Monteverde
is one of Costa Rica’s most visited regions. When I first visited over spring
break I could definitely see Santa Elena was a touristy town. With zip lines,
hanging bridges, and thrilling drops and swings, who wouldn’t want to spend a
few days at this beautiful tropical cloud forest. I guess if you aren’t a huge
fan of heights like me then not all of the thriller activities would peak
you’re interest but there is still lots to do. Coming back for class was a
completely different experience. Dropped off at the Santa Elena Cloud Forest
Preserve we hiked for an hour down a muddy road to a trail that led to the San
Gerardo biological station in el Bosque Eterno de los Niños that we would stay
at for the next five nights. The station is only accessible by hiking or ATV
but it is absolutely gorgeous. By just walking out of your room you could see Arenal
volcano and lake Arenal as long as it wasn’t too cloudy, which it was most of
the time, but hey that’s why it’s called a cloud forest. It always impressed me
when you could look out at just see a wall of white cloud. From the deck that
had this view we also saw many different birds including a large vulture posing
for it’s photo shoot and a swallow kite carrying a snake off into the distance.
The surrounding scenery the San Gerardo field station was great place to relax
and learn about biology.
The first couple of days we learned
about gaps in the forest, seed dispersal, and pollination. When a tree falls in
the forest it changes the dynamics in the undergrowth since the amount of
light, temperature, and wind have all changed in what was originally in the
trees shadow. It was interesting to see these changes that gives seedlings
stuck in the shaded undergrowth their time to shine. My favorite part of this
hike was going a little ways off the trail and lying down for about fifteen
minutes while we stared up at the complex canopy above. Mau, our professor,
asked us to imagine how we would grow if we were a tree seedling with the
obstacles present at each of our chosen locations. Those who were closer to
light gaps imagined an easier path to growth than others. I of course lay down
under a huge heliconia leaf which would have impeded my “growth”. I had never
viewed the forest in this way and it was an interesting change of perspective.
Later in our visit at Monteverde, Mark, a
guest faculty, came to teach us about frogs, frog calls, and the recent frog
decline. In the late 1980s there was a sudden crash in many of the frog
populations not only in Costa Rica but around the world as well. Among these
was the golden toad that lived in higher altitudes in Monteverde. It is
believed to be extinct now since it hasn’t been seen since 1989. Several
theories have been proposed for the worldwide decline of amphibians including
ones related to forest fragmentation, pollution, pesticide use, climate change
and its indirect effects, and disease. Today the most compelling evidence is
for disease, particularly a fungus called Batrachochytrium
dendrobatidis, or Chytrid. It’s hypothesized that the fungus was brought
over to the Americas from Africa when some frogs were being transported to the
U.S. for using as pregnancy tests and pets. There is evidence of Chytrid
spreading in a disease like fashion down to Central America through human travel
or other animals. Genetically, tests have shown that the Chytrid in Central
America has also come recently from a common origin. There are also arguments
for climate change as well and suggestions that climate change has helped the
spread of Chytrid and other frog diseases. Some frog species appear to be
recovering from the initial crash while others continue to decline. It was
especially interesting to hear about how frogs may be adapting to the fungus in
order to become resilient to it. These include sunbathing to kill the fungus
since it thrives in moist environments and compounds that have been found in
frog skin, which act as a defense to the fungus. I think the theories about the
frog declines are interesting and something I will now keep an eye out for as
evidence for the causes continue to be found. We went on a couple night hikes
and found quite a few frogs among the leaf litter and on leaves, but I was
definitely able to hear more frogs than I could see or catch. There are so many
different frog calls that I hope to learn more about as we travel to La Selva
which is also known for it’s frogs. I found out catching frogs is quite a skill
as you have to be very sneaky and quiet because otherwise it is just two or
three hops and they are gone.
Overall I felt like Monteverde was by far
one of my favorite places that we have visited in Costa Rica. I will miss
waking up to a view of clouds rolling over the forest, the great food, the ping-pong
and puzzles we did in our free time, and of course the frog choruses that greet
you as you walk the trails at night.
Hayley
Stutzman
Macalester
College
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