This brown cicada can make major audio decibels. As we were setting up to shoot mist nets in the forest, this one “went off” just beside the videographer and he jumped! Quite louder than cicadas in the temperate zone. What’s the evolutionary strategy for that?   ….more insects to come.

Bat researcher waiting to go out and set up her mist nets. You can’t set them up when there’s light because you capture birds instead of bats.

This is May, a relatively new bat researcher here in Gamboa, although she was very comfortable in the forest. She is a self-described “wild girl”. I took her meaning to be that she loved to be outdoors, in the wild, from the time she was tiny. She told us she hadn’t set out to be a scientist. She was originally pointed towards being an artist.

This Trachops Cirrhosus is a common species here in Panama. There is a line of bats under the eaves outside my bedroom window during the day. Notice the beautiful teeth. Renowned researcher Eli Kalko (who sadly passed away last Fall) had been starting to study the saliva of fruit bats. She was curious about why they could eat so much natural sugar and still show little to no signs of tooth decay. As AH says, dentists and bats,…two of people’s favorite things.

May untangles this Trachops from the mist net, being very careful to avoid being bitten. Notice the leaf-shaped flange on the nose. This is helpful with sonar as it helps collect more information.

Here, researcher Teague O’Mara is holding a Trachops to show us the tiny tail stump and talk about how some species have developed a much different  tail area to help them scoop prey, especially the fishing bats. The fuzzy green material (with duck faces) being used as capture sacks is a recycled baby blanket.

Here Teague is showing us how like a human hand is the bat wing. A thumb and three digits with a wing web attached. These particular bats have a wider wing for heightened ability to turn due to their proximity to the forest floor.

This bat has been held a contented captive at the bat cage where researcher Patty feeds her very well. Patty has been working with the bat’s response to sounds other than the forest sounds that the bat is used to. When Fernanda hears a cell phone ring coming from a speaker on the floor, she knows she can fly down and have some tasty little snacks.

The Tungara frog is a fine food source for the trachops cirrhosus. This frog is a major part of the nightly soundscape here in Gamboa. We’re on the edge of the Soberania National Park and the sounds are continually lively…from the Tungaras to the cicadas to the green parrots. Never a very quiet moment. The mating call is what helps the bats find them and gives them their name. There is a long, high pitched sound (TUN) followed by several low frequency “clicks” (GARA). It’s the last part that tells a female that the male is feeling frisky and it can also make him a target for bats. That portion of the sound signature sends out a very specific target. It’s risky business for a Tungara frog. Patty, the bat researcher caught the frog easily. I love the worn nail polish on her fingers. (Another wild girl perhaps)

This is a mating pair who are actually quite silent during the mating process. The male is glued to the top of the female. They love the shallow puddles of water and can be found easily at night here. They make a dense foam “nest” in which to put the fertilized eggs. This species doesn’t seem too troubled by the fungus that’s wiping out global frog populations–chytrid. Google  Amphibian Rescue Project. If we don’t do more to stem the tide, Our grandchildren will perhaps only see frogs in captivity, and perhaps not at all. Frightening when you consider insect populations and the service frogs provide.