Blogpost by Reyna Schedler, Intern for the Healthy Rivers Program, Wesleyan University It’s always hard to leave a home and leaving Osa Conservation was no exception. Though I lived there for only two months (a relatively short time in the grand scheme of things), I built a family among Osa’s team and became deeply attached to the dense jungle and expansive beaches that make up the peninsula. [caption id="attachment_18314" align="aligncenter" width="532"] The little cabin Reyna lived on the farm at Piro. Photo: Reyna Schedler.[/caption] At Osa I learned that love looks...
Aquatic Health, Marine Conservation / 12.08.2016
Aquaculture: A Sustainable Solution to the Global Seafood Crisis?
By: Clara Gomez The world’s seafood stocks will have completely collapsed by the year 2050, scientists say. According to a study done by a group of economists and ecologists, the growth of the human population combined with unsustainable fishing practices and the devastating loss of biodiversity will lead to the collapse of fish populations in the next 35 years, if trends continue on their current path. [caption id="attachment_9221" align="alignleft" width="199"] Image from: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/[/caption] If the idea of losing all of the world’s fish scares you as much as it scares me,...
Volunteers and Visitors / 11.09.2015
Treefrog Breeding Frenzy!
Cesar Barrio-Amoros holds a PhD in biology and is a notable taxonomist, herpetologist, author, and photographer. Following his experience in the Osa, reflected below, Cesar has planned to lead a reptile and amphibian workshop at Piro Biological Station next May or June, the beginning of the wet season. I have traveled throughout most of Latin America in search of amazing herping spectacles. In the Galapagos, I saw marine iguanas (Amblyrhynchus cristatus) and Galapagos giant tortoises (Chelonoidis nigra). I witnessed an astonishing diversity of poison frogs in Peru and made some...
Land Conservation and Forest Restoration, Science and Research, Uncategorized / 17.01.2013
Honoring Two Familiar Faces
In addition to celebrating a great year in 2012, Osa Conservation recently honored two staff members as outstanding employees of the year. If you have visited us here in Osa, these are most likely familiar faces. Thanks Agustín and Manuel for all of your hard work and for being such integral and exemplary members of the Osa Conservation team. Agustín Mendoza Augustín has been working with OC for five years on our land stewardship and maintenance team but has lived in Osa for 38. He grew up in Cerro Arbolito a remote...
Sea Turtles / 11.09.2012
Birth of a Sea Turtle: Notes from the beach
[caption id="attachment_4373" align="alignleft" width="300"]
A Green sea turtle nests on Pejeperro Beach[/caption]
With the same clumsiness as their mothers, the small reptiles descend slowly down the sloped beach. One by one they go, leaving behind a trail of life in the sand.
Seven weeks ago, after a journey spanning hundreds, perhaps thousands of kilometers, an adult olive ridley sea turtle (Lepidochelys olivacea) pushed through the foaming waves on Pejeperro beach in the Osa Peninsula, Costa Rica, to begin an ancient, unique and exquisite journey.
A Green sea turtle nests on Pejeperro Beach[/caption]
With the same clumsiness as their mothers, the small reptiles descend slowly down the sloped beach. One by one they go, leaving behind a trail of life in the sand.
Seven weeks ago, after a journey spanning hundreds, perhaps thousands of kilometers, an adult olive ridley sea turtle (Lepidochelys olivacea) pushed through the foaming waves on Pejeperro beach in the Osa Peninsula, Costa Rica, to begin an ancient, unique and exquisite journey.
Birds, Volunteers and Visitors / 08.11.2011
It’s not too late to sign up for the Holiday Birding Tour!
IT’S NOT TOO LATE TO SPEND YOUR HOLIDAYS IN THE RAINFOREST! DECEMBER 17-22 Space is still available on our Holiday Birding Trip, so join us for spectacular birding through the tropical forests of the Osa Peninsula! This five-day trip includes extensive birding, forest hikes, and nightly talks and excursions with our staff of biologists and conservation professionals. The trip culminates in the National Audubon Society’s Christmas Bird Count—where you, along with thousands of other citizen scientists throughout the Americas, can participate in the longest running wildlife census to assess the...
Land Conservation and Forest Restoration, Science and Research / 23.09.2011
Georeferencing Trees in the Osa Peninsula
[caption id="attachment_2260" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Peltogyne Purpurea: An endemic species of Costa Rica and Western Panama, now very scarce because of overexplotation for its valuable timber."][/caption] Visiting a tropical forest can be overwhelming because of the enormous number of species found there, especially if you are talking about the Osa Peninsula, one of the most biologically diverse places in the world. This diversity is especially evident amongst plants which, as immobile organisms, are easily observed. This same diversity, however, can be distressing for a person interested in identifying a species...
Sea Turtles / 16.09.2011
Cleaning the Beach for Sea Turtles
August 7th represented the second Day of Beach Cleaning along sea turtle nesting beaches in Osa. With the participation of around 150 volunteers from the community, local hotels, personnel from Osa Conservation Area, Frontier volunteers and Osa Conservation employees, we were able to collect waste along 12 km of beaches, from Carate to Matapalo. Starting off early in the morning to take advantage of low tide, the groups divided up throughout the area with plastic bags, gloves, sun screen and lots of water. The day of cleaning continued past...
Birds, Volunteers and Visitors / 19.04.2011
Go Wild, Go Birding!
[caption id="attachment_1988" align="alignleft" width="225" caption="International Migratory Bird Day 2011"][/caption] Just to set the scene… the following is a bit of what I wrote to you last October 2010 in recognition of a well known day that pays homage to migratory birds all throughout the Americas. “Have you ever sat and marveled at the wonder of bird migration; the journey that birds undertake between their winter and summer homes? Well if so, you’re not alone, and it is a cause for celebration! Each year hundreds of thousands of people gather to...
We’ve completed another month of the sea turtle conservation program on the Osa Peninsula, Costa Rica and we’re getting close to the end of the nesting season. After 4 months of tireless work by our field coordinators, field assistants and volunteers, we have registered a total of 1233 sea turtle nests, between Piro and Carate (Fig. 1). As I mentioned earlier, for logistical reasons, we cannot gather daily information from all beaches and visits to Rio Oro beach have been very limited, so this number of sea turtle nests should...