Ecosystem Dynamics in Natural and Planted Forests in Agua Salud
Jefferson Hall, STRI
Agua Salud
Tropical forests surrounding the Canal Corridor in central Panama are within a mosaic of landcovers typical of the rural tropics including invasive grasslands, pastures, and tree plantations. This project seeks to better understand how primates adapt to changing landscapes and focuses on the importance of riparian zones as a safe refugee for primates in habitat outside of continuous forest. This project aims to survey primates in various habitats within Agua Salud to see how primate density varies within forested, non-forested, and riparian areas. The intern will assist with data collection along point transects during daylight hours. Data will be collected on Geoffroy’s spider monkeys, Mantled howlers, Columbian white-faced capuchins, and Geoffroy’s tamarins.
The intern will gain experience in tropical field research. Specifically, the intern will gain experience surveying primates and collecting data using a systematic survey design. Interested interns will have an opportunity to work on data analysis in program DISTANCE and R as well as collaborate on a scientific publication.
Bolt, L. M., Schreier, A. L., Voss, K. A., Sheehan, E. A., & Barrickman, N. L. (2020). Down by the riverside: Riparian edge effects on three monkey species in a fragmented Costa Rican forest. Biotropica, 52(3), 541–553. https://doi.org/10.1111/btp.12769
Condit, R., Robinson, W. D., Ibáñez, R., Aguilar, S., Sanjur, A., Martínez, R., Stallard, R. F., García, T., Angehr, G. R., Petit, L., Wright, S. J., Robinson, T. R., & Heckadon, S. (2001). The Status of the Panama Canal Watershed and Its Biodiversity at the Beginning of the 21st Century. BioScience, 51(5), 389. https://doi.org/10.1641/0006-3568(2001)051[0389:TSOTPC]2.0.CO;2
Hutschenreiter, A., Ramos-Fernández, G., & Aureli, F. (2021). Line-transect versus point-transect sampling: The effects of survey area and survey effort on method efficiency for Geoffroy’s spider monkeys. Wildlife Research, 48(7), 590. https://doi.org/10.1071/WR20188
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