Mission Briefing & Wednesday, August 22

  Campo Grande, Brazil
Saturday, August 25, 2007

I thought you might like some specifics about what we are doing here in the Pantanal. The following are excepts from the EarthWatch website

 http://www.earthwatch.org/site/pp.asp?c=dsJSK6PFJnH&am p;am p;am p;b=1524107.
 
It is from the mission briefing that each member of the expedition receives before the journey even begins. Please explore the website to find out more about what this exciting organization is doing to put people in touch with preserving our precious resources.

Situation Report
Rio Negro, Mato Grosso to Sul, Brazil - The Pantanal supports more than 690 different species of birds, including hundreds of migratory species that cross the Pantanal on three major flyways. The extensive network of wetlands is an important source of food and water for migrating birds during the dry season, and also provides critical habitat for jabiru storks, spoonbills, ibises, wood storks, and other resident waders. Other Pantanal habitats support macaws, parrots, woodpeckers, kingfishers, grosbeaks, and hummingbirds. With such a dazzling concentration of bird life, it's surprising how little we know about them in terms of habitat use. With the help of Earthwatch volunteers, Dr. Reginaldo Donatelli has documented more than 400 species of birds in the Rio Negro area, and is piecing together distribution patterns across the Pantanal's diverse habitats.

The Pantanal

On the Expedition
Working in a range of habitats, from wetlands to forests, you will help Donatelli use a variety of sampling methods to count and band birds. You will observe and record foraging and mating behaviors, tape bird songs and calls, and collect samples of vegetation and droppings for analysis of food sources. Donatelli's teams have found some rare species and extended the range of others, so expect to make discoveries. As a participant in the Pantanal Conservation Research Initiative, you may spend part of your time on complimentary research tasks (see team schedule). Back at the ranch, you can choose from an array of recreational activities, including horseback riding, boat rides, and walks in forests and fields, where you can see an amazing diversity of wildlife.


Meals and Accommodations
Accommodations will be at a comfortable ranch/inn, or pousada, part of a 2,610-hectare property belonging to a private university in Mato Grosso do Sul. Located along the Rio Correntoso, a tributary of the Rio Negro, the ranch is a great place for visitors to see capybaras, otters, and other wildlife most people only see on television. The pousada staff will prepare filling and tasty meals to fortify you for the rigors of the field.

Rendezvous Site Campo Grande, Brazil
Research Mission:
Discover the conservation needs of frogs, snakes, turtles and related animals in the region.

Situation Report
Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil - The Pantanal is a wetland so enormous that early European settlers thought they had discovered a great inland sea. In fact, this is the world's largest freshwater wetland, a spectacular refuge of lakes, waterways, and islands roughly the size of Denmark. It should be no surprise that the lush, green Pantanal is a paradise for amphibians and reptiles. Biologists have found 41 species of amphibians and 24 species of reptiles in the Rio Negro basin alone, from caimans and yellow anacondas to a startling abundance of frogs. These sensitive animals are often the first to show the effects of environmental disturbance. You can help Ellen Wang and colleagues monitor these creatures for the effects of human impacts on the Pantanal's rich ecosystem. On the Expedition
You will work in a diversity of unique Pantanal habitats, ranging from meandering wetlands to shady forests. Ellen Wang, Jeffrey Himmelstein, Mara Keifer, and Hamish Campbell have extensive experience in the region, and are eager to share their knowledge of local ecology. You will use a variety of methods to catch and record red-footed tortoises, false water cobras, tiny tree frogs, and other animals. As a participant in the Pantanal regional initiative, you may also spend part of your time working on a related project, maximizing your experience of this world-class wetland (see team schedule). Your spare time is free for birdwatching or canoeing on the Rio Negro in search of capybaras, tapirs, and other wildlife. You will also get opportunities to interact with the local pantaneiros, or cowboys, and learn about their rich culture.

Wednesday, August 22
Sunny Hot
Rio, with Flavio, Claiton, and Gim.
 
Today was a choice, awesome day!
 
I was on the river today with Flavio. Claiton was the other expedition member, and Gim was our boat captain. Like the other locales, the river is surveyed for 2.5 hours in the dawn, and then again at dusk. Each day, we usually return to the posauda shortly after sunset. Rio duty is done from a small aluminum rowboat. We are there to survey the bird population that lives on, or near the river. The procedure is exactly that of the survey done on the cerrado (savanna). We see a bird, identify it, and tally it on our clipboards. We also carry a voice recorder to catch unique and special songs. Rio duty is very quiet and peaceful. Because sound travels so readily on the water, it is compulsory to be silent. Conversations are held to a minimum, and when necessary are spoken in hushed tones. The rio is so incredibly alive. Birds, mammals, bugs and critters are everywhere! Every turn of the river reveals something new and exciting. The river is shallow and slow moving this time of year. We float downstream, and Gim poles with a length of bamboo he as cut from the nearby jungle. Occasionally he'll use a standard aluminum and plastic oar, but you can tell he prefers his stick. We are traveling at about the pace you could walk at a slow to steady rate of speed. In two and a half hours, we probably cover about 3 kilometers. We are on the Correnoso River, in the heart of the Nhecolandia region of the Pantanal.   As you might imagine, the rio in the morning is where the greatest diversity of species is located. The place is frantic with birds. It takes intense concentration to do the census correctly, especially with neophytes like us. Flavio takes it all in stride and is very patient and supportive. Nevertheless, we still see him taking frantic notes aside from the conversations he's having with us. He is an expert ornithologist, and in some ways he's patiently humoring us out-of-towners. Nevertheless four sets of eyeballs in the boat is preferable to one. We get a HUGE amount of real science done in two and a half hours. Then Flavio says finite, and Gim starts the engine and turns the boat around for the ride back upriver. NOW we can talk loud and have fun. You only census the birds going IN, never coming out, for fear of counting the same birds twice. Gim is huge fun. He has a smile as broad as the sunset and is quick to laugh and make a joke of our foreigner silliness. You might think he's goofing off, but in truth, he is watching the river like a Mark Twain Mississippi river pilot. The river is shallow and he knows deep in his memory where to guide the boat to keep from running aground on a sand bar. And he knows the animals of the river. He always slows down or stops when he sees a critter he knows we'll all want to photograph. Critters like River Otters and Capybara. The River Otters are extremely rare planet wide, but abundant here in the Pantanal. The Capybara is the largest rodent in the world, growing to a meter in length. They would remind you of a large dog or pig. And then there are the Caimans. These are smallish alligator-like reptiles that flourish in the Pantanal. It's very important scientifically that you understand that they are a type of alligator, not crocodile.   The locals call them Jacarei. ("Jacque-ah-ray") We are not counting the Jacarei at this time. EarthWatch has a special project exclusively   for the Jacarei, and we are not part of it at this time. Nevertheless, they are a fierce and fascinating creature, and we photograph many of them. They are all over the river banks. Gim slows the boat abruptly so we can catch and hold a pod of Jacarei young that are swimming across the river. They travel in swarms. The Jacarei is a fascinating creature, but you must keep your distance. They are FIERCE, and their bite can be deadly. Speaking of deadly....it's important to note that there are no Piranha in the area, and there are no Mosquitoes with malaria. There are no Candiru fish either. The Candiru is a fish of the Amazon, hundreds of kilometers north of here. The Candiru is a small catfish, three centimeters in length, and five millimeters in girth. If you swim in the river, the Candiru will swim into any orifice on your body. It will then open its spiny pectoral fins and lock itself into position, making it impossible to pull out. It particularly likes to inhabit human bladders. I will NOT be swimming in the rio!   And so ends my first day on the Rio Correnoso. It's particularly gorgeous. I love this place!