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,… Read more »
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Night Hikes, Wet Boots, and Howler Monkey Noises (3 hr version)
Day 1 I came to Costa Rica with a rough idea on what animals I wanted to see… and on the first day alone I saw most of my target species. The first species was poison dart frog (well besides the terrifying spider we found in someone’s shower the night before, the amount of extremely… Read more »
I Don’t Want to Leaf Costa Rica: My First Week
Introduction In Western society, many believe that the human world is entirely mutually exclusive from the ecological world. After all, the concerns of humans are entirely different from the seemingly trivial or primitive concerns of animals, plants, and fungi, right? In reality, the interests of humans and non-human organisms are aligned. The human world and… Read more »
A Ribbiting time in Costa Rica
We’ve only been here for a few days, but it feels like weeks have passed. Each day contains so much that it’s almost impossible to remember which day was which. I’m super grateful for the travel journal assignment, as it’s keeping me responsible for recording this trip, and by the end I’ll have a comprehensive… Read more »
The La Selva 500
On the arrival day, there were a few twists and turns. As the flight to San Jose was coming to what I thought was the end, the pilot made an announcement that we couldn’t land in San Jose because the First Lady was exiting Costa Rica. It was said that it would be a security… Read more »
Taking a “lichen” to to Costa Rica
As I’m finishing up my first week studying abroad in Costa Rica, I’ve collected valuable realizations and lessons about living in such close proximity with a highly preserved environment. The La Selva Biological Station is beautiful, and the biodiversity here would leave even a seasoned biologist in awe (see below for some featured subjects). Our… Read more »
Costa Rica Blog #1: The Unoriginal Title – Tate Clendening
I’ve finally made it out of the the USA. After two flights, a VERY long immigration line at the airport, and two and a half more hours in a bus through the mountains of Costa Rica (which was simultaneously beautiful and sickening), we arrived at La Selva Biological Station on Monday around 7 PM. At… Read more »
Journey into the Jungle
After a semester of stress, preparation, and anticipation, we finally made it. When I stepped off of my first international flight on Monday, and walked into the customs line at the San José airport, my stomach was twisted with nerves. It felt surreal. A part of me felt like the man checking passports… Read more »
Hikes, Early Mornings, and Ants Galore
We’ve spent the last week at La Selva Biological Station. We drove 2 or so hours north east of San José and spent our first three days here just exploring La Selva. Our first day, we spent some time during the day in a secondary growth forest only a few decades old, yet the trees… Read more »
A Glimpse into the Biodiversity of Costa Rica
A continuous feeling of dampness swells around your body at all hours of the day. Each step taken reverberates alongside the surrounding bird and insect callings. And out of the corner of your eye, you might be lucky enough to spot a basilisk camouflaged in the lush greenery, fleeing from an attacking scarlet tanager. These… Read more »
Tropical Nature in the “Green Republic”
By far the most fascinating part of this trip for me so far has been the wildlife. That’s exactly what I expected, but it doesn’t make the biodiversity any less impressive. I enjoyed all of our guided hikes. I actually stuck with the same guide for the morning hike, the night hike,… Read more »
where the wild things are
The Trip Here Holy smokes the trip here was rough. To start, I forgot my passaport when I was checking my bag and had to get out of TSA when I was halfway across, and then TSA took about an hour. When I got to Georgia I RAN across the busy airport and ended up… Read more »
The Intersection of Biodiversity and Traditional Medicine
Introduction It looks like we have an unhealthy relationship with biodiversity. There are the elements of codependency, manipulation and negligence between the two of us. Let me explain…. Our biodiversity is a garden that we are responsible for tending to and what we put in is what we will get out. The human population… Read more »
Nature’s Impact on Student Health and Well-Being: Green Spaces on the Indiana University Bloomington Campus
A green space is land which is covered, at least partially, with vegetation such as grass and trees in an environment which is otherwise urbanized. They are often found in the form of parks, gardens, woods, meadows, etc. These spaces serve to incorporate a more natural environment into urban areas and are often used to… Read more »
Two Birds, One Stone: Community Gardens Provide Healthy Options and Promote Biodiversity, An Analysis of Food Products in Convenience Stores Accepting SNAP Benefits in Bloomington, IN and the Advantages of Implementing Community Gardens
Introduction Have you ever thought about the quality of food access in your area? Monroe County, according to the United Way of Monroe County, has a food insecurity rate of 16%.1 This puts Monroe County at a higher food insecurity rate than the state or national averages. In addition to this, it has been found… Read more »
IU From Within: An Evaluation of the Places We Spend Our Time
Biodiversity loss is one of the most pressing issues living species face today. Ecosystems all around the world are being destroyed in favor of industrialism and consumerism, displacing countless numbers of native species, and posing a huge risk to human health. Not only does protecting biodiversity ensure the web of species interactions on earth is… Read more »
Worlds Apart: A Comparison of Living Environments and Public Health Outcomes in Indianapolis and Carmel
An Analysis by Carly Waite, Senior Human Biology B.S. Candidate at Indiana University Bloomington Figure I: An Infographic Utilized in “Worlds Apart: Gaps in Life Expectancy in the Indianapolis Metro Area” demonstrating the maldistribution of life expectancies between Indianapolis and the surrounding suburbs Introduction For my Senior Capstone Research Project, I researched whether gaps… Read more »
Differences in Sustainability between IU Health Bloomington Hospital and the Regional Academic Health Center
Introduction: Hospitals are some of the biggest waste producers in the world, and with 6,090 hospitals in the United States alone, the amount of hospital waste generated quickly becomes overwhelming (AHA, 2021). In fact, hospitals in the United States alone produce more than 3.5 million tonnes of waste per year with an average cost… Read more »
Our Campus and Its Quality of Air
Background The quality of the air we breathe has been an ongoing concern for hundreds, even thousands, of years now and it will only continue to be talked about for years to come. This is an extremely important conversation to have as almost the entire world’s population (92%) does not experience pure air quality and… Read more »
Green Thumbs and Blue Moods: The Effect of Indoor Plants on Mental Health
Background It is well established that mental wellbeing plays a crucial role in overall health. This includes not only diagnosable mental illness, but also everyday stress and mood that everyone experiences. The absence of positive mental health – not just the presence of a specific mental illness or symptoms – has been shown to increase… Read more »
Plants and Particulate Matter: Air quality around construction sites and the impact on vegetation health
Introduction The effect of air pollution on the metabolic processes of vegetation is becoming a well-documented and researched part of the ongoing combating of climate change. The research and studies surrounding air pollution is a key element in determining how areas of the world are being affected by the presence of toxic airborne particles. This… Read more »
How do Beliefs Inform and Impact our Pandemic World: An Exploration in Infection, Death and Society – A Blog By Wyatt Reed
For a long (too long) time, we have been in a novel pandemic due to the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2, SARS-CoV-2, virus. This virus has caused millions of deaths and hundreds of millions of cases around the world, with m any varying responses. This has caused a unique and complex outcome of cases… Read more »
The Cicadian Rhythm: The Effects of Cicada Sounds on Cognitive Functioning
Introduction Although often unnoticed, insects make a considerable amount of noise. In different locations and times of the year, the presence of noise-producing insects varies, but one of the most notorious loud insects is the cicada (Figure 1). Brood X, the most recent periodical cicada, returned after 17 years and has been documented in almost… Read more »
Temporal Changes in Aquatic Biodiversity of Gilboa Quarry, SCUBA Diving, and Human Health Repercussions
Research Objective The goal of this project is to see how SCUBA diving can be beneficial for human health, and how the biodiversity and health of aquatic ecosystems can impact this activity. Scientists warn of an aquatic biodiversity crisis, so it is imperative that research be done to see how these ecosystems are changing (Albert… Read more »
Maximizing the Miles: Effects of Outdoor vs. Indoor Exercise on Physiological Responses to Stress
Maximizing the Miles: Effects of Outdoor vs. Indoor Exercise on Physiological Responses to Stress Introduction With the busyness and chaos of everyday life, psychological stress seems to be inevitable, and people are adamant in the pursuit of reducing stress. Many people turn to journaling, tea and meditation to find relief. Additionally, research has found that… Read more »
Bee There or Bee Square: The Use of Neonicotinoid Pesticides and Effects on the Honey Bee Population
Introduction Bees, they’re everywhere, or at least that’s what they appeared to be in years past. However, has anyone really stopped and observed how many bees are actually being seen during the spring time when they are expected to be most present? Has this changed from year to year? Differences in the weather have definitely… Read more »
Food Scarcity in Bloomington: The Final Chapter
The Final Chapter Bailee Whitley INTRO As of formulating and brainstorming for this final post, the world yet again is beginning to change shape and color. In mid-February our days were short, cold and gray- snow flurries and ice permeated the air and as a country we had just begun vaccinating those who were most… Read more »
Air Quality and its Respiratory Outcomes
Background and Introduction: Air pollution releases pollutants which is a mixture of gases and solid particles in the air that are detrimental to human’s overall health. These particles are usually caused by human activities and ambient air pollution which are environmental issues that affect human health overall (Saxon et al. 2005). According to the NIH,… Read more »
Is What You Eat Hurting You and the Environment?
Background The world’s food system and food we consume make up about 30 percent of all the greenhouse gases on Earth(Daley, 2019). The common U.S. diet ultimately impacts the environment in ways we don’t think of. The impact of our food consumption produces the drastic climate change we have observed in recent years. People who… Read more »
Presence of Nature on Mental Health
HISTORY OF NATURE AND HEALTH The first recognition and discovery that plants influence human health dates back to 2000 BC. In 500 BC, Mesopotamian and Persian gardens were built and designed specifically to please “all the human senses” (Scott 1147). In the middle ages, Monastic gardens, as seen in Figure 1, were designed as a… Read more »