While at Le Salva, Ken went on several hikes and nature walks, some at night. One observation was that it was possible to go over the same trail more than once and find new things each time.

The first time we went out early in the morning, we saw a family of Coatis and an Agouti. They moved through the grassy area near the laboratory as though we were so many logs in the road. On a later hike, we saw[or, at first at least, smelled] some peccaries. There were 2 or 3 sloths, hanging around in the trees, although it was difficult to see more than a ball of hair high up in the trees.

Inquiries:
--> How are the fungi different in the primary and secondary forest?

--> What is the water quality like in runoff from secondary and primary forests?

--> Why are the leaves arranged in the patterns they are on different plants?

--> Do some spiders prefer to hunt or spin webs on certain plants? Why?

At Palo Verde, the conditions were more Spartan than at La Selva or Las Cruces. But the questions were just as intriguing. We saw many birds and no where near as many insects [with the notable exception of mosquitoes], frogs or other flora and fauna.
 

Inquiries:
--> Why would the Pachota tree have different numbers of spines at different altitudes?

--> Could this be related to the magafaunal browsers and their disappearance over time?

--> How closely related are the seven-leaflet and the five-leaflet Pachota trees?

The experience at Las Cruces was different from the other two locations. Here we dealt with a fragmented area and a deliberately planted garden. Here we saw a jumping viper. We were lucky because it was almost perfectly blended with the path. It had just eaten and so was somewhat torpid. This allowed us to take a series of good pictures in relative safety. Many participants took advantage of a mountain stream to take a dip.
 

Inquires:
--> Does the fragmented nature of the area have to do with the reduction of richness of the fungi? Why? How?

--> How does the kind and number of epiphytes vary on the palms in the botanical garder and the
        secondary forest?

--> How are the trees along the paths different from the trees deeper in the forest?