The End of an Era

After over 6 years of intensive research and community development work in and around the Yachana Reserve, GVI Amazon is coming to a close. We have finished our final research project (look forward to our Road Effects paper, coming soon!) and are handing over the project to our partner, The Yachana Foundation. They will continue to maintain and monitor the reserve, using it as an hands-on science education center for students -- we're very excited to see what fabulous things this next generation of scientists find! For more detail on GVI Amazon's closure, and our accomplishments over the years, please read on...
GVI Amazon Closure Statement

Thursday, May 10, 2012

Nighttime in the Amazon


Last night we went on our first VES (Visual Encounter Survey) at GVI Amazon in the Yachana Reserve. Most of the reptiles and amphibians that we see are nocturnal, so a VES always takes place after dark. We left just after 19:30 and walked to the start point. The surveys involve walking along transects perpendicular to the road and recording the measurements of the animals we see and their distance from the road. The research will be used to analyse the impact on species diversity of building a road through a tropical rainforest.


During the survey we saw two Ameerega bilinguis (Poison Dart Frog), Enyalioides laticeps (Amazon Forest Dragon) and an Imantodes cenchoa (Blunt Headed Tree Snake). While we were in the rainforest it began to rain very heavily and we had to turn back for our own safety, as tree falls are common in storms. Making our way up the muddy slopes in the rain was challenging and involved a lot of slipping and sliding, but we all made it back to the road safely!


The walk along the road was amazing as flashes of lightening illuminated the sky as we walked. The weather in the Amazon is defiantly unpredictable but it makes the experiences so much more unique!

Charlotte Stewart-Jones, GVI Amazon volunteer, April 2012


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