La Selva Biological Station
10.421944444444 - 84.015Koordinaten: 10 ° 25 ' 19 " N, 84 ° 0' 54 " W
La Selva Biological Station is a research station in Costa Rica with a protected area of 1,600 hectares of tropical rainforest. It is owned by the Organization for Tropical Studies (OTS ), a non-profit consortium of 63 universities and research institutions from the United States, Latin America and Australia. La Selva is one of the most productive field research station for Tropical Ecology world, is home to approximately 300 scientists annually and is a venue for over 100 courses per year. The aim of the research station is to obtain an intact tropical rainforest, the possibility of sustainable research and education through the provision of laboratory courses and accommodation for researchers and students to offer, as well as the local population to teach sustainability and conservation. In addition, La Selva Biological Station is a major destination for ecotourism in Costa Rica.
History
La Selva Biological Station was founded in 1953 by the botanist Leslie Holdridge. He bought the land originally for their own research purposes to the use of various tree crops, where the natural forest must not be cleared completely. To start up times La Selva was relatively difficult to achieve. Long washed- Nature streets followed by a 4 km long journey by canoe on the Rio Puerto Viejo. 1968 buys the Organization for Tropical Studies (OTS ) the area for 50,000 U.S. dollars for it to appoint a private reserve and a biological station. The OTS was then a small, only five years old organization which had the goal to promote research and scientific education in the tropics. Holdridge went while on OTS and offered the organization his country as a research station already before OTS bought from him the territory. Hold Fingered supported the research in La Selva until his death in 1999. Since the establishment of the station in 1953, there have been some drastic changes. The station was easier to achieve laboratory building and accommodation were built, and the reserve has three times gained at surface. Simultaneously, the agricultural use of surrounding land, in particular the size of the banana plantations, as well as the population density increased by the station in the settlements, which is why La Selva has gained as a protected area of primary rainforest in importance.
Geography and Geology
La Selva Biological Station Biosphere Reserve lies within the Cordillera Central Volcánica ( 91,000 ha) in the north- eastern lowlands of Costa Rica. In the north of the station on the Rio Puerto Viejo is bordered in the west by the Rio Sarapiqui and Rio Peje. Along the rivers you find deposits from the Holocene and Pleistocene, which consist primarily of Inceptisolen and Entisolen. The interior of the reserve is, however, mostly from Ultisolen. In the south of La Selva is a 4-6 km wide corridor connecting the Braulio Carillo National Park ( 47,000 ha). La Selva is located in the physio- geographical transition between the foot of the volcano Barva and the alluvial plains of the Caribbean coast. The northern end of the park is about 35 m above sea level, while the highest altitude is reached at about 137 m above sea level in the southwest corner. The transect from La Selva through the Braulio Carillo National Park to the Barva Volcano (approx. 55 km) include ecosystems of the tropical rainforest and cloud forest. With about 1,200 inhabitants Puerto Viejo de Sarapiqui is the largest village in the area, and is located about 7 km north- east of La Selva. From the capital, San José you can reach the station by public bus or car in less than 2 hours.
The temperatures are average of 25 ° C and may vary between 16 ° C and 37 ° C. Produced each year about 400 mm of rain. The rainiest months are November and December, the least rain falls in February, March and April, and there is no really pronounced dry season.
Flora and Fauna
Flora
55 % of the area of La Selva is characterized by the species-rich, multi-layered primary rainforest. The rest of the forest consists of secondary forest, abandoned plantations in various stages of succession, forest sections with selective logging and for scientific purposes, modified forest areas. Within La Selva, there are over 5,000 vascular plants, including over 700 species of trees such as Welfia regia, the stilt palm Socratea exorrhiza and in La Selva occurring in unusual densities Pentaclethra macroloba. There is also a large diversity of epiphytes and epiphyllous. La Selva has a 3.5 -acre Arboretum, which was founded in 1968 and consists of over 240 tree species from 60 families and 171 genera.
Mammals
La Selva is home to 65 species of bats, 16 species of rodents, 5 species of possums, as well as howler monkeys, spider monkeys, white -headed Capuchin, three and two -toed sloth, nine -banded armadillos, great anteaters, pygmy anteaters and Northern Tamanduas, Großmazamas, white-tailed deer, White Beard and collared peccary, tapir, Tayras, Amazon Skunks, Großgrisons, South American otters, Olingos, winding bears, raccoons, coatis, pumas, jaguars, ocelots, margays and jaguarundis.
Every year in December the " Christmas Bird Count" ( bird count ) instead, grasp at the local and foreign bird watchers a day all the birds systematically. 2012 were 348 species have been recorded (2011: 338; 2010: 368). A total of 517 bird species have been sighted in La Selva since the beginning of the official survey.
Reptiles and amphibians
Thanks to the well-developed ridges in the marsh itself Canterana amphibians can be like the red-eyed, watching the " blue jeans " color variant of Erdbeerfröschchens and occasionally the gold Baumsteiger. The Terciopelo Pitviper and the hook nose Terciopelos are the most common venomous snakes La Selva. Other well-known reptiles are the Eyelash viper, the Boa Constrictor, iguanas and basilisks.
Arthropods
In La Selva you will find over 450 ants and 5,000 butterfly species, many of which are still likely to be undescribed. Among the best known arthropod species include the golden silk spider, the Blue Morpho and the dreaded 24 -hour ant whose sting is referred to as the most painful insect bite at all.
Research and tourism
According to information from more than 240 scientific publications on research in La Selva are brought out annually. Current long-term projects explore include biodiversity of ants, bats, birds, cichlids, and various groups of plants and aquatic ecology, the interaction of trophic levels, and the impact of climate change on the ecology of tropical rain forest. The research station consists of two laboratories with microscopes, refrigerators and freezers, sterile workbenches and other material for laboratory work. Furthermore, there are five houses as accommodations for scientists, three dormitories for students, a canteen, a reception with stand, three seminar rooms, a herbarium, a library and office spaces. For scientists with families, there are three separate family homes. An extensive trail system with over 50 km of partly paved paths simplifies access to the forest. The entire area is divided into a surface mesh of 50x100 m and provided with bollards, which are recorded and mapped by geographic information system. For tourists, there are two comfortable houses with four rooms. In consultation with the scientists who are interested can get an insight into the research in La Selva. Besides this, local English-speaking guide tours to different topics, such as bird watching, night hikes and introductions to the ecology of the tropical rainforest.
La Selva Biological Station is located in an agricultural extensively used and populated area. The biggest problem is in addition to the loss of ecological compensation areas in the vicinity of the station as well as the general habitat fragmentation in the poaching. Among the illegally hunted animals include the iguana, the white-tailed deer, the Großmazama, the Paka, as well as birds from the family of Tinamou. In a study in the area in and around La Selva gave to 4% of respondents said they have shot at least one of these animals in the year preceding the survey. La Selva therefore has a team of wildlife officers who regularly patrol the area to prevent poaching.