Panama's Diversity

Greetings from the Collin Lab! I am posting for the first time during my four month internship to share my recent ecological experiences. Both in and out of the lab, I have been astounded by the diversity of Panama. Flipping over a single rock in the intertidal zone reveals not only multiple species, but multiple classes and phyla. Brittle stars scurry across sponges and barnacles, hoping to hide again in the sediment, as snails pull themselves tightly against the rock. These organisms survive daily and annually fluctuating environmental conditions so drastic that my complaints for air conditioning after an hour in the field seem laughable. Our field site at Veracruz is just minutes from the Naos laboratory, but every trip there brings me new appreciation for the term “tropical biodiversity.”

This kind of diversity is paralleled in Panama’s landscape. In the past week, I had the opportunity to scuba dive a Caribbean coral reef, hike through a rainforest, scramble over rocks at STRI’s own Punta Culebra, and even explore the cultural landscape of Casco Viejo, all within about an hour’s drive.  

I was introduced to animals I didn’t even know existed, like capybaras and coati. Capybaras, or “water pigs”, spend their days in the water and come out at night to graze. It was on a night hike of the rainforest that I caught a glimpse of a family of capybaras, and I couldn’t help but think of Rodents Of Unusual Size (a disturbing creature from the book/movie The Princess Bride).

I am really enjoying the experiences that this diversity brings to my daily life. One morning I woke to the sound of distant howler monkeys, and the next to 5 am fireworks celebrating Panama’s independence from Colombia (las Fiestas Patrias). Likewise, I have a special fondness for tropical birds, and was ecstatic to catch a glimpse of a toucan on a run up Ancon hill behind the STRI dorms. Panama’s diversity is present in so many ways, and I’m looking forward to the adventures to come! 

Tid bits and how to's at the Collin Lab

Welcome to the Collin Lab! For any new lab members, there are a few things you should know before you get here.

First, what to pack! 

• Lab attire consists of long pants and close toed shoes at all times, so be aware. Also, the air conditioning at Naos is FREEZING so bring a sweatshirt or two. 
• If you plan on going to the field, bring a long sleeved shirt (because the sun is very strong this close to the equator), athletic type shorts (with pockets is best) and a hat is a must! Sunglasses are also not a bad idea because the water can create quite a glare. If you have water shoes, they would be helpful for the intertidal zone, but the lab has many in all different sizes, so don't worry if you don't have a pair laying around. 
• It rains almost every day during the rainy season (April through December) so bring an umbrella or a raincoat if you don't want to get wet. The temperature is always around 90º F or 32º C. For everything else, bring normal clothes, nothing too fancy is really needed, although it is fun to dress up a little to go out to Casco Viejo, or downtown every once in a while. 
• Another point: if you are living at La Jaula, the STRI Ancon apartments, the laundry machines take only quarters. .75 to wash and 1.00 to dry, so it's probably a good idea to bring some quarters with you! I always have to scramble to scrounge up quarters at the last minute, and often go longer that I should without doing laundry. 

Once you are here, the most important thing is FOOD. There are many grocery stores around.

• The easiest to get to from Ancon (La Jaula) is probably the Super 99 at Albrook Mall/the Terminal. To get there you can take a bus, which someone will have to help you use the first time, because you need to buy an orange bus pass at the Terminal to use the bus. The pass costs 2.50 and each ride is 25 cents. If you don't have a bus card, you can catch a taxi, which is more expensive (between 1 and 2 dollars to get from Ancon to Albrook). To catch a bus back to Ancon, you should ask the driver if they go through Cinco de Mayo. Most busses pass that way. Ones with destinations like 'Via Espana,' and 'Transistmica' are usually a safe bet. 
• There is a fresh fruit and veg market a few blocks away from La Jaula, at the same place as the bus stop. Nothing can beat fresh produce at good prices!
• Other grocery stores: one within walking distance along Avenida Central, and one each at Multicentro and Multiplaza, both malls a bus ride away. 
• LUNCH at Naos is either pack your own, or buy from a taxi that brings rice and beans with some meat right outside for $2. Also there are a few cheap restaurants close by, and also a few really expensive touristy restaurants. There is also a minimart type store on the next island down if things are desperate. And a vending machine at Naos. 

Getting to Naos! Also important. 

• A busito (small bus/van) runs from Tupper, the main STRI building in Ancon, to Naos every weekday. It leaves Tupper at 7am (although it used to leave at 6:45, and before that, 7:15, and people can be found waiting for the bus 15-30 minutes before it leaves), and gets to Naos about half an hour later after navigating the crazy Panama traffic. In the afternoons, the busito leaves Naos at 4pm (but again, people being lining up at 3:30, and the bus gets ridiculously full - it's a 15 person van, but most days holds at least 19, and up to 22). I have also heard that if goes to Naos from Tupper on Saturdays at 9am, though I can't verify this. 
• There are one dollar taxis from Cinco de Mayo to Amador (the causeway that connects Naos and the other islands to the mainland). You find them underneath the highway just past the square at Cinco de Mayo, and the drivers will be calling out 'Amador.' They fill up the taxi, then drop everyone off at Amador. Let them know you want to get off at Naos though, otherwise they will go right past it. 
• You can also take a taxi from anywhere in the city, though these will be much more expensive. Tell the driver either Amador or the causeway, and then tell them to stop once you reach Naos, the first island. 
• It's also relatively easy to bike or walk from Ancon to Naos. Walking takes about an hour and a half, and biking takes maybe 30 minutes. Be careful of cars, especially if biking, because they drive like maniacs. A map of the best route is below. 

Everything else will be easy enough to figure out after a few days! Everyone at the lab is always willing to help out, and answer any questions you have. 

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Bienvenidos al Collin Lab

By Gina Contolini

The Collin Lab is full of snails.

Marine snails.

And very few of them look like snails. At least, very few of them look like that charismatic, coil-shelled terrestrial snail I think of when I hear the word, "snail."

A classic snail. 
Picture from Dragoart.com

A Crepidula snail like those in the Collin lab. 
Picture from the STRI Collin Lab webpage.

I was okay with this, because I didn't have my heart set on playing with coil-shelled snails. I had my heart set on doing some great marine ecology, and hanging out with knowledgeable people with really interesting experiences to share.

Lucky for me, I found all this at STRI's Naos laboratory. Not only that, but barely a week after meeting the people in Rachel's lab, I fit right in and felt like I had been there for months.

This was, of course, after arriving at Tocumen Airport, where I met Rachel and was taken by taxi to my apartment in Ancon. Luckily I had been to the apartment before, because it is not the most welcoming establishment. There is a reason the STRI community calls it La Jaula—"The Cage."

La Jaula is a very safe place on the inside. It's probably safe outside, too, 
but you can never be too sure, so why not adorn it in steel bars?

The next morning I walked to the Tupper campus to get my ID.

            

The STRI Tupper campus in Ancon. 

I took a cab to the Naos lab where we work. For those interested, by taxi you ask to go to "Isla Naos," the causeway, or Amador, and this should cost no more than three dollars.

(There is also a MetroBus that goes out to the Causeway. To take the MetroBus, you first have to buy an orange MetroBus card at the Gran Terminal Nacional de Transporte, located by Albrook Mall, or in the Plaza de Cinco de Mayo, where I would not advise being at night. The card costs something like $2 and then you add money on it after that. (Five dollars is a good starting amount.) Each time you use the card to get on a MetroBus it's 25 cents. The bus to Naos island will say "Amador" on the LED sign atop the front of the bus. I wish you could recharge the balance for these online, but I haven't been able to figure that out yet if it is possible. As far as I know, you can only add more money to it at the Gran Terminal or 5 de Mayo. At least you can check your balance online!)

Upon arrival, I met Isis (lab coordinator) and Allan (intern), who immediately made me feel right at home—er, right at work. It is especially great to be able to work with someone (Allan) who has so many similar interests and is in a relatively similar stage of life—we both have a bachelor's degree, are interested in grad school, like to travel, enjoy music, and play sports.

It was especially, especially great to find out that we live next door in La Jaula.

And it was especially, especially, especially great to find out that nearly everyone else living in La Jaula is interested in similar things, too! I recommend living there if you are going to work at STRI and have the option. It's not the most convenient for going into town, but it's in a safe area, you can walk to Tupper and a great fresh food market, and you get instant friends.

So far, in the three weeks I've been here, I have seen a Japanese film, been to two concerts as part of the Panama Jazz Festival (one was Herbie Hancock), been to an international beer festival, been to a black sand beach called Gorgona, played around a dozen games of volleyball, watched boats go through the Panama Canal Miraflores locks, gotten churros downtown at a popular churro cafe called Churrería Manolo, and of course been to the (huge) intertidal zone several times collecting snails and their eggs. The list will go on as there are more concerts and festivals in town, especially with Carnival coming up. Carnival is a celebration before el miércoles de la ceniza, or Ash Wednesday. There will be a lot of festivals, parades, and partying going on during those four days.

To conclude, here are some pictures of the fabulous Cerro Ancon (Ancon Hill), located very close to La Jaula. It's an excellent place to see some local flora and fauna and some views of the city, the canal, and the Bay of Panama, all while getting in some serious exercise!

Some flora we saw on the way up. 

View of Panama City from the top of Ancon Hill

The charismatic Panamanian flag proudly 
flying at the top of the hill.

  

Eastern view, toward the canal.                                 A nice place to sit at the top.