Saturday, April 18, 2015

Mosquito Misfits

Palo Verde, located near the Cañas region of Costa Rica, was our third most awaited biological station visit. Out of all the stations we visited, it had the most different climate and forest. Located in the Palo Verde National Park, Palo Verde has a dry and humid temperate forest within its wetlands. The station prizes its gracious chef, mango trees, and the bountiful monkeys and iguanas roaming casually around the station. Arriving with our only male professors, drivers, and teaching assistant, our group of 13 girls were suddenly faced with an intense dry heat, and of course…mosquitoes.

Unlike the more humid and pleasant climates of Costa Rica, Palo Verde was the hottest place we had ever been to within our 4-month trip. Despite it being the dry season, Palo Verde frequently experiences the rise and fall of the river, and subsequently, also the wetlands. We learned that when the water rises, it brings with it the mosquitoes. For about 4 of the 7 days we were in the station, the water had risen in the wetlands and in came the beasts. I had never seen this quantity of mosquitoes in my life, even in India, where they are most hated! I was mostly surprised that there could be this amount even in the dry season. Of course each night we had to tuck ourselves into our mosquito nets, and we even had to rush our toilet time because the bathrooms were just swarming with mosquitoes. My classmates even brought mosquito nets to class. By the end of each lecture, there was always a shocking mosquito graveyard. By the end of our week at Palo Verde, our bodies were covered with swollen mosquito bites!

As much as I complained about the mosquitos, I began to understand how they truly contributed to the biodiversity of the wetland environment. Without them, there would be no frogs, iguanas, or monkeys that could eat them. No frogs or iguanas, leads to the absence of birds. The entire ecosystem falls apart without these blood-sucking misfits! We, as humans, have truly impacted the environment with our presence and infrastructure. Mosquitoes were constantly attracted to light, and they knew exactly where to find us. With this human impact, there is no way we can stop these mosquitoes. I asked one of the Palo Verde rangers about the quantity of mosquitoes during the wet season; he mentioned that we only experienced 2% of what he usually encounters. I couldn’t believe how nonchalant the workers at the park seemed, and how they just accepted their bites. They knew how important mosquitos were to the dry forest biosphere, and there was nothing they could do about. I admire there attitude and their research at the station.

I know now that when I see the next mosquito, I will think twice about killing it!

Meghna Purkayastha

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