When arriving at the La Selva Biological Station, the first thing I noticed when exploring the site was the biodiversity of insects. Leading up to this class, the readings assigned to us had prepared me with the expectation of seeing very little biodiversity given the large area of low visibility areas that non-plant species inhabit, so this was a direct contradiction to my expectations. The insects that I’ve seen at this site resemble a lot of the common species found in Indiana that share their order or family, but the major difference is the diversity in the manifestation of certain traits and the variety of individuals of the same families. The features of each insect are greatly exaggerated than similar individuals found in Indiana.
What was even more interesting as a result of the biodiversity was the chance to see biological concepts that I’ve learned about on Indiana University Bloomington’s campus but wasn’t expecting to see directly. For example, the exaggeration of katydid ovipositor structures and sizes to allow katydids to lay eggs in different material was obvious after seeing just a few different individuals; you could predict what material a species would lay their eggs in depending on the ovipositor, such as in wood or dirt. The concept of mate guarding was also clear to see through the abundance of python millipedes. While usually extremely flat, there would sometimes be some that were twice as tall as others. After looking closer at that individual, however, I realized that it wasn’t just one millipede but rather one sitting on another’s back. While I initially thought that the individuals were mating, it turns out that they had already mated and the male decided to stay on the female millipede’s back to prevent other males from mating. This almost ensures that the male’s genetic material is passed on to the next generation.
The vast presence of complex communal behavior in insects has also been fascinating to observe. The most abundant insects I’ve noticed so far during this class are bees, wasps, and ants, which share the same order that is often characterized by communal social behavior. Whether you’re hiking, eating, or just trying to return to your living space, you’ll see these insects everywhere. What’s even more surreal is the size of their colonies. It’s difficult to imagine an insect about the size of a fingernail digging a hole that your head could fit into (and it was tempting to actually test if this was possible). The abundance of communal insects in Costa Rica shows the resilience of communal societies for insects.
Lastly, the camouflage methods of certain butterfly species were memorable to see. The specific method that I don’t believe is common in Indiana is the shedding of scales on the wings to reveal the transparency of the wings. Rather than trying to match a common background or intimidate predators with eyespots, these species just make part of their body transparent. This was one of the most interesting insects I’ve seen this week, especially after learning about their wing patterns in Bloomington.
All of these biological concepts are present in Indiana, but the exaggerated manifestations of them at La Selva Biological Station have been amazing to see.
Moving away from strictly ecology, I’ve been hoping to study the food industry in Costa Rica, especially in comparison with the agricultural industry in the United States. My expectation was that small farmers would have greater access to markets to have more autonomy and pay for what’s produced. However, within the week, my question was mostly answered.
Surprisingly, I was able to meet a member of my lab in Bloomington, the Critical Food Studies Lab, who’s working on their dissertation now. Within an hour of meeting them, all of my expectations of the agricultural industry in Costa Rica were refuted.
Similarly to the United States, agricultural land in Costa Rica is mostly owned by a few multinational corporations. Also like the United States, these are corporations based in the United States. Another surprising fact that I learned was that Costa Rica has one of the highest rates of pesticide use per hectare in the world. Taking all of this into account, we agreed that this is another form of neo-imperialism. One important distinction is that we believe that this is the fault of the United States corporations finding ways to avoid regulations in the United States that prevent the environmental degradation and labor concerns that these companies carry out in Costa Rica.
The fact that this information was new to me despite being at a biological research site brought up other questions. I’ve been concerned about the lack of information about the agricultural industry in Costa Rica and the environmental and labor concerns stemming from its practices, which has led me to hopefully study the relationship between information about the food industry and what ecotourists actually hear about it when visiting Costa Rica. This will possibly provide insight on whether or not ecotourism is meeting its purpose of centering sustainability for tourists; if this information is withheld at ecotourism sites, that could be seen as misleading.
Overall, between conversations with other students, the professors, researchers, and residents visiting the site, this week has been much more informative than I was expecting it to be. From the howler monkey census where we spent 3 hours in the morning in the rainforest, we were able to participate in data collection for a project that wasn’t conducted in about 30 years. My main goal of learning about the food industry was also answered almost immediately, despite how concerning the results were. This has led me to the research question that I’m hoping to focus on now, which is observing if there is a difference between ecotourists’ knowledge on the Costa Rican agricultural industry and what the structure and practices of the industry actually are. It’ll be exciting to get started with data collection tomorrow and throughout the week; this will be my first social methods study, so the next few weeks should be really informative!
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