Blog by Danielle Connor, Undergraduate Student at University of Exeter Earlier this year, I spent many hours following the endangered spider monkey in the Osa. As part of a new project being carried out by Osa Conservation and my own research with the University of Exeter, I looked for sleeping sites and latrines to better understand the ecological role of spider monkeys in seed dispersal and their potential to regenerate rainforests. [caption id="attachment_10440" align="aligncenter" width="422"] A spider monkey hangs from a tree[/caption]   Spider monkeys live in fission-fusion societies that split into smaller...

Blogpost by Manuel Sanchez, Sea Turtle Conservation Program Coordinator   Nature is not always kind; sea turtles face a multitude of life threatening obstacles that reduce their chance of survival throughout their lives. Predation of eggs, hatchlings and adults by numerous predators is just one of the risks. Raccoons, coatis, opossums, crabs, dogs, birds and ants attack nests to indulge in an egg or a young sea turtle. Once the hatchling emerges from the nest, the challenge continues as hawks, pelicans, frigate birds, crabs and fish await a bite-size meal....

Blogpost written by Eleanor Flatt, Restoration and Biodiversity Research Field Assistant Many intensely biodiverse tropical rainforests are not only inhabited by wonderful wildlife but also by people who call it their home. In these areas, farms offer opportunity to grow crops or maintain livestock in order to provide income for their families. In an ideal world, these two landscapes would be separated and conflicts would not exist. However, located where the rainforest meets farm, there is a matrix where the flora and fauna interact and where human-wildlife conflicts...

Blogpost by Ruthmery Pillco Huarcaya, Biodiversity & Conservation Projects Coordinator and Botanical Assistant After a long but successful morning collecting specimens for the botanical garden we headed back to the station, excitement and rumbling stomachs in tow. Suddenly, one small plant close to the trail caught my eye. I curiously approached it, going in for a closer look. What was it? I called over our botanical assistant Marvin to pick his brain. Immediately he smiled with happiness and enthusiastically screamed: “It is a passiflora, collection number 11 for the...

Blog written by Abigail Fields, Osa Conservation DC Intern Imagine hundreds of tiny green and yellow masses moving all around on a leaf. They shift up and down, sashaying side to side, stepping on top of one another as they move in different directions. Small, light green buds can be seen around the masses as well. No, these aren’t bugs, but actually an army of gliding tree frogs and their eggs. Each year during the rainy season explosive breeding takes place, leading to these gatherings of frogs. The frogs mate...

Blog by Megan Tudor, previous Sea Turtle Volunteer The wet season in the Osa Peninsula is just that—very wet. For the past three weeks, I have been out trekking in torrential rain, both first thing in the morning and late at night, while working on the sea turtle program. I also had the opportunity to help with various other important field research tasks being carried out by the incredible team at Osa Conservation. [caption id="attachment_10534" align="aligncenter" width="364"] Megan performs a pH test from a water sample[/caption] One project that I especially...

Blog written by Juan Carlos Crus Diaz, Feline Program Coordinator The white-lipped peccary is a species that represents the tropical forests of Latin America just as much as the jaguar or tapir; however, they are often not nearly as well known. The white-lipped peccary (Tayassu pecari), or “chancho de monte,” has a range from Southern Mexico to Northern Argentina. They are a very important species for tropical forests because they directly benefit the regional biodiversity. When they search for worms and seeds on the ground, they move around the soil  making...