Week 7

Hey y'all, it's been another week and I have another chapter for you. I'd like to start this post with a shout out to Bwana Dale Swanson, who's celebrating his birthday today. Dale, your wilderness survival coaching has certainly come in handy here in Zanzibar during the last week, although I haven't gotten around to testing the local spoor yet..... I've heard there's going to be a men's hunting trip this weekend and I wish you all the best luck with landing the big bucks! I'll be on safari myself, but I don't think they'll let me land an elephant.
All in all, I can't say that I have a ton of variety in the report for this week. Since we're about halfway through the program we've been working through what essentially amounts to a midterm project. For those of you who are not familiar with the structure of my program, the first ten weeks are group-oriented lectures, field studies, and trips. However, the final five weeks are comprised of an Independent Study Project during which students are expected to conduct research, procure lodgings, and essenentially operate entirely on their own. We pick the subjects and figure out most of the logistics for travel and housing. The midterm which we've all just finished was a sort of dry run in preparation for the bigger study. The "Portfolio" essentially amounts to three days of research and then two days for writing an 8-page scientific-style report.
As I mentioned in my last post, my area of study has finally settled in herpetology. For my portfolio period, I ended up in the Jozani-Chwaka Bay National Park surveying reptiles in a section of groundwater forest. Groundwater forest is characterized by a high water table and lush floral assemblage; the year-round availability of water keeps the local ecosystem pretty vibrant and species abundance higher than in some other areas. An ISP conducted by a student during Spring 2011 also sampled reptiles in Jozani, although his project examined them across a wide array of habitats. I took his abundance results from the groundwater region to heart and decided to set up there for the short-run.
For the study itself, I set up two 150-meter transects along a section of established nature trails. Transects are lines (straight or not) of a set distance which are walked for visual examination surveys. I walked each transect for an hour and a half, three times a day. Morning, afternoon, and night. Daytime surveys were pretty easy; all the equipment I needed was a camera, notebook, and binoculars. I'd roll out of bed, pull on my gear, and hike out into the jungle by myself for the better part of the day. Mornings were always steamy as the morning dew evaporated and the afternoons were hot. I was drenched in sweat from dawn to dusk, the surveys were long, and admittedly they were fairly boring after a few repetitions. But the effort was totally worth the solo exploration time and the results! I'd try and write you a full description of the place, but as they say a picture says a thousand words:

 Transect 2

Night surveys were a totally different deal. I'd go out after sunset outfitted with a bright handheld torch, a headlamp, and park guide. The guide was only necessary for security and assistance if I ran into trouble (venomous snakes etc.). As it would happen, I really appreciated his help the second night when I had to run through a 15-meter patch full of soldier ants. Those ants were something right out of one of those "Nature's Horrors" documentaries. While I encountered them basically every time I was out surveying, I managed to avoid them most of the time. However, when they're in the middle of your transect, there's no escaping an encounter. That particular night, on my guide's suggestion, I ran as quickly as I could through the seething mass of ants spread across the trail (sometime they were confined to small, orderly lines; other times the forest floor was essentially blanketed). While I did manage to get past them, I also liberally coated my pants and shoes with some very angry critters. Ten minutes of swatting, scratching, and hopping up and down barely seemed to stem the tide of maddening bites all over my body. Fortunately I managed to eventually get them all cleared off (with my guide's help) and continue my survey. Since then, I've devised better strategies for dealing with them. Lesson learned.
Outside of the ants, the three days went almost entirely without notable incident. I managed to observe about half a dozen different varieties of reptile (five lizard varieties and one snake), as well as a bunch of other interesting groundwater forest denizens including leaf-litter preying mantids and sunbirds. Skinks and geckos were predictably the most common across survey periods.

 A juvenile Speckle-Lipped Skink (Mabuya maculilabris)

When I wasn't out surveying for nine hours of the day, I was eating or sleeping. There were several other SIT students in Jozani for the Portfolio study period, but we were all kept pretty busy with different research so mealtimes were the only serious common time for interaction.
Upon our return to Stone Town for the writing days, I stayed in a pleasant little guesthouse just a stone's throw from the SIT classroom with Rashid and Munira. Two days of serious writing, source hunting (tough stuff with limited internet and resources), and recuperation culminated in both a 19-page report (including annotated sources and appendices; Helen would not have been happy if the text was that long) and a powerpoint presentation which was given yesterday morning. All in all, I'm happy with the portfolio and increasingly ready for the upcoming ISP. I'm writing my final proposal tonight as it happens.
The only other adventures of note have happened in the last couple of days as Hawa and I endeavored to get haircuts in Stone Town. The first day, we only succeeded in finding a curio shop filled with the kind of knick-knacks which entertain me for hours on end. I history-nerded out and ended up buying several more coins, the oldest being a British East India Company Anna from 1835. Yes, 1835. Also an Anna from 1862 with Queen Vistoria's image stamped on one side. I can tell you with certainty that I will be headed back to that shop for more. But back to the haircuts. Yesterday, Hawa and I succeeded in finding a local establishment which offered a cut for 5,000Tsh (less than $5 US). I don't think I've actually ever had such a thorough haircut. I initially pointed to another customer to indicate that I wanted a buzz, and ended up with the exact haircut he was getting (which is quite good). The best part of the whole experience was that the barber gave Hawa the exact same haircut as me. Down to the straight-razored back and edges. She had wanted a buzz of sorts, but not the one she got. We now are unintentionally rocking the twin look (there will be a picture at some point) and I am thoroughly entertained by the whole doubles thing. We are of the opinion that they pretty much give everyone the same cut at that place, unless your mastery of Kiswahili is good enough to seriously ask for something else.
That's about it for now. I'll be submitting my ISP proposal tomorrow and then heading for the mainland very early Friday morning. We'll be on safari in Mikumi National Park through Sunday, and then staying at the University of Dar es Salaam until Halloween. Dar promises to be an ......interesting...... experience. Fortunately, Rashid has two months of experience there under his belt and will be acting as the unofficial group leader for any outings. The expectation is that we'll all make it out in one piece with plenty of stories. The next post may not be until after that trip (so the 31st), but I'll do my best to update you while I'm there.
I hope all is well and that the rest of October finds you all comfortable and happy. Cheers!