My Best Pictures and Movies from Costa Rica

Costa Rica Ecology, Photo Images, and Movies: Tropical Ecosystems of Costa Rica

Visit the COSTA RICA COURSE SYLLABUS

Interested in Tropical Ecology? There are 6 Days left before we hit the rainforest in 2008. Contact R. Hays Cummins

R. Hays Cummins | Interdisciplinary Studies | Miami University

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It is 10:50:12 PM on Sunday, May 11, 2008. This page has served 1700823 Ecophiles and was last updated on Thursday, May 8, 2008.


Tropical Field Courses

Photos, Images and Movies Copyright R. Hays Cummins. Authorization Required. For permission, contact haysc@muohio.edu

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These beautiful pictures originate from the Costa Rica Field Course. Be sure to visit the syllabus!

Costa Rica Course Syllabus 2008: Tropical Ecosystems of Costa Rica

Marine Ecology Course Syllabus 2008: Tropical Marine Ecology of the Florida Keys, Everglades and the Bahamas

Here, you will find a vast array of tropical ecosystem images, photos, and movies taken while teaching my Tropical Ecosystems of Costa Rica course. You find many images and movies of volcanoes, cloud and lowland forests, mangroves, bats, birds, snakes, insects, primates, and indigenous peoples, to name a few. It's all here! Tropical Ecosystems of Costa Rica serves as an intensive introduction to Neotropical ecosystems--how they were formed, how they are changing. The goal of this course is to introduce students to the structure and function of Neotropical ecosystems, as well as to geological, biological, cultural, and economic forces affecting the biodiversity of Costa Rica. An intensive lecture schedule is combined with firsthand field experiences, individual and group investigations, emphasizing research methods in tropical systems. Topics to be covered in depth include the geology of Costa Rica, tropical ecology, Pre-Columbian to modern patterns of land use in lowland, premontane, montane, and mangrove ecosystems, experimental design, and the statistical analysis of data. The course is interdisciplinary. Dr. Cummins is a paleobiologist and oceanographer; Dr. McCollum is a stream ecologist. Both conduct field research in the tropics. Prerequisites: Two courses in natural sciences and permission of instructor. Limited scholarships available. Maximum enrollment: 18. First come, first served.

Be Sure to Visit:

Tropical Marine Ecology of the Bahamas Imagery

Compliments of Graphic Maps


Click & Ye Shall Find!

You'll need Apple's Quicktime to view quicktime movies.

 Reptiles

Volcanoes

1991 Great Earthquake

Spiders

Insects

Symbiotic Relationships Beautiful Amphibian Pictures

Leatherback Sea Turtles

Primate Quicktimes

Spider Quicktimes

Turtle Quicktimes

Arthropod Quicktimes

Sierpe River Quicktimes

Banana Plantation Quicktimes

Caribbean Mangroves and Corals

Bocas, Panama

Sloth Quicktimes

Leaf Cutter Quicktimes

Corcovado/Cano Island Quicktimes

Bird Quicktimes

Bri Bri Medicinal/Iguana Quicktimes

Other Marine Creatures

Marine Ecology Images Arenal Volcano

 Pacific Mangroves

Fliers:Bats & Birds

Monteverde Cloud Forest

Misc Interesting Shots

Other Plant Shots

Human Land Use--Banana Plantations & More

Other Land Use

Banana History and Art


These tropical ecosystem images, pictures and movies were taken primarily by Hays Cummins! Many photos are very large and are best viewed using an External Viewer such as Graphic Converter. Configure your browser to have your external viewer open the images. Then you're all set!

Special: The Darien Gap is a unique oasis of biological diversity in Panama. This ecosystem is being threatened by road construction of the Pan American Highway. The only missing link is a 54-mile stretch through two national parks -- one in Panama, the other in Colombia -- that contain the Darien Gap's more than 3 million acres of unspoiled wilderness. (Quicktime movie from CNN)

Geology

Rincon de la Vieja, Irazu, and Poas Volcanoes

The entire landscape of Costa Rica has been shaped by plate tectonics and much of the overall ecologic diversity of the country is due to highly variable geography. For instance, this coastal rock along the SW Pacific coast, once part of the sea floor, has been uplifted, Folded and Twisted (TREC 99) by movements of the earth's crust (another fantastic perspective in Corcovado).And, Faults are common (TREC 00). Costa Rica has over 600 extinct and active volcanoes. Volcano World compiles the latest information on volcanic eruptions in Costa Rica and also specific volcanoes such as Rincon de la Vieja.

The Great Earthquake of 1991

In April, 1991, a major earthquake, magnitude 7.4, struck Costa Rica. The epicenter was near Limon on the Caribbean coast. Damage was extensive to buildings, streets and bridges. Later, after heavy rains, tree falls from the quake were washed into rivers and eventually created dams which soon broke and caused further destruction of bridges. Today, geologic evidence of the quake consists of a general 1.5 meter uplift of the land along the CR southeast coast. Fringing reef is now emergent even at high tide. In the pictures below, note the bio-erosive notch now over a meter above sea level. The upper notch was once the former sea level location before the quake.

Arenal Volcano-One of the most active volcanoes in the world (Check out an Arenal Quicktime Slide Show (~2.5mb)) And, here is another Arenal Quicktime Slideshow (~5.0mb) Terrific!

Arenal Volcano Quicktime Movies

Corcovado National Park--Crustal Folds and Faults

 

Organisms

A Quicktime Video of Corcovado National Park at Sirena. Double Click on the image above to view quicktime. Includes squirrel monkeys, tapirs, etc.

Reptiles

Snakes

Crocs, Lizards and Skinks

Reptile/Amphibian (Crocodiles, Snakes, Frogs, and Lizards) Quicktime Movies

You'll need Apple's Quicktime to view these movies.

Spiders

Spider Quicktime Movies

You'll need Apple's Quicktime to view these movies.

Insects

Fliers

Bizarre Crickets

Other Unusual Arthropod Critters

Cecropia trees are a common site in disturbed areas such as along trails, bordering roadways and agricultural fields, and in recent "light gaps" created by tree falls in the rainforest. Sometimes, if you're real lucky, you can spot Sloths near the crown of Cecropia trees! Here is another Distant Sloth at Almonds & Corals, SE Costa Rica. And Another One! Check out this spectacular Sloth Taking Shelter under a roof!

Sloth Quicktime Movies


Primates

Primate Photographs

Taking photos of primates near the tops of the canopy requires luck and persistence. This year, we saw all four Costa Rican Primate species--Howler, Spider, Squirrel, and White-face Capuchins. Photos from Corcovado National Park and Manzanillo Refuge in SE Costa Rica. Sometimes you get lucky!

Primate Quicktime Movies

You'll need Apple's Quicktime to view these movies.

Symbiotic Relationships: Ants & Plants

Tropical rainforests are famous for the many fascinating symbiotic relationships that have evolved over millions of years. Acacia sp. trees have developed an intimate relationship with a a small 6 mm long ant (Pseudomyrmex ferruginea).The trees provide the ants with a place to live and eat while the ants enthusiastically protect the trees from herbivores and vines.