THE MBARACAYU
FOREST RESERVE
And The Story of Its Success

Introduction
The Fundacion's Story
Of Bats and Ectoparasites
Learning to Preserve
Graphics Version

OF BATS AND ECTOPARASITES
by Juanita Thigpen

Charlie Swift, lantern placed firmly on his head, trudges through a muddy trail in the dark. We dutifully follow behind him as I, freshly arrived from an urban environment in the United States, secretly hope that a poisonous snake won't come slithering out onto the trail and bite me. (I later learn that the snakes are hibernating because its winter). We stop to inspect a large net that Swift, a volunteer researcher from Lubbock, Texas, has set up to catch bats. This time, he's found a yellow-shouldered fruit bat entangled in the mesh. The tiny bat moves its rubberlike wings, struggling to break free.

"Ya knotted yourself in there, real good, young lady," says Swift to the bat, in his characteristically west Texas drawl.

"I'm gonna have to hold her and you dig her out like we did last time," he tells his project partner, Vernon Dye.

"Ouch!" The large, bearded Earth Science teacher yelps, as the bat nips him on his index finger. "I'm allright," he assures us.

Dye and Swift are part of a team of scientists representing Texas Tech University, based in Lubbock, Texas, U.S.A. They have come here for a fortnight to identify and collect small mammal specimens, which have scarcely been studied until now.

At the reserve's newly built biological station, Steven Presley, Ph.D. candidate from Texas Tech, hunches over a short-tailed fruit bat that lies helplessly in his hands. He carefully removes microscopic parasites from the mammal's body and places these in a small vial. By collecting and identifying these parasites they can help resolve taxonomic problems among the species of bats, he explains.

"Certain species of ectoparasites live on only one species of bat or rodent."

The team has collected 22 small mammal species so far. Some of the finds are new discoveries to the reserve, but not new to science.

Research Paradise

Since the first biological inventories in 1987, scientists from more than 20 countries have come to the Mbaracayu Forest in northeastern Paraguay to study the region's many plants, animals, and natural communities. They have raced against time as much of the original forest has been deforested. Studies have ranged from bird counts to the medicinal uses of herbs. Still, scientists have only scratched the surface. For example, they are now only documenting the plants, insects, and micromammals that exist in the ecosystem.

"We still know very little," says Victor Vera, a biologist with the Fundacion Moises Bertoni (FMB), currently Director of the Biodiversity and Ecosystem Management department.

"This is a great place for Ph.D. candidates to come to do doctoral research," adds FMB board member Diane Espinoza.

In 1991, National Law 112/91 established the Mbaracayu Forest Reserve, protecting the world's largest remaining contiguous parcel of Interior Atlantic Forest, one of the most endangered ecoregions in Latin America. FMB administers an extensive scientific program, working with universities and museums worldwide. Recently, the foundation installed a biological station with living quarters on the reserve. A Ph.D. candidate from the U.S. saw the need to establish a more permanent facility and raised the funds needed for the lab. The lab is equipped with microscopes, cameras, and other equipment donated by the Japanese Government that gives scientists more flexibility to do their studies.

Risking Jaguars

FMB, in collaboration with London's Natural History Museum and the Paraguayan Natural History Museum, is conducting detailed surveys of the insects and plants that exist in the reserve. While on diplomatic duty with her husband in England, board member Espinoza managed to get the museum interested.

"I thought I could take a break from the foundation when I moved to London, but they told me, "No way -- you can help us from there,"" she quips.

Antonio Claudio Ferreira, a Brazilian agronomist specialized in entomology with the museums' survey project, looks through the lenses of a Leica Zoom 2000, a sophisticated microscope.

"This is a palm weevil, which is the adult form of a larvae that's commonly eaten by the Ache Indians," says the young entomologist.

The Ache, a hunter-gather society native to the region, offered Ferreira a sample, which he found to be "delicious."

In addition to the survey work, the entomology team is searching for evidence of two little known but potentially deadly diseases to humans that are carried by insects. Fortunately, they have yet to find traces of the disease. They are also studying prey and predator relationships in the wild, which can be applied to controlling crop failures.

Like the entomologists, the botany team must start from the ground up. Spending weeks at a time in the field, they collect samples of all the plants they find, preserving many by placing them in between wooden slabs. Their work is not without its risks. Often, they must trek deep into the woods at Mbaracayu to collect samples, risking attacks from jaguars and the occasional poacher's stray bullet. Fortunately, they haven't had any problems yet. The botanists will ship off species that they were unable to identify to experts throughout the world for further identification. In two years' time, they hope to survey all of the reserve's 19 natural communities.

"It's very interesting to think that maybe you are discovering new things," says Spanish-born botanist Belen Jimenez.

The Ache's Transition to GPS

Each culture has unique traits that define it as a society. In the case of the Ache Indians of northeastern Paraguay, it's the ability to hunt and live off the land. Until recently, the Ache survived mainly by hunting. But now that most of their native hunting grounds have been deforested, the Ache Indians are learning to settle down. With the help of the Fundacion Moises Bertoni and others, they are setting up permanent housing and establishing vegetable gardens in two different colonies.

Anthropologist Kim Hill has studied the Ache for more than 20 years. While helping these forest people make the difficult transition to modern civilization, he has also found a way to preserve the Ache's unique abilities. The University of New Mexico professor, through an ecosystem research grant from The Nature Conservancy, hired the Ache Indians to conduct important biological inventory work in the Mbaracayu Forest Nature Reserve. They are using their hunting skills to determine the population density of various vertebrate species on the reserve -- the same vertebrates that they have hunted since they were young. Hill has trained them in sophisticated techniques such as the use of Global Positioning Systems and walkie-talkies.

"I wouldn't have it any other way," says Hill. "These people know the forest better than the most highly trained scientist."

Using no ropes, the Ache climb to the top of tall trees to get accurate GPS (Global Positioning System) readings.

"Work that would take a scientist months to accomplish takes the Ache only a few weeks. The indians are highly attuned to the forest's clues," he says.

Just by looking carefully at leaf positions, for example, they can tell what kind of animal or human has been through there and how recently. For every 35 monkeys that the Ache finds, a scientist may find one, says Felipe Jakugi, one of the Ache team members. A hard day's work is not without its rewards. Besides earning a steady paycheck, the Ache are allowed to hunt non- endangered species in the reserve, using their traditional bows and arrows. Hill has big hopes for his team. The anthropologist would like to see if they can work with other indian groups in South America to train them how to conduct biological inventories in other countries.

Happy Eagles

The Mbaracayu Forest Nature Reserve is best known for its birds. FMB scientists, working with experts from many institutions, including the World Wildlife Fund and Cambridge University, have counted more than 400 different species. They have found more than 50 endemic species, that is, species that are native to the Atlantic Forest ecosystem. Of these, 12 species are threatened, says Alberto Madrono, one of two resident ornithologists who are employed by FMB.

The Teminck's Seedeater and the White-winged Nightjar are globally threatened endemic birds that have been found on the reserve. Both are dependent on increasingly rare natural communities that exist within the Mbaracayu Forest -- bamboo forest and the savanna-like cerrado, respectively.

"It is more dangerous to deforest the Atlantic Forest today than the Amazon," says Madrono.

The forest, which once was connected to the Amazon, has a higher concentration of endemic birds because of its isolation and smaller size.

Working with ornithologist Estela Esquivel, Madrono continues to search for new birds. Up until now they have relied upon on-the-ground surveys, but recently, they had a breakthrough in their methodology. Paul Donahue, an expert climber who built the first canopy walkway in the Americas, came to Mbaracayu and taught the scientists how to climb high into the treetops using climbing gear. Many more bird species can be found in the canopy, says Madrono.

"We are finding more species in the canopy thanks to that technology. I wouldn't be surprised if we make some new discoveries to science."

The ornithologists are also studying the health of bird populations, analyzing whether the reserve is sufficient to protect the birds that exist there. They are also determining the requirements of the habitats of the most vulnerable species. Madrono and Esquivel fear that some may need more habitat, such as the Harpy Eagle and the Scarlet Macaw, both extremely rare in Paraguay.

According to Esquivel, a pair of Harpy Eagles need 18,000 hectares of habitat.

"Given the fact that Mbaracayu is 63,000 hectares in size, only four pairs could live in the reserve. That is not sufficient genetically to assure their long-term survival," she says.

Among their recommendations, the ornithologists believe that biological corridors -- wooded areas linking major natural areas -- need to be set aside.

"There are many species in the reserve that are surviving, but in the long- term, they are probably not going to survive without biological corridors," says Esquivel.

Introduction
The Fundacion's Story
Of Bats and Ectoparasites
Learning to Preserve

All Paintings are © COPYRIGHT PROTECTED BY INTERNATIONAL LAW and were provided by The Electric Art Gallery - All Rights Reserved. - Text © Juanita Thigpen, Fundacion Moises Bertoni - OneWorld Magazine is Hosted By The EnviroLink Network - Produced by webStories,Inc. - Copyright © 1996, webStories, Inc. All Rights Reserved.