ve recently inherited. Below is 1 (that’s its name) gulping down a rat.
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Banded Antennae
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Perched on a leaf drooping over Rio Saltito, this cricket’s peculiar banded antennae caught my eye. On the inside of an adjacent leaf, I discovered a small spider as well. |
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