The Crandell Reserve (a cloud forest) is right behind the Institute and is within walking distance for me, so I can explore this reserve thoroughly, unlike La Calandria Reserve (another cloud forest) which is further away from me. So far, there are a total of 17 cameras in the Crandell Reserve and 11 in the La Calandria Reserve. I will leave these cameras out for 15 days and then collect them and review the footage on my laptop. I will create an Excel file for each site and create a document that lists what species were detected, at what time, on what date and any observations caught by the camera on what the species were doing.
When I am not setting camera traps, I have been asked to walk around the Crandell Reserve to actively look for species of reptiles and amphibians to catalog what can be found in the Reserve. So far, I have found one species of frog and two different species of lizards. In the middle of November, I will also be mist netting (setting out a large net, like a volleyball net, with tiny holes) to capture tropical birds to document what species we capture and band them (meaning to put a tiny metal ID bracelet on their leg to keep track of the birds). This is to help track the survivorship rate (what species are thriving and which are not) of tropical species to help conservation efforts.
So, as you can see, working as a wildlife biologist means that you have lots of different projects to occupy your time. It is rewarding work, as you get to interact with animals and help study them in the hopes of providing conservation protections, improving our knowledge about species' natural histories and distributions, and collecting important distribution data on species.
