Until the next adventure!

So now we are back in Dallas where we began our adventure a few short weeks ago. It is more than hot here and we are all missing the cool temperatures of Brazil. We had a wonderful experience learning so much about ourselves and our world. Thanks to all of you who followed us through Brazil and supported our journey with your comments and good wishes!

We invite you to follow our new blog at www.uadodge2011-12.blogspot.com where we will blog about all that is happening in the UA office of Diversity and Global Education.

The Bird Park at Iguassu

Our final official stop on this magical scientific journey was at the Bird Park at Iguassu. It is an amazing place where humans are able to enter the habitats of the birds and are allowed to interact with them. We saw hundreds of birds - toucans, parrots, macaws and more!

Iguassu Falls Video - Argentina

We invite you to check out the high water and force of Iguassu ....

Iguassu Falls - Argentina

The first Coati spotting of the day

On Tuesday we headed to Argentina to explore the Argentinian side of Iguassu. It was a VERY different day from the previous. The temperature had dropped to 45 (that's fahrenheit, around 8-10 Celsius for our international friends) and the water level had risen 10 meters overnight!! It was a massive amount of water and was a spectacular and forceful sight. Many of the trails were closed and so we only hiked along the superior circuit - That was fine because we were really rather chilled. Luckily, we did spot a few coatis and other furry friends along the trail so it was another exciting day for our group!

The Itaipu Dam

This thrilling blog entry is brought to you by our brilliant students who wrote and produced it all yesterday when we visited the AWESOME Itaipu Dam and saw, for the first time in UA Brazil Sciences history, the open Itaipu Spillway for the overflow of the mighty Parana River ....
Hey everyone!
Today, we visited the Itaipu Dam, the second largest dam in the world. Both Brazil and Paraguay use this dam as an energy source. Because it is shared by two countries the dam is equally split both structurally and by the number of workers. The force of the water in the dam is 20 times stronger than Iguassu Falls. Itaipu is also one of the seven modern marvels of the world and none of its massive components weighs less than 87 tons. A surprising addition to our visit to the dam included the open spillway which is only open 10% of the year. We were lucky to be the first UA Brazil group to see the spillway open! With the rain and strong winds, the water flowing from the spillway was also much more forceful than on an average day. After touring outside the dam, we made our way inside the most famous South American hydroelectric power structure. Inside the dam, we were shown a display of the construction process of Itaipu, from the Parana River to the diversion canal to the final product known today as the Itaipu Dam.
Other Fun Activities of the Day: -Hiked a nature path (saw a family of monkeys)
-saw Iguassu Falls (Devil’s Throat)
- took a boat ride to the Falls
- discovered a new type of buffet where pizza, pasta & chicken wings keep coming to your table
Love,
Jessica, Macheli, Rachel, Samantha & Emily
Lastly, we have a little video to share with you about the construction of Itaipu which began in 1975 and ended in 2007.

Life and Death, on Planet Plant …

Living in the tropical rainforest, is not just about colorful toucans and spectacular orchids… 

It reminds us a lot about Darwin, and survival of the fittest….

Trekking around Iguassu’s majestic rainforests, the casual observer, can easily spot evidence of the struggle of plants for space to grow, sunlight to gather and sourcing of water and nutrients to thrive on… One can see lianas ( woody vines) leaning, hanging, and climbing desperately on trees, reaching towards the forest canopy in search of full sunlight. Epiphytes (plants which use others as support, without actually being parasites) of  genera usually found far apart, such as gorgeous orchids, spiky cacti, friendly philodendrons and fragile ferns, here can be found side by side, elbowing each other for sunlight and waterfall spray on dry branches over the Iguazu river. Strangling fig tree saplings sprout as innocent ‘babies’ high up on other trees, only to eventually emerge as menacing adolescents once their roots touch ground base, whence they totally embrace their static hosts to finally uproot them and lift them off towards the heavens. If that were not enough, exotic invasive plant species to the park which have been successful in this global battle, are being condemned by attentive park biologists, who identify them and remove their barks so as to cause their death by sap depletion over time. During this process, local saprophytic species thrive on this dead wood and feed a host of insects important to the rainforest biodiversity and health. All considered, the forest is quite a busy thriving and many times aggressive environment...

Bromeliads growing on  a tree at Iguassu

One of the smaller waterfalls

Ferns thriving in the shadows

Lianas, with a twist...

Out of my way! - Orchids, cacti and ferns battle for position

Revertere ad locum tuum

Ghostly white saprophytes in action

The not so friendly embrace of a wild fig tree

 

Iguassu Falls (video on Brazil side)

Here are our fabulous five upon arrival yesterday at the Devil's Throat in Brazil....

Iguassu Falls (Brazil)

Today was a huge day for our group as we were lucky enough to hike along the famous Iguassu Falls, observing plant and animal life in addition to the gorgeous waterfalls. We actually saw a monkey family and our first coati! All of the photos that you see here are from the Brazil side of the falls (tomorrow we will go to the Argentina side). It was a beautiful and chilly day (we know it's hard to imagine if you're reading this in Dallas). Our group ended the day with a thrilling boat ride under the waterfalls and then we returned to our hotel for presentations on the natural resources of Brazil and on the Bird Park which we will visit very soon!

Butantan Institute

Yesterday was a full day of activity in the state of Sao Paulo. First, we met up with our friends, Sr. Helenice and Rafael Bianchi, from the Ursuline school in Riberao Preto. Together we went to tour a fabulous campground which will be the site for the 2012 Global Ursuline Student Conference. In the afternoon, we returned to Sao Paulo and had just enough time to visit the world famous Butantan Institute and to return to our scientific endeavors. The Instituto Butantan is an important biomedical research facility located near the University of Sao Paulo. It was founded in 1901 and is reknown for its research on venomous animals and vaccines. Although much of the institute was destroyed by a fire in 2010, it is still a fascinating place to visit and to learn (and for some of us to be creeped out, let's be honest).
Today we have left Sao Paulo and have arrived (delayed but safely) in Iguassu Falls. Tomorrow will be a huge day for us as we plan to visit the waterfalls and the Itaipu Dam. Tonight it's cold and raining so we hope things will clear up soon.
Thanks for all of those awesome comments and for following our adventures!!!

Pomar Project and Scallop production by Dr Scott

Thursday, July 28, 2011 –

Our connections in Angra dos Reis with the IED-BIG/ Projeto POMAR's are great. This aquaculture education/ environmental restoration project has been supported by Petrobras (Brazilian state oil company) for 17 years now, mostly under the supervision of our friend Dr. Luiz Zaganelli, who has hosted UA Dallas students and teachers for 3 consecutive years now.

Nodipecten nodosus, is the scientific name of the local species of sea scallop. It is an endangered species, still recovering in numbers but under special protection status. To assist in this environmental restoration, the POMAR Project produces between 3 - 12 million scallop 'spat' per year. Part of these very young scallops are released in sheltered areas of the Ilha Grande bay where they can then grow and enhance local stocks, allowing the fishery to fully recover. Another part of the lab production is distributed among shellfish farmers - aquaculturists.
The 'baby' scallops are born as free swimming planktonic larvae by the millions… However, in the open sea, they are mostly devoured by other marine organisms low in the food chain… At POMAR, Nodipecten ‘babies’ are artificially mass produced and reared under the protected conditions of the lab environment for at least 12 days. They then settle down on rigid surfaces provided for them. Passing through a metamorphosis they grow in their adult ‘benthic’ form, looking much more like their parents, as a little two-valve mollusk! We had a peek at some 11 day old planktonic babies, under the microscope just a day before they should be ‘settling’ down for their adult life.

11 day old planktonic scallop larvae observed
by keen UA Dallas budding scientist

Juvenile Scallop rearing tanks at POMAR

Initially, the baby scallops settle down in Netlon® netting. (see blue and green netting on right side of below image.) As they grow, they are transferred to ‘lanterns’ which may vary in mesh size and holding capacity, from a few millimeters and several thousand individuals per level of the lantern to finally a large gauge netting holding only 2 dozen scallops in a 6 tier lantern such as held by Emily (see far left of the below image).

Our group with scallop rearing lanterns of varying capacities

These lanterns, of course, must be periodically cleansed of marine ‘fouling’ i.e. several other (undesired) species of marine organisms willing to settle and grow on the lantern surfaces, thus reducing the free flow of water and food supply for the baby scallops.

Samantha and Rachel observing future seafood

During their 2 weeks in the POMAR lab, scallop babies are fed a diet consisting of up to 10 different species of marine microscopic algae, furnished sequentially as a function of the baby scallops capacity to ingest different sizes of phytoplankton, and their changing dietary requirements.

Machelli and a juvenile Nodipecten nodosus scallo

Whereas scallop farming and scallop stock enhancement are the primary goals of POMAR, a new line of use for this important mollusk is being examined – its potential as a bioindicator of environmental quality around petroleum production and research operating equipment. Thus, adult individuals are placed in cages around oil rigs and platforms to be later recovered and examined for evidence of environmental quality history.

Scallop rearing lantern - 10,000 individuals here...

Finally, we are thankful to Dr Zaganelli not only for giving us a complete tour of the site, but also for inviting UA Dallas students to come in the future as scientific trainees. In the past he has received students from the US, Cuba, Germany and Venezuela which have collaborated in the production and also managed to collect and compile data which have been used in several theses. He would be happy to have any of our promising group of young scientists!

Dr Zaganelli, Jessica, Machelli, Rachel, Samantha, Dr Scott, Emily and Ms Haley