Tropical animals E-Book

melissa amy

• Herausgeber: Amy Melissa
• Kategorie: Ratgeber
• Sprache: Englisch

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2022

Beschreibung

Early in 1960 an unusual opportunity arose to carry on biological field
work in the midst of virgin rainforest in southern El Petén, Guatemala.
At that time the Ohio Oil Company of Guatemala had an air strip and camp
at Chinajá, from which place the company was constructing a road
northward through the forest. In mid-February, 1960, J. Knox Jones, Jr.
and I flew into El Petén to collect and study mammals, reptiles, and
amphibians. While enjoying the comforts of the fine field camp at
Chinajá, we worked in the surrounding forest and availed ourselves of
the opportunity to be on hand when the road crews were cutting the tall
trees in the forest, thereby bringing to the ground many interesting
specimens of the arboreal fauna. We stayed at Chinajá until late March,
with the exception of a week spent at Toocog, another camp of the Ohio
Oil Company located 15 kilometers southeast of La Libertad and on the
edge of the savanna. Thus, at Toocog we were able to work both in the
forest and on the savanna. In the summer of 1960, John Wellman
accompanied me to El Petén for two weeks in June and July. Most of our
time was spent at Chinajá, but a few days were spent at Toocog and other
localities in south-central El Petén.

Leseprobe

DESCRIPTION OF THE AREA

A tremendous lowland area stretches northward for about 700

kilometers from the highlands of Guatemala to the Gulf of Mexico. The

northern -thirds of this low undeniable is bordered on 3 aspects with the aid of using seas

and bureaucracy the Yucatán Peninsula. The lowlands at the bottom of the

Yucatán Peninsula make up the Departamento El Petén of Guatemala. The

region with which this file is worried includes the south-valuable

a part of El Petén.

Physiography

Immediately south of Chinajá is various hills, the Serrania de

Chinajá, having an nearly due east-west axis and a crest of approximately 600

meters above sea level. South of the Serrania de Chinajá are

succeedingly better ridges constructing as much as the Meseta de Cobán and Sierra

de Pocolha and sooner or later to the principle Guatemalan highlands. The northern

face of the Serrania de Chinajá is a fault scarp losing all at once from

approximately 650 meters on the crest to approximately a hundred and forty meters at the bottom. From the

base of the Serrania de Chinajá northward to the Río de los angeles Pasión at

Sayaxché the terrain is lightly rolling and has a complete comfort of approximately

50 meters. North of the Río de los angeles Pasión is a low dome attaining an

elevation of one hundred seventy meters at La Libertad; see Stuart (1935:12) for further

dialogue of the physiography of valuable El Petén. The rocks in

southern El Petén are predominately Miocene marine limestones; there are

occasional wallet of Pliocene deposits. There is little proof of

subterranean answer at Chinajá, however northward in valuable El Petén

karsting is not unusualplace. The higher few inches of soil is humus wealthy in

natural matter; beneath that is clay.

Climate

The weather of El Petén is tropical with equable temperatures for the duration of

the year. Temperatures at Chinajá various among a night time-time low of 65°

F. and a sunlight hours excessive of ninety one° F. at some point of the time of our visits. In the

Köppen machine of class the weather at Chinajá and Toocog is Af.

Rain falls for the duration of the year, however there may be a great dry season. To

every body who has traveled from south to north in El Petén and the Yucatán

Peninsula, it's far apparent from the adjustments in flowers that there may be a

lower in rainfall from south to north. There is a great

distinction among Chinajá and Toocog. Although rainfall facts aren't

to be had for Chinajá and Toocog, there are facts for close by stations

(Sapper, 1932). At Paso Caballos at the Río San Pedro approximately forty

kilometers northwest of Toocog the common annual rainfall quantities to

1620 mm.; the driest month is March (21 mm.), and the wettest months are

June (269 mm.) and September (265 mm.). At Cubilquitz, Alta Verapaz,

approximately 35 kilometers south-southwest of Chinajá and at an elevation of

three hundred meters, the common annual rainfall is 4006 mm.; the driest month is

March (128 mm.), and the wettest months are July (488 mm.) and October

(634 mm.).

During the 18 days in February and March, 1960, that we saved facts on

the climate at Chinajá slight to heavy showers took place on seven days.

During our live there in June and July rain fell each day, because it did in

Toocog. However, at some point of the week spent at Toocog in March no rain fell.

Vegetation

The flowers of northern and valuable El Petén has been studied with the aid of using

Lundell (1937), who made best passing feedback regarding the flowers of

the southern a part of El Petén. No floristic research had been made

there. The following feedback are always short and are intended

best to present the reader a trendy photo of the woodland. I actually have covered

names of most of the commoner bushes that I recognized.

Chinajá is placed in a tremendous expanse of unbroken rainforest. In this

woodland there may be a great stratification of the flowers. Three

strata are apparent; withinside the uppermost layer the tops of the bushes are

from forty to 50 meters above the floor. The spreading crowns of the bushes

and the interlacing vines shape a almost non-stop cover over the decrease

layers. Among the not unusualplace bushes withinside the higher stratum are _Calophyllum

brasiliense_, _Castilla elastica_, _Cedrela mexicana_, _Ceiba

pentandra_, _Didalium guianense_, _Ficus_ sp., _Sideroxylon lundelli_,

_Swietenia macrophylla_, and _Vitex_ sp. (Pl. 1, fig. 1). The center

layer of bushes have crowns approximately 25 meters above the floor; those bushes

in a few locations wherein the higher cover is lacking shape the tallest bushes

withinside the woodland. This is specifically actual on steep hillsides. Common bushes

withinside the center layer consist of _Achras zapote_, _Bombax ellipticum_,

_Cecropia mexicana_, _Orbignya cohune_, and _Sabal_ sp. The lowermost

layer reaches a top of approximately 10 meters; in lots of locations withinside the woodland

this accretion is absent. Common bushes withinside the decrease stratum consist of

_Crysophila argentea_, _Cymbopetalum penduliflorum_, _Casearia_ sp., and

_Hasseltia dioica_.

The floor cowl is sparce; reputedly only some small herbs and ferns

stay at the closely shaded woodland ground. Important herpetological

habitats consist of the leaf muddle, rotting stumps, and rotting tree

trunks at the woodland ground and the buttresses of among the gigantic

bushes, specifically _Ceiba pentandra_ (Pl. 2). Epiphytes, specifically

diverse forms of bromeliads, are not unusualplace. Most often those are in

the bushes withinside the higher and center strata.

At Toocog there may be sharp wreck among savanna and woodland (Pl. 7, fig.