The Frost Laboratory: Plant Integrative Biology and Chemical Ecology
Sample Itinerary
Day 1
Depart Louisville and Travel to Lima, Peru. Arrive early in the AM on a red-eye, or arrive near midnight. Catch the earliest flight to Iquitos from Lima that we can.
Day 2
Travel from Lima to the ACTS Field Station. One flight from Lima over the Andes to Iquitos. Then bus transfer to Explorama offices, and speed boats for about 3 hours down the Amazon River and up the Napo River until we reach the Sucusari river. Settle into the lodge, and have downtime to recover from travel.
Day 3
Our first sunrise in the canopy. After breakfast, discuss the field experiments and prepare to begin. Morning sampling in the forest understory. Afternoon sampling in the forest canopy. Return to the ACTS Lodge to enter the data and discuss the results. Night Hike after dinner to see glowing fungi.
Day 4
The second sunrise in the canopy (optional) with birding on the agenda. After breakfast, we continue with our field experiments, this time doing some experiments with ants. Today we examine life as a canopy arthropod. By the afternoon, we will be working on developing your own projects and you should be out collecting your first sets of data. Our night hike this evening will focus on arthropods (of course, we see what we see, arthropod or otherwise!), and leaf mimik kadydids are fairly common.
Day 5
Today we will explore the world of plant chemical ecology. We will learn how to extract plant metabolites in the field, manipulate damage experimentally, and perform thin layer chromatography to visualize phenolics and alkaloids. You continue with your independent questions.
Day 6
We wrap up experiments from previous days, and set out for a day of group independent study projects. This is our last day at ACTS, and our last day at the canopy walkway.
Day 7
We say our final goodbyes to the walkway, and today we transfer to the Napo Lodge for one night. At the Napo, we have three activities, and their timing is weather dependent. We will go on a boat ride to a blackwater lake to look for hoatzins. We will visit the ethnobotanical garden and have a lesson from the local shaman. As night, we will again venture out on a boat to search for caiman. In years past, we have observed glowing fungi, glowing beetles, among other incredible wildlife. We will discuss life in the rainforest. Before we leave the remote lodges, each student will give a presentation about their research questions and some results.
Day 8
We move closer to the city today as we travel to the main Explorama Lodge, which is located on a small tributary of the Amazon river in an area called the Yanomono. You will feel a noticeable difference in the area, and we will be housed on a tributary of the Amazon River. We will visit a local molasses factory on the banks of the Amazon and discover how sugar cane is processed into molasses.
Day 9
Today will be filled with Piranha fishing, looking for pink river dolphins, swimming in the Amazon, and searching for sloth in the large island in the middle of the Amazon called Yanamono.
Day 10
Opportunities for cultural interactions are not to be missed. Today we will interact with an indigenous group that lives near the lodge, and visit a village to learn about life on the Amazon.
Day 11
In the afternoon, we transfer into the city of Iquitos. After getting settled into our hotel, we will venture out for an evening on the town.
Day 12
The morning we have all been waiting for, heading to the market to taste suri (beetle grubs)! We will tour the market and get a glimpse of daily life in this bustling city. In the afternoon, we transfer to the airport for our flight to Lima. In Lima, we will have a tour of this capital city, learn about it's history and culture, enjoy a dinner out, and watch an amazing water/light show at Parque de la Reserva. This is not to be missed!
Day 13
Arrive back in the United States, and Louisville!
Debriefing
A few days after we return, we will meet as a group to debrief the expedition and discuss our experiences.
Depart Louisville and Travel to Lima, Peru. Arrive early in the AM on a red-eye, or arrive near midnight. Catch the earliest flight to Iquitos from Lima that we can.
Day 2
Travel from Lima to the ACTS Field Station. One flight from Lima over the Andes to Iquitos. Then bus transfer to Explorama offices, and speed boats for about 3 hours down the Amazon River and up the Napo River until we reach the Sucusari river. Settle into the lodge, and have downtime to recover from travel.
Day 3
Our first sunrise in the canopy. After breakfast, discuss the field experiments and prepare to begin. Morning sampling in the forest understory. Afternoon sampling in the forest canopy. Return to the ACTS Lodge to enter the data and discuss the results. Night Hike after dinner to see glowing fungi.
Day 4
The second sunrise in the canopy (optional) with birding on the agenda. After breakfast, we continue with our field experiments, this time doing some experiments with ants. Today we examine life as a canopy arthropod. By the afternoon, we will be working on developing your own projects and you should be out collecting your first sets of data. Our night hike this evening will focus on arthropods (of course, we see what we see, arthropod or otherwise!), and leaf mimik kadydids are fairly common.
Day 5
Today we will explore the world of plant chemical ecology. We will learn how to extract plant metabolites in the field, manipulate damage experimentally, and perform thin layer chromatography to visualize phenolics and alkaloids. You continue with your independent questions.
Day 6
We wrap up experiments from previous days, and set out for a day of group independent study projects. This is our last day at ACTS, and our last day at the canopy walkway.
Day 7
We say our final goodbyes to the walkway, and today we transfer to the Napo Lodge for one night. At the Napo, we have three activities, and their timing is weather dependent. We will go on a boat ride to a blackwater lake to look for hoatzins. We will visit the ethnobotanical garden and have a lesson from the local shaman. As night, we will again venture out on a boat to search for caiman. In years past, we have observed glowing fungi, glowing beetles, among other incredible wildlife. We will discuss life in the rainforest. Before we leave the remote lodges, each student will give a presentation about their research questions and some results.
Day 8
We move closer to the city today as we travel to the main Explorama Lodge, which is located on a small tributary of the Amazon river in an area called the Yanomono. You will feel a noticeable difference in the area, and we will be housed on a tributary of the Amazon River. We will visit a local molasses factory on the banks of the Amazon and discover how sugar cane is processed into molasses.
Day 9
Today will be filled with Piranha fishing, looking for pink river dolphins, swimming in the Amazon, and searching for sloth in the large island in the middle of the Amazon called Yanamono.
Day 10
Opportunities for cultural interactions are not to be missed. Today we will interact with an indigenous group that lives near the lodge, and visit a village to learn about life on the Amazon.
Day 11
In the afternoon, we transfer into the city of Iquitos. After getting settled into our hotel, we will venture out for an evening on the town.
Day 12
The morning we have all been waiting for, heading to the market to taste suri (beetle grubs)! We will tour the market and get a glimpse of daily life in this bustling city. In the afternoon, we transfer to the airport for our flight to Lima. In Lima, we will have a tour of this capital city, learn about it's history and culture, enjoy a dinner out, and watch an amazing water/light show at Parque de la Reserva. This is not to be missed!
Day 13
Arrive back in the United States, and Louisville!
Debriefing
A few days after we return, we will meet as a group to debrief the expedition and discuss our experiences.
Our Destination
The course is based at the ACTS Canopy Walkway, a 1/4 mile long collection of suspension bridges connected to platforms. The walkway allows access to the canopy of this tropical forest, with the highest platform perched in an emergent tree over 100 feet above the forest floor!