Day 7 of My Pantanal Adventure

Picture of a Taratula in The Trap

Today, I worked again with Ellen Wang and my teammates Michelle and Mary. We went back to the trap lines and collected the amphibians and reptiles that had fallen in.
In order for us to collect the frogs and lizard we have to first take out other creatures that had also fallen into the trap. This included insects, tarantulas, scorpions, mice, cockroaches, and crickets. On our way from the field we saw a beautiful deer crossing the road. See its picture below. We collected a great richness of frogs (60 total!), which was the record number for this week. According to Ellen, this number was due to the fact that it rained yesterday and more amphibians are caught during the rainy season. However, the most common type of species we caught was the P. Albonotatus, which is found in both the dry and wet season. In the afternoon, we worked in the lab to measure and weigh them. I also entered the data we collected. In addition, we attended a presentation on otters by Manuel. Manuel’s presentation was very informative. I feel even more eager to see otters.

Day 6 of My Pantanal Adventure

Helo! Hola! Olá! This morning I ventured out with Karen, Heather, and Ellen Wang. We drove the jeep to the rain forest to close the reptile and amphibian pitfall traps. Pitfall traps and drift fence are survey tools. We closed the traps by covering the pitfall buckets with lids and securing them with heavy logs. We also covered the rolled up fences with branches and leaves. It was raining very heavily, but it didn’t stop us from continuing the job. It was quite labor intensive to put all the traps down and secure them all. We closed a total of six long traps – each one was about sixty feet long. According to Ellen, we closed them because the research period is over. In April, Ellen and her research team will open the traps we closed today to collect new samples.
In the afternoon, I had the choice to go looking for ottesr with Manuel or go turtle hunting with Ellen. I decided to join Ellen and five of my teammates in the search for turtles. We searched for the creatures in two salinas, which are salt lakes. I got very scared when I almost stepped on a caiman’s tail. Other than that, it was a peaceful task as we had to quietly walk in the water for over an hour stepping on soft sand. It was hard to look for turtles since the sand was squishy. Mary and Michelle caught one turtle each. Along the road, we saw many animals and birds. Upon arriving at the fazenda’s main house, we learned that Manuel and Heather had seen an otter during they boat trip on the bank of the Rio Negro. We all celebrated their lucky day. It was another adventurous day!

Day 5 of My Adventure to the Pantanal

Speaking with My Students on The Rio Negro

Ola! This morning I worked with Manuel, the assistant investigator for the otter project. We traveled along the banks of the Rio Negro and used the Global Positioning System (GPS) to give us the coordinate position of otter sites. We collected the data of what we saw in the banks. As I mentioned earlier, we don’t expect to see many otters because of the flood. However, we still need to collect data in order to provide more evidence that the otters use the Pantanal habitat differently in the wet season than the dry season.

In the afternoon, I went back to the Rio Negro paddling a canoe with Manuel to search for otters. We went to two oxbows (lakes connected to the river). The view in the oxbows was amazing. There were beautiful flowers growing on plants floating in the water. It was windy, so it was hard to maneuver the canoe. At one point we even had to hold onto tree branches to guide the canoe. Manuel communicated with Edson (our assistant) by walkie talkie and he came to rescue us by boat. Unfortunately, once again, we did not see any signs of an otter! During this canoe trip, I was excited to call my students at Fuller Middle School. I was thrilled when I heard their voices on the phone! They asked me very interesting questions that included, “How does the flood affect your research?” and “What kind of animals are endangered in the Pantanal?”

Day 4 of my Pantanal Adventure

Ola! This morning, I worked with Ellen Wang, the principal researcher for reptiles and amphibians. There were two other teammates joining us, Chinloo and Heather. We traveled to the rainforest in a jeep. Along the way, we saw a fox, but it ran away before we were able to take a picture of it. We also encountered three Jaburus (Tuiuius) and took beautiful pictures of them.
Upon arriving at the traps that had been set up the day before, we found a variety of amphibians (including nineteen little frogs), a few lizards, a gecko, and three enormous tarantulas. I had a hard time capturing the frogs and lizards from the traps with my bare hands. Helen Wang was very kind and patient with me and helped me to feel more calm and comfortable.
In the afternoon, I worked with Ellen Wang, Chinloo, and Heather in the lab. After some delicious Brazilian home made food I thought I would be more relaxed. However, when I went to work with the creatures in the lab my heart started to pound faster. (We had to hold, measure, and weigh them). At first, I had difficulty keeping the frog under control as it was trying to jump off my hands. With the assistance of Ellen and my teammates I felt more calm with the frogs and was able to weigh and measure eight of them.
Late in the afternoon, I worked on the computer entering the data we had collected. Then we attended a presentation by Ellen Wang about her amphibians and reptiles research. Ellen stated that there have been very few studies in the Pantanal on amphibians and reptiles. She also mentioned that of her research goals include investigating the richness and abundance of species as well as the animals’ trophic relationships; food resources, and diet. She also studies the different environmental condition in the Pantanal and how they affect the design of effective conservation strategies.

Some Answers to My Students' Questions

Helo!Holla! Meus amores, Mi amores, infelizmente nao posso responder a todas as perguntas de voces porque nao tenho tempo e a internet aqui e muito "slow." Continue lendo meu blog e acessando o nosso site mesmo durante as ferias.

Gabriela: O foto do Pantanal estar alagado dificulta a pesquisa porque torna difícil o acesso aos locais de pesquisa. Paca é um animal raro aqui, veja nos links in Português da minha página o site sobre os tipos de animais no Pantanal.

Ana Maria: Estar aqui é muito bom. Gostaria que vocês também pudessem conhecer esta maravilha que é o Pantanal.

Guerno: I have seen many different types of animais and birds here. I don’t exactly how many. I will bring many pictures if them to show you. I miss you too. Say “hi” to Mrs. Kizner for me.

Camila: Não podemos acampar no meio do mato, pois é perigoso e não é permitido. Nós escrevemos nossos “daily journal” à noite por isso você tem acesso as informações no dia seguinte. As vezes não temos tempo de escrever tudo que gostaríamos e a internet aqui não funciona tão bem quanto aí.

Lorena : My dear, I miss you too. I am having a great time here.

Marcela: Leia o meu blog que você terá uma idéia de como está sendo minha aventura no Pantanal.

Victor: I haven’t seen any kind o otters (lontras) yet. Aqui há bastante mosquitos, mas eu trouxe banstante repelentes para mantê-los.

Jessica: O Pantanal é mesmo encantador. I miss you too.

Lays: I love here. The research is going well.

Harrison: I haven’t seen neither anaconda nor otter yet. I will bring many photos to show you all.

Day 3 of my Pantanal Adventure

Helo! Hola! Ola! Last night was our first night in the Pantanal and it was eventful. We fell asleep to the melody of the birds and other wild animals. Our peaceful sleep was broken when a wild pig family started to growl outside our door. By the time we turned on the lights, they had run away.
Today, the temperature here was around 93 degrees with a nice breeze. It hasn’t rained since we got here. I heard about the snowstorm there, and I am thankful that I am here enjoying this nice weather. I hope you enjoyed the day off. Today, I worked with Manuel Comes Muanis, Helen Waldermarin’s research staff member. I helped him track otters on the shore of the Rio Negro. We spent the entire day, under a hot sun, on a boat checking the shore for signs of otters. We checked logs for scats left by either the New Tropical Otter or the Giant Otter. We collected otters’ spraints to identify its prey. We were able to find one Giant otter scat sample and six Neotropical otter scat samples. We found an abandoned Giant Otter campsite. I took pictures of some Neotropical Otter footprints. We also found an otter den that was started but not finished. Unfortunately, we were not able to catch sight of otters because it is the wet season and we are at the peak time of the flooding, so the otters have migrated to more remote areas searching for food. We hope to have better luck as the week goes by.
On the other hand, we saw many different types of birds. We also encountered several animals, such as Capivara, Caiman, Agouti, and Quati Mundi. I was able to photograph an Agouti. I also lost my sunglasses while I was in the jungle. Fortunately, I found them when I went back to look for them. Please don’t forget to keep reading my blog and post some questions and comments. Have a good day1
Thank you, obrigada, gracias.
Ms. Figueiredo

Ola! Ontem foi a nossa primeira noite no Pantanal. Dormimos com o canto dos pássaros e o barulho de outros animais selvagens. Nosso sonho foi interrompido com o barulho de uma família de porcos do mato que estava do lado de fora do nosso quarto. Tentamos fotografá-la, mas assim que ligamos a luz ela correu para o mato.
Hoje a temperatura aqui chegou a 34 graus Celsius, mas com uma boa brisa. Ainda não choveu desde que chegamos aqui. Eu fiquei sabendo da tempestade de neve que caiu aí. Sou agradecida por estar aqui com esta temperatura maravilhasa. Espero que vocês tenham aproveitado o dia de folga da escola. Hoje, eu trabalhei com Manuel Comes Muanis, o assitente de pesquisa da Helen Waldermarin. Eu ajudei-o a procurar lontras nas bordas do Rio Negro. Nós passamos o dia inteiro ,debaixo de um sol muito quente, em um barco procurando sinais de lontras; procuramos por fezes deixadas por elas. Conseguinmos achar seis exemplos de fezes de lontras neotropical e de lontras gigantes. Infelizmente não foi possível ver sinal de nenhuma lontra porque agora é época de enchente e estamos no auge da cheia. Comsequentemente, as lontras vão para outras áreas mais afastadas à procura de comida. Esperamos ter mais sorte com decorrer da semana.
Por outro lado, vimos vários tipos de pássaros. Também encontramos vários animais selvagens. Por exemplo, vimos Capivara, Jacarés, quati, porco do mato, e anta. Enquanto eu estava na floresta consegui fotografar uma paca. Este animal foi quase extinto no Pantanal e é muito difícil de encontrá-lo por aqui. Por favor não se esqueçam de continuar lendo meu blog e fazer comentários e perguntas para mim. Tenham um bom dia!
Muito obrigada.
Ms. Figueiredo

Day 2 of My Pantanal Adventure

View from the Airplane

This morning we drove about two hours out of Campo Grande to Aquidauana. In Aquidauana, we loaded our bags onto two small planes and took off to our final destination in the Pantanal. The trip was amazing! I couldn’t believe my eyes when I was flying over the Pantanal. All pictures I had seen before came to life. Looking down several hundred feet, we could see cowboys herding sheep and the brown river snaking its way through the country. The flooding river turned many fields into swamps and we flew over one pool of water after another.
After making a landing in the fields at Fazenda Rio Negro, we made our way to the buildings of the farm that we will call home for the next week. As soon as we stepped off the plane, we were greeted by wildlife everywhere. There are hundreds of types of birds, the largest being the Rhea Americana (emas) and vultures circling overhead. We had some time before and after lunch to take pictures.
This afternoon we had two orientations with the scientists before we went out on the river in a small boat. They spoke about the mission ans methods of our research projects. I learned about the importance of conserving otters as a means of regulating the ecosystem. The views from the water were breath taking, but it was even better getting off the boat and walking through the jungle. We had to cut away vines to get our boat through a few small passages. We were on a mission to check traps. (Ellen Wong, one of the researchers we are working with, puts out the traps to catch frogs, lizards and snakes). She was successful! We found several frogs and an unidentified snake. I’ve been assigned to a team work to track otters (lontras). Today I learned that it is very hard to encounter otters this time of the year because it’s wet season and usually they migrate to higher ground. However, we are optimistic we will see them at some point in time.
As we pulled up to the riverbank back at the farm, we were greeted by 10 sets of Caiman (Jacaré) peering up at us from the water. We were also called over to one of the farm buildings because a farm employee found a snake in his room. Who knows what we will see tomorrow! I haven’t seen any anaconda yet. My American teammates love the Brazilian people, food, and scenery. I am sorry, buy I don’t have time to translate this journal into PortugueseL. I’ve been very busy and the internet is extremely slow.

Some Answers for My Students’ Questions:

Gabriela: A aventura para o Pantanal está sendo maravilhosa. É gratificante estar conhecedo esta parte do Brasil com um grupo de cientistas e professores interessados em preservar este santuário ecologico.

Carol: Também gostei de da bandeira brasileira na nossa foto.

Gustavo: Ainda não vi nenhuma anaconda por aqui, apenas um filhote de jararaca.

Ana Maria e Vinícius: Infelizmente não conseguimos ver nenhuma lontra, pois o Rio Negro está muito cheio, consequentemente as lontras migran para outras areas mais remotas.

Nyana: A viagem está sendo cheia de aventuras. Leia meu blog para mais informações.