Today we split into groups and did mini research projects. We collected data in the morning, analyzed it and made a poster in the afternoon, and then presented our poster and findings after dinner. I had the best project: sitting on the beach watching pelicans. Our questions were, do juvenile, subadult, and adult pelicans spend different amounts of time fishing and do they have different success rates? We took turns watching a pelican in each age group for 30 minutes, counting how many dives it made and how many were successful. A successful fishing attempt was when a pelican swallowed whatever it caught in it's pouch/bill. Every hour, we also counted how many pelicans of each age group were sitting on rocks and how many were actively foraging. It was another hot, humid day, but we sat in the shade on the warm sand while a nice sea breeze kept the humidity at bay. I remained barefoot all day; it was fabulous.
Our analysis concluded that all age groups of pelicans were equally successful at catching fish, but the juvenile birds put in more effort. They were seen actively foraging the most, possibly because they need more food or are less efficient than adults because they haven't learned the proper technique. Indeed, we observed several juveniles splashing around comically and coming up empty-pouched. After our poster was finished, we cooled off in the ocean with our study subjects diving around us. New friends and I studied on the beach under the stars, and I went to bed excited for tomorrow's long hike through the rainforest.
updaaate - I like seeing what you're up to!
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