General Goals:

1. to compare the diversity of flowering plants and ferns in a diversity of tropical American forest types to be encountered in Costa Rica, including as many moisture and temperature regimes as possible.

2. to appreciate the relationship between the Costa Rican people and their landscape.

Plan:

The basic attack is to study tropical flowering plant diversity as it relates to variety of forest types in Costa Rica. Our activity in each of the forests will be as follows. We will survey the forest for flowering-plant and fern diversity, assembling a list of plants to the genus level. We will dissect flowers and fruits on site as possible; in addition I will try to build a sense of the field recognition characters useful for identifying tropical plants. We emphasize field recognition of flowering-plant families, because this training is transportable to any other tropical forest in the world.  Many students choose to collect small fragments for reference: these are taped into a looseleaf notebook (particularly artistic types simply draw the plants).  Digital photographs have become a major tool in learning the overwhelming diversity in these forests.   We may also do short-term group research projects at some sites.

Forests

(Cited forest types are those of the Holdridge Life Zone System.)

Cerro de la Muerte: high montane rain páramo and high montane wet forest dominated by oak species - mixture of Andean and Cordilleran Western North American elements - many familiar genera. Simple lodging in a roadside restaurant and rooming house.

Nectandra: premontane and lower montane wet forest and rain forest (the classic cloud forest of the media) rich in exotic species of all types, dominated by figs, avocados, etc. Lodging and meals at a private home. Conversations with Costa Rica conservation gurus.  

Osa: (Corcovado) tropical rain forest with Amazonian affinities - including legumes, brazilnut family, Bombacaceae etc etc -  hike into the national park along the beach with a guide and camp on the beach, explore the forest from the beach.

Santa Rosa (Guanacaste): tropical (=sea-level) moist forest dominated by legume trees, Sapindales, etc; evergreen but seasonally very dry (some trees are deciduous). At the coast itself there are small tracts of true tropical dry forest, mangrove associations, seabeach flora, and other coastal plant associations. Camping at a national park with running water and cold showers.

Costs:

Overall cost estimate is $900 in country, all expenses included. Airfare is extra (cheapest Burlington airfare at the moment is about $737 round trip). The $900 includes your share of the van in Costa Rica, room and board.  It does not include the cost of gifts and the like.  Some financial support may be available, not likely.

Schedule and Itinerary:

ACC is accommodations: abbreviations are Casa (Casa Ridgway); Geor (La Georgina, Villa Mills); Bkpkr (Backpackers Pensión, Puerto Jiménez); Leon (private campground near Las Leones entrance to Corcovado National Park); Nect (private house near Nectandra Forest Reserve); Fig (camping under figtree at campgound in Guanacaste-Santa Rosa National Park)

Credit:You may sign up for Plant Biology  232 for one credit (either this fall or next spring) for this experience if you like.  You must have my permission to go on the trip to register for the course.

What to do if you want to go:

You should have taken Plant Biology 109 (offered both summer or fall) or an equivalent introductory plant systematics course to go (dendrology is also adequate preparation). Ask to be put on my list of participants at any time (email, dbarring@zoo.uvm.edu), first come first serve with certain restrictions. These are - first priority goes to anyone who has taken Plant Biology  241 (next offered, fall of 2010), then UVM undergraduates, then UVM graduate students. Others encouraged to inquire, especially from other universities. Two to three spaces reserved for others who will add to the trip experience. Total group size is usually about 14.