20 years of Crees: A celebration of a regenerating rainforest site!
Recently we celebrated our anniversary in July and wow, what a journey it has been up to this point, from humble beginnings in 2003 as a blank canvas after environmentally destructive ranching and logging activities! To then construct the biological research station of the Manu Learning Centre from the ground up and enable the regeneration […]
Importance of functional groups
Insects play an important role in ecosystems, becoming present at different levels of the trophic chain. The different taxa can be grouped into functional groups according to the attributes or ecological roles that they fulfil. A very important taxon is Hymenoptera, which includes wasps, bees, ants, etc. Studying species that form different functional groups is […]
An enriching journey
It has been a pleasure for me to return to the Manu Learning Center biological station, this time as an intern. The experience has been more than enriching. I have learned much more about mammals, butterflies, amphibians, reptiles and my favourite group: birds! I feel like the three months here went by too quickly! I […]
Bottle vs Digging shovel
June has arrived and with this… WE CONTINUE WITH THE BIOGARDEN PROJECT! We couldn’t be happier to continue the bio-garden project with the children of the “Niño de Praga” kindergarten. We have been working with them in the bio-garden within their school yard. They were excited to work with us! Throughout the weeks, we developed […]
The colours of the jungle
Every day living in the MLC biological field station is an adventure, as proof of this, on the night of June 6th, we found a rainbow boa in the vicinity of the research station! We are especially lucky, because we managed to find the same species twice this month! The second boa was found during […]
Mammals and camera traps
Mammals play a very important role in ecosystems performing a wide range of functions such as seed dispersal, predation, herbivory, ecosystem engineers, among others. Many of them are considered keystone species whose effects are not only disproportionately large relative to their abundance, but are functionally irreplaceable. A good knowledge of the presence and distribution of […]
A dream coming true
Since I was a child, I have felt an admiration and curiosity for nature. Guided by this passion, years later I became a biologist and had the opportunity to travel to many places, but I had to get to know the rainforest of the Manu in my heart. When I saw the call for an […]
Manu National Park 50 Anniversary
The year 2023 is a special year for Manu, as it marks the 50th anniversary since its creation! To commemorate this historic occasion, our crew took part in activities within Cusco and Villa Salvación. We were at the Manu Biosphere Reserve Fair, where local producers from Cusco and the Madre de Dios area sold their […]
An unusual encounter
One of the surveys at the Manu Learning Centre Biological Field Station is TILT (Terrestrial In Line Transect) which is focused on mammals and game birds. On May 17th, we prepared for TILT as always. We brought our head torches, batteries, binoculars, cameras and water to walk for four hours. During our walk on the […]
Parasitoids in the forest
Parasitoidism is a striking behavior that occurs in different groups of insects in order to ensure their survival. It happens in a particular life stage (generally larvae) when they are parasites of a host and once they have reached their desired level of development, they kill their host. They are also important for ecosystem balance […]