Lab postdoc Dr. Luiza Aparecido has been busy in Yasuní measuring photosynthesis rates on many of the common canopy-dominant species, but the work has been more challenging than expected.

Everything has been going well with our side of experiments, which focus on understanding how vein architecture affects photosynthetic responses to leaf damage. Above our student Emily is severing leaves with a razor blade; below, Luiza uses our LI-6800 gas analyzer to measure photosynthesis.

Nature has been providing the challenges.

The rains have been more frequent and intense than normal, limiting when we can collect branches from the forest. Fortunately we’re doing all the measurements under a roof, so this only slow us down a bit.

We have had a few hitchhikers come along to interfere with lab operations, like this grasshopper investigating the gas exchange system’s cuvette.

We have also had some more serious flow rate issues with the instrument. Luiza took it apart to see what was going on, and found, very surprisingly, a spider web in one of the air intakes for the system.

With a bit more nudging, she also found the spider – now that both have been evicted, the system is running much better and the results are a little more trustworthy.

But the most surprising problem we have had is a Baird’s tapir. This adult female has become quite accustomed to humans near the field station, and has been regularly making friendly visits to Luiza during her work. Unfortunately our cut branches often look like a good lunch, so Luiza has had to persuade her to leave on more than a few occasions.

We’ve been lucky to enjoy all of these beautiful challenges, and are now halfway through the field work for this project. More to come soon!