Tropical Ecosystems of Costa Rica Streaming Videos

Erin and Ann reinacted "The Titanic" at the Lighthouse on San Salvador, Bahamas. See other beautiful phenomena from the Bahamas.

R. Hays Cummins, Western Program, Miami University

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Summer 2003 Preliminary Video and Slideshow Collection

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Leg 1: SE Costa Rica--Caribbean Coast

National Museum in San Jose and trip to SE Costa Rica Slides of our overflight into San Jose, loading the top of our bus, visiting the Costa Rica National Museum (thanks Chico!), and finishing up with road views on the way to the Caribbean coast. A Quicktime Slideshow! (TREC 03)
Almonds and Corals Morning Hikes. A morning potpourri at Almonds and Corals along the Caribean Coast. Includes poison dart frogs and a minature skytrek. A Quicktime Slideshow! (TREC 03
A Almonds and Corals Night Hike. The Caribbean coast is hot, humid and beautiful! On our first night hike, we saw bullet ants, scorpions, frogs and two snakes! Amazing! A Quicktime Slideshow! (TREC 03)
Almonds and Corals "Skytrek." Students prepare and execute a morning "Skytrek" along the Caribbean coast. A Quicktime Slideshow! (TREC 03)
Cahuita National Park Plus Much More. The Caribbean coast is hot, humid and beautiful! here, we visit Cahuita National Park just north of Panama. We saw some amazing things! A Quicktime Slideshow! (TREC 03)
Donna's Cahuita Slides. Donna's slide partial mix of our SE Costa Rica visit, including tarantula wasps, poison dart frog tadpoles, and beautiful Costa Rica school children. A Quicktime Slideshow! (TREC 03)
Donna's First Day Slides. Slides from our first night at Almonds and Corals. We took a night hike and saw scorpions, bullet ants and gaudy tree frogs. A Quicktime Slideshow! (TREC 03)
Gandoca to Bribris Indian Reserve. Slides the morning after our visit to Gandoca and the leatherback sea turtle nesting beach. Photos concentrate upon the Bribris iguan farm and associated forest. Close-ups include a poison dart frog tadpole! A Quicktime Slideshow! (TREC 03) (Quicktime Slideshow)
A MPEG-4 Quicktime video of Poison Dart Frogs found along the SE Caribbean Coast. The video begins with eaxmples of Dendrobates pumilio. Listen closely for the mating call of this beautiful frog. The video ends with Dendrobates auratus. What makes it special is the single tadpole on its back!
A MPEG-4 Quicktime video of a spectacular interaction between a large Spider and a Tarantula Wasp in Cahuita National Park. It was only a matter of time before the........ was victorious! (TREC 03)
A MPEG-4 Quicktime video of our walk down a beach trail in Cahuita National Park. Includes army ants, leaf cutter ants, howler and white-face Capuchins, and the Tarantula-Wasp battle. (TREC 03)

Leg 2:La Selva Biological Station

La Selva Field Station. La Selva is a field station along the Caribbean slope made famous for its long standing tropical research tradition. While it did rain, we were very fortunate to encounter a "Golden Morph" Eyelash viper. WOW! A Quicktime Slideshow! (TREC 03)

Leg 3: Arenal Volcano

Arenal Volcano Morning and Afternoon. A morning breakfast, van trip, La Fortuna Waterfalls and preparation for an afternoon walk along the flanks of the fabulous Arenal Volcano. Be sure to check out the fabulous nighttime video of Arenal. A Quicktime Slideshow! (TREC 03)
A MPEG-4 video of some of the absolutely AMAZING sounds produced by Arenal Volcano. It was humbling to be so close to something so powerful! The afternoon was a prelude to a fabulous evening of Night Viewing!
Arenal Volcano Night Activities . What an amazing place! After a wonderful day, the class went on a rainy nighthike to catch a view of Arenal. We were not dissapointed! Be sure to check out the fabulous nighttime video of Arenal. A Quicktime Slideshow! (TREC 03)
Arenal Night ERUPTION Video . Wow!

Leg 4: Road to Monteverde

To Monteverde (Wind Farm). After leaving Arenal, we headed for Monteverde. On the way, we stopped in Tileran to visit a "Wind Farm." It was a fascinating visit! A Quicktime Slideshow! (TREC 03)

Leg 5: Monteverde Preserve

Monteverde Preserve. One of my favorite places! Monteverde is an amazing place. Quetzals, trogons, emerald toucanettes, and lots of pictures, I mean lots, of Bell Birds! A Quicktime Slideshow!
A short Quicktime MPEG-4 Video of Monteverde featuring some Quetzal highlights and a wonderful Bell Bird! (TREC 03)
A Quicktime MPEG-4 video of the Continental Divide at Monteverde Preserve. The Clouds and Winds were at their best in the early morning hours! (TREC 03)

Leg 6: SW Pacific Coast

Sierpe River Basin Slides. The Sierpe River Basin is beautiful, a contrast between human land use concerns and awesome mangroves. A Quicktime Slideshow! (TREC 03)
Sierpe River Basin and Mangroves . Wow! More Sierpe River Basin slides. Includes a walk through an abandoned banana plantation (Cecropias have taken over after only two years!) and costal mangroves. A Quicktime Slideshow! (TREC 03)
Cano Island Twenty or so Kilometers off the SW Costa Rica coastline lies Cano Island. Here, we snorkled. We saw spotted eagle rays, courting manta rays, white-tip sharks, a green sea turtle and fish of all the colors of the rainbow. A Quicktime Slideshow! (TREC 03)
Corcovado National Park San Pedrillo. Corcovado National Park is one of the most fascinating natural areas remaining in Costa Rica. Here, we focus on the San Pedrillo Field Station. WOW! What a great day! A Quicktime Slideshow! (TREC 03)
Corcovado Venomous Snakes. We saw two ferdelances in Corcovado National Park! While not large, they were still incredibly beautiful! A Quicktime Video!
Corcovado National Park Sirena Field Station. Corcovado National Park is one of the most fascinating natural areas remaining in Costa Rica. Here, we focus on the Sirena Field Station. WOW! It rained HARD for fours hours straight while we were in the forest! A Quicktime Slideshow! (TREC 03)
Miscellaneous Corcovado Slides. A collection of slides that conatin miscellaneous tropical images of interest inclusing crocodiles, poison dart frogs, leaf-cutting bats, crested guans, and Hays doing push-ups! A Quicktime Slideshow! (TREC 03)
A Corcovado Park Mix. Donna's collection of slides from Corcovado National Park, San Pedrillo Station. A Quicktime Slideshow! (TREC 03)

Finishing Up

High Altitude Environments PLUS Much More . Wow! Above 2500 meters (8000 feet or so), Costa Rica's ecosystems undergo dramatic changes. Check out these slides from a "Bog" habitat and, just about 300 meters higher, Costa Rican "Paramo." These slides are followed by views of the Pacific Lowlands, coastlines, and Corcovado National Park. A Quicktime Slideshow! (TREC 03)

Leaving Beauty and Heading Home. Slides from our last days in Costa Rica A Quicktime Slideshow! (TREC 03)

Tropical Ecosystems of Costa Rica Digital Slide Collection-2003

Pictures from Tropical Ecosystems of Costa Rica 2003: Digital Photos

Summer 2002 Video and Slideshow Collection
Listen to a "Voice Navigation" Intro! (Quicktime or MP3)

Monteverde Preserve

On-the-Road to Monteverde Preserve from San Jose. Includes an amazing deforested landscape just downslope of the Monteverde Preserve
Black faced Solitares and an amazing pit viper!. A Monteverde Preserve Quicktime Video Potpourri--includes birds and a side-striped palm viper (TREC 02)
A Quicktime Slideshow of the Palm Viper
A Monteverde "Bird Potpourri" (Quicktime Slideshow)

Corcovado National Park

San Pedrillo Station, Corcovado National Park. An amazing set of slides featuring a frog breeding pool in Corcovado National Park. (TREC 02)
- A Quicktime Movie showing the lowland water-pool near its peak in frog mating frenzy!
- More from the forests and coastline surrounding the San Pedrillo Station (Quicktime Slideshow). From a tropic bird eating snake (about 7-8ft long) to plenty of "people" shots.
- We encountered a Tropical Bird Eating snake (among other things!) as shown in this Quicktime Video
- These bees were amazing. As it was raining near the San Pedrillo Station, they were removing water from the nest, one drop at a time! (Quicktime Video)
The Sirena Biological Station is located near the heart of Corcovado National Park. Take a look at people, crocodiles, birds, monkeys, sloths, and, yes, even a mother-daughter pair of tapirs! (A quicktime slide show)
- Here is a Quicktime Video of representative of our visit to Sirena Biological Station in Corcovado. Amazing stuff!

Sierpe River Region

The Sierpe River is a very dynamic estuarine ecosystem. From Palmar Norte, to Banana Plantations, and then onto literally thousands of hectares of mangroves, this system never ceases to amaze me! (Quicktime Slideshow)

Caribbean Coast

A morning hike on the Almonds and Corals Nature Trail A Quicktime Video of wildlife found along the Caribbean coast in the Manzinillo Refuge
- A wonderful "Night-Hike" along the Almonds and Corals Nature Trail The hike concentrates on a suite of frogs. A Quicktime Slideshow!
- A morning hike on the Almonds and Corals Nature Trail A complete suite of animals! A Quicktime Slideshow!

Tropical Ecosystems of Costa Rica Digital Slide Collection-2002

Monteverde Preserve

SW Coast of Costa Rica and Corcovado National Park

Caribbean Coast and Manzanillo Wildlife Refuge

Examples from Previous Years' Video and Slideshow Collection

Corcovado National Park

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QUICKTIME Movies--Click on Image to Play

A treck into the heart of Corcovado National Park at the Sirena River entrance. Later in the video, we move to the forest near the San Pedrillo entrance. What a wonderful place!

We focus on the San Pedrillo entrance of Corcovado. From spider monkeys to army ants...We finish with a harmless colubrid snake. Some students had never held a snake before!

Leaf cutters are extremely important rainforest consumers...Sometimes, their abundance amazes me.

More Corcovado National Park and Cano Island

Monteverde Cloud Forest

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The amazingly mysterious Monteverde Cloud Forest Preserve

Arenal Volcano

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Our visit to Arenal Volcano was nothing short of amazing. The amount and frequency of boulders rolling down the flanks is an awesome experience!

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