Hi!  My name is Shannon Bunch.  This web page documents a very small portion of a three-week trip through Costa Rica that I was granted the awesome opportunity to participate in through the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation WWNFF) working in conjunction with the Organization for Tropical Studies (OTS) . This program was made possible through a grant from the National Science Foundation(NSF).  I am currently a teacher at University High School in Irvine, California.  I teach Chemistry and Second-Year Coordinated Science.  Coordinated Science 2  integrates aspects of biology, chemistry, and physics, placing an emphasis on biology, ecology, and environmental science.  Much of what we have learned over the course of our three weeks here in the program correlates well with the themes discussed in the Coordinated Science class.

The following are brief excerpts from journal entries written over the course of the three week stay.

La Selva
The "orientation to trails" hike was, for me, the most valuable learning experience.  During that time, I learned about specific types of trees and some of their adaptations.

The cecropia trees, for instance, protect themselves against epiphytes by producing a nectar that attracts and feeds ants that clip off any seedling that has germinated on the tree.

The nutrients in the soil are very shallow in the rain forest.  As a result, the root systems of trees are also shallow.  In order to support themselves, trees develop huge buttresses that serve to support the trees.

The walking palm is a tree that actually appears to be walking in search of sunlight.  It shoots out roots in the direction of the precious light.  As it does this, old shoots die such that the tree actually changes its location.  The base of the tree looks like a huge cage with the roots serving as the base.

Strawberry Poison Arrow Frog

Butterfly seen on one of the many hikes through La Selva

We also saw a number of interesting creatures on the hike.  One of the more interesting of these creatures was the Strawberry Poison Arrow Frog (shown above).  They are small frogs that have red tops and appear to be wearing blue or black jeans.  As the name implies, the frogs release poison through their skin.  Human reaction to this chemical, a neurotoxin, is generally sneezing or scratching.

We were given information about their parenting habits.  Both male and female frogs care for their eggs and tadpoles.  The male is in charge of watching the eggs for the first 10-14 days.  During that period, the male destroys any eggs that become fungus infested as a result of the moisture, usually by consuming the egg.  At the conclusion of this period, the female takes the tadpoles to small amounts of water, generally in bromeliads.  She comes back to the nesting place every two days to feed her tadpoles.

At La Selva, we were also made aware of the distinction between primary and secondary forests.  Whereas a primary forest is a mature forest distinguished by a very thin understory and many palm trees, a secondary forest is one that has been allowed to grow back after previously being deforested for the purpose of grazing, banana plantations, etc.  A secondary forest generally has a much fuller understory as the canopy has not yet had the time to replenish itself--therefore light is allowed through.

Rick and I collecting heliconia specimens

It was this discussion of primary versus secondary forest that inspired our group project at La Selva.  We compared the biodiversity between primary and secondary forest by looking at the macroorganisms present on heliconia plants in both.  A heliconia plant is shown in the picture below.  A picture of the first research group that I was able to participate in is shown at the top of the web page.  To the left is a photo of our group collecting specimens. Heliconia Plant

Palo Verde
The next stop on our tour was Palo Verde.  It is considered a dry forest and is not what one would think of when you mention Costa Rica.  Gone were the huge buttressed trees, vines, and afternoon rains.  The mosquitos were out in full force.  Additionally, we were able to see an occasional cactus.  This site offered a boat ride down the river Tempisque river where we observed crocodiles and howler monkeys (shown below) as well as a horse back ride through the marshes.

Crocodile at Palo Verde

Howler Monkey at Palo Verde

Our project included observing the diversity of plant life in two different wetlands--the Quebrada Mula and Palo Verde.  One of these was a wetland that was fed by runoff from the surrounding rice paddies and the other was a natural wetland.  We found that the diversity was much greater in the natural wetland.  Below is a picture of our research group 2 after clipping and sorting grasses.

Research Group 2:  Palo Verde

Las Cruces

The last stop on our tour of Costa Rica were the Wilson Botanical Gardens or the Las Cruces  OTS station.  In this area were groomed and cultivated gardens.  The area was absolutely beautiful as is evidenced by the pictures shown.  The last project that our group participated in involved studying bats and the tents they make using leaves of plants such as palms and heliconias.