First Day in the Field

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Today was our first day in the field, I was so anxious to start this morning! To start off, Rodo, the biologist for the station, came out with us to familiarize us with identifying the Shampoo Ginger (Zingiber spectabile). I enjoyed learning from him, he showed us identifying characteristics other than the fluorescent, which is the colorful pinecone-like head. There is a native species of ginger called the Acostas (Renealmia cernua), the leaves are similar to the Shampoo Ginger but the flower grows at the crown of the plant and is yellow. The most interesting way to distinguish the two gingers was through smell. If you pull off a leaf and crush it between your fingers the Shampoo Ginger smells like ginger, and the native ginger smells like cinnamon. This was so interesting to me!
For our research project, we took GPS points at 20 different ginger plants that were about 60 paces apart from each other. We used the Lux Light Meter to measure how much light is hitting the center of the cluster of the plant then marked it with white ribbon.
I was able to go bird watching for a bit today too, I saw a Caracara, which is a bird of prey, and Toucans! I also ran into a brown Tree Frog which was a lot bigger than I expected. I hope each day keeps getting better and that we are able to experience more wildlife and learn so much.
Native Ginger

Toucan
Caracara

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