Three months in – a photo tour

Camp is based on the edge of our riverine forest, a gallery of trees weaving through the Guaycolec cattle ranch. The forest is sub-tropical and semidecidious, not your grand rainforest of the Amazon. Yet the greater climate variation we experience makes for some fascinating biology. 

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We are located at 25.5 degrees south of the equator, approximately equal to Miami’s latitude (which should give you an idea of the heat). On the southern hemisphere, spring is now in full bloom. Temperatures and rain are up. What amazes me are the seasonal, and even weekly variation in  temperature, leafs, insect density, and the presence of mini-swamps that cover patches of forest.

The savanna responds drastically as well. Wild flowers, red grasses, and even lizards seem to spring out of the ground that was frosted over when I arrived.

Then and now

The owl monkeys are very photogenic (adorable), but their small size and cathemeral activity patterns makes them a bit hard to catch on camera.

Adult male and Dixi

Celeste naps

Dixi and her radio collar

Spring also brings the birth season for our monkeys. Nearly every group we monitor has had a new baby in the past two months. Adult males are enthusiastically taking up their role as paternal-care givers, while mothers are satisfied with the occasional nursing bout. After carrying the infant for over four months, it’s the male’s turn.

Aotus share their forest with some other primates.

Male howler

Dichromatic howler monkeys (Alouatta caraya)

Female howler monkey. Their larger size and activity patterns make them easier to capture on camera!

Field research means collecting many kinds of data. We follow the monkeys to record their behavior, collect feces for hormones, gather plants for nutritional analysis, and occasionally dart them for various measurements and to make sure those radio collars keep working.

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I’ve also had the opportunities to venture out of the field. This included a visit to Buenos Aires for the Argentinian Biological Anthropology conference. I wrote a post about our trip on the Owl Monkey Project blog.

When not in the field, Formosa is home

Avery and me at the AABA conference in Buenos Aires

El Rio Paraguaya looking across to Argentina

Ferry ride to Paraguay

Paraguay river bank

Today marks three full months in Argentina. Now that I’m a bit settled in and you have an introduction to life here, keep checking in for field updates and posts on research. For more information, be sure to check out the Owl Monkey Project website, which I am helping redesign and keep updated.

Chau