Meeting in the trees!

Dr Erica McAlister entertaining Invert team Will, and tree climber Tim in the canopy

On expedition with Operation Wallacea

Our work as tree climbers is always interesting meeting amazing people around the world and in the summer we were delighted to share a tree climbing adventure with the one and only fabulous Dr Erica McAlister. Well known as scientist, public speaker and award winning writer, her work includes carrying out research and teaching on expedition for Operation Wallacea. As a science enthusiast, Erica is someone who I’ve been in awe of on the radio and through social media and I never imagined I’d get to meet her, let alone take her tree climbing!

The 2023 expedition to Honduras with Operation Wallacea was studying the nature of the cloud forest. The jungles of Honduras are incredibly biodiverse and cloud forests hold a surprising number of endemic species. Monitoring in such a rich and biodiverse forest uses a whole range of different survey methods, using nets, pooters and an assortment of other traps plus lots of perseverance. We were able to assist the Invert team with some canopy-level sampling as getting up into the complex and out-of-reach canopy zone can be very complex.

Invert team’s Will demonstrating his pooter up in the canopy

On expedition there’s always so much to see. Each day students head out on surveys, accompanying and assisting scientists as they gather valuable data across the different taxa. There are also guest lectures and Erica’s lectures about the bonkers (and bonking!) world of flies had everyone rooted to the screen and in stitches as we finally realised just how amazing flies are; her presentations were a great hit with the staff and students.

Here in the UK, Oak trees are known to support 2300 species of plants and animals, and so every tree is important, especially for the insects here in the UK. Now imagine in the biodiversity hotspots like the tropics where there is so much yet to discover…these trees too are super important. All the science work at Cusucuo National Park documents and shows how important and biodiverse the area is and we hope that this will help preserve this area and others like it for the future.

You can also read our earlier blog about our time in Honduras in 2023 Climbing in the cloud forest.

Climbing with insect gear

Looking up at the canopy

On the hunt, at 25m!

Canopy studies in the dwarf forest

Checking the canopy trap