LARGE MAMMAL AND PRIMATE MONITORING PROGRAM
This project has established baseline data on the presence and absence of the large mammals and each of the three primate species ranging in and inhabiting the lowland rainforest of the Caño Palma and Tortuguero region. The three Costa Rican primate species are found to inhabit the area, including; mantled howlers (Alouatta palliata), white-faced capuchins (Cebus capucinus) and spider monkeys (Ateles geoffroyi); other large mammals include the jaguar (Panthera onca), the tapir (Tapirus bairdii), and white-lipped peccary (Tayassu pecari) and many others beyond this (see the large mammal checklist).
Volunteers will follow a standardized protocol while conducting presence/absence data along the black water canals and established forest transects of Caño Palma. Project data provides an improved understanding of demographic parameters, distribution, habitat use, and foraging behaviour.
There are numerous projects in the large mammal and primate program to accommodate Masters and PhD students. They are invited to work with current baseline data and flesh out detailed projects. We invite other researchers to inquire about potential research at the station.
SPATIAL ANALYSIS OF THE LARGE MAMMALS
Our partner, The Southern Alberta Institute of Technology (SAIT), has been working with a group of students in the Bachelor of Applied Technology Geographic Information Systems Program in an effort to use spatial information tools in support of the conservation focused research activities taking place at Caño Palma Biological Station. In the winter of 2009, the initial phase saw this year's group of students provide base digital maps and spatial analysis of large mammals in the Caño Palma Biological Station area. The students utilized information provided by COTERC field staff, volunteers both in the field and in Canada, NASA, and a number of Costa Rican partners in completing this project. [visit the projects website to learn more]
BAT OBSERVATIONS AND INFORMATION
Bats play an important role because they disperse seeds and many plants depend completely on bats as their only pollinators. There are approximately 109 bats species that have been recorded in Costa Rica to date; approximately half of the country’s 216 mammal species and about 12 percent of the world’s bat species. Costa Rica has the most carefully studied bat fauna of any Central American country and a few species have been studied extensively. Yet, we know relatively little of the basic biology of most bat species due to the difficulty entailed in field studies. For this reason, specific conservation plans cannot be developed at this time for most species despite their endangered status.
Caño Palma Biological Station and surrounding area offers ample opportunity to study an astonishing diversity of bats, which vary in size, appearance, diet and roost sites. The Bulldog Bat (Noctilio leporinus) fishes with a radar system that detects ripples in the water that are produced by fish; having located its prey, the bat plunges down and grabs the fish with its claws. The Greater Sac-winged Bat (Saccopteryx bilineata) is one of the most commonly seen in the rainforest as they often roost on the outside of large trees. Long-nosed bats (Rhynconycteris naso) roosting on the underside of the dock lookout provide easy viewing. A practiced eye can discern evidence of several tent-making bat species alongside the station’s trail system. Honduran white bats (Ectophylla alba) fold Heleconia leaves into tents by biting through side veins until the leaf collapses. Neotropical fruit-eating bats of the genus Artebius modify Palm and Arum leaves by a similar method; often housing one male and a harem of several females. The common tent-making bat (Uroderma bilobatum) cuts through the midrib of banana (Musa sp.) and other plant leaves to form tents. The vampire bat (Desmodus rotundus) can also be found in caves at the base of the Cerro just south of the station.
