TRI Fellows Research Projects, 2006

Central America

 Tracy Botero

Diversity of Butterflies in Pure and Mixed Plantations of Eight Native Tree Species at La Selva Biological Station, Costa Rica

Tracy poses with a butterfly.

The plantations at La Selva Biological Station were established in 1991-1992 to investigate growth, productivity, and nutrient cycling (Guariguata et al., 1995; Montagnini et al., 1995). Studies of animal biodiversity have generally focused on undisturbed ecosystems, neglecting potential losses due to changes in areas already altered by human intervention. The Lepidoptera (butterflies and moths), with 160,000 species in 121 families distributed world-wide, offer an excellent opportunity for ecological sampling (Common 1990).

Tracy demonstrates a trap that she used to catch butterflies.

This study focused on regenerating ecosystems on previously disturbed lands. With understory regeneration reclaiming the previously bare land on the plantations, butterfly and moth return was surveyed to establish differences, if any, in number and species of Lepidoptera present in the plantation monocultures, plantation polycultures, and the natural regeneration. Observations were made to see if butterflies and moths frequent the plantation to feed on its understory. Traps baited with rum, brown sugar, and ripe bananas were placed one meter off the ground in pure plantations of Vochysia guatemalensis, Jacaranda copaia, Dipteryx panamensis, Terminalia amazonia, Virola koschnyi, Balizia elegans, Hieronyma alchornoides, Vochysia ferruginea, mixed plantations, and natural regeneration (control) plots. Butterflies and moths were collected and identified to species. Data analysis was completed to detect an association with specific Lepidoptera species and the plants that were found to have the most abundant regeneration in the understory (Montagnini et al. 1995).

 Laura Jensen

Women, Water, and Economic Diversification in Rural Costa Rica

Volcán de Buenos Aires, Costa Rica is the home of Pindeco, the nation's largest pineapple plantation, and a U.S. based Del Monte subsidiary. I went to Volcán to study the connections between the pineapple plantation and the use of local water resources, focusing on the economic and political role of women in the community in order to ascertain the possibility of implementing women-focused alternative development projects. This project sought to connect the international trade surrounding pineapple to local economic stability and river degradation.

The Volcán River in the wet season, when flows are high.

I worked with the women within the community, interviewing them about their perceptions of and involvement with community and economic development, as well as water resource use and health. Pairing this research at the community level with archival research and external interviews with national officials and Pindeco representatives allowed me to situate the experiences of the community within the larger context of policy decisions made by governmental institutions - both domestic and foreign - and multinational companies.

Women are part of (increasingly heads of) economically unstable households, dependent on an international business that is the only viable employment option in the area. Most are aware of the decline in the water quantity and quality in their town and are even willing to point the finger at Pindeco for the use of chemicals on their crops and the water they drain from the river basin for irrigation during the dry season. But few consider this to be a pressing issue, nor would they claim that it is the largest problem the town faces. "Alternative" development, then, is a difficult sell: the women living in Volcán know that their river is in danger, but they want jobs, any jobs.

Pineapple fields, or piñales, surround the town of Volcán.

The interplay between international trade and environmental policy is distant from local concerns, and is riddled with conflicts over what to prioritize: trade or environment? Costa Rica is in the process of passing a progressive new water law that would help prioritize the rights of nature; however, the effect of this law on Pindeco's water use is unclear. And while the current administration has not yet signed onto Central American Free Trade Agreement, many are worried that if Costa Rica does become a signatory, power will be further shifted toward companies, diminishing Costa Rica's sovereignty and the potential potency of the proposed water law. Both of these pending policy decisions could have strong implications for water use by Pindeco, and for the water resources of the community of Volcán. My research can be used to frame the relationship between these extra-local policies and economic development at the community level in order to close the policy-practice gap.

 Alvaro Redondo Brenes

Assessment of the Effect of Land Use on Wildlife Conservation in the Path of the Tapir Biological Corridor, Southwest Costa Rica

Alvaro and Pedro Porras (bird expert) on the Baru River conducting a bird survey.

In fragmented landscapes, biological corridors can be a strategy for maintaining populations of plants and animals (Tewsbury et al., 2002). The Path of the Tapir Biological Corridor (PTBC) in Costa Rica, which is part of the Mesoamerican Biological Corridor (MBC), exemplifies a regional initiative to create a network connecting the forests of the Osa Peninsula and Golfo Dulce with the forests located in the Los Santos Forest Reserve in the Talamanca mountain range. The PTBC (82,000 ha) is a mosaic of land uses consisting of 55 communities and 10,000 inhabitants, representing one of the main barriers to biodiversity conservation in the region.

Elizabeth Deliso (MESc '06 - Field Assistant) and Cristian Valenciano (PTBC coordinator) at Rafiki Wildlife Refuge.

The selected habitats were four wildlife refuges (Baru, La Merced, Rafiki, and Oro Verde) as control treatments. In addition, the other selected habitats outside these protected areas were two timber tree species, Terminalia amazonia (Amarillon, native to Costa Rica) and Tectona grandis (Teak, exotic), growing in pure plantations, pasture lands with and without living fences, riparian areas, and other fragments of forests. During the wildlife surveys, a total of 15 mammal species were recorded at La Merced and Baru refuges over the course of 8 days, but 25 species were observed over the 15 weeks of field work. Moreover, a total of 138 bird species were recorded over a course of 45 hours, mostly from 5:30 am to 11:00 am. The results of this study will provide valuable information for conservation biologists, managers, and policy makers to understand the contribution of different habitats of a fragmented corridor on wildlife conservation, especially because concerns have arisen about the ability of the current protected areas system in Costa Rica to function effectively as a network (Powell et al., 2000, Sanchez-Azofeifa et al., 2003).

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