So, ya'll in the northern temperate zone had a lunar eclipse too, of course. It was pretty down here, with the sky so dark and the moon all orange. There isn't much light pollution here, in spite of the powered-up biological station.
I attached a photo of me with my favorite Costa Rican tree so far, the Pochote, aka Bombacopsis quinata (Bombacaceae). It was taken in Cabo Blanco, but I thought I'd pop it in out of order here so you all get a good look. Please note the charming spines. Behind my back you see the beach, and the brightness of the tropical sun on the ocean. So beautiful!
Today I saw a kinkajou -- monkey-like raccoon relative -- and some kind of tropical opossum with a crazy long tail. They were up above the bridge in the dark. Earlier in the day we saw a young spider monkey on the bridge, he was hanging from the high wire from just his tail, swinging gently. He definitely wasn't afraid of people, and came closer when we walked by rather than going farther away. I got a great look a the abscess in his abdomen that was draining. Cute pus-filled monkeys! Makes me wish I worked with mammals. ;)
Today Becky and I finished collecting our data. With 300 data points, it has to be an OTS record! Or close. We found selection for fewer seeds per pod and thinner pod shells. The last was a bit of a surprise, a small but significant effect that I think might have been the result of an error in our measurement protocol. It has been fun working with the data, figuring out how to get the answers we want. One of our variables had a left-skewed distribution that is impossible to fix as far as we can tell -- our stats package won't do a box-cox transformation, so maybe that would have done it. Anyway, this is by far the most excited I've ever been about statistics. May the effects be long-lasting.
We pursued the great green macaws today without success, but I got to see a white-crowned parrot and a dove that was new to me... I can't remember the name right now. The parrot was in a palm snag, sticking just its head out of a hole that must be its nest. The birds here are so fun! I'm still wowed and intimidated by the plants... but hopefully Amanda and my plans for research in July get funded, and then I'll have the chance to get to know La Selva's flowering plants better then.
Tomorrow is our last full day here. Everyone is frantically writing papers, analyzing data, and preparing presentations tonight. Except for those of us who are going to bed. Hooray for sleeping!
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