Drs. Brian Simison and Tomio Iwamoto and Roberta Ayres and Rayna Bell left early this morning on the TAP flight for home; five of us remain: our two botanists on Principe and three of us here on Sao Tome continue.  It is time for a science update, especially since it is pouring rain as I write, and our biodiversity education mission on the big island is completed for now.

Last week, and for the first time, Academy scientists collected the top of Pico do Sao Tome. At over 2,000 meters, the peak is remote and can be quite dangerous to ascend in the rainy season, especially carrying equipment. Our guys were able to accomplish this with help from our friends, Andre Reis, Hugo Serodio and Antonio Fernandes. Andre runs Tropic Ventures, a new company that provides various tourist activities including car rentals, water sports, etc but they also take on really hairy missions into the interior of the island. Andre is ex-military (Portuguese) and his company, equipment and skills are very, very good.

After a postponement due to the rains, Jim Shevock, Miko Nadel, and our photographer Andrew Stanbridge made two-day ascent, collecting all the way.

Those who know Jim Shevock, the Academy’s moss expert, will not be surprised to learn that he went nuts. I have no idea how many moss specimens he got nor how many are new, but to say he was enthusiastic upon their return would be a gross understatement.

But the neatest discovery was made by Miko Nadel, our lichen grad student from San Francisco State.  Sitting and eating dinner in the darkness, Miko looked down and thought he saw Andrew’s wristwatch on the ground, glowing at his feet. What he soon discovered was not Andrew’s watch but a patch of  bioluminescent mushrooms!

Miko’s graduate advisor, Dr. Dennis Desjardin, a world authority on mushrooms, was with us on GG II and GG III and made the first comprehensive survey of both islands. But , curiously, Dennis (a Fellow of CAS) has recently been doing cutting edge research on bioluminescent mushrooms! So I waited until Dennis gave his OK, before posting Andrew’s images of these remarkable fungi. As usual, we will not know what all this means until we return to CAS for analysis. That is how science works.

Rayna Bell’s mission was to examine the possible hybridization between the Sao Tome giant treefrog, Hyperolius thomensis and the oceanic treefrog, H. molleri.  We have had genetic and phenotypic hints that this might be happening for some time now.  Rayna’s PhD thesis at Cornell is on the evolution of sexual dichromatism in African treefrog species.

It looks as though hybridization is indeed going on between the two species at about 800 to 900 meters. Rayna was able to get samples of the giant frog at 1400 meters and then sampled “downhill” at various elevations to nearly sea level, in oceanic treefrog territory.  We had great help from Joao Pedro Pio, a young Portuguese friend who is working on the endemic maroon pigeon; lucky for us, he loves adventure and frogs.  Rayna is tireless, bright and fun to be with; but among us bush herpetologists, the real test is how one does in the boonies. She is wonderful; I was proud to have her along with us.

And by the way, last night (Rayna’s last), she and Andrew visited the “magic tree” where we have always found the giant treefrog.. they came in about midnight, and told me that as they sat next to the tree, waiting for frogs, the entire forest floor around them was aglow!

It is still raining and outside my door, a Sao Tome prinia is hopping around in the bushes; I will let Andrew’s pictures speak of Tomio Iwamoto and Brian’s adventures in Micoló catching mudskippers and pipefish.

The Parting Shot:

all photos by Andrew Stanbridge

PARTNERS

We gratefully acknowledge the support of the G. Lindsay Field Research Fund Hagey Research Venture Fund of the California Academy of Sciences, (GG I, II), the Société de Conservation et Développement (SCD) and Africa’s Eden for logistics, ground transportation and lodging (GG III-V), STePUP of Sao Tome http://www.stepup.st/, Arlindo de Ceita Carvalho, Director General, and Victor Bomfim, and Salvador Sousa Pontes of the Ministry of Environment, Republic of São Tomé and Príncipe for permission to collectexport specimens for study. Special thanks for the generosity of private individuals who have made the GG III-V expeditions possible: George G. Breed, Gerry F. Ohrstrom, Timothy M. Muller, Mrs. W. H. V. Brooke, Mr. and Mrs. Michael Murakami, Hon. Richard C. Livermore, Prof. & Mrs. Evan C. Evans III, Mr. and Mrs. Robert M. Taylor, Velma and Michael Schnoll, and Sheila Farr Nielsen; GG VI supporters include The Herbst Foundation, The “Blackhawk Gang,” the Docent Council of the California Academy of Sciences in honor of Kathleen Lilienthal, Bernard S. Schulte, Corinne W. Abell,John and Judy Sears, John S. Livermore and Elton Welke. Logistics and lodging for GG VI (Omali Lodge and Bom Bom Island) were kindly provided by HBD.

Our expeditions can be supported by tax-free donations to “California Academy of Sciences Gulf of Guinea Fund”.

Principe Island from the northeast.  This island is at least 31 million years old  [Phot. Eddie Herbst]

Some years ago the Gulf of Guinea Project “morphed” from a pure multidisciplinary research focus to include an additional and parallel effort to share our science with the local people and non-scientists everywhere. My first couple of visits to São Tomé and Príncipe followed over thirty years of fieldwork on the African mainland, essentially doing science that is read and used by other scientists; this had been wonderfully exciting, rewarding and fun (sometimes scary). But my exposure to the islands of São Tomé and Príncipe changed my outlook and to some degree, the direction of my work in a fundamental way.

Here is a tiny two-island nation absolutely unique and rich biologically, yet still poorly known to the world of science. At the same time there is a looming threat to the environment with the recent discovery of off-shore oil, and the real danger that the world might lose this biological richness before it is even discovered and described! Moreover, the delightful citizens of these islands have, by and large, no idea how rich and special their biodiversity heritage is. Perhaps if we could make the citizens aware of what they have that is unique, found nowhere else in the world, they might be in a better position to make informed decisions as change occurs in the future.

Here, I realized, is an opportunity to help an entire nation prepare for change through awareness of the unique nature of their environment. But how?

The sharing of knowledge is fundamental to my discipline, and I have always brought or sent copies of our published scientific results to the governments and appropriate institutions of the African countries in which I have worked, but it was not until several years into our islands work that it occurred to me that we should be including a Portuguese abstract in each of our publications (above left). The abstracts at least make our work understandable to Portuguese scholars who read scientific journals, but on the islands, it was only the various ministries and specialists who even received these articles, and they are technical in nature (we have published 18 so far). In 2008, I began to write this monthly blog (above right). While it is written for a popular audience and hopefully helps bring world attention to the biological uniqueness of the islands, it is still only available to English speakers with access to the worldwide web.

Visitors to the California Academy of Sciences are aware of our work in the islands as we occasionally have small semi-permanent exhibits on our island work on the public floor (see below)

I should mention that the Academy is nearly 160 years old, and we receive over one and a half million visitors per year. We have frequent after-hour public and fundraising events, and whenever possible we have a Gulf of Guinea Islands display which give those of us who are involved an opportunity to describe our research to our public in person.

Velma Schnoll at Discovery Evening. March 2, 2012 (Phot. RCD)

While these events help make our local visitors aware of our island work, they obviously have only indirect impact to our island friends.

During expeditions in the past few years we have been interviewed by local media (radio and television) and have been asked to give lectures on biodiversity at a number of schools and institutions, especially at the Instituto Superior Politecnico, thanks to Dra. Alizira Rodriguez, and also at a biodiversity conference under the auspices of Regional President Tosé Cassandra of Príncipe.

Lecture at Instituto Politecnico Superior in Sao Tome (Phot. A. Stanbridge, GG V)

Local high school lecture (Phot A. Stanbridge, GG V)

These have been excellent opportunities to communicate directly to advanced students and conservation workers (through a translator), but the information still does not get down to the fishermen, the kids, or the people in the market places.

Sometime in 2010, before GG IV, it occurred to me that we might be able to reach the local populations visually. One of the things we have that nobody else has is outstanding images, not just of pretty beaches and Câo Grande, but of the unique living plants and animals themselves! And we know what they are, and sometimes where they came from. So, I put together a series of powerpoint mockups of colorful biodiversity posters on my laptop, and during GG IV Ishowed them to everyone who would look; they all seemed to like the colorful montages.

Roberta Ayres (CAS) and Roberta dos Santos (STeP UP). [GG IV, from V. Schnoll presentation, 2011]

During GG IV, one of the expedition members was Roberta Ayres, MSc., an Academy educator who runs our nature center (see earlier blogs). Roberta’s mission was to assess the level of knowledge of biodiversity in the islands’ school system, assess the likely impact of the posters, and to discover what else we might do to raise biodiversity awareness through the schools. I have written a number of blogs about how the posters were ultimately produced, thanks largely to the efforts of Velma Schnoll, Docent Coordinator and Jim Boyer of our CAS Docent Council (see below) and with funding from STeP UP.

Posters, GG V. from V. Schnoll presentation, 2011.

Gulf of Guinea Expedition V was a largely educational mission dedicated to the distribution on both islands (see earlier blogs) of the 200 posters we produced, and this was accomplished by Mrs Schnoll, Andrew Stanbridge (our photographer), and I, along with a host of local friends, including Marnie Saidi of Príncipe and Antonio Fernando of São Tomé. A very central figure in all of our endeavors, both scientific and educational since the very first expedition in 2001 has been Quintino Quade of STeP UP. Readers will know that he appears in virtually every blog since the first one.

Poster distribution. [all photos A. Stanbridge-GG V; from V. Schnoll presentation, 2011]

At the same, we continued to pursue information on our ultimate goal which is the creation of a Gulf of Guinea Biodiversity Center, a place on the islands where the citizens can access all of the information being gathered about the environment, and which can serve as a clearing house for all science and natural history research on the islands. Over the years, we have shared this idea with many citizens and foreign researchers on São Tomé and Príncipe.

In Part I of this blog, I described the scientific goals of GG VI (which begins next month) and introduced the investigators who will be on the expedition. The education component (Part II) is meant to build upon the efforts of GG V, and two educators will be coming along as well: Roberta Ayres (GG IV) and Velma Schnoll (GG V).

Like the overall project, our biodiversity education efforts have morphed into a team with Mrs. Velma Schnoll as Biodiversity Education Project Manager. After much debate (including the possibility of an animated cartoon), the team decided to produce 2,000 coloring books for young elementary school students, featuring the same endemic species that appear on the posters of last year. We have selected four primary schools on São Tomé and, of course, the one in Santo Antonio, Príncipe as our trial sites.

The Biodiversity Education Team (l-r): T. Daniel (science advisor), V. Schnoll (project manager), J. Boyer (chief illustrator and production), C. Schneider and S. V. Edgerton (fine art), R. Ayers (text and translation) and M. Murakami (graphics and production). Absent : L. & C. Rocha (translation) and E. McElhinny (cartography). [Phot RCD]

The team at work [Phot V. Schnoll]

Velma Schnoll, project manager, with initial page layout [phot RCD]

The coloring books are being printed as I write;

Thanks to Mike Murakami’s friend, Richard Engle, proprietor of Solstice Press, Oakland California, we got a very favorable discount on the printing costs. So, here is what they will look like:

The front cover artwork is by Sean Vidal-Edgerton. Sean and Corlis Schneider (back cover art) were both in a biological illustration program at the University of California at Santa Cruz, and California State University, Monterey Bay. In 2011, this group produced a wonderful on-line account of our São Tomé and Príncipe biodiversity research: http://sciencenotes.ucsc.edu/2011/pages/eden/eden.html We were extremely fortunate that they joined us.

The inside back and front covers have color images of the same living plants and animals that are illustrated in the cartoons.

This is a spread of the full contents of the book; except for the first two pages, the cartoons will not necessarily be in this order. The two game pages will be in the middle of the book.

Here are a couple of Jim Boyer’s fabulous cartoons as they will appear as full pages:

The Giant Begonia and Newton’s sunbird, both endemic to Sao Tome.

The Principe puddle frog found only on that island.

Again, the back cover artwork is by the talented artist, Corlis Schneider. As the logos indicate, much of the production costs of this project have been provided by a Goldman Fund donation to STeP UP, one of our main partners on the islands. Africa’s Eden is already well known to readers of this blog; the rest of us are volunteers.

So, Part II of Gulf of Guinea Islands Expedition VI is the distribution of the coloring books. Moreover, Roberta Ayres and Velma Schnoll have produced a teacher’s guide incorporating both the books and the posters with island evolutionary principles, and they hope to conduct a workshop for teachers in São Tomé and later on Príncipe.

Now, all we have to do is get 2,000 of these books to the islands by hand, and somehow procure enough colored pencils (crayons do not work well on the Equator) over there for the kids.

As usual I will post from the islands.

Here’s the parting shot:

Atopochlis exerata, one of the many unique snails on the islands. Photo by M Morais, courtesy of A. Gascoigne]

PARTNERS

We gratefully acknowledge the support of the G. Lindsay Field Research Fund Hagey Research Venture Fund of the California Academy of Sciences, (GG I, II), the Société de Conservation et Développement (SCD) and Africa’s Eden for logistics, ground transportation and lodging (GG III-V), STePUP of Sao Tome http://www.stepup.st/, Arlindo de Ceita Carvalho, Director General, and Victor Bomfim, and Salvador Sousa Pontes of the Ministry of Environment, Republic of São Tomé and Príncipe for permission to collectexport specimens for study. Special thanks for the generosity of private individuals who have made the GG III-V expeditions possible: George G. Breed, Gerry F. Ohrstrom, Timothy M. Muller, Mrs. W. H. V. Brooke, Mr. and Mrs. Michael Murakami, Hon. Richard C. Livermore, Prof. & Mrs. Evan C. Evans III, Mr. and Mrs. Robert M. Taylor, Velma and Michael Schnoll, and Sheila Farr Nielsen; GG VI supporters include The Herbst Foundation, The “Blackhawk Gang,” the Docent Council of the California Academy of Sciences in honor of Kathleen Lilienthal, Bernard S. Schulte, Corinne W. Abell, John and Judy Sears, John S. Livermore and Elton Welke.

Our expeditions can be supported by tax-free donations to “California Academy of Sciences Gulf of Guinea Fund”.

Things have been very busy here at the Academy of Sciences, and this is one of my tardier blogs! However, part of the hustle and bustle has been in planning our next expedition, Gulf of Guinea VI.

The first good news is that our new species of gecko from Príncipe is about to be formally published in the African Journal of Herpetology, possibly as soon as April. It is bad luck to give you its name before it is published, but here is what it looks like, and we are adding yet another endemic species to our wonderful islands!

Our new gecko near Bom Bom, Principe.  Weckerphoto- GG IV

As readers know, our expeditions have largely been privately funded since GG III, and the friends who have helped us are always celebrated in the PARTNERS section below.  However, I am going to take this early opportunity to thank the folks who are making the upcoming expedition financially possible: The Herbst Foundation, The “Blackhawk Gang,” the Docent Council of the California Academy of Sciences in honor of Kathleen Lilienthal, Prof. & Mrs. Evan C. Evans III, Bernard S. Schulte, John S. Livermore, John and Judy Sears and Elton Welke.

Here are the scientist participants in the upcoming GG VI which will run from 30 March until 5 May.

Dr. Tomio Iwamoto on Sao Tome.  D Lin phot- GGI

Dr. Tomio Iwamoto is Curator Emeritus of our Ichthyology Department, and my good friend and flyfishing buddy.  He is a veteran of GG I and GG II and has already published two scientific papers as a result of these expeditions. He has also worked with São Tomé and Príncipe fisheries people in deepwater trawling around the islands (see Shipboard Discoveries….June 2010 blog).  During GG VI he wants to visit as many local fishing villages as he can on both islands to see what the most commonly caught fishes are.  His goal is to produce a popular guide for the fishermen themselves! This will not be a scientific publication.

A Longfin crevalle jack described to science only 5 years ago. Sao Tome.  A. Stanbridge phot- GG V

Dr. Brian Simison; limpet photo by  T. Laupstad]

Dr. Brian Simison is a world authority on small monovalved molluscs known as limpets, commonly found firmly attached to rocks in the coastal littoral zones.  So far as we know, this group has never before been sampled in São Tomé and Príncipe, and our expectations for new discoveries are high.

Crocidura tomensis, the Sao Tome shrew. Phot by Ricardo Lima, 2010

Brian is alsoDirector of the Academy’s  Center for Comparative Genomics which is where all our genetic and molecular work is done.  He became involved in our molecular analyses of the true status of the endemic São Tomé shrew (see Unique shrew…. August 2010 blog).  Working with Eden Maloney, he discovered that the shrew on Príncipe, long thought to be a mainland species, may indeed also be an endemic to that island.  While we collected DNA of this second shrew during GG II, we collected no adults.  Assuming we receive permission from the Ministry, Brian and I will also try to secure a couple of adult Príncipe shrews. If this is indeed a unique species, we will need to be able do describe its anatomy formally.

Two graduate students will be joining us.  The first is Rayna Bell who is doing her PhD on African tree frogs at Cornell University.

Oceanic tree frog, Hyperolius thomensis (phot RCD- GG I); Rayna Bell

Rayna will be looking at a potential hybrid zone between the oceanic tree frog (above, Hyperolius molleri) and the flambouyant São Tomé giant tree frog, H. thomensis of higher elevations, which I have featured in many of these blogs.  There is something curious going on with the genetics of these species and one of Rayna’s projects will be to look at both populations from the molecular perspective.

Miko Nadel and lichens (from web)

Our other graduate student is Miko Nadel, who is doing his MSc in botany at San Francisco State University under the guidance of our favorite mycologist, Dr. Dennis Desjardin, describer of the now infamous Phallus drewesi of São Tomé.  Recall that Drs. Desjardin (GG II & III) and Perry (GG III) learned that over 33% of the mushrooms of São Tomé and Príncipe are new to science.  Miko informs me that there have been only a couple of scientific papers ever written on the lichens of the islands, and that was back in the 1880’s.  So it is time for a more modern and thorough look at this flora.

Finally, we round the scientist group out with the irrepressible  James Shevock, the Academy’s bryophyte (mosses and their allies) expert.

Jim Shevock with moss at the Omali.  RCD phot-GG IV

The results of Jim’s efforts during GG IV are summarized in the image below.  The largest uptick of new species for the islands is expected in the third paper, which we hope will be published this year.

Compilation and photo by RCD, GG IV (* this paper has since been published)

As in GG V, the new expedition will be accompanied by the world’s largest photographer, Andrew Stanbridge.  His images from GG V are magnificent, and he is a most excellent and willing field companion. His work can be viewed on the web at www.andrewstanbridge.com

RCD and photographer Andrew Stanbridge. V. Schnoll phot – GG V

There will be two additional members of GG VI, both veterans of earlier expeditions,  Ms Velma Schnoll and Ms Roberta Ayres, but I will reintroduce  them in more detail in the second part of this blog which will be on our concurrent biodiversity education activities.

The parting shot:

The Jockey’s bonnet, Principe. Photo by Eddie Herbst – 2011

[Herbst]

PARTNERS

We gratefully acknowledge the support of the G. Lindsay Field Research Fund Hagey Research Venture Fund of the California Academy of Sciences, (GG I, II), the Société de Conservation et Développement (SCD) and Africa’s Eden for logistics, ground transportation and lodging (GG III-V), STePUP of Sao Tome http://www.stepup.st/, Arlindo de Ceita Carvalho, Director General, and Victor Bomfim,  and Salvador Sousa Pontes of the Ministry of Environment, Republic of São Tomé and Príncipe for permission to export specimens for study.  Special thanks for the generosity of private individuals who have made the GG III-V  expeditions possible: George G. Breed, Gerry F. Ohrstrom, Timothy M. Muller, Mrs. W. H. V. Brooke, Mr. and Mrs. Michael Murakami, Hon. Richard C. Livermore, Prof. & Mrs. Evan C. Evans III, Mr. and Mrs. Robert M. Taylor, Velma and Michael Schnoll, Sheila Farr Nielsen, Corinne W. Abel and Mr. and Mrs. John Sears, Bernard Schulte, and John S. Livemore.   Our expeditions can be supported by tax-free donations to “California Academy of Sciences Gulf of Guinea Fund”.

We have been back from GG V for a week or so now, and Velma and I are still trying to sift through the happy kaleidoscope of our experiences. Our photographer Andrew Stanbridge went on to further adventure with my kids in Ethiopia, so I suspect it will take him longer to decompress!

GG V was different; in over 40 years of fieldwork, this was the only expedition I have led in which I did very little science – mostly outreach and lecturing which were of course our goals this time. But, you can take the boy out of science, but not the science…….. etc. So along with lecturing, distributing posters and meeting important citizens, we did manage to do a little science.

The Sao Tome giant tree frog  D. Lin Phot – GG I

Readers of this blog (Glorious Ghost…. May, 2008) will already know about the endemic Sao Tome giant tree frog that breeds in holes in trees in the higher elevations of Sao Tome Island. Although we have not collected any since 2006, on every expedition I always check one particular tree to make sure its holes are still in use by the frogs. And I keep the location of the tree a secret, as I would hate to see these wonderful critters in the pet trade. This Olea is the only tree we have found with holes low enough to give easy access to the breeding holes.

Olea tree. V. Schnoll phot – GG V

This time we found no adults but obvious signs that the frogs still use them.

Olea tree. V. Schnoll phot.- GG V.

An egg mass was present in one of the holes testifying to the fact that the frogs are still around. I have no idea of population levels as these frogs appear largely to be canopy dwellers, but I doubt they are rare as they can be heard at night calling from high up in the trees.

On the eastern side of the island, our jumping off point for high elevation work like this has always been Bom Sucesso, where the main Trinidade road ends. This combination Park Obo Headquarters, meeting place, tourist destination and overnight facility for hikers and scientists at about 1000m is about as high as you can go by vehicle, and it is also a charming Botanical Garden. Until recently it has also functioned as the National Herbarium, curated by Faustino de Oliviera. Much of our duplicate Academy plant specimens are housed there complete with data labels.

Lagoas, our old friend, guiding tourists at Bom Sucesso.  V. Schnoll phot– GG V

During GG V, we were saddened to learn that the various projects that have supported Bom Sucesso have been exhausted and except for a few guides waiting for tourists, no one seems to be maintaining the botanical garden and the herbarium– they are rapidly falling into disrepair.

Andrew and Velma lunching at Bom Sucesso.  RCD phot–GG V

This is particularly tragic in that it is the National Herbarium, and I have always felt strongly that African countries should share in the biological discoveries made in their territories. Moreover it is frequently visited tourists attraction. Regrettably, there is no minimal, base-line government support to keep such entities going. My guess is that it would  take only two salaries to survive the lean periods between projects: one for a full-time gardener and one for the Herbarium Curator.

Down the mountain at about 800m and not far from the waterfalls of Sao Nicolau is the lovely home of my friend, Henrique Pinto da Costa.

Henrique Pinto da Costa viewing a poster.   V. Schnoll phot.– GG V

Henrique is the former Minister of Agriculture and one of our most valuable friends; I have learned much about the history and people of Sao Tome and Principe from him, and he has appeared in earlier blogs.

On our first GG V visit to Henrique’s he gave us a tour of his gardens which are extensive and impressive.

Henrique’s garden.  R. Ayres phot–GG IV

As we were walking through, Velma called my attention to a rather amazing-spider, among Henrique’s plants, and I recognized it as a Gasteracantha. This is a spider I am familiar with from my early days in East Africa.

Henrique’s spider. A. Stanbridge phot.– GG V

Gasteracantha is an orb weaver, although it does not look like one. They are solitary and weave a flat, disc-shaped web, but also have strange lateral spine-like projections from the body. On GG I, back in 2001, we had two arachnologists with us and made a large collection. This collection has yet to be analyzed but having been with both spider people, I could not remember ever collecting this genus on the islands.

Gasteracantha sanguinolenta? strange dorsal view.  A. Stanbridge phot — GG V.

We did not touch the spiders, but when we returned to our base in Sao Tome, I emailed Dr. Charles Griswold, my colleague, one of the world’s experts on spiders and the lead arachnologist on GGI. I informed him that I could not recall ever collecting members of this genus on our earlier trips to the islands, and should I collect some.

Dr. Charles Griswold at Lagoa Amelia. D. Lin phot — GG I

Charles response: Get ‘em!The parting shot of our 22 April blog is of my long-time friend and island field companion, Quintino Quade Cabral, collecting spiders in Henrique’s garden. We got a fine series of Gasteracantha and also some of a different, non-spiny species that appears to be somewhat colonial. The specimens are in our spider lab awaiting identification. A preliminary ID suggests they may be something called the Blood-red spiny spider, G. sanguinolenta. This has an enormous range so it well might be. On the other hand, a closer look at Sao Tome and Principe specimens frequently brings surprises.

More when our photographer, Andrew returns. My next Summer Systematics Intern, Elizabeth Miller, will be working on the genetics of Greef’s giant gecko, supposedly the same critter on both islands…. but time will tell.

The Parting shot:

Andrew Stanbridge at Monte Cafe, Sao Tome.   V. Schnoll phot–GG V

PARTNERS

We gratefully acknowledge the support of the G. Lindsay Field Research Fund (GG I), Hagey Research Venture Fund (GG II) of the California Academy of Sciences, the Société de Conservation et Développement (SCD) and Africa’s Eden for logistics, ground transportation and lodging (GG III-V), STeP UP of Sao Tome http://www.stepup.st/, Arlindo de Ceita Carvalho, Director General, and Victor Bonfim, Salvador Sousa Pontes and Danilo Barbero of the Ministry of Environment, Republic of São Tomé and Príncipe for permission to export specimens for study, the continued support of Bastien Loloum and Mariana Carvalho of Zuntabawe and Faustino de Oliviera, Curator of the National Herbarium at Bom Sucesso. Special thanks for the generosity of private individuals, George G. Breed, Gerry F. Ohrstrom, Timothy M. Muller, Mrs. W. H. V. Brooke, Mr. and Mrs. Michael Murakami, Hon. Richard C. Livermore, Prof. & Mrs. Evan C. Evans III, Mr. and Mrs. Robert M. Taylor, and Mrs. Sheila Farr Nielsen for helping make these expeditions possible. Tax-deductable donations in support of this work can be made to “CAS-Gulf of Guinea Fund.”

This is our seventh day, and we have been to all the schools, ministries, health centers and public places we can find, giving our biodiversity posters to head masters, principals, ministers. etc.. We started at the southern end of Sao Tome on one side, the town of Santa Catarina and worked north; then Porto Alegre on the east coast, working toward the city. This morning we delivered posters to a number of the bigger town schools but then spent the afternoon hunting spiders in the garden of Henrique da Costa, former Minister of Agriculture and a dear friend and wise counselor. As to our main mission, how have our posters been received? I thought I would just post a number of images of our poster adventures, and you can decide for yourself!

And of course we had to jump back in the bush:

The Parting Shot:

PARTNERS
We gratefully acknowledge the support of the G. Lindsay Field Research Fund (GG I), Hagey Research Venture Fund (GG II) of the California Academy of Sciences, the Société de Conservation et Développement (SCD) and Africa’s Eden for logistics, ground transportation and lodging (GG III-V), STePUP of Sao Tome http://www.stepup.st/., Arlindo de Ceita Carvalho, Director General, and Victor Bonfim, Salvador Sousa Pontes and Danilo Barbero of the Ministry of Environment, Republic of São Tomé and Príncipe for permission to export specimens for study, the continued support of Bastien Loloumb of Zuntabawe and Faustino Oliviera, Director of the botanical garden at Bom Sucesso. Special thanks for the generosity of private individuals, George G. Breed, Gerry F. Ohrstrom, Timothy M. Muller, Mrs. W. H. V. Brooke, Mr. and Mrs. Michael Murakami, Hon. Richard C. Livermore, Prof. & Mrs. Evan C. Evans III, Mr. and Mrs. Robert M. Taylor, and Mrs. Sheila Farr Nielsen for helping make these expeditions possible. Tax-deductable donations in support of this work can be made to “CAS-Gulf of Guinea Fund.”