Las Cuevas Newsletter No 3

December 1998 Issue No. 3
LAS CUEVAS
THE NEWSLETTER FOR THE LAS CUEVAS RESEARCH STATION
Since 1991 a series of highly
successful Joint Services Scientific
Expeditions has been carried out to
remote areas of Belize in conjunction
with British Forces Belize, the Natural
History Museum, the Belize Ministry
of Natural Resources, and
representatives of other Scientific
Institutions in the UK, Belize and
America. Completing more than
New Millennium
Expedition
David Sutton
The Natural History Museum
Major Alastair Rogers
Royal Marines Reserve
Corozal
Orange Walk
Turneffe Islands
Airport Camp
Belize City
San Ignacio
Belmopan
Dangriga
Cushta Bani
Caracol
Las Cuevas
Sink Hole
Dark black line between
Caracol and the coast
marks the expedition route
Punta Gorda
Map of Belize showing the route
of the Millennium Expedition
1
1,100 days of fieldwork, JSSEUR has
made a significant contribution to an
understanding of this important area
of neotropical rainforest. In addition,
JSSEUR has given British servicemen
an opportunity to further their
efficiency and education through
challenging adventurous training and
has provided excellent public relations
for British Forces both at home and
overseas. The “New Millennium
Expedition” (NME) plans to continue
this successful formula by mounting
another expedition to mark the
advent of the new millennium and
make a further major contribution to
knowledge of the region. It will
demonstrate both the challenges
which remain for expeditions of the
future and successful co-operation
between the Services and the
scientific community.
NME will explore the extreme upper
reaches of the Raspaculo basin, with
field bases at Cushta Bani, on the
divide to the north of Victoria Peak
and in the Sittee river basin. During
the expedition, the first descent of
one of the large sink holes in the
limestone plateau will be made in
order to study this unusual terrestrial
microhabitat and the possible
interaction with underground aquatic
systems. Though based mainly in the
field, the expedition will rely on
facilities of Las Cuevas Research
Station and British Army Training
and Support Unit Belize (BATSUB).
NME will continue and extend
programmes of scientific research by
The Natural History Museum,
University of Edinburgh, University
of Plymouth/Natural History
Museum and Cleveland State
University.
News
Hurricane Mitch
at Las Cuevas:
the great escape
Sandy Knapp
The Natural History Museum
The Las Cuevas Research Station
had a very lucky escape from the
ravages of Hurricane Mitch, which
so devasted the rest of northern
Central America - but for a few
days we were not so sure what was
going to happen! Chris Minty and
myself went to Las Cuevas from
Sta. Elena on Saturday 24 October,
taking the scenic route through the
Mountain Pine Ridge. In the
evening Chapal Bol was “listening
to the hurricane” via Love FM
Radio, and whilst not yet a
problem, the storm was causing
some concern. Sunday 25 October
was spent exploring the new 50 ha.
Plot (more in the next issue of the
newsletter) and checking the camp
at Monkey Tail Branch, all in the
pouring rain, a sign of things to
come. That evening, it became
clear that listening to the radio
reports on the hurricane was of
the utmost importance as it was
developing into a huge, category 5
storm, and was headed straight for
Belize. Hurricane Hattie, that
flattened the Chiquibul Forest and
so devastated Belize City in 1961,
was a category 3 hurricane - it was
clear we needed to take this one
seriously. Chapal began to make a
list of the things that needed
securing - radio repeater down,
water pump out of cave, vehicles
fuelled etc. It continued to pour
with rain all night, none of us slept
much, partly from worry and partly
because the combined noise of the
rain and the frogs was like having a
drill outside your window!
Monday morning, 26 October.
Chris decided that everybody
should leave the Station - first
vehicle with Chris and myself at
0730, then Chapal, Celia, Ramon
and Orville before noon, after
which time we reckoned that the
Guacamallo Bridge would be
impassable for the duration. We
set out for the bridge and met
along the way two Welsh Guards
(120 of whom had set up camp at
New Maria Camp the day before)
who told us the Guacamallo bridge
was flooded. We went on to see
for ourselves and sure enough,
they were right, the water was a
good 2 metres over the top of the
Satellite image of Hurricane Mitch on 27th October 1998, reproduced
by kind permission of www.wunderground.com.
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bridge and fallen logs were rushing
by. A lone Welsh Guard was
watching, in the pouring rain, for
the 4-ton lorries that were coming
to evacuate the troops. He looked
like he’d had better days! So back
to Cuevas it was.
The flooded Guacamallo Bridge
Back at the Research Station we
spent the rest of the day (which
was oddly sunny and hot!) securing
valuable books, specimens and
equipment against water and wind
damage by putting them all in the
concrete store. Chapal got the
chainsaw ready in case of tree falls
and we began the long discussions
of where we would sit the storm
out - the cave, the Nissen hut, the
new plant dryer? Celia cooked
enough rice and beans to feed us
for a week, just in case, and we
began to collect together all the
blankets and pillows. The tractor,
trailer and one of the Landrovers
were out in the middle of the
clearing - out of the way of falling
trees and buildings. We also
listened to the evacuation of the
rest of Belize on the radio - it was
all very orderly and professional.
In the early afternoon Chapal and
Chris were called away by the
Forest Department to collect some
people who were stranded off the
Caracol road without a radio - thus
not knowing a hurricane was
potentially on its way. They were
collected, and dropped off at the
Guacamallo Bridge, where the river
was lower and it was clear that if we
were to go it had to be right then.
Chapal and Chris came back to
Cuevas yelling “Lets go!” - so all of
us piled into the Landrovers and
raced to the bridge. By this time it
was raining again, and we were not
sure what we would find.
The water was still low enough, so
we crossed - but just in time, as we
could see it rising as we loaded the
men rescued from the Caracol road
into our vehicles on the Pine Ridge
side of the bridge. As we crossed
the Mountain Pine Ridge it poured
with rain. We passed several Batty’s
buses - waiting to evacuate 500 Royal
Marines, BDF and British soldiers on
a training exercise at Kinloch camp.
Driving through the dark in the
pelting rain felt very urgent.
The next day, back in Sta. Elena,
Freda Minty and I got the store
room under the office ready as a
hurricane shelter - with chairs, beds
and food, whilst Chris assisted with
the evacuation of surrounding
villages. That night the acting Prime
Minister of Belize and Minister for
Natural Resources and the
Environment, the Hon. John
Briceno, addressed the nation and in
a moving speech, he spoke of
solidarity and the need to see this
through together. Belize City and
coastal areas were professionally
evacuated by the Police and BDF
and the long wait began. After
several days - it became clear that
Mitch was not moving from the
coast of Honduras, where it was
wreaking havoc. At this time, Owen
Lewis, who has been resident at Las
Cuevas for the last year was taking a
well-earned break on Utila, one of
the Honduran Bay Islands, directly
off the coast of Honduras. He was
The major problem experienced in Belize has been the flooding, as
seen here at Roaring Creek
stranded when the eye of Mitch
moved to within 5 miles of the
island. At the last moment, Mitch
moved away to the south, and the
island escaped the worst of the
hurricane. However, Utila’s airstrip
was destroyed and huge seas
prevented evacuation and the arrival
of food supplies for several days.
The new plant dryer
at Las Cuevas
Sandy Knapp
The Natural History Museum
The newly constructed plant dryer
at the Las Cuevas Research Station
is up and running - having just
been beautifully plastered and
painted to match the rest of the
cement buildings. The facility has
a 3m long gas-burner dryer along
one end and long tables for
specimen preparation along the
two side walls. Ramon Vargas
(BRH) and his assistant Orville
have been collecting intensively at
the Research Station for about a
month, and have been using the
dryer every day. Specimens dry
overnight (all but the thickest and
most fleshy ones) - making
collecting and drying easy and
efficient. Estebán Martínez
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Fortunately, boats and helicopters
began to get through just before the
food situation started to get
desperate. Belize and the Las Cuevas
Research Station both had a lucky
escape from the worst of the
devastation, but in the rest of
northern Mesoamerica the effects of
Mitch will be felt for years to come.
(MEXU - and the discoverer of
Lacandonia of Flora
Mesoamericana fame) will be
collecting in the Las Cuevas area
for a month beginning in midNovember - so the new dryer
seems set to get a great deal of
intensive use!
Ramon Vargas at work drying
herbarium specimens
Projects
The rare Scarlet
Macaw of Belize
Sharon Matola
Belize Zoo
Visitors to the Las Cuevas Research
Station are often fortunate to see a
rare and beautiful sight - a bird often
called “the icon of the American
tropics”, the Scarlet Macaw. Scarlet
Macaws,
found from
southern
Mexico into
central
Nicaragua,
have
recently
been
determined
to be a
subspecies
as they are
larger than
the more
southern
scarlets, and
also have
more blue
in their
wings. Ara macao cyanoptera, their reassigned Latin nomenclature, draws
particular attention to this greater
degree of blueness, as “cyanoptera”
is the Latin “blue wing”. However,
Ara macao cyanoptera is extremely
scarce throughout its range. Years
of deforestation and hunting
throughout northern Central
America have decreased their
numbers significantly. In Belize,
major storms, as well as hurricanes,
have destroyed many of their
nesting trees, a factor which has
also contributed to their decline.
Current estimations of their
population indicate that less than
250 birds live within the forests of
Belize, and to ensure their future,
this scant population must be
managed. Applying sound
conservation management
techniques to any animal population
requires that their natural history
first be understood.
Taking the lead in tackling this vital
field research is Dr Katherine
Renton. Having years of experience
studying Macaw ecology and
behaviour in the tropical forests of
Peru, as well as initiating other field
research on Mexican parrots, Dr
Renton, working with funding
support from Wildlife Preservation
Trust International (WPTI), and the
Foundation for Wildlife
Conservation, has now begun to
discover new and exciting
information about Belize’s remaining
Scarlet Macaws.
Las Cuevas Research Station plays
an important role in this work. Dr
Renton’s interest, heightened by
observations on Scarlet Macaw
activity accomplished by Las
Cuevas researchers and staff, led
her to the station in order to
investigate further. Initial findings
strongly suggested that Las Cuevas
and the nearby vicinity serves as an
important breeding ground for
these birds, as well as providing a
habitat abundant with necessary
food sources. Meetings between Dr
Renton and Las Cuevas station
manager, Chris Minty, then led to
another dynamic aspect of this
fieldwork. As it appears that Scarlet
Macaws nest in and around the area
of Las Cuevas, artificial nest boxes
are scheduled to be erected and
4
monitored. Macaws, like many
species of parrots, use existing
holes in trees for their nests.
Competition for these nest holes is
severe, and to reduce nesting stress
on a portion of the Belize Scarlet
Macaw population, the artificial
nest strategy is planned to be
implemented in the near future.
Ensuring that the Scarlet Macaws of
Belize will prosper into the new
millennium will take a concerted
effort
involving
field
research,
environmental
education,
and public
awareness.
These
objectives
are
challenging
ones, but
they are
being met
with
unmatched
enthusiasm.
And due
to the
cooperation
provided through the Las Cuevas
Research Station, further critical field
investigations and project plans within
the Chiquibul Forest, on behalf of
the remaining populations of Belize’s
Scarlet Macaws, will be realized.
Scarlet Macaw at the Belize Zoo by Peter
Stafford, Natural History Museum
If you would like to know
more about the work of
The Belize Zoo
have a look at their website
at:
www.belizenet.com/
belizezoo.html
Expedition Report
Brathay in Belize
First Impressions
Paul Knights
Brathay Expedition
Diary: 29th July 1998
As we reported in issue no. 2 of Las
Cuevas, a Brathay Expedition Group
from the UK, consisting of sixthform students from Oakham
School and students from Warwick
University spent three weeks
camping at Las Cuevas. Part of the
mission of Las Cuevas is to enable
young students from around the
world to experience tropical forest
research for themselves.
We are very grateful to Brathay and
Oakham School for their kind
permission to publish the following
extracts and picture from their
report - Belize 1998. It is clear that
the students found this an
inspirational experience.
“Had a safety briefing all about
snakes and peccaries. If you see a
snake, remain calm and back away.
If you see a peccary, run like hell or
sit up a tree for a few hours. They
are wild pigs, which stink, and have
fangs. They attack you in groups,
and rip you to shreds, basically.
Chris, the scientist in charge at Las
Cuevas Research Station, took us on
a little walk around the forest on a
path. We saw six beautiful scarlet
macaws, and a black toucan with a
yellow breast, and a red, blue, green
and yellow beak. Saw loads of furry
caterpillars, large dung beetles which
walk like robots, and other weird
things like a black and yellow worm,
and an orange caterpillar. There
were also some Mayan mounds burial mounds - which looked like
mini hills.
My Forest
Diana Lewis
Brathay Expedition
Sounds that haunt your ears forever,
Stars that shine as never before,
Birds that sing with beautiful melody,
Insects that scuttle across the floor.
So much variety, so much activity,
Peace and tranquility settle the Earth.
Plants and animals fight for survival
Battling to prove just what they are
worth.
Day after day begins, night after
night time ends
Cycle on cycle repeats in this dome,
Rainforest proves in all of its glory
For millions of creatures this jungle
is home.
5
We walked to our campsite, which is
about a kilometre down the road. It
is a cabana surrounded by forest.
The cabana would need rethatching
in places, and served as the kitchen
for the next 3 weeks. The groups
took different areas of the forest.
Most of us were in hammocks,
except for the Funky bugles who
were in tents. The latrine took ages
to dig, and the hammocks ages to set
up. We needed to set up two Aframes against two trees, and put a
pole across the top of the A-frames.
Our hammocks were tied up
between the two trees, our mosquito
nets tied up on the horizontal poles
above our heads, and our tarpaulins
draped over the poles and tied taut to
nearby trees to protect us from the
torrential rain, which luckily only
came three times in the three weeks.
By the time we were finished, the
campsite had gone from being
completely deserted to being full of
blue plastic sheets, and 24 people
who would make it their home for
three weeks, sleeping in hammocks
under the rain forest canopy”.
Projects
Another way of
sharing information:
databasing the plant
types from Belize
Stefan Ungricht
The Natural History Museum
The assessment and wise
management of plant resources
depends on a variety of data. In this
age of information and parallel
accelerated loss of biodiversity, fast
and global access to this data
becomes more and more imperative.
Not surprisingly data relating to types
(the reference specimen to which the
name of the species is linked) is given
highest priority in a biological
collection as vast and rich in types as
the Natural History Museum’s,
because of the great scientific and
historical value of type specimens.
For a relatively small country there
were surprisingly many species
described on the basis of types from
Belize. About 600 specific and
infraspecific names are based on
collections from Belize (or the former
British Honduras) while roughly
3500-4000 vascular plant species are
actually expected to occur in Belize.
Most of the specimens, however, are
stored in herbaria in the UK and the
United States with an important but
smaller collection present in
Herbarium of the Forest Department
of Belize. In an attempt to repatriate
as much of the pertaining
information as possible, Steve
Blackmore, Sandy Knapp and Bob
Press initiated a databasing project
focused on type specimens. This
project was done in collaboration
with the Field Museum (Chicago),
Smithsonian Institution (Washington)
and the American Museum of
Natural History (New York).
Microsoft Access 97 is used as a
platform for a relational database
application. The aim is to provide
access to relevant data concerning all
vascular plant species originally
published designating types from
Belize. This includes the data on the
original publication, currently
accepted name, type collection
localities and type specimens as well
as their current housing. Information
is drawn from a variety of different
internal and external sources. For the
back-bone of the type related data the
most recent, as yet unpublished,
checklist of the vascular plants of
Belize kindly provided by M. Balick,
M. Nee and D. Atha was used in
concert with the American type
registers of the herbaria at Missouri
(MO), New York (NY), Washington
(US), Austin (TEX) and Cambridge
(GH) which were queried via the
Internet in order to extract
information concerning the species
described from Belize. Furthermore,
the standard set of data pertaining to
a particular species or infra-specific
taxon is supplemented by providing
the scanned text of the original
publication (the protologue) including
the latin description and, if
applicable, accompanying illustrations,
allowing the future user to profit from
the extensive library resources at the
Natural History Museum. Later on,
digital high resolution images of type
specimens will render a prompt
comparison of a specimen with its
species description and the type
specimen possible. Apart from that,
potentially harmful and timeconsuming handling and shipping of
the valuable type specimens can be
reduced.
The Museum is committed to
developing other information resources
on Belize and to sharing them with
interested parties in the country. This
database will be made available in 1999.
Figure 1: Scanned type specimen example of Beloperone crenata
Standl. (Acanthaceae).
6
Figure 2: Scanned protologue example, including illustration, of Louteridium
chartaceum Leonard (Acanthaceae).
New PhD Students to
work at Las Cuevas
Esther Kamau
Cambridge University
We are delighted to welcome
Esther Kamau into the
Department of Botany, NHM.
Esther is beginning a PhD project
on the population genetic structure
of Schizolobium parahybum
(Caesalpinoideae), or “quamwood”,
in Belize. Fieldwork will primarily
be carried out around the Las
Cuevas Research Station. She is
registered at Cambridge University,
where the molecular analyzes will
be done. Her supervisors are Prof.
John Parker, head of the
Cambridge Botanic Garden, and
Dr Nancy Garwood, in Botany at
the NHM.
Dr Nancy Garwood
Frutex glaber; folia oblongo-elliptica, apice acuminata, basin versus sensim
angustata; panicula terminalis, laxa; calycis laciniae oblongo-lineares, acutai;
corolla galbina; capsula cylindrica; semina alba.
A glabrous shrub; leaf blades oblong-elliptic, 15 to 18 cm. long, 4 to 5.5 cm.
wide, acuminate at apex, narrowed at base and decurrent on the petiole, entire,
the costa and lateral veins (10 or 12 pairs) prominent, the cystoliths minute and
inconspicuous; petioles slender, about 5 cm. long; flowers few, borne in a
slender loose terminal panicle, the internodes 6 to 12 cm. long, the branches
opposite, up to 1.5 cm. long, simple or forked, 4- to 7-jointed, the bracts ovate,
acute, deciduous, leaving prominent scars, the pedicels 3 to 4 cm. long; calyx
segments linear-oblong, up to 2.5 cm. long, 3 to 4 mm. wide at base, gradually
narrowed to 2 mm. near tip, acute, nearly equal; corolla 3 cm. long, about 2 cm.
in diameter, yellowish green, the lobes about 1 cm. long; stamens about 6 cm.
long, the filaments sparingly pubescent, curved near base and united to about 1
mm. above point of insertion, the anthers 8 mm. long; style about as long as
stamens, the stigma 2-lobed, the lobes flat, oval, about 1.5 mm. long; capsule
cylindric, 2 to 2.5 cm. long, 4 to 5 mm. in diameter; seeds flat, white, the
margins pubescent, the flat surfaces roughened.
Type in the U. S. National Herbarium, No. 1,589,669, collected at Gracie Rock,
Sibun River, British Honduras, March 24, 1935, by Percy H. Gentle (No.1526).
Although strikingly typical of the genus in most respects, L. chartaceum is unique
in having four fertile stamens instead of two. It is further characterized by its
narrow chartaceous calyx segments.
7
Robin Coleman
The University of Greenwich
Robin Coleman, PhD student at
the University of Greenwich jointly
supervised by Keith Shawe of
University of Greenwich and NRI
and Sandy Knapp of the NHM,
left for Belize on 1 Nov to begin
her field work in the Colombia
River Forest Reserve (CRFR) in
Toledo District. Her project, a
quantitative assessment of the
medicinal plant resources of the
CRFR, will directly contribute to
the Forest Department’s
management plan for the area. Mr
Augustine Howe, of San Antonio
village, will be helping her with her
field work in the CRFR, and she
may set up a control plot at Las
Cuevas. Best of luck to Robin, and
we look forward to seeing her data.
Dr Sandy Knapp
News
Comments please!
If you would like to
contribute an article or
publish a letter in the next
issue of Las Cuevas please
contact the editor as soon
as possible. Your
comments on the
newsletter are very
welcome!
For further information
about Las Cuevas
please contact:
This striking flower belongs to Solandra grandiflora
(Solanaceae), which has never previously been recorded
from Belize, but was collected from the Las Cuevas
Research Station by Ramon Vargas and Sandy Knapp in
October 1998. It is evidently quite common in the Chiquibul
Forest and no doubt many other exciting discoveries
remain to be made.
In Belize:
Research Station Manager
Mr Chris Minty
Email: cuevas@btl.net
Las Cuevas Research Station
P.O. Box 410, Belmopan
Belize, Central America
Tel: 00 501 92 3779
Fax: 00 501 92 2006
In London:
You can now visit
the Las Cuevas
website at:
http://
ww.nhm.ac.uk/
botany/lascuevas
for all the latest
news about
science at Las
Cuevas and
information on
working at the
Research Station.
Las Cuevas is a joint
initiative between the
Government of Belize and
the Natural History
Museum, London.
Its mission, “to discover
the effects of natural and
human impacts on the
biological diversity of the
Maya Forest and to
contribute practical
knowledge for the
sustainable management
and utilisation of tropical
forests”.
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Dr Sandy Knapp
Botany Department
The Natural History Museum
London SW7 5BD
Tel: 0171 938 8877
Email: S.Knapp@nhm.ac.uk
Editor of Las Cuevas
Lynn Sanders
Botany Department
The Natural History Museum
London SW7 5BD
Tel: 0171 938 8797
Email: L.Sanders@nhm.ac.uk
Website:
http://www.nhm.ac.uk/
botany/lascuevas