The Start of Long-term Monitoring Surveys in the Yachana Reserve

There is a lot of excitement surrounding this particular phase as this is the very first phase we start running surveys using our new grid. Six months ago we began decommissioning old trails and putting in new (and smaller) access trails and transects across the reserve in order to establish a long-term ecological monitoring grid.

This monitoring grid is designed to provide a long term methodological and standardized survey system to allow ecological data to be collected over a long temporal scale by numerous land managers. It encompasses numerous techniques for collecting data on birds, amphibians, reptiles, mammals, butterflies and vegetative habitat structure.

So far we have 19 transects ready to be surveyed and another 12 to be put in over next phase and next. A major aim for this phase is to start testing survey methods in the field such as mist netting, point counts, herpetological visual encounter surveys (VES), pitfalls (also for herpetological studies), mammal camera traps and ground and canopy butterfly traps. This phase also provides an excellent opportunity for volunteers to get involved and learn a number of different survey techniques and see first hand how a long-term ecological monitoring grid works.

Jasmine Rowe, GVI Amazon Base Manager

The Start of Long-term Monitoring Surveys in the Yachana Reserve