Exploring

Barro colorado
By: Ricardo Jordá
 Introduction
Barro colorado is a jungle located on an island where many
animals of different species live and there is a great variety
of flora. When arriving one can realize that you will find any
type of animal whether wild or not. It is normal to enter with
some kind of fear, but it really is not how you imagine it.

These animals are accustomed to being surrounded by

humans, as it is a research center and there are many
scientists throughout the jungle. There are many plants and
mushrooms that we may hear at some point and we know
how to differentiate them, as there are many others that are
totally new and interesting.
A different and necessary experience where the objective of
the trip was fulfilled, which was to learn about the different
species of fauna and flora that exist in the place and be
able to relate it to its geography. The students Thomas
Jefferson School left the port of gamboa in a boat that took
them to the island of Barro Colorado which gets its name
after being found by their lands with different tones of mud.
 Howler Monkey
The howler monkeys. These monkeys are famous
for the strong sounds that they emit, that to human
ears they are heard like howls. They are monkeys
of the New World typical of tropical regions.

There are 14 different species of howler monkeys.

These are among the largest monkeys in the
rainforests of America. Its tail is extremely long.
The males are heavier than the females. They are
characterized by having a long neck, round nasal
passages with grasping ability and short and small
muzzle. Their vocal cords are large, and the males
have special chambers in the throat that allow the
emission of powerful sounds and volume. Its skin
is thick and its fur is long brown, black or red. On
their face they have a kind of beard.

Of what they feed the most is leaves, so they are the only monkeys in America
that are widely folivores. They also eat flowers, fruits, sprouts and nuts. They
spend a lot of time searching for fresh leaves, if not, nutrition can be very low and
can affect their health, but they must also avoid excessive consumption of leaves,
trees to descend to the ground, since some are toxic and they run the risk of
contracting diseases.

They have a social structure divided into groups of 6-15 members, consisting of 1
to 3 males and many females. Individuals of both sexes are separated from their
natural groups upon reaching sexual maturity, and become part of other groups.

They mature sxualmente at 42 months of age, and females at 36; They give birth
between December and January after a 6-month pregnancy.
 Plants and animals
Flora and fauna
Barro Colorado is full of biodiversity. It is home to almost 400 species of
birds, some 500 species of butterflies and 500 species of trees. We were
able to see and hear howler monkeys, colorful toucans, naughty agoutis
and colonies of millions of ants. (literally millions).

Toucan

Hummingbird

Anteater
Howler Monkey
 Campanilla plant
Tree of penca

Helecho
Acerola
 History
Barro Colorado Island
was formed after the
creation of Gatun Lake
in 1913 during the
construction of the
Panama Canal. The 15-
square-kilometer island
hosts one of the oldest
tropical research
stations in the world,
where studies have
been conducted for
more than 100 years.
Each year, around 500 scientists visit this living laboratory, covered in rainforest, to
study biology, ecology, evolution and animal behavior.

Were it all started:

1914: Engineers dammed the Chagres River to create Gatun Lake, the
main corridor of the Panama Canal. Barro Colorado Island, named for its
red clay soil, is the largest lake island, covering 15 square kilometers.
1923: The Institute for Research in Tropical America, a group of private
foundations and universities under the National Research Council of the
United States, convinced the government of the Canal Zone to establish
the Biological Station of the Canal Zone in Barro Colorado. With $
17,000 from private donors, the laboratory opened its doors in March
1924. The island, with James Zetek as a resident naturalist, soon
acquired an international reputation as the main field station for tropical
biology studies.

1940: At the start of World War

II, a decree of the United States
Congress assigned to a board,
composed of the heads of
certain executive departments
of the Government and several
prominent scientists, the
administration of the independent research station
1946: The administration of the station was officially transferred to the
Smithsonian Institute.
1966: The island's naturalist, Martin Moynihan, urged the Smithsonian to
create the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, based in Panama,
but with the ambitious mission of studying tropical biology around the
world
1979: One of the first areas to revert to Panamanian territory, as a result
of the Torrijos-Carter Canal Treaties, was the Barro Colorado Natural
Monument, which includes Barro Colorado Island, as well as a buffer
zone formed by Penínsulas de Gigante, Peña Blanca , Bohío, Buena
Vista and Frijoles on the mainland. The Smithsonian continues to
administer the research station.
Personal essay
We woke up at 5:15 AM because we had to meet at super 99 in costa del este. The
bus went out at 6 AM and we had to be on time. The whole trip was 1 hour to get
there.

When we arrived we met our first guide, called Marcos, he explained to us briefly
what we were going to be doing in the day. Then we got on the boat and went to the
island of Barro Colorado, the total trip in the boat was 30 minutes. When we arrived
we met our second guide called Evelyn who was the partner of Marcos.
They first talked about what we were going to do and see in the day, then we went to
the cafeteria where we stayed for 15 minutes eating breakfast or talking about what
we thought.
We had bananas and some coffee for breakfast, which I did not take because I´m
not a big fan of bananas of coffee. Then we were called by the guides to see a
informative video that explained the different species around the island, a little bit of
its history and the explanation of how and why barro colorado was created. We
learned that the island is used for scientific research about how animals live.

When we walked out the guides asked us to get some mosquito repellent on us
because there were a lot of insects. We separated the whole class in 2 groups, one
group that went with guide Marcos and the other with guide Evelynn, each group
going in different directions but same track.

We went to the left side of the track, starting were it is supposed to end. The first 5
minutes of walked we did not see anything but after like 10 minutes we did. When we
reached the middle of the journey we were supposed to meet the other group there,
but we never did, they got lost and took another route. We then went to the cafeteria
again to have lunch and after that we saw a documentary about barro colorado.

Questions to guides.
Why do you like working here? (marcos)
A= Because i like to have contact with the animals that live here and study
their behavior.

What was your best project? (Evelynn)

A= I was part of a team that went early in the morning to get sample of
monkey poop to help study if they were sick, and if they were, how to help
them cure.

Do you enjoy being a guide? (Marcos)

A= Yeah, it's nice to teach thing i know and sometimes its funny to see their
reactions during the hike in the jungle haha (laughs).