TO CATCH A FLYCATCHER (IN WAYQECHA)

By Timothy Dennler-Church
October 2017

Arriving in the cloud forest at Wayqecha is like pouring milk on your cereal. You know the smooth milk will mix nicely with the crunchy flakes, yet the simple act of pouring never ceases to satisfy. So is the arrival experience when coming upon the wonder of the Cloud Forest of Wayqecha-you have known all along to expect the refreshing moisture of the floating sky, but the satisfaction of immersing your crunchy explorer’s outer crust in the silky layers just never fades (no matter how soggy the results!) Here are some reasons why:

Wayqecha Biological Station was established in 2005 in the cloud forest of the Kcosnipata Valley in Cusco, Peru, and is host to a recorded 625 species². The physical conditions of the cloud forest at Wayqecha set the stage for a unique and rich environment. With an average annual temperature of 12.5 ^oC, Wayqecha provided us with a refreshing cold that we all craved following our stay at Cocha Cashu in the Amazon rainforest. Wayqecha receives an average of 1.6 meters of rainfall annually¹, much of which comes from condensation due to the high altitude of 2300-3500 meters¹ where moisture transpired by the extensive fauna of the Amazon basin is squeezed out of the atmosphere like a giant gaseous sponge pressed against the eastern face of the Andes². 

A typical view of the cloud forest fauna at Wayqecha. Lichen and mosses are ubiquitous to cloud forest ecology, exhibiting obvious adaptions for the absorption of air moisture such as increased surface area.

My first day at Wayqecha I stayed out to watch the sunset and was able to observe the process of clouds enveloping the whole sky mere minutes after the sun dipped below the horizon, a sight that put into perspective just how much moisture the skies hold. One must not be fooled though by the cool moist air, as the elevation of the cloud forest means higher levels of UV radiation. The warmth of the sun may seem gentle and welcoming to the skin, but just as many of the cloud forest plants have developed cuticles to combat UV-rays, you too should apply sunscreen to protect from UV damage.

Looking out from Wayqecha at the Amazon basin,
which is masked by clouds.

On our second day at Wayqecha we took a walk down the road to the south-west of the station to a trail system that led to several sky-bridges. The steeper terrain of these trail systems hosted different species than were found around the station. Bracken fern was very prevalent, and the occasional call of fruit-eaters could be heard through the trees. The skybridge system on this trail allowed us to see the forest from a new perspective, with the ability to look down on the canopy and see the flowers of tall trees close up. I also observed some various species of bamboo, some of which were solid, others hollow, some spiked, and some not. It is easy to get carried away in the beauty of the cloud forest ecosystem to look up and be lost in a blanket of fog which settles so quickly as the temperature cools. As we marveled at the canopy from the skybridge, we noticed the clouds quickly rolling in and became enveloped in the clouds and the forest in minutes, almost panicking at the thought of being lost in the fog.

Diverse micro-climates produced by varying elevation, soil qualities, sun exposure, and other conditions give rise to an exceptionally diverse ecosystem at wayqecha. Orchids, ferns, mosses, and lichen are ubiquitous to cloud forests, but the species you will find within these groups are various. The quality of soil in cloud forests is dramatically different than at lower elevations to the east of the Andes. Lower temperatures mean slower metabolism of organic matter, so the soil is thick and moist, providing great habitat for insects. The lower temperatures also means that plants grow more slowly as well. From plants to bugs to birds you are likely to see more new species every day than you can possibly record or remember. In one day of casual note-taking I was able to identify species of birds including the Great Thrush, Masked Flower-Piercer, Moustached Flower-Piercer, Rufous-Collared Sparrow, and Andean Guan. A 200 meter hike in the cloud forest at Wayquecha can easily take over an hour before you think to check the time. With every step in a new lichen, bug, or bird to stop and observe³.

A sketch of a Moustached flower-piercer that I saw while mistnetting on the north-east side of the station.

A dead beetle (Order: Coleoptera) we found to the north-east of the station. Ursula took this opportunity to show us the outer wing layer called the elytra, and how the wings fold up underneath the elytra.

Cloud forests play a very important role in the water cycles of the Andes and Amazon basin. The vegetation of the cloud forests is important for water retention and prevention of flooding and landslides. These areas are also important spawning grounds for the majority of migratory fish in the Amazon basin, which are vital source of protein for people and other animals in the region. The conservation of cloud forest ecosystems such as the cloud forest at Wayqecha is not only important for the many species which is living in that specific region, but is vital to the health of the lowland Amazon Basin as well.

Sources:

1    http://www.acca.org.pe/nuestras-estaciones-biologicas/wayqecha-ebw/

2    http://www.amazonconservation.org/ourwork/research_wayqecha.html

3    https://www.inaturalist.org/places/wayqecha-biological-station

About me

I am a 4^th year student at UW Bothell pursuing a double major in biology and biochemistry. In my free time I like to brew fruit wines and ciders, which I hope to someday turn into a career. After graduation I plan to pursue further studies in the areas of neuroscience or neurology.

A TRAVELING ECOLOGIST’S DILEMMA; THINKING CRITICALLY ABOUT SUSTAINABILITY WHILE STUDYING IT

By Kahte Adele Culevski
(UW Bothell October 2017)

The same year the study abroad program to Peru was born, tourism became the third largest industry within Peru (El Economista, 2008). The number of tourists has been steadily increasing since two decades ago, now Peru is predicted to attract over 3,850,000 visitors in the year 2017 alone (World Travel and Tourism Council, 2017). A huge proportion of these travelers are coming to experience the ecological diversity of Peru. It’s ironic then that as the number of ecotourists increase annually, so does their potentially negative environmental impact upon the country. When a population in a city suddenly and temporarily grows, so does the amount of waste and pollution generated as does the resources used. One of the most famous examples may be Machu Picchu, an ancient Inca ruin which has experienced erosion and damage to its sites directly related to the high amount of tourists who visit it (Herrera, 2013).  Peru has since limited the daily number of people allowed to enter the site to 2,500, however locals have complained about the amount of pollution and waste still generated by the visitors (Roach, 2002). It’s difficult for a government to completely shut down a site like Machu Picchu when it creates such a great revenue, and it’s even harder to regulate the influence of tourism in more rural areas.

Perhaps this is why Peru Exploration Seminar program directors have the student’s address part of this issue personally. This study abroad program has always placed an emphasis on the applications of sustainability and efforts of conservation present or needed within the country. However from the beginning the professors  wanted students to expand past their subjective views of sustainability and objectively view their own impact. From the first year students upon arriving to Coshu Cashu biological site begin recording details of the resources they use daily. While the categories have ranged or grown over the years the basics included water usage time (showers, tap water, laundry), food waste (how much of dinner you threw away), or products used that were or weren’t biodegradable (sunscreen, bug spray, etc). The individual data from each student is eventually shared at the end of each trip and analyzed by the professors. The idea is not to shame the students as the posts are anonymous, but rather encourage them to be critically aware of their resource use.

Example of personal data on resource use taken daily 

After the second year, a student run conservation committee was appointed from a group of volunteers to decide the categories of resource use fields, to help others in their recordings and inform group members and others of our findings. Forrest Miller, one of the student volunteers from the present conservation committee wrote the following reflection:

“Thinking of ways to quantify resource usage that would convey a meaningful message to the user took much more creatively and thought experiments than I expected. Our lifestyles are so complex that even in very remote settings deciding what to include and what to omit was challenging”.  

The categories listed in image #2 were decided as a group and were recorded throughout the trip. Some of the categories recorded including activities I was previously unconscious of. For example, I had never noticed how long I left the water on when I brushed my teeth until I had to count the seconds it was on. Or the fact that I left so much food on my plate when I decided I was done eating. Deciding on buying a beer carried its own weight, literally and physically, recycling isn’t predominant everywhere in Peru and so I carried the glass bottle in my backpack all the way through the USA customs.

Perhaps the most visual display of our own waste came from a Ziploc bag filled with plastic wrappers. Four years into the program the idea of collecting all the student’s non-biodegradable waste in individual Ziploc bags was enforced. Joy Shang, another student from the 2017 program shared that it was “a bit embarrassing to see how many packages I got from snacks”, although through the act of collecting each wrapper we became not only aware of our waste but began questioning the necessity of the items that produced it.

Besides conscientious consumption through keeping track of resource use in our journals and the collecting of our trash, the program has made strides over the years in reducing the amount of waste the students produce. Students who shop for items in the local markets are taught to ask for “no plastico”, placing purchases instead in their backpacks. Each student is asked to bring for the program a tupperware container with utensils in which many of the meals are packed. Given the knowledge that we have our own containers, the vendors that supply food for the program have adjusted to not pre-packaging their food. Even the biological field station at Cocha Cashu has made strides in buying food in bulk so to lessen individually packaged items, shipping the food in reusable boxes and offering naturally unpackaged alternatives such as fruits.

            We can’t deny as students that despite our efforts our visit didn’t have an ecological impact. The buses and boats we traveled in still contributed to pollute, the food we consumed took energy and gas to transport and some of the electricity we used at the biological stations was powered by a generator. However living completely sustainable lives is difficult at home let alone when traveling. Our professors have worked very hard on eliminating possibilities of waste through the connections they’ve made with our hosts and chefs. Collecting our trash and journaling the resources we used made us aware of the waste we produce and how much energy or water we use. Furthermore conversations like for example discussing the impact of the foreign demand for quinoa and the observations we made from the journaling (ex; how many wrappers are produced from individually wrapped snacks) not only informed us of our behavior but encouraged us to change it. When we altered some of our behaviors, such as taking shorter showers and packaging things without plastic, the actions were then compounded by the amount of students that enforced them. These contributions we’ve made have helped preserve the places we were privileged to see making us more conscientious travelers but they have also allowed us on our return to the states to keep making them. I still turn off the shower when I’m scrubbing down or shampooing my hair, even though I’m well aware the hot water isn’t about to run out. And I still find myself visualizing my Ziploc garbage bag when I see individually packaged items in the food aisle. Because of this I truly believe that in recognizing our own bad habits and enforcing sustainable practices we may have been able to form new ones.

Citations

Herrera, Alexander. “Heritage Tourism, Identity and Development in Peru.” 2013, www.academia.edu/3414289/Heritage_Tourism_Identity_and_Development_in_Peru.

THE ECONOMIC IMPACT OF TRAVEL & TOURISM ON PERU. World Travel & Tourism Council, Mar. 2913, www.wttc.org/-/media/files/reports/economic-impact-research/countries-2017/peru2017.pdf.

“Peru Tourist Arrivals  1980-2017 | Data | Chart | Calendar | Forecast.” Peru Tourist Arrivals | 1980-2017 | Data | Chart | Calendar | Forecast, tradingeconomics.com/peru/tourist-arrivals.

elEconomista.es. “Perú supedita crecimiento de turismo en 2008 al aumento de la capacidad aérea.” ElEconomista.es, ElEconomista, 3 Feb. 2008, www.eleconomista.es/empresas-finanzas/noticias/355907/02/08/Peru-supedita-crecimiento-de-turismo-en-2008-al-aumento-de-la-capacidad-aerea.html.

Roach, John. “Machu Picchu Under Threat From Pressures of Tourism.”National Geographic News, 15 Apr. 2002, news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2002/04/0415_020415_machu.html.