ITINERARY & PRIMER:

NEOTROPICAL RAINFOREST FIELD ECOLOGY COURSE

by

Marc G. M. van Roosmalen

This course is a personalized introduction to the Amazon rainforest realm that will be offered by

David and Marc while we are following some of the footsteps of the great naturalists of the 19th

century on the path of evolution (e.g., Von Humboldt, Wallace, Spix, Martius, Bates and

Spruce). Through the study of the intricate web of plant-animal relations in the dynamics of

pristine, over more than 70 million years evolved ancient forest and testing Alfred Wallace's

river barrier hypothesis, we will unveil the long standing academic question why the Amazon

harbors the by far highest biodiversity of all terrestrial ecosystems. Therefore, we have to look

up-close at the continent's geomorphology going back in time at least to the Miocene. Which

major vicariant events have taken place and what role the over one thousand major tributaries of

the Amazon proper have played and still play, together with their floodplains, in the genetic

isolation of plant and animal populations, radiation of species and speciation. This is best

demonstrated through the distribution of extant primates (i.e., Neotropical monkeys) which, at

least in non-volant mammals, strongly supports the phylogenetic species concept. On our boat

voyage through part of the Rio Negro Basin we will further look into each exclusive all-

Amazonian phenomenon and issues such as the different types of water, the annual tide, the

major floodplain and terra firme (never inundating) forest types linked to water type and soil

conditions, their phyto-sociological composition, physiognomy, phyto-chemistry, animal guilds,

ecological niches, seed dispersal syndromes, seed/seedling predation, co-evolution, and seasonal

lateral migration of the entire frugivorous community from nearby terra firme (upland)

hinterland into the black- and clear-water floodplain called igapo to feed on its bounty of fruits

during the peak of the flood season (in the Rio Negro Basin taking place in the period June-

August). At the end of the course we will discuss in what ways the Amazon rainforest could best

be preserved and, if successful, be used to effectively combat global climate change.

COURSE TEXT

Kricher, J. 1999. A Neotropical Companion, 2nd ed., Princeton University Press.

PREPARATORY READING

BATES, H.W. 1863 & 1876. The Naturalist on the River Amazons. John Murray, Albemarle Street,

London.

VAN ROOSMALEN, M.G.M. 2011. Barefoot through the Amazon: On the Path of Evolution Chapter 3: Co-

evolution and Plant-Animal Relationships in Neotropical Rain Forest (PDF); Chapter 4: Geology, Geo-

Morphology, and Hydrology of the Amazon Basin; Chapter 5: In the Footsteps of the Great Naturalists of

the 19th Century; Chapter 7: How to Save the Amazon

WALLACE, A.R. 1852. On the Monkeys of the Amazon. Proc. Zool. Soc. London. 1852: p. 107-110

WALLACE, A.R. 1853. A Narrative of Travels on the Amazon and Rio Negro. London: Macmillan

WALLACE, A.R. 1976. The Geographical Distribution of Animals. Vol. I. London: Macmillan.

Praia Grande

ITINERARY

Figure 1. Map indicating the main riverine barriers in the Amazon - blue rivers divide primate distributions up to

the generic level; brown rivers divide primates up to species level. Our boat itinerary is marked purple taking us

from Manaus (day 1 - meeting of the waters via Lago Janauarí to Praia Grande where the Anavilhanas Archipel starts), via Novo Airão, Carvoeiro (opposite mouth of clear-water Rio Branco), Barcelos (opposite black-water Rio Aracá) to the clear-water Padauarí River. Depending on time and water level, on the way back we may enter the mouth of the Rio Aracá, and then that of the clear-water Rio Branco. This way we will sail rivers of all the major water types and hike on land/water in the following major habitat types: terra firme primary rainforest, black-water and clear-water seasonally inundated (igapó) floodplain forest, open and closed canopy ‘caatinga-do-Rio-Negro’ (a type of highly impoverished wet savannah and thin savannah forest that occurs nowhere else than in the middle and upper Rio Negro Basin), and white-water seasonally inundated floodplain forest called várzea at Lago Janauarí opposite the city of Manaus and close to the meeting of the waters.

Figure 2. Google images together mapping the entire summer 2012 jungletrip sailing the black-water Rio Negro

from Manaus up to the poorly known clear-water Rio PadauarÍ that drains the table-mountain/tepuí Serra do

Aracá. Way upriver the Padauarí are still rather authentic Yanomami Indians living from hunting spider monkeys

(of a still to describe taxon I provisorily named Ateles yanomamuensis in the Ateles belzebuth Clade), black bearded

sakis Chiropotes chiropotes, and black-headed red-backed black uakaris (Cacajao melanocephalus ayresi that was

recently described as a new taxon by a former student of MvR - Philippe Boubli).

Figure 3. Distribution of Amazonian spider monkeys genus Ateles.

Figure 4. Distribution of Amazonian uakaris genus Cacajao.

Figure 5. Distribution of Amazonian saki monkeys genus Pithecia.

Figure 6. Distribution of Amazonian bearded saki monkeys genus Chiropotes.

Figure 7. Distribution of Amazonian squirrel monkeys genus Saimiri.

Figure 8. Distribution of Amazonian Calltrichidae - tamarin monkeys genus Saguinus.

Figure 9. Distribution of Amazonian titi monkeys genus Callicebus.

Please see separate handout for details about arrival in Manaus and transfer to the boat

DAY 1: After embarking at Manaus-Moderna port on the riverboat “Queiroz Souz”, our captain Antonio

Queiroz takes us to the meeting of the waters opposite Manaus at the confluence of the black-water Rio

Negro and white-water Rio Solimões (as the Amazon is called upstream from Manaus); then we will visit

Lago Janauarí, a lake located opposite the city of Manaus where the várzeas (nutrient-rich white-water

floodplain forest) of the Amazon River mix in with the igapós (poor-nutrient black-water inundated

floodplain forest) of the Rio Negro; early August both rivers should still be rather full; if so, we will sail a

short-cut (furo) that connects Lago Janauari with the south bank of the Rio Negro somewhat upstream –

good for birding in the afternoon spotting wildlife from the top deck; then, on the Rio Negro again, we

will continue the trip upriver; late afternoon we will reach Praia Grande; we dock along a large stretch of

never inundating white-sand beach fringed with fruiting cashew trees; if there is time enough left we

conduct a fruit survey along the waterline picking up a variety of stranded fruits and seeds that we will

try to identify later on the boat; if you like you can have a refreshing swim (watch out for stingray that

forage in shallow waters); with some luck you will swim next to a few river dolphins that like your

company – the ‘tucuxí ‘ (Sotalia fluviatilis) or the pink river dolphin ‘boto-cor-de-rosa’ (Inia geoffrensis);

watching a stunningly beautiful typical Rio Negro sunset we then have dinner with beer and ‘caipirinha’

(a Brazilian-style ‘daikiri’ made of sugarcane rum/’cachaça’ mixed with lemon, sugar and ice). Depending

on the height of the Rio Negro waters, we sail up river at night.

DAY 2: Sailing upriver all-day long we will pass the little town of Novo Airão on the south bank and not

less than one-thousand islands covered by black-water flooded forest (igapó) that make Anavilhanas the

largest freshwater archipelago in the world. If flooding allows, we will make some canoe trips paddling a

while in the speedboat(s) through the igapó to spot squirrel monkeys, howling monkeys and all sorts of

birds that this time of the year feast on a bounty of ripe fruits that are available only during the very

peak of the flood season. To break the voyage, we will stop at some small communities of ‘caboclos’ or

‘ribeirinhos’, that live on both banks of the Rio Negro, to give you an idea how these people made (and

sometimes still make) a sustainable living of natural resources, and interview them about the local fauna

– which monkeys are out there, which other mammals, birds, terrapin freshwater turtles, big cats, et

cetera.

DAY 3: Sailing another day passing along more than a thousand islands covered with igapó forest we

may reach the village of Carvoeiro built in colonial times as an outpost sitting on the south bank of the

Rio Negro opposite the mouth of the clear-water Rio Branco. After a hike through the village we may

have time to enter the mouth of the clear-water Rio Branco and sail a bit upriver. There, we might

decide to stay overnight as sailing from now on is dangerous because of the many rocky islands and

outcroppings in the middle of the river.

DAY 4: If some sandy and rock islands arise we can look for Eupera mollusks and some species of shell

fish that occur abundantly in this more nutrient-rich clear-water environment. Also, we can look into the

riverbank forest that is higher and much more productive than igapós along black water, being fringed

with ‘munguba’ (Pseudobombax munguba) cotton trees, Cecropia peltata trees and some scattered

giant kapok trees (Ceiba pentandra – ‘sumauma’), some of them being also typical components of

várzea (seasonally white-water flooded forest). This is linked to a similar pH = 7-8 of the waters of clear-

water and white-water rivers in the Amazon, in contrast to the pH of the black-water Rio Negro ranging

from 3-5. If there are people living on the shore, we could do some interviewing asking the locals about

the fauna that occurs along each bank of the Rio Branco; Fig. 1 shows that the Rio Branco is a strong

riverine barrier for non-volant mammals that do not know how to swim, in particular primates/monkeys

(see Figs. 3-9).

DAY 5: Sailing upriver from Carvoeiro and mouth of Rio Branco to the town of Barcelos, the center of the

far from sustainable exotic fish trade. Nice little town to have a beer, call your parents and friends,

maybe the internet is working, or you may prefer a nocturnal walk through the center. We stay

overnight in the port, so you have to be on board early morning as we leave at dawn.

DAY 6: Barcelos-Rio Padauarí – sailing as far as possible upriver; in case there are a few small

communities of ‘ribeirinhos’ living there (there was when MvR did a biodiversity survey back in 2002) we

will do interviews and hike with local guides in the terra firme forest nearby.

DAY 7: Surveying the different vegetation types and habitats along the Rio Padauarí.

DAY 8: Survey on and along the Rio Padauarí

DAY 9: Sailing back to Carvoeiro, Rio Branco or farther downstream the Rio Negro on our way back to

Manaus

DAY 10: Walking and swimming at Praia Grande; if time allows we might as well pay a visit to Ariaú

Jungle Towers, a commercial Amazonian tourist attraction with its walkways through or above a mixture

of igapó and várzea forests inhabited by re-introduced and wild squirrel, brown capuchin and red

howling monkeys; late afternoon we will sail back to Manaus.

DAY 11: Manaus-AM

Please see separate handout for details about our time in Manaus and departure

Terrapin freshwater turtle Podocnemis erythrocephala, common in Rio Negro.

Podocnemis expansa, ‘tartaruga’ - the biggest growing side-neck freshwater turtle from the Amazon,

rare in black-water rivers, common in white-water (e.g., Rio Amazonas, Rio Madeira) and clear-water

rivers (e.g., Rio Aripanã, Rio Tapajós, Rio Branco, Rio Padauarí).

Podocnemis unifilis, ‘tracajá’, common in black-water rivers such as the Rio Negro and Rio Aracá; also

common in clear-water rivers such as the Rio Branco.

Podocnemis vogleri, a very rare side-neck terrapin freshwater turtle.

Figure 10. Lecythis rorida tree only known from the igapós floodplain of lower Rio Negro, its

indehiscent pyxidium buoyant, water-dispersed; b. Eschweilera paduariensis sp. nov., new

member of Brazil-nut family of Lecythidaceae that MvR collected back in 2002 on a boat survey

of the clear-water Rio Padauarí; c. Eschweilera aracaensis sp. nov., a new species of

Lecythidaceae that MvR collected on a boat survey of the black-water Rio Aracá, probably

dispersed by uakaris, short-tailed monkeys that are highly specialized seed predators. Except for

MvR, nobody before visited or collected the flora and fauna from this clear-water river, a left-

bank tributary of the black-water Rio Negro.