Day 7: Palo Verde
We turned in our first paper today, Applying Optimal Defense Theory to Ant-Acacia Mutualisms. At the end of our program all of the papers are published in a book, and we each get a copy. Pretty cool.
We went on a nature walk late this afternoon. We saw more white-faced capuchin monkeys. They are so cute! We even saw some young ones. We also (finally) saw some howler monkeys. We've been hearing them in the mornings and evenings, but no one had been able to find them. They're surprisingly small. Some of the group discovered that if you make howling noises at them, they howl back.
Tonight we're having a guest lecture on (I think) conservation, and then probably entering data for our second project. We have to give a presentation about it tomorrow, and there's no time built into the schedule to work on it. Yikes! I also have to give my critique paper tomorrow on coadaptation in a plant-hummingbird relationship. I'm nervous about it.
I'm starting to get homesick. For the last couple of days it's been hitting me at about 5 pm, and I have a hard time shaking it until I go to bed. Today it started earlier. It feels like we've been here so long, even though it's only been a week, and it's hard to think that we still have 58 days left. Having the internet is definitely a help, and I'm hoping that I'll be able to stay busy enough to distract myself at the sites where we won't (for example, the next two). I'm trying to focus on enjoying the experience and learning a lot. It's easier when it's light outside, because I can go down to the boardwalk and watch the Jacanas or take my binoculars and watch the spoonbills and ducks for a while, but night is kind of tough.
Anyway, keep leaving comments and sending emails. They make me feel loved.
We went on a nature walk late this afternoon. We saw more white-faced capuchin monkeys. They are so cute! We even saw some young ones. We also (finally) saw some howler monkeys. We've been hearing them in the mornings and evenings, but no one had been able to find them. They're surprisingly small. Some of the group discovered that if you make howling noises at them, they howl back.
Tonight we're having a guest lecture on (I think) conservation, and then probably entering data for our second project. We have to give a presentation about it tomorrow, and there's no time built into the schedule to work on it. Yikes! I also have to give my critique paper tomorrow on coadaptation in a plant-hummingbird relationship. I'm nervous about it.
I'm starting to get homesick. For the last couple of days it's been hitting me at about 5 pm, and I have a hard time shaking it until I go to bed. Today it started earlier. It feels like we've been here so long, even though it's only been a week, and it's hard to think that we still have 58 days left. Having the internet is definitely a help, and I'm hoping that I'll be able to stay busy enough to distract myself at the sites where we won't (for example, the next two). I'm trying to focus on enjoying the experience and learning a lot. It's easier when it's light outside, because I can go down to the boardwalk and watch the Jacanas or take my binoculars and watch the spoonbills and ducks for a while, but night is kind of tough.
Anyway, keep leaving comments and sending emails. They make me feel loved.
posted by Allison at 7:41 PM
3 Comments:
Hey darling,
I am so terribly jealous of the fact that you've seen monkeys up close. Have you actually seen any hummingbirds for your paper, or are you only working on other source materials?
Love always,
Katie
hi alison,
i'd like to know more about Ant-Acacia Mutualisms. What are they?
love,
Judi in VT
ps
enjoy the climate. it is 2 degrees here this morning!
Book! That is very exciting. Do you work together on certain pieces or is it a collection of individual work?
Mutualisms and coevolutions and whatnot are also very exciting. I always liked those sorts of guys. The spoonbills are cool too. They are my grandmother's favorite birds.
So did you howl?
- Doug
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