Tropical Biology Association (TBA) trip to Malaysian Borneo, 2018
Blog Structure: First part - my brief few days in Kota Kinabalu before the TBA course.
Second part - My TBA experience.
If you have landed on this page because you want to go on the TBA course....DO IT!!!
If so you have landed here because you want to know what I get up to...enjoy!!! There are loads of photos so, read on...
TBA is a registered charity, a founder member of the Cambridge Conservation Initiative and a collaboration of leading biodiversity conservation organisations and the University of Cambridge. In order for you to attend a course, the organisation you are affiliated with should be a member. Courses are run yearly with a choice between Kenya and Borneo but spaces are very limited and, I am sure there is a high number of applicants.
As the Kenyan course fell during my undergraduate graduation, a place I would love to have visited, I applied for the Borneo one. Having visited the Amazon earlier in the year, the tropics sparked an interest and curiosity in me to learn more. Also, Borneo has been at the top of my bucket list of places to visit since I was 9yrs old. Through many drafted application forms and stress, my application was successful. Borneo here I come! We were to be 21 students from all over the world meeting in one place for a month, learning and working together in Tropical Ecology. I had no idea what to expect but I know I was about to embark on a journey of a lifetime.
Our rendezvous was the Halo Hostel in Kota Kinabalu (KK), Sabah, Malaysia so I decided to arrive a few days before to explore and see what KK had to offer. The hostel is simple but comfortable with aircon in the dorms, breakfast included and towels. Towels and aircon are a luxury as when you are in the forest, there are no luxuries and microfibre, quick drying towels are just not comforting. Caroline (UK) and myself shared a dorm and hung out the first night. We went to the Gaya Street Mid-Autumn Lantern Mooncake Festival. The whole of Gaya Str was full of lanterns made by different schools in KK, a stage with various musicians and dancers. Later, there was a visit by the mayor to select the winning school. It was packed and full of people supporting the festival. We had a great Malaysian meal in the heart of the festivities which was my first taste of this cuisine and, it was tasty. We were later met by our third roommate back at the dorm, Jenny from Austria.
The next day, Jenny and I, jet lagged as we were had booked 3 dives with Scuba Junkie. They seemed the best and most ethical dive centre and this was verified upon arrival at the hostel by the owner. We dived Shark Point on Gaya Island, Rons reef off to the left of Sapi Island (right), finishing off with a final dive at the feeding point on Sapi Island. Sadly, no resident sharks were seen at shark point but the clarity was good with a lot of smaller schools of fish seen mongst the corals. They aren't bright and vibrant but they are not dead and damaged. Rons reef, the visibility was not as good and we saw huge cuttlefish and again, loads of smaller schools. After a tasty and reasonably priced lunch and ice-cream on Sapi Island, we set off for our final dive at feeding point. It was abundant with stingrays, school of barracuda and smaller fish with the odd plaice, stone fish and flying gurnard which was very lovely to see and different to the other dives.
The plastic was unreal!
The trip from Jesselton Point Jetty in KK to Sapi Island was very distressing. All kinds of plastic from bottles to cups to petrol containers to styrofoam cups and takeaway containers could be seen floating on the waters surface. Both Gaya and Sapi Islands are part of a Marine Protected Area (MPA) and there was plastic everywhere, as you can see in the photo to the right. Whilst having lunch, you would see a person head to the beach with a sack and fill it up with litter on the small stretch of beach. I went for a walk to the water and saw floating biscuit and crisp packets. Plastic pollution is real and so severe! We need to be conscious on our plastic usage and educate and reduce where and when we can.
The next day Jenny and I had planned to snorkel at Mantanani Island (250MYR) but we were both so exhausted and jet lagged that Caroline and Amael (Spanish from Switzerland) went instead. Apparently the beaches are beautiful and white and the sea is turquoise. A place not to miss but one you need to book through a reputable person, as you could end up on the busy side and not enjoy it. This day for us was spent relaxing and looking for Adidas kampong forest shoes and buying food supplies such as junk food and drinks as there is none of this in Danum Valley. Kampongs are rubber shoes with rubber studs underneath that are waterproof and versatile, used for walking in the forest by everyone.
And so, the excitement and adventure was about to begin...
TBA rendezvous was at the hostel at 6pm. The evening was spent meeting all the other participants and our course leader, Kevin Wallace from the Cambridge office. We had food, gave an introduction of ourselves, had ice-breakers and were given an overview of the course we were about to embark on. It was an instant feeling of warmth amongst the group of participants and I was eager to get going and learn more about everyone.
The Lecturers:
Kevin Wallace - UK - The important man! Mike Brooke - UK. From Cambridge who was our bird and SE Asian history expert
Jenny Sheridan - USA. Our frog and reptile specialist from the Carnegie Museum, Pittsburgh.
Christopher Philipson - UK. Department of Environmental Systems Science, ETH Zurich.
Henry Barlow - UK/Malaysia. Chairman of the Biodiversity Technical Committee of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO).
David Burslem - UK
Isham Azhar - Malaysia. University College Sabah Foundation
Lawrence Alan Bansa - Malaysia. University College Sabah Foundation
Nadine Keller - Switzerland. Student of Chris'
Wong Siew Te - Malaysia, Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Centre
Thor Seng Liew - Malaysia. University Malaysia Sabah
The Students: Me - the Zimbabwean living in the UK
Achap - Malaysia
Agnieszka Hadala - Poland
Amael Hinojo - Switzerland
Amanda Shia - Malaysia
Anna Jonsson - Sweden
Arlene Talana - Philippines
Caroline Johnson - UK
Chigusa Keller - Switzerland
Gabe Hibberd - UK
Jennifer Insupp - Austria
Josie Lumley - UK
Lourdes Martina Garcia (Lulu) - Mexico
Maliwan Namkhan - Thailand
Matt Funaki - New Zealand
Sze Ling Tee - Malaysia
Pyae Phyoe Kyaw (PPK) - Myanmar
Sahat Ratmuangkhwang - Thailand
Samantha Liza Durit - Malaysia
Vincent Grognuz - Switzerland
Vivienne Loke Pei Wen - Malaysia
The amazing staff and research assistants at DVFSC and most of all, Deddy Nurdin and Johnny Larenus
The TBA course was held at the Danum Valley Field Centre (DVFC) in the Danum Valley Conservation Area (DVCA), Southeast Sabah. Covering 438 sq km. "This is an important and best-protected expanses of pristine lowland forest remaining in Southeast Asia, supporting a tremendous variety of plants and a full range of Sabah’s lowland fauna."
As we were here for a month, I won't give you a day to day account but just a broad outline of the trip.
For the budding conservationist, that person who wants to expand their research and knowledge to that keen tourist, Danum Valley is the perfect place to visit. With over 250 species of birds, a diversity of large and small fauna to the diversity of flora, one will fail not to be in awe. DV remains to be a pristine habitat that has not fallen into the hands of loggers, hunters or those wanting to settle. It's a protected area set aside for conservation by the DVCA. Due to the protection, you are bound to see an abundance of species from interesting invertebrates to Bornean pygmy elephants, orang-utans, red leaf monkeys, long tailed macaques, hornbills, monitor lizards to a large array of frogs. An adventure of a lifetime awaited me where I had a whole month to take it all in, learn, develop, be amazed and make new friends.
So, the first two weeks would comprise of lectures, guest lectures, research techniques, seeing what research projects are currently up and running and learning directly from the experts themselves as well as being immersed a primary rainforest. There was no time for acclimatisation! Everyday was a new day where we were split into different, smaller teams where we would learn how to work with different people and expertise. Research projects assigned to us where we were put on the spot to rapidly collect data and present it to the other teams and lecturers. Everyday was different and we had no idea what we were in for but waking up to the sound of nature was enevitable.
Having an opportunity to be immersed in such a remote and protected environment, I never wanted to miss an opportunity to experience every aspect of the forest. There were a couple of times where a group of us would wake before the sunrise at 6am and head on a dawn walk. Trust me, with the long days and late nights, this was very hard but worth it. Mostly we would see the macaques and red leaf monkeys but the smell of dawn, the dew drops settled on the grass, the low clouds was just spectacular. Never have I ever felt so my peace in myself and smelt such freshness. It truly introduces you to senses you may have forgotten and opens up your curiosity of what is around when you are asleep.
Night walks are a must too! Silently we walked along the guided paths with Deddy leading the way. With his expert eyes and those of us students, we were opened up to the whole nocturnal life of the forest. New sounds, sights and smells await you. Hiding in cracks of trees we saw a giant land crab, heard tree hole frogs calling for a mates, strange insects clinging to the barks of trees, slow loris, the odd mouse deer move swiftly and rustle the leaf litter, sleeping birds clinging to the branches of trees and most exciting sight was that of the Sunda flying lemur or Sunda colugo. A super rare sighting and a difficult one to photograph in the dark of the night and it being so high up in the tree. What a privilege and a sighting never to forget. So, look up, in, under and around to maximise that chance of seeing something you have never seen before.
Top R to L - Full moon, sleeping bird who was woken up with our passing, sambar deer.
Bottom L to R - Lantern bug and a cockroach, slow loris (was bitten by ants taking this so couldn't get a clear shot and a giant land crab in between tree buttresses.
Every morning and night time, we were greeted by a bearded pig we all named Bacon. Yes, maybe not the best name but it was the majority who ruled. She hung out with us and was always curious wanting to be near us but never let us within 2m of her. Around 6.30am everyday the beautiful sound of the passing gibbon family would greet you on your walk to breakfast, whilst the low cloud sat amongst the trees (pic above). Occasionally, their path would be behind the main building where breakfast was served so you could watch them pass if you were lucky. It was always a mother, father and little son.
Day or night, always be aware of leeches! Wear leech socks, tuck your tops in and check, check, check all the time! They get everywhere like, on your lips, your hips, your ears on your feet to wherever they can. They are silent assassins and, some you can feel them attach to you whilst others you can't. It's only when you see a pool of blood on your clothing or that sting when they attach to you do you know you are under attack. Once you have been attacked or seen someone who has, for the rest of the trip, you will get phantom leeches attaching to you..all the time! Every shower session and return from the forest resulted in a thorough full body check!
Top L to R - Bacon the bearded pig, gibbon, baby orang-utan, oriental hornbills.
Middle L to R - Long tailed macaque, red leaf monkey, female orang-utan and a tiger leech
Bottom L to R - Caterpillar, damsel fly, pray mantis and windy tree buttresses.
Most of the time, on your walk from the dorms to the conference room/dining area, you would see troops of long tailed macaques and red leaf monkeys playing in the trees or feeding off the lush vegetation. The macaques were always up to no good and if you passed too close, unknowingly, they would give you a threatening chatter whilst the red leafs would just mind their own business. The best was when we saw orang-utans. Usually a lone female or a female with a juvenile peacefully sitting high in the trees eating. What a privilege it was to see such an endangered animal in the wild and within a few metres of you. You never know if this was the last time you ever get to see an orang-utan and best of all, so close. Orang-utans are native to Sumatra and Borneo who are threatened by deforestation, fragmentation and invasion of their habitat. Many times you would walk in the forest and see high up in the trees, huge nests constructed out of sticks, branches and leaves. You knew that they were always nearby but you were extremely lucky to see them. They are such a shy species as well as very rare to see.
The more you get out there, the more you see. On a trip to the one of the many streams, a group found two Bornean flying frogs (Rhacophorus borneensis). These bright green and rather large frogs were just a beautiful sight and not a common one for us either. We didn't see them fly but we were able to see them and appreciate their beauty. Yes, I find a frog beautiful :) A moment that will always remain prominent in my trip to Danum was, seeing a wild herd of Borneo pygmy elephants (Elephas maximus borneensis) in the dark of night just wondering on the road. We were on our way to track our frogs at the Cabin stream the one night and my wish finally came true. This must have been the highlight of my whole trip! Such a threatened species, with numbers plummeting to the hands of poachers, land fragmentation and loss. Se see them wild, rumbling to each other and trumpeting in warning at us when we passed. We stopped and watched them walk on the road for a bit and then vanish into the forest. It was an adrenalin rush to pass so near, whilst standing at the back of the truck. In my head I was thinking, "any moment they could charge at us." They never did, thankfully but what an experience it was.
Left to Right - Bornean flying frog and a herd of Borneo pygmy elephants
Mixed up with mini projects, we received lectures from:
Those connected to the Palm Oil (PO) industry such as Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) and those from the University of Malaysia. The RSPO is an NGO who unites NGO's and stakeholders from all areas of the PO industry. They ensure the sustainability of PO production by ensuring stakeholders and NGO's follow certain principles and criteria, to name a few such as:
1. Provide good facilities for the workers.
2. Provide a decent wage, not below the minimum for all workers.
3. Maintain riparian zones - the areas around rivers and streams.
4. Be environmentally conscious.
Here, we were introduced to the various aspects of the oil palm industry; the good, the bad and a broader view. With this information compiled with that from the research assistants (RA's), we are able to make up our own mind. We now have a base to further our research into this controversial area and understand the pro's and con's of the matter. It's a tough one, when people who grow and sell it on a smaller scale are heavily reliant on it to provide for their families. 40% of palm oil in the country comes from small holders and only 20% of all the oil palm producers are certified with the RSPO. There are many other rival sustainable accreditation organisations such as the Indonesian Sustainable PO and Malaysian Sustainable PO. There are many issues such as language barriers for foreign workers, exploitation of cheap foreign labour, corruption between the industry and the sustainable assessors as well as much more!
Oil palm is 3 - 4 times more productive than any other oil per hectare such as vegetable and rapeseed oil. Little rain is needed along with labour demand being low unlike the rubber industry that once dominated Malaysia in the early 1960's and 1970 's. For me, I don't see how boycotting the industry will help the individuals who rely on the income provided by it. As mentioned, PO is not the problem but the way it is grown that it is. PO is not the only product responsible for deforestation either but, it is one of the top 4 along with animal farming, soy bean production and the timber industry. An improvement on the farming of such a commodity needs assessing and an improvement may be necessary. If you boycott the industry, people will merely find another crop to grow in place and companies will move onto an alternative that perhaps will use more land. A suggestion of an alternative or ideas to improve the situation are needed before boycotting. This is in no means my area of speciality but my small opinion. One, now with the foundation knowledge may be developed or used to combat deforestation in other parts of the world. You never know.
Another lecture and practical was on bats held by Isham Azhar and Lawrence Alan Bansa. Using harp nets set up along two paths in the forest to capture understory bats. Harp nets are basically about 1.5m long and has a quadruple fishing line harp-like trap with a capture compartment below. Bats would fly into it, slide down uninjured and remain safe in the compartment below until we would check it. We learnt about handling the bats, assessing their health, measuring them, and key identifying characteristics.
Other lectures were on birds (Mike Brooke), research techniques (Kevin Wallace), learnt about trees and carbon (Christopher Philipson), hydrological processes in a rainforest (Nadine Keller), snails (Thor Seng Liew) and aquatic primary productivity to reflective writing (both Jennifer Sheridan). Every night there was a small team going out frogging with Jen Sheridan. Here they would visit streams and walk a 100m to 200m transect, time dependant and collect and ID as many species of frogs as possible.
Teamwork and mini projects...
We worked on small research projects in teams every day for the first two weeks. Sometimes we would be in one team to collect the data, then moved into a new team to analyse and present it. It was all to learn skills, from adapting to working with new people to presentation skills at such short notice. It was scary at times for me, as my brain hadn't had time to digest the data to confidently present it but, we all conquered it! We were all in the same position and harnessed the opportunity to grow and develop.
Small projects would be on questions we came up with as teams such as:
1. Do the size of an antlions funnel represent the size of the antlion. This could also be linked to the amount of prey captured.
2. Chemical communication of termites when on a trail and how the trail is repaired once disturbed. Their dispersal behaviour and leadership structure to revert back to normal behaviour.
3. Leaches! Their prey preference.
4. Ant aggression bioassay. To see how related ants are with regards to vicariance by aggression bioassays.
5. The distribution of algae on rocks and what contributes to it's location on rocks in streams.
We went for #4. We designed the experiment, ran a small preliminary study, predicted the results and presented it to the group, twice. Once, the project ideas and the second one, our chosen project and the whole design. It was never to get actual data but an exercise to immerse yourself in the forest, look around, be creative and think with your peers on processes or behaviours happening around you.
Other projects included a snail lecture by Dr Liew, followed by heading out to collect as many snail specimens in the forest as possible. Afterwards, we worked in the brand new lab in teams to filter through all the soil and organic matter to find more specimens, then worked in teams to group them to a species level based purely on morphology. It was a great exercise teaching us to pay attention to detail and work in teams. I have to say, it is tough looking for the little guys in the forest and especially when there hadn't been rain in weeks. With rain, I suspect a more fruitful result but the main take home message was, to pay close attention to details. The smallest change in morphology can separate a species.
Another small project was being sent out into the forest to draw and write descriptions of birds with a partner then head back and ID them with the class. Again, this was to teach us to pay close attention to the smallest of detail as one small characteristic like, a differentiation in the leg colour will determine a different species. I thoroughly enjoyed such as so much goes unnoticed. The untrained eye is not critical so this has now taught me to be thorough.
Aquatic primary productivity (APP) was an all day lesson out in the forest on beautiful streams in the sunshine with the sound of gibbons nearby. What could be better! We collected rocks with algae growth, placed them in perspex chambers, took measurements like temperature and total dissolved oxygen among others, both exposed to sunlight and then in the dark. With a few more steps of calculating the surface area, we were able to determine the productivity of the primary producers in an area of a stream. Way more steps involved and a lot of time taken to produce the results that I shall not delve into the great detail. Overall, a great experiment with a focus on a very important part to the ecosystem, in an aquatic environment.
The skills and knowledge in this exercise help you to, again think and look at processes that you cannot see. The microscopic world, the unseen world that serves a very important purpose. With this new knowledge, you could apply it to questions linked to the aquatic environment. Use it to compare APP to terrestrial productivity and how they influence the ecosystems around.
We visited nurseries and learnt key identifying skills to distinguish the difference between dipterocarp species by their leaves. Some leaves had extra or fewer veins, some had extra buds, some were waxy and others were hairy. As a team, we had to memorise the differences and then were tested at the end. Chris explained the various planting projects that occur in Danum and how they maximise the genetic diversity within the forest. We then met up with Mike and learnt about his tree experiments in the forest and the factors that influence or hinder the tree growth and again, his planting projects.
Another small team project was, measuring the buttresses of trees and coming up with a full presentation and statistical analysis of which side they dominated. Were they concentrated on the upslope, downslope, left or right? With various statistical analyses, our team concluded: no differentiation between the up and downslope but, definitely not the left or right. This was a tough project as we had to use R, a statistical package, one I had never used before. After all, this whole trip was to learn it and learn from others and luckily we had Amael in our team who was a whiz at it. Certainly an easy experiment but a challenging one on the software side where teamwork prevailed.
Short break
After the two weeks in the rainforest, Dr Kev treated us to a break....a long journey to a Sepilok. A welcomed and exciting adventure visiting the Rainforest Discovery Centre (RDC) and the Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Centre (BSBCC), opposite the Sepilok Orang-utan Rehabilitation Centre.
First stop, the BSBCC where we were met by Dr Wong Siew Te, the Founder and CEO of the centre. The visit kicked off with a lecture by Dr Wong regarding the illegal wildlife trade, conservation, his journey to where he is now and most importantly, all that encompassed sun bears (Helarctos malayanus), their threats and the centres mission to protect them. Sun bears are the worlds least studied and smallest arboreal bear and are listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN (2019). They are mostly black with a off white horseshoe shape on their chest and a very long (>20cm) tongue. Their diet mainly consists of honey therefore, they are also referred to as the 'Honey bear'. The largest threat to their survival is deforestation yet others include, the pet trade and commercial hunting. Sun bear reproduction rate is very slow where only one cub is produced in a females life time. This has a huge impact on their population recovery when threats are extreme. We were luckily enough to have a guided tour with Dr Wong and learn first-hand information. This visit again, instilled that passion in me to continue on my path and reinstalled my interest to work within the illegal wildlife trade. He had us gripped by his talks, with every person in that room inspired and proud to be on our chosen paths. What a privilege to meet a man who had started off a student like ourselves to now be a well known, influential conservationist dedicating his life to conservation and science education.
Off we went to the RDC just up the road to the BSBCC. This is one of Sabah's largest environmental education centre with self guided walks, manicures botanical garden, suspended walk ways, tree top viewing towers and a chance to relax and be immersed in the undisturbed forest. Within the first 10min of arrival, we were met by a mother orang-utan feeding on fruits with her mischevious baby nearby. There were an abundance of birds both seen and heard with a gorgeous array of flowers from around the world. A must visit!
As we were students from around the world, one assignment we had was to give a lecture on, "Conservation in my Country". As I was born and grew up in Zimbabwe, and now live in the UK, I chose Zimbabwe as my country. Assuming the three other people from the UK on the course would focus on the UK, I wanted to be different. Bring a little bit of Africa to Borneo. Throughout the duration of the trip we each had a turn to present what works and what has failed in regards to conservation in our country. We learnt about wolves and birds in Europe, land sparing and sharing in the UK, tiger conservation in Myanmar, mangroves in Thailand, elephant and human conflict in Malaysia, and so much more. What a great way to learn about other countries and for some, first hand too.
My focus was on the management of Zimbabwe, corruption, land seizures and how this has affected the wildlife, in particular, the rhino. The success stories, well sadly these are hard ones to find as there aren't many! Upon researching, many great initiatives popped up such as educational programmes, community projects, anti-poaching units formed but I struggled to find information on wildlife protection and numbers increasing other than those of elephants...which is a good thing. Zimbabwe is known for it's healthy elephant population but don't get me wrong, many still fall at the hands of poachers. The Lowveld Rhino Trust (LRT) popped up and it was great to read about their work and the dedication of Raoul du Toit and his team. It was reassuring to see the rhino population numbers on the increase for both the black and white rhino in the lowveld (the south east area of Zimbabwe) (See image below). Sadly though, other areas are facing a decrease but with the LRT numbers, there has been an overall increase for the country. I guess it was a sad lecture of mine but my view is that, sadly it's the reality.
Let the main project begins...
The rains began!
So, after the first two weeks of training, learning and developing with the short break, it was time to get our heads down into the hard work. After a day of deliberating, a lecture, finding common interests within the group, we then formed into smaller groups that we were to stay in for the next two weeks.
There were groups focussing on carbon of trees, dragonflies, aquatic invertebrates, birds, spotting skills of people, butterflies and our team....frogs A.K.A The Frog Squad - Jennifer Insupp, Anna Jonsson and myself:
Home range and microhabitat preferences of Limnonectes kuhlii.
This was an exciting study which involved radio-tracking frogs to understand their habitat use and home range. Previously, only two studies of a similar nature have been conducted, one in Brunei on Limnonectes leporinus (Grafe, 2009) and one in the Stability of Altered Forest Ecosystems (SAFE) project area in eastern Sabah, Malaysia (Sheridan et al. 2018) and one that had never been conducted before in Danum.
The experimental design was to radio tag 7 individuals with no major preference on sex from each stream, Cabin (drive away or a 1km walk) and W6S5 (a 50min muddy forest walk away). Cabin is an altered stream stream by man, located in a logged forest whilst W6S5 is a natural stream in primary forest. Over the course of 10 days, we would use an antennae and receiver to pin point their locations, take a GPS reading and map their movements. On initial capture, we would record their weight, sex, snout vent length (SVL) along with environmental parameters and their release GPS. On the first night, 7 frogs were successfully tagged and released at W6S5. Sounds easy one would think...It wasn't! We encountered so many issues on the second day of tracking. The first day was a breeze and smooth sailing. We were able to pick up signal for all 7 frogs from W6S5 and then then tag 5indv. from Cabin that evening. We then tagged another 2indv. from here the next day. From then on we struggled to pick up signals for most of the frogs and many were seen by sight on the streams edge at night. Frogs wouldn't come out in the rain and this occurred every day! Some days, the streams would be too heavy and the search was called off. Onto of the weather proving a challenge, we had endless equipment failure and battery issues. Many of the tags batteries had failed! Frustrating indeed as they are meant to have a life span of 4 weeks not 4 days! The major issues we were met with were:
- Equipment failure, in particular the integrated battery in the tag.
- The rain!
- Signal is weak if the frog is submerged in the stream or down a hole.
- Signal bounces off large trees and rocks.
I won't express all the issues we encountered but it was certainly an insight into what could go wrong in the field, no matter how prepared you are! No matter how much planning, time doesn't wait for you when things fail. One lesson learnt was, there were far too many individuals on each stream considering the other papers had 5 or so to track on one stream and double the time we had! Perhaps we were a bit too over ambitious for a small 2 week project and, if I had to change one thing, I would perhaps suggest 4indv. on each stream or 7indv. on one stream.
The results: Well we barely had any! The paper was certainly not what we hoped for but we did learn a great deal of project planning and field work from it. Frogs that were located a number of times tended to stay around the area of release but sadly, most only had 3 points and not enough to give a clear picture of their home range. Frogs were never far from the water body at all times and were mainly submerged during the day to avoid desication. Maps and stats were produced as best as they could be within a day.
Overall, what an AMAZING trip!!! One of a lifetime indeed!
We were from all walks of life, students, professionals in industry or just finished university. No matter what background we were from, what level of our English would be, we all had one common interest, conservation of flora, fauna or the earths natural resources. We were a group of passionate individuals who had an unbreakable connection. Distance may separate us but thanks to social media and technology we are never too far. I most certainly have met some amazing people who I doubt we will ever lose contact. I cannot wait to travel to all the countries and visit all of them one day soon.
I highly encourage anyone to work hard and apply for any course you can. Save as much as you can too as building your career profile in conservation takes a lot of time and investment to gain every experience necessary.
The TBA runs courses every year so have a look and see if you can apply and do it. You won't regret it!
http://www.tropical-biology.org/field-courses/
I would like to thank Kevin Wallace and all of the team at the Tropical Biology Association, all at the Halo Hostel and the whole team at Danum Valley for the experience. Ensuring the smooth running of the course, the amazing facilities and food to all the knowledge gained. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.
During the trip, we had a T-shirt logo design competition. Aga and I were the only ones who entered and I won but it was a close win as Aga's was amazing. Each tree is a country or state where we were all from and the animals were the main fauna we studied and the co-ordinates are for Danum Valley Field Studies Centre - See below.
Follow your dreams and do everything you can! Do it!
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