David and recruited field help sample fish the west branch of Rio Java, a tributary that drain primary wet forest.
Collecting fish from the West Branch of Rio Java
Tag Archives: Las Cruces
Mel’s litter bag collection
Mel’s experiment involved collecting litter of two species and distributing litter bags in backwater areas along a Rio Java at Las Cruces and monitoring decomposition of the litter. Here are some photographs of her second and last collection period. Mel was interested in examining macroinvertebrate communities associated with decomposing leaf litter, so she carefully removed litter bags with a colander and transported the bags to the lab for processing in plastic bags. Daniel Bird assisted in this collection. Mel plans to present her data at some meetings, including SACNES, which she’s receiving funding to attend in October.
Another katydid
Tettigoniidae
Mating flies
I think the larger female is hanging onto the leaf, and the male is below. Any guesses on family?
Molting cicada
Molting katydid
Red mimosa flower
Vampire bats!
The bat group trapped a couple of vampire bats (Desmodus sp.), which can be quickly identified by their large thumbs. Vampire bats do feast on blood, but it is most often on cattle and other livestock.
Green anole – Norops biporcatus
This anole suns near the lab at the Las Cruces lab most days, and I was recently able to catch and key it. This is likely a female; she lacks a prominent dewlap. Norops biporcatus is a large anole that is most often bright green and resembles Dactyloa spp. and Polychrus spp., because of its size. However, presence of elongated, unkeeled lamalle on its toes, and dorsal + nuchal ridges help to place it in Norops. I was really hoping for a Polychrus: the Neotropical chameleon… but it was still fun to catch.
Cordyceps infected orthopteran?
I think this might have been a cordyceps-killed cricket or katydid. Cordyceps is an ascomycete fungus that parasitizes insects and alters their behavior, causing them to climb to a high point, latch on and die. At this point, the fungus produces fruiting bodies that rain new spores down on ground dwelling insect prey. A great YouTube video is here.
