Volcanology and Ecology in Nicaragua
2013 FIELD REPORT
Background Information
Lead PI: Professor Hazel Rymer
Report completed by: Rymer/ Erenler/Gillman
Period Covered by this report: February 2013
Changes to project scientists: Bethan Burson (PhD student) started 2013. Dr Caroline
Rymer has left the team Hilary Erenler is now Dr Hilary Erenler
Research site: Please note 2013 season relates only to Masaya National Park in Nicaragua
(not Costa Rica)
Faculty of Science
Earth and Environmental
Sciences
The Open University
Walton Hall
Milton Keynes
MK7 6AA
United Kingdom
Tel +44 (0) 1908 653 012
Fax +44 (0) 1908 655 151
www.open.ac.uk
Dear Earthwatch volunteers,
Thank you for your contribution to the project this year. We really enjoyed
working with you and your efforts meant we achieved a great deal. I am always amazed at
how much Earthwatch volunteers get done in the field and 2013 was no exception. You
worked incredibly hard and I am very grateful for all your efforts.
At Masaya this year we deployed sulphation plates, measured microgravity,
and ran FLYSPEC profiles. We continued to collect butterfly data to add to our long-term
monitoring of the site and conducted an assessment of a community of bees nesting in the
ash right under the plume of Santiago crater. It transpires that this species is a new record
for Nicaragua and the most southerly for the subgenus Helophila in the New World.
With the addition of our new PhD student to the team, Bethan, we have also
started an in-depth analysis of plant communities that grow close to, or even in, the gas and
are linking their presence to various chemical signatures.
The results from this year’s bee
work have been written up and submitted as an academic paper and Bethan has showcased
her initial findings at an International Ecology symposium. Both Hilary and Bethan have
produced posters that will be on display at the Park as well as at the Regis where we stay.
We hope that by sharing this information with as wide a range of people as possible we can
continue the important work you have helped us with this year.
As more results start coming through, we will keep you informed of progress,
but do feel free to get in touch at any time to find out the latest - and if you are passing Milton
Keynes in your travels, do please pop in and say hello.
Thank you once again for your hard work. It was a pleasure to work with you
and I hope that we meet again on a volcano somewhere in the world.
Very best wishes,
Hazel
Professor Hazel Rymer
SECTION ONE: Scientific research achievements
Top highlight from the past season
We have established that a species of bee not previously recorded in Nicaragua is nesting in
volcanic ash very close to the active crater of Santiago at Masaya National Park. Previously
known from Central Mexico to Honduras, this is the most southerly record for the species to
date. Combining gas emission and sulphur deposition rates with this discovery, as well as
investigating which plant species it visits, leads us to conclude that this species is
preferentially nesting in an extreme habitat.
Reporting against research objectives
Research objective 1
Volcanology
We have continued to make our annual microgravity and ground deformation surveys. The
surveys comprise about 30 well-marked stations where repeat, high precision observations
of relative gravity and elevation are made. These data show minimal ground deformation,
although there is just a suggestion that there is some deflation going on close to the active
craters. We will investigate this in more detail in 2014. The micro-gravity shows small
variations consistent with the relatively quiescent state of the volcano at the present time.
The Bouguer gravity work has revealed some new sub-surface structures which we interpret
as ring faults. The locations of these faults help us to determine where future eruptions are
likely to be focussed. Our gas flux measurements and dry deposition of suphur
measurements indicate that the overall gas flux is still falling at Masaya. These results form
part of the PhD thesis of Mel Hinrich and Guillermo Caravantes.
Research Objective 2
Gain a better understanding of how the gases from the persistently active Santiago vent
interact with (and influence) plant and animal communities in the Park.
Progress on
Research Objective 2:
Insects
a) Butterflies - our unique long-term monitoring programme across different habitats and
through different seasons continues to make progress. We are still adding new species to
our lists with the total now standing at 188 (Figure 1).
Figure 1
We are building an excellent photographic record of the species we are encountering
(Figures 2, 3, 4, and 5)
Regular sampling at the same site provides a vital insight into
temporal and spatial changes of butterfly populations in seasonal dry forests. The latter are
under increasing pressure from human influences (clearance for agriculture and firewood),
background natural disturbances (fire and hurricanes) and climate change.
Our long-term
data is enabling us to make predictions about which species are good indicators for different
habitats. Our plan is to start testing these predictions in the 2014 season by asking
volunteers to record the abundance of specific, easily identifiable species.
Figure 2 Caligo telamonius
Figure 3 Zaretisellops
Figure 4 Phoebis philia
Figure 5
Parrhasius
b) Bees and wasps - In addition to butterflies, bees, and wasps are important flower visitors.
Bees are known to be particularly efficient pollinators. Over the last two seasons our
awareness and understanding of the bee species present at Masaya has increased. Working
with individuals at the American Museum of Natural History, Utah State University and The
Museum für Naturkunde in Berlin we are creating a list of bees and wasps that we have
observed in Masaya National Park.
One particular species of bee, Anthophora squammulosa (it has no common name), was the
focus of our 2013 work. We have established that this is the first time that this species has
been recorded in Nicaragua. Consultation with specialists working on this group have also
told us that this is the most southerly record for the species to date.
Anthophora
squammulosa (Figure 6) was noted to nest in volcanic ash very close to the active crater.
With the help of volunteers we monitored nest density (the number of nest entrance holes in
a prescribed area), recorded the substrate it chose for its preferred nesting areas as well as
evaluated which other bee and wasp species visited the area.
for their offspring.
Figure 6 Anthophora squammulosa
Female bees collect pollen
We removed pollen from female bees returning from flowers and established that this
species is relying almost exclusively on a single plant species at Masaya. This was a
surprising result as this bee is known to be a generalist feeder. We mapped the distribution
of their preferred plant and, based on measurements of bee anatomy, calculated the
maximum distance they could fly to reach their preferred flower resources.
Incorporating
the two strands of this project (ecology and volcanology), we measured the gas loading at
the nest site using two methods (sulphation plates and diffusion tubes) and established that
this species is nesting in extreme conditions.
The results of this work have been written up
as a paper and are being submitted to an academic journal. This has been a collaborative
exercise involving three universities and the entomological museum in Leon, Nicaragua.
Building on previous inventories of plant communities across Masaya, Bethan has focused
on the transition from dry forest to grassland caused by deposition of plume gases and
associated disturbance. Bethan has analysed the data from February 2013 and presented a
poster of the results at the Intecol meeting in August 2013.
Changes to research plan or objectives
Independent visits to a nearby site, Laguna de Apoyo (a fresh water-filled crater lake which
is also overseen by the Nicaraguan Parks authorities) have lead us to believe that this may
be a valuable site to which we can extend our work. This site offers the potential to be an
important control site as it possesses similar forest attributes without the presence of an
active volcanic vent.
Potential volunteer tasks include butterfly walk and count surveys of
the area and inventories of tree and other plant species present.
The main objective would
be to use this location to consider differences in butterfly and plant communities between
extinct and active volcanic areas.
We should stress that monitoring at our existing site
would continue in parallel with this second site.
SECTION TWO: Impacts
Partnerships
On-going collaboration with MARENA (Nicaraguan Parks authority) who give permission for
us to work in the Park.
Collaboration with key personnel at Masaya National Park e.g.
Erico Tellez-Jimenez. The guards that we work with are very knowledgeable about local
plants. This is important for our butterfly and bee work as these insects feed and egg-lay on
specific plants.
Collaboration with Jean-Michel Maes, Director of the Entomological
Museum at Leon, Nicaragua. Jean-Michel assists by confirming the known presence and
distribution of butterfly, bee and wasp species in the country.
Communication with
personnel at the American Museum of Natural History, Utah State University and the
Museum für Naturkunde in Berlin. Colleagues at these institutions have helped us establish
the identity of some of the bees and wasps from Masaya National Park.
Contributions to conventions, agendas, policies, management plans
•
National or regional
Working with colleagues at Utah State University we have provided distribution data for the
bee species Anthophora squammulosa.
This is helping them to map the distribution of the
species in the region. Our data have helped them establish that this is the most southerly
record for the species and the most southernmost record for any member of the subgenus
Heliophila in the New World.
•
Local
We have provided our butterfly species richness data to the Director of Masaya National
Park. The Park authorities at Masaya are mapping key groups at the Park and using this
information to draw up management plans for the area.
Developing Environmental Leaders
Personnel at Masaya National Park continue to benefit from hands-on training. This includes
capturing, photographing then releasing butterflies followed by identification using guides
and websites (Erico Tellez-Jimenez and Nelson Toval). It also includes capturing and
identifying velvet ants (wingless female solitary wasps that are predators in the nests of the
solitary bees we have been monitoring) (Erico Tellez-Jimenez and Carlos Reyes)
Actions or activities that enhance natural and/or social capital
Whilst out collecting butterfly data we assist guards by collecting rubbish left on the forest
trails by illegal hunters and loggers. This is returned to the Visitor Centre and disposed of.
This is an on-going activity throughout the days we are in the Park.
Conservation of Taxa
We are not conserving taxa specifically but we are identifying rare species and informing the
Parks' authorities of their location and presence. This is an on-going activity.
Conservation of Habitats
We are not specifically conserving habitats but through our butterfly data we are identifying
the most species-rich areas and passing this information to the Parks' authorities who do not
have the resources to undertake this type of activity themselves.
Ecosystem Services
As mentioned above, bees, and butterflies are important flower visitors and, as such,
perform the vital ecosystem service of pollination. Pollination, which is the transfer of male
gametes within pollen to receptive female flower organs, is considered an essential
regulating process according to UNEP-WCMC (2011).
Although it is not possible to
quantify the economic benefit the presence of these insects brings, the fact that the site is a
fragment of seasonal dry forest and this forest type is under severe pressure makes our
species richness assessments important. Little published work exists on the richness and
abundance of butterflies and bees in the Neotropics, and we hope that by building a longterm data set and reporting on it we can provide knowledge about the contribution these
pollinator communities bring.
Our work is important in a regional context but has
implications for other seasonal dry forest projects globally.
Reference: UNEP-WCMC.
(2011) UK National Ecosystem Assessment: Synthesis of the key findings. Cambridge,
England: UNEP-WCMC.
Local community activities
In excess of 50,000 people visit Masaya National Park each year. Most stop at the Visitor
Centre where there is general information about the site. We have prepared posters about
our research and given these to the Park authorities to display, as well as helping to identify
and label pinned butterfly specimens that are on display there.
Dissemination of research results
Scientific peer-reviewed publications
Paper prepared (to be submitted). Earthwatch acknowledged.
Extreme volcanic habitat
provides novel nesting opportunities for a ground-nesting bee
Authors: Hilary E. Erenler,
Bethan Burson, Michael P. Gillman, Jean-Michel Maes, Michael C. Orr, Hazel Rymer
Structures controlling volcanic activity within Masaya Caldera Authors: G. Caravantes, J.
Zurek, S. Ebmeier, S. Blake, H. Rymer
Grey literature and other dissemination
Presentation at the AGM of the Leicester-Masaya Link Group (November 2012) by Michael
Gillman and Hilary Erenler http://leicestermasayalink.org.uk/index.php/home/eventsandamp-campaigns/
The LMLG is a non-governmental organization which manages the
town-twinning link between Leicester and Masaya in Nicaragua.
It has two objectives:
•To work towards the relief of poverty in the Masaya Region by facilitating partnerships for
sustainable development.
•To raise public awareness around global issues in both Leicester and Masaya.
Bethan Burson has produced an academic poster in Spanish and English detailing the
results from her first field season. This will be displayed at the Park and at the Hotel Regis.
Likewise, Hilary Erenler has produced an information poster for the public on the butterflies
of Masaya and Los Pueblos Blancos which will also be displayed at the two sites.
Hazel
Rymer has given various public lectures and talks featuring this work.
SECTION THREE: Anything else
Project funding
We have secured $100k funding from Geoscientists without Borders to extend the fieldwork
to Costa Rica. This builds in part on the success of the Earthwatch funded work in
Nicaragua.
Acknowledgements
Hilary Erenler for compiling this report All the Earthwatch volunteers who have contributed
to this work. The Open University for supporting Hazel Rymer, Mike Gillman and Bethan
Burson. Bethan is also supported by a NERC studentship.