GVI Amazon Rainforest Conservation

Facts and figures

Created a species list (inventory) for the Yachana Reserve reaching over 750 different species including birds, mammals, reptiles, amphibians, and butterflies, amongst other invertebrates and it continues to grow every phase
National Scholarship Program offering scholarships to Amazon students from the Yachana Technical High School to study English, conservation and field techniques alongside GVI volunteers at our base camp. Over 60 students have participated since the start of the program, with many achieving advanced levels of English, and some even receiving scholarships to study in the US and return to Yachana as bilingual naturalist guides
In September 2008 GVI Amazon found an individual of Hyalinobatrachium iaspidiense, a rare glass frog that until recently was thought to only be endemic to the Guayana Region of Venezuela. Prior to this find it was thought to only reside in one other locality within Ecuador further north in the Succumbios region
Over 2500 hours of English and environmental lessons taught to local community schools

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, September 27, 2012

Meet the gang!

We've got new neighbors at GVI Amazon base camp, and thought you all might like a little photo-introduction. A few months ago, base manager Charlie Coupland wrote a report on one of our recent achievements -- the development on a new swamp habitat near to base camp, to provide a safe living environment for swamp-dwelling amphibs whose home was being damaged due to development along the road. There are few quality swamp environments within the Yachana Reserve, so we wanted to ensure our legacy included leaving at least one more good habitat for these little guys. We made the new swamp near to base camp so that GVI volunteers and future students at Yachana would have a chance to observe the species in situ, monitoring levels near camp as well as deeper in the forest. It's a bit of an experiment, as our swamp is, of course, manmade; but early results have been very promising!

You can read more about the swamp project in the July Achievement Report below, but first, say hello to the gang!

Phyllomedusa tomopterna, a.k.a. Tom -- Tom's bright flashy colors and "look how cool I am balanced on this twig" poses make him one of the most photographed of the swanky swamp crowd. While it's easy to be fooled and just think he really gets around, there is actually not just one, but a minimum of SIX Toms living at our swamp these days, although you may not see all six every night.

Dendropsophus rhodopeplus, a.k.a. Rod -- At first shown up by Tom's fancy displays, Rod just seemed like another swamp regular, until we realized that we should have named him "Hot Rod"... within weeks he'd already found a mate -- the lovely Rodina -- and has no qualms about showing his feelings for her on a regular basis. They do make a lovely, albeit tiny, couple, and it's always good fun to try and spot them amongst the plants at night.

Lithobates palmipes, a.k.a. Paul -- We're still not quite sure how we feel about good ol' Paul. He just sort of showed up one day, and (in our humble opinion) is a bit too large for our little swamp, and yet, weeks have gone by and Paul's still here. He spends most of the day asleep under a log, and hangs out on the little island at night, and would seem pretty harmless if we hadn't caught him hiding in the grass, spying on a rather personal situation between Rod and Rodina... (see last photo below)