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I recently ran across a lovely video that documents one scientist's ongoing research, conducted in the field at the Tambopata Research Center in southeastern Peru. The objectives of the Tambopata research are to develop conservation strategies and techniques for increasing the reproductive success of macaws and to help conserve other, more endangered, species.
The Tambopata National Reserve is a relatively unspoilt rainforest in southeastern Peru that is home to several research and ecotourism facilities. Also found here is the largest "clay lick" in the world. A clay lick is a big mountain of soil, basically, but it is special soil because it attracts wild parrots from far and wide. Most of these parrots commute daily to the clay lick for a quick bite, some travelling from as far away as 100 kilometres (more than 60 miles) around the Amazon basin. Originally -- and erroneously -- thought to neutralise toxins in the foods that wild parrots eat, recent research instead found that clay licks are rich in sodium, Na+, an essential element that is severely limited in environments that are so far from the ocean (doi:10.1111/j.1744-7429.2009.00514.x). So the Tambopata clay lick is the natural equivalent of a salt lick.
In this video, we meet ornithologist, George Olah, who is the Scientific Advisor at the Tambopata Research Center. During his seven years at Tambopata, Dr Olah has conducted a number of different studies of the Scarlet Macaw, Ara macao, and the visually similar, but larger, Red-and-green Macaw, Ara chloroptera. His studies include identification and detailed measurements of nest cavities used by these birds, and the success for each nest type -- important information that conservation biologists can use to design the best possible artificial nest cavity for these parrots. Dr Olah also collects feathers found on the ground and blood samples from chicks in the nests so he can carry out detailed analyses of the macaws' population genetics.
Here, we accompany Dr Olah on a tour revealing how he does research on macaws; we watch him climb tall trees and accompany him to the top of a forty metre (131 feet) tall canopy tower, we observe him as he clones the parrots' genetic markers, and we catch a ride on his camera-carrying drone that scouts the forest for macaws and their nests.
How Scientists Research Macaws In This Peruvian Rainforest | @GrrlScientist
Read more:
Luke L. Powell, Thomas U. Powell, George V. N. Powell and Donald J. Brightsmith (2009). Parrots Take it with a Grain of Salt: Available Sodium Content May Drive Collpa (Clay Lick) Selection in Southeastern Peru, Biotropica 41(3):279–282 | doi:10.1111/j.1744-7429.2009.00514.x
Alan T. K. Lee, Sunil Kumar, Donald J. Brightsmith and Stuart J. Marsden (2010). Parrot claylick distribution in South America: do patterns of "where" help answer the question "why"?, Ecography 33:503513 | doi:10.1111/j.1600-0587.2009.05878.x
George Olah, Gabriela Vigo, Robert Heinsohn, and Donald J. Brightsmith (2014). Nest site selection and efficacy of artificial nests for breeding success of Scarlet Macaws Ara macao macao in lowland Peru, Journal for Nature Conservation 22(2): 176-185 | doi:10.1016/j.jnc.2013.11.003
