Penang Hill BioBlitz Argonaut Update — Alexa Borden
I’m JASON Student Argonaut Alexa Borden reporting in from the rainforest of Penang, Malaysia. Our team has already had some amazing and new experiences.
To get here, we took a series of plane rides — one of which was 15 hours! Many of us had little to no experience traveling, especially on an international flight. Therefore, this long ride from Boise, Idaho to New York City to Guangzhou, China to Penang, Malaysia and was an adventure in and of itself. We knew we were headed for Asia as the main language on the plane was Chinese, with English second.
We woke up the following morning and got our first taste of the rainforest. After taking a funicular (a very steep railway), we took a little walk to get to where everybody was meeting. Just on this walk, we saw a Trilobite Beetle, a Dusky Langur monkey, and many other types of plants and animals.
The first day was an orientation for the BioBlitz. Here we got to meet and listen to many scientists with a diverse range of specialties studying everything from orchids to epiphytes (plants growing on other plants) to numerous ant species. One aspect our Argo team was amazed by, as the scientists were introducing themselves and their plans for the next two weeks, was that many species of plants and animals on Penang Hill have never been discovered. The fly survey team said they may find up to 30 new species just in these two weeks!
Another vital group to the BioBlitz is the tree climbers. Did you know you could climb trees as a profession? You can! These team members are help other scientists study the entire rainforest, as much of the treetop canopy has never been explored. With close collaboration with Canopy Meg (Dr. Meg Lowman) and some of the other amazing tree climbers, we will get to see what the world beyond the forest floor has to offer.
On Day 2 of our journey, we split off into groups with several local Penang students. Together we learned a lot about orchids, tree climbing safety, flies, ferns, and epiphytes. It was incredible to be alongside scientists who are truly passionate and knowledgeable about their profession. For most of us, ants are these insects that are everywhere and may be somewhat annoying. To the ant specialists, the specimens they picked up from the side of the path were considered cute and interesting.
When traveling with the orchids and epiphytes specialists we were amazed by their ability to look at a plant growing on a tree and rattle off the scientific name. In just two days we have already seen so much including animals like tarantulas, a six inch millipede, monkeys, and much more! This is truly an experience to remember.
Our adventure didn’t stop after we left the Habitat. We got to go out and experience the wonderful Malaysian cuisine around us. On Day 1, we went to a Chinese Hot Pot restaurant and tried to figure out how it worked as the waitress spoke very little English. With a lot of hand motions and observations, we learned that you get a skewer which holds anything from liver to mushrooms and cook it by submerging it in boiling spicy or clear soup. At the end of Day 2 we headed off to a food court which had a number of food vendors all making different things. Here we also experienced amazing cuisine and tried Nutmeg Juice. We all said this drink could only be described as “interesting” because it was sweet, salty, and sour at once. As budding scientists we couldn’t resist investigating further: we the nutmeg out from the bottom of the glass and determined that it was brined.
Overall, the first two days have been a completely new experience with much to learn and share. Keep following the Penang Hill BioBlitz for more adventures of the JASON Argonaut team!
Alexa
Follow all of our Penang Hill BioBlitz expedition adventures at http://www.jason.org/bioblitz and on JASON’s Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram feeds.
