On Wednesday, December 10, 2014 we had the pleasure of meeting with Dr. Shumway (Wheaton College) who shared with us his passion for Costa Rica. We learned the following:
that 25% of Costa Rica is a national park.
that the layers or stratification of the rain forest consists of the following layers: canopy, canopy-emergent trees, sub-canopy, shrub layer and ground cover - most of the action is in the canopy!
the trees are without growth rings - the seasons do not change and therefore it is difficult to determine the age of tress in the tropics
the great green macaw is a globally endangered bird - incredibly loud - hopefully, we will see one
there are thousands of species of orchids - that's the good news - the bad news is that they are found on the top of the trees
fig trees have a disproportionate value to the rainforest -
cecropia trees are everywhere - don't touch!! - they have stinging ants on them - insects live in the curled leaves
we will hear Holler monkeys first thing in the morning
sloths are sloth like - they sit - they eat leaves that take a long time to digest - they come out of the trees to defecate
That's it for now! Looking forward to the next class.
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