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Discrimination Of Aposematic And Novel Prey By Mature Sceloporus Malachiticus, December 2006, Jeff Masterson
Discrimination Of Aposematic And Novel Prey By Mature Sceloporus Malachiticus, December 2006, Jeff Masterson
Tropical Ecology and Conservation [Monteverde Institute]
Prey use a variety of defenses against predators in order to avoid predation and often use warning coloration known as aposematism to advertise unpalatability to predators. Predators have accordingly evolved defenses against possibly unpalatable prey by being selective, and avoiding aposematically colored prey items. Some predators are more selective, avoiding anything appearing novel (neophobia), thus lowering the risk of unprofitable foraging by restricting their diet to familiar items. Previous studies have shown that neonatal Sceloporus malachiticus will innately avoid aposematic prey. In this experiment I examined any potential changes in prey selection concerning aposematic or novel prey items in S. …
Maternal Defensive Behavior Of Umbonia Ataliba Treehoppers, December 2006, Sarah Anvik
Maternal Defensive Behavior Of Umbonia Ataliba Treehoppers, December 2006, Sarah Anvik
Tropical Ecology and Conservation [Monteverde Institute]
A population of Umbonia ataliba (Homoptera: Membracidae) located between 1300 and 1500 m in Monteverde, Costa Rica was studied from October to November 2006. The maternal defensive behavior exhibited by these subsocial insects toward nymphs of different developmental stages was experimentally investigated. The purpose of my study was to determine how the defensive behavior changed from eggs to adults and in response to two different predator types. I attached dead wasps to long wooden sticks and then simulated predator approaches toward family groups of eggs, second instar and fourth instars nymphs. I found that the defensive behavior by females guarding …
The Effect Of Wing Color On Heliconius Melpomene Mating Behavior And Its Implications On The Evolution Of Mimicry, December 2006, Ellen Thompson
The Effect Of Wing Color On Heliconius Melpomene Mating Behavior And Its Implications On The Evolution Of Mimicry, December 2006, Ellen Thompson
Tropical Ecology and Conservation [Monteverde Institute]
Wing color is important to butterflies both for social signals and protection from predators. Butterflies gain protection from predators by having aposematically colored wings that warn the predator that the butterfly is distasteful. Some butterflies are also part of Mullerian mimicry complexes in which two distasteful species converge on the same color pattern to enhance their aposematic protection. Heliconius erato and Heliconius melpomene are Mullerian mimics that exhibit a wide variety of wing patterns throughout Central and South America. Their wing patterns have greatly diverged within each species, but between the species they are almost perfect mimics in each area. …
Patch Fidelity Behavior In Coexisting Damselflies: Hetaerina Cruentata (Odonata: Calopterygidae) And Argia Extranea (Odonata: Coenagrionidae), December 2006, Anna C. Peterson
Patch Fidelity Behavior In Coexisting Damselflies: Hetaerina Cruentata (Odonata: Calopterygidae) And Argia Extranea (Odonata: Coenagrionidae), December 2006, Anna C. Peterson
Tropical Ecology and Conservation [Monteverde Institute]
Patch fidelity in coexisting territorial damselfly species, Hetaerina cruentata and Argia extranea was studied to determine if these species displayed differing territorial behavior, which may be one mechanism for niche differentiation of these species. Data such as light amount and proximity to water of the patch sites were gathered to provide information about territorial preferences of these two species. No significant relationships between patch fidelity and patch characteristics were found. A significant difference was seen between the patch fidelity of the two species, implicating territory as a possible niche differentiating mechanism. Possible explanations for the variation in patch fidelity behavior …
Medicinal Plant Use And Knowledge For Monteverde Residents Based On Age And Education, December 2006, Cassandra Gurgiolo
Medicinal Plant Use And Knowledge For Monteverde Residents Based On Age And Education, December 2006, Cassandra Gurgiolo
Tropical Ecology and Conservation [Monteverde Institute]
Approximately 80% of the world population relies on medicinal plants from the forest, home gardens, or market as a primary form of healthcare (Alcorn 1995). However, increased development and deforestation in recent years may be compromising the practice of natural medicine among the inhabitants of many developing countries. Interviews with 33 residents of Monteverde, Cost Rica examine both the current level of knowledge concerning natural medicine and its practice based upon age and educational level. Statistically significant positive linear relationships were found between both utilization and knowledge of medicinal plants and age. Knowledge and utilization of medicinal plants decreased weakly …
Species Composition Of Bats (Chiroptera) In Different Land- Use Mosaics, December 2006, Samantha Carter
Species Composition Of Bats (Chiroptera) In Different Land- Use Mosaics, December 2006, Samantha Carter
Tropical Ecology and Conservation [Monteverde Institute]
Bats are an abundant and diverse group of species that can be used as indicators of habitat disturbance and to test the effects of land-use mosaics on an ecosystem. For 11 nights I used mist-nets to sample the bat assemblages in pastures, forest fragments, banana fields and coffee fields on the Finca Santamaría in Cañitas, Monteverde, Costa Rica. The differences between the land-use areas were not significant in the abundance of bats, species richness, species diversity or trophic diversity. However the species that were found, such as Glossaphaga commissarisi and Sturnia ludovici could be considered indicators of disturbed habitats suggesting …
Soil Organic Matter (Som) In Agroecosystems And Intact Cloud Forest In The Monteverde Area, Costa Rica, December 2006, J. T. Metten
Soil Organic Matter (Som) In Agroecosystems And Intact Cloud Forest In The Monteverde Area, Costa Rica, December 2006, J. T. Metten
Tropical Ecology and Conservation [Monteverde Institute]
Properly managed agroecosystems have great potential for sequestering carbon as Soil Organic Matter (SOM) (Brown et al. 2002; Lal 2005). I measured % SOM, Bulk Density, Total SOM, and Root Biomass in two agroecosystems, forest fragment, and intact cloud forest in Cañitas and Monteverde, Costa Rica. These data were analyzed to see if agroecosystems and forests differ in carbon sequestering ability. I found significant differences in % SOM and Bulk Densities between agroecosystems but when Total SOM was calculated, results were not significant. Analysis on Total SOM alone suggests that agroecosystems and forest in Monteverde have an equal ability to …
Blood Parasite Infection In Mice From Cloud Forest And Nearby Disturbed Habitats, December 2006, Jesse A. Blumenstock
Blood Parasite Infection In Mice From Cloud Forest And Nearby Disturbed Habitats, December 2006, Jesse A. Blumenstock
Tropical Ecology and Conservation [Monteverde Institute]
Conversion of habitat by humans is pervasive, increasing, and the root of serious environmental problems. This study was performed to find differences in blood parasite infections of host mice in neotropical cloud forest versus nearby disturbed habitat. In Monteverde, Costa Rica, mice were trapped and examined for blood parasite species richness and abundance in primary forest and disturbed areas near houses. Twenty-eight mice were captured: 15 from the forest and 13 from the disturbed habitats. Eighty-six percent of these mice were of the species Peromyscus nudipes. There was no significant difference of parasite species richness between mice from the forest …
Microclimate Effects On Cyphellae Density In Sticta Lichens, December 2006, Aidée Casillas
Microclimate Effects On Cyphellae Density In Sticta Lichens, December 2006, Aidée Casillas
Tropical Ecology and Conservation [Monteverde Institute]
The genus Sticta is a dominant lichen in tropical montane rainforest environments that is unique in possessing cyphellae, i.e. depressed pores involved in gas exchange, on the undersides of thalli. Microclimatic parameters such as relative humidity, canopy density and temperature were measured in relation to cyphellae density and colony size of S. filix in the Monteverde Cloud Forest. Significant correlations were found relating canopy density to cyphellae density (R2 = 0.200, p = 0.0007, n = 54), (R2 = 0.213, p = 0.0016, n = 44), colony size to temperature (R2 = 0.239, p = 0.0002, n = 54), (R2 …
Hymenoptera Diversity And Abundance In Fragmented And Continuous Forest In San Luis, Costa Rica, December 2006, Katie Macdiarmid
Hymenoptera Diversity And Abundance In Fragmented And Continuous Forest In San Luis, Costa Rica, December 2006, Katie Macdiarmid
Tropical Ecology and Conservation [Monteverde Institute]
Fragmentation of forest habitats can have a negative impact on the diversity of many species. When fragmentation impacts pollination, it can result in major changes to the composition of forest plant communities as well as a reduction in fruit production for nearby agriculture. I studied Hymenoptera diversity in a four hectare fragment and a continuous forest using Euglossine traps as well as a mixture of honey and water to attract Hymenoptera species. Hymenoptera diversity did not differ significantly between the two habitats but abundance of Hymenoptera, Euglossine, and Apidae were all significantly greater in the continuous forest site. This indicates …
Integration Of Art And Environmental Education: The Centro De Educación Creativa In Monteverde, Costa Rica, December 2006, Veronica Harried
Integration Of Art And Environmental Education: The Centro De Educación Creativa In Monteverde, Costa Rica, December 2006, Veronica Harried
Tropical Ecology and Conservation [Monteverde Institute]
Population growth and deforestation are negatively affecting biodiversity in the Tropics, necessitating environmental education for local populations. Arts education increases the ability to comprehend complex information, enhance creativity and provide problem solving skills (Longley 1999, Siegesmund 1998). Together, environmental education and Arts education can enhance ecological processes and conservation themes in students’ minds so they are retained well into their adulthood. This increases the likelihood that these individuals will make environmentally informed decisions throughout their lives (Gurevitz 2000). In this project, I incorporate current Arts curriculum guidelines from the United States into the Costa Rican environmental curriculum used at the …
Oviposition Preference And Larval Growth Rates Of Caligo Memnon (Nymphalidae: Brassolinae), December 2006, Emily Webb
Oviposition Preference And Larval Growth Rates Of Caligo Memnon (Nymphalidae: Brassolinae), December 2006, Emily Webb
Tropical Ecology and Conservation [Monteverde Institute]
Caligo memnon caterpillars specialize on plants in three families, Heliconiaceae, Marantaceae, and Musaceea. These families are in the Order Zingiberales. Heliconiaceae and Marantaceae are native to the Neotropics, but Musaceae is an introduced family. I studied oviposition preference and larval performance of C. memnon on four host plants: Heliconia latispatha and Heliconia stricta (Heliconiacea), Calathea insignis (Marantaceae), and Musa acuminata (Musacea). Results showed that preferred host plants for oviposition did not correspond to the host plant that provided the fastest growth rate for caterpillars. Females preferred to oviposit on M. acuminata even though larval growth was lowest on this species, …
Tropical Cloud Forest Canopy And Subcanopy Adapt To Different Light Environments By Regulating Photosynthetic Pigments, December 2006, Bradley D. Wallentine
Tropical Cloud Forest Canopy And Subcanopy Adapt To Different Light Environments By Regulating Photosynthetic Pigments, December 2006, Bradley D. Wallentine
Tropical Ecology and Conservation [Monteverde Institute]
The canopy and subcanopy of a Tropical Cloud Forest provide distinctly different light environments. Here, the amounts and ratios of photosynthetic pigments in leaves from a Cloud Forest canopy and subcanopy plants are compared. The pigments of forty canopy and subcanopy leaf samples are extracted using acetone and analyzed using a spectrophotometer. It is found that canopy and subcanopy plants possess equivalent means of concentrations of photosynthetic pigments per mass of leaf tissue (x = 0.21± 0.09 mg/g and 0.22 ± 0.11 mg/g, respectively). Therefore, plants from these two microhabitats invest the same quantity in major pigments for photosynthesis. However, …
Behavioral Changes Of The Slate-Throated Redstart (Myioborus Miniatus) And The Collared Redstart (Myioborus Toquatus) Along An Altitudinal Gradient In The Monteverde Cloud Forest Preserve, December 2006, Emma Gabrielsson
Tropical Ecology and Conservation [Monteverde Institute]
Climate change has been found to affect the distribution of bird species in Monteverde, Costa Rica (Holmes 2000). In this study, the Slate-throated Redstart (Myioborus miniatus) and the Collared Redstart (Myioborus toquatus) were observed in the Monteverde Cloud Forest Preserve. Both altitudinal distribution and behavior were observed for both species. It was found that the Slate-throated Redstart has moved up in altitude. Further, observations for both species were compared using a chi square test, and there were significant differences between the two species, and also within the same species. This study shows that climate change is possibly responsible for the …