Written by Carlyn Johnson '26 and Mary Thomas Powell '26
Carlyn Johnson ’26 and Mary Thomas Powell ’26 recount their experience traveling abroad to study nutrient dynamics in cloud forests in Costa Rica and Peru. From climbing trees to gather data to celebrating Colgate Day (Friday the 13th) on Machu Picchu, their narrative demonstrates how faculty-led research can broaden student experiences.
Field work never goes according to plan. You can have the best laid plans and account for every possibility, and yet, something still surprises you. We spent three weeks this summer conducting fieldwork with Professor Catherine Cardelús on the nutrient dynamics in the canopy of mid-elevation cloud forests. Our guiding research question is: How do nutrients vary between trees with mammal latrines and those without, and how do the nutrients of these trees vary between the canopy and the forest floor?
Our adventure started in Monteverde, Costa Rica, where our days were full of tree climbing, soil collecting, and plant sampling. We also collected animal poop samples for Professor Ken Balanger and eDNA for collaborators in Peru. Our evenings were spent sieving soil, labeling plants, and chatting with other researchers at the field station. Over the five quick days, we learned how to climb trees, sampled 7 trees, and sieved soil until our fingers hurt. In the blink of an eye, our time in Costa Rica came to an end, so we packed our bags and headed to the airport.
After a couple of travel snafus (delayed flights, cancellations, etc.), we landed in Cusco. At a mere 11,000 feet (3,400 meters), we spent the first evening trying to catch our breath, literally and figuratively, before heading to our next field site in the morning. Our drive to our second field site included an accidental two-hour detour, a stop at a pre-Incan archeological site, many vistas, and a long, bumpy dirt road. Our journey brought us to a lovely cloud forest ecolodge at about 5,500 feet.
Over the next nine days, we climbed trees in search of latrines with no luck, but field work rarely goes as planned. Although we did not find latrines, we collected plants and soils from six different trees to compare nutrients in the canopy versus the forest floor. Professor Eddie Watkins had a field day examining fern species he had never seen before, and we had lots of fun practicing our fern identification! Like Costa Rica, our days were full of steep hikes, sample collecting, tree climbing, and soil sieving. We also took a day off from field work to head to Manu Biological Station, where Professor Watkins and Professor Cardelús’ tropical ecology students will stay during their extended study in January. Before we knew it, it was time to head to our next destination, Wayqecha Biological Station.
While trying not to turn into popsicles at Wayqecha, we spent one day hiking to see and collect eDNA from a spectacled bear (yes, like Paddington) latrine. We also had the opportunity to learn Quechan dances from some youth scientists visiting the field station. On our second day, we visited reforestation plots and spoke to the local researchers about the studies they are conducting.
At the end of our trip, after Professor Cardelus and Professor Watkins headed home, we had the opportunity to trek to Machu Picchu. We hiked the Salkantay trek over three days, which culminated in spending Colgate Day (Friday the 13th) at Machu Picchu!
We were thrilled to get back to campus to spend the remainder of the summer processing the samples we collected.
