Many #failures and #successes. In Brazil, light traps/data loggers working fine but not many #StinglessBees in our #NestTraps, with some destroyed by animals. In Ghana, all Bobiri sites established, but many #WaspStings (same in Brazil) and a “tired car wheel asking for a separation from the car”. 😅
Watch out for the next generation of tropical ecologists and #insect taxonomists. Amazonian #fieldwork already finished in two regions, moving our lab to the next region tomorrow! A joint effort to monitor insect biodiversity changes across the tropics.
#WeAreUKRI #UKRIFLF #CienciaBrasileira #CNPq
In May, the team split up again. In Ghana, the team continued with the insect monitoring in Ankasa, and delivered a butterfly collection to Bobiri manager. In Brazil, we delivered training on insect monitoring for local #Indigenous leaders and scientists at the Panará Indigenous Territory.
April was also one of (if not the most) challenging time in my career. Within 10 days, 4 team members got ill (malaria, food poisoning, acute appendicitis, suspected Mpox). I learnt lots on health insurance and system in Ghana, everyone recovered well, we celebrated 3 birthdays in the field! 🎉
Our CONNECT workshop was a success! Lots of knowledge exchanges on #AI for #BiodiversityMonitoring, SDMs, & eDNA/iDNA with practitioners, scientists and early-career researchers from Brazil, Ghana, and the UK. Thanks @cnpq-oficial.bsky.social / @ukri.org for funding us, and CSIR-FORIG for hosting us
In March, we were split between Tailândia (Pará, Brazil), collecting environmental data, trying to collect stingless bees, and testing our new light traps; and Kumasi (Ghana), establishing our long-term insect monitoring plots, testing new #LightTraps, and delivering a capacity-building workshop.
Main challenges/successes include Ghana-based team sorting out all field equipment/samples & waiting for export permits before going to the UK. Learning new words in an Indigenous language spoken in my country, producing a teaching material on Amazonian biodiversity in PT, EN & #Panará languages.
In April, Brazilian team finished fieldwork in Tailândia and Ghanaian team finished Bobiri fieldwork and started establishing our plots and collecting insects in the #AnkasaConservationArea. Highlight: we have a plot 15 km way from the car, a ~30-km #LongWalk to be done thrice within a week.
It has been intense and fruitful months. I am thankful to the TropEco Lab heroes whom I am honoured to supervise and work with at @ufpa.bsky.social & @bristolbiosci.bsky.social, and our partners/field assistants in Brazil & Ghana. Without you, there would be no science and life would be boring.
Our TropEco Lab has been busy in the last three months: three teams across four regions in the Brazilian Amazon and Ghanaian forests. A quick summary of the joy and madness of our #fieldwork across continents.
