The Royal Scottish Geographical Society

Reports from Central American Expeditions

For further information and details of available documentation about any expedition listed below please click on the appropriate line: -

2001 - Project Anuran Phase II, Belize - University of Edinburgh *
2000 - Project Anuran Phase I, Belize - University of Edinburgh *
2000 - Trinidad Expedition - University of Glasgow *
1997 - Costa Rica - North Berwick High School World Challenge Expedition *
1997 - Belize - Batley Grammar, W.Yorkshire *
1996 - Five Blues Expedition to Belize - Southampton University *
1996 - Expedition to Trinidad - University of Glasgow Exploration Society
1994 - Trinidad - University of Glasgow Exploration Society *
1993 - Trinidad - University of Glasgow *
1993 - Trinidad - University of Aberdeen *
1991 - The Wetlands of Belize - University of Edinburgh *
1988 - Aspects of Urban and Rural Development: Belize - University of Edinburgh *
1988 - Americas Expedition '88
1966-87 - Belize - University of Edinburgh *
1986 - Ecology and Environment in Belize - University of Edinburgh *
1983 - Agricultural census of Belize - University of Edinburgh *
1981 - Resources and Development in Belize - University of Edinburgh *
1979 - Panama Phase - Operation Drake *
1971-72 - The British Trans-Americas Expedition
1970 - Expedition to Central America - University of Edinburgh *

Expeditions supported by RSGS are indicated by an asterisk at the right-hand end of the heading *

Project Anuran Phase II, Belize - University of Edinburgh, 2001 *

Research Aim

To contribute to the understanding of the ecology and conservation of amphibian populations via an intensive monitoring programme of the anuran (Amphibia: Anuran) fauna at the neo-tropical site of Las Cuevas, Belize (N16°44' W88°59').

Documentation

Preliminary Report : An Ecological reasearch project concerned with the assessment and monitoring of anuran populations in the region around Las Cuevas, Chiquibul Forest Reserve, Belize / by Toby Gardner ... [and others] (19pp)

Project Anuran Phase I, Belize - University of Edinburgh, 2000 *

Aims

To further the knowledge and understanding of the biodiversity, relative abundance, and ecology of the anurans local to Las Cuevas;
To expand the project into an ongoing monitoring programme of these same populations.

Documentation

Preliminary Report : Initial Findings and Future Prospects
Main Report / by Emily Fitzherbert [and others] (97pp)
Web-site

Trinidad Expedition - University of Glasgow, 2000 *

Documentation

Final Report (91pp) / edited and compiled by Suzanne R. Livingstone

Costa Rica - North Berwick High School World Challenge Expedition, 1997 *

Aims

To visit the Centro Agronomico Tropical de Investigacion y Ensenanza (CATIE); an interesting and informative internationally-recognised centre for tropical agriculture;
To complete an acclimatisation trek in the area of Volcan Barva (2096m);
To assist at the site of the ANAI Leather Back Turtle project at Gandoca beach near Puerto Limon, in small teams monitoring nesting sites of this giant and endangered turtle;
To assist with research and conservation tasks in the area of Corcovado National Park on the Peninsula De Osa, the D of E group to complete a gold-qualifying task;
To complete an expedition journal.

Documentation

Summary (2pp);
Report on ANAI project (5pp);
Report on TUVA project (14pp);
Expedition Journal (27pp);
Final Report (21pp) / collated by Peter Heaton.

Belize - Batley Grammar, W.Yorkshire, 1997 *

Aims

To journey overland from Cancun in Mexico to Sarteneja in Belize;
To spend six days in Sarteneja, acclimatising to life in Belize and assisting on a community programme;
To experience the life of the Mayan people and carry out a jungle trek;
To compile an expedition journal, recording the experiences of the team and the diverse cultures and life-styles of Belize.

Documentation

Post Expedition Report (22pp)

Five Blues Expedition to Belize - Southampton University, 1996 *

Objective

To carry-out research focusing on the biological diversity of a previously unsurveyed area of Belize.

Documentation

A biological survey of the Hummingbird Karst, Belize, based at the Tamandua Wildlife Sanctuary, and including the Five Blues Lake National Park (97+xipp) / edited by Andrea J. Webster

Expedition to Trinidad - University of Glasgow Exploration Society, 1996

Aim

To study frogs, bats, insects, coral, and fish in Trinidad

Documentation

Report (105pp - 2 copies) / edited and compiled by Roger Downie [and others], with the following chapters: -

Introduction and general accounts;
The effects of the encroachment of rice cultivation within Nariva swamp;
A comparison of the bat species present in two different types of vegetation in the Trinity Hills wildlife reserve;
Neogene corals and coral reefs of Trinidad;
Reproductive ecology of frogs;
Entomological fieldwork;
Weaving techniques in two species of Icterini, the Yellow Oriole and the Crested Oropendola;
Financial report.

Trinidad - University of Glasgow Exploration Society, 1994 *

Aims

To undertake scientific work (some of it based on understanding natural systems, the rest related to conservation problems) both valid in itself and useful to the people of Trinidad;
To provide an opportunity for members of the University inexperienced in overseas fieldwork to gain such experience.

Documentation

Report / edited by Roger Downie [and others], with the following chapters: -

Introduction and general account;
Reproductive ecology of frogs;
Entomological field work;
A Census of Trinidad's ducks;
Composition, development and hatching control in the leaf-nests of the frog Phyllomedusa Trinitatis;
Status of the Golden Tree Frog Phyllodytes auratus in Trinidad;
An Investigation into the bat fauna of Mora excelsa-dominated rain-forest in Trinidad's Victoria-Mayaro Forest Reserve;
Appendix : Financial report.

Trinidad - University of Glasgow, 1993 *

Aims

To undertake scientific work, some of it on basic biology, the rest related to conservation problems, both valid in itself, and useful to the people of Trinidad;
To provide an opportunity for members of the University inexperienced in overseas fieldwork to gain such experience.

Documentation

Report (89pp) / edited by Alison Weir and Roger Downie, on the following projects: -

The ecology of Phyllodytes auratus in the montane rainforests of Trinidad;
Mechanisms of climbing in Trinidadian tree- and ground-living frogs;
Reproductive ecology of frogs;
An epidemiological study of intestinal helminths in Baghtelle, Trinidad;
An investigation into the parasites infecting Agouti on wildlife farms in Trinidad, incorporating a drug trial using commonly available anthelmintics.

Trinidad - University of Aberdeen, 1993 *

Documentation

Final Report (24pp), including chapters on: -

The relationship between Herbivory/Mildew Damage and Leaf Resource Density in two rainforest plants in Trinidad;
Conservation attitudes of local people living adjacent to Asa Wright Nature Centre in Trinidad;
Regeneration status of the Lower Montane Rainforest at different positions on a slope.

The Wetlands of Belize - University of Edinburgh, 1991 *

Objectives

To complete the remote-sensing interpretation of mangrove distribution along the barrier reef section of the Belizean coastline, and transfer data to a GIS for mapping and to act as a database for management strategies;
To establish transect lines in order to verify the vegetation distributions, and to provide base maps for the project, and for the ODA Tropical Forest Action Plan Team;
To identify, from remote sensing and field survey, the offshore and inland mangrove communities and their associated wetland savannas;
To establish the ecological zones and to characterise the soil and sediment properties along these transect lines and relate them to the height above sea level;
To examine the production of nitrous oxides at selected sites within Belize;
To evaluate the impact of urban expansion on mangrove communities around Belize City;
To assess alternative management strategies for the conservation and possible utilisation of mangroves, and to produce specific guidelines for the Ministry of Natural Resources in Belize.

Documentation

The Wetlands of Belize : ecology, environment, and utilisation : report of the 1991 Belize Research Project ... (150pp) / edited by P.A. Furley and D.M. Munro (ISBN 0 900475 22 6)

Aspects of Urban and Rural Development, Belize - University of Edinburgh, 1988 *

Documentation

Aspects of Urban and Rural Development in Belize : an account of the University of Edinburgh Expedition to Belize, Central America, 1988 (Department of Geography Occasional Publication no.13 - 126pp) / edited by David M. Munro and David Gray (ISBN 0 900475 17 X), with chapters on: -

Health and sanitation in Toledo;
The control of Malaria : a study of attitudes and awareness;
The changing nature of Tourism in Belize;
The development of tourism in Belize;
The provision of primary school recreational space in urban and rural areas of Belize;
Evaluation of the Northern Fisherman Co-operative;
The use of Landsat TM for vegetation mapping in Belize;
Studies on the nature of coastal mangrove near Belize City;
Progress within the citrus industry of Belize;
Belmopan : changing social attitudes and trends.

Americas Expedition '88

Objectives

To collect ground truth data in the field, to support glacial geological interpretations made from LANDSAT images, principally in Canada and North USA, though also in Chile;
To conduct a medical study of natural medicines used by the indigenous populations, and their possible bearing on modern medicine;
To conduct an anthropological and socio-economic study of those indigenous peoples of South America;
To conduct a short vehicle study with a view to producing a guide for future expeditioners.

Documentation

Proposal (26pp)

Belize - University of Edinburgh, 1966-87 *

Documentation

A Record of 21 years of expeditions from the University of Edinburgh 1966-1987 / by Peter A. Furley (Department of Geography)

Ecology and Environment in Belize - University of Edinburgh, 1986 *

Documentation

Ecology and Environment in Belize : an Account of the University of Edinburgh Expedition to Belize, Central America, in 1986 (Occasional Publication no.12 - 275pp) / edited by David M. Munro (ISBN 0 900475 15 3), in 2 parts: -

Pt.A : Environment, ecology and conservation;
Pt.B : Agriculture and socio-economic development.

Agricultural census of Belize - University of Edinburgh, 1983/4 *

Central Aim

To establish the amount of agricultural change during the previous decade (1970s), and to determine the principal factors limiting agricultural and economic development in the area.

Documentation

The Agricultural Census of Belize 1983/4 / edited by P.A. Furley and G.M. Robertson. Part one : The Registration of farmers : progress report of the University of Edinburgh team (Department of Geography Occasional Publication - 54pp) / by G.M. Robinson

Resources and Development in Belize - University of Edinburgh, 1981 *

Documentation

Reports on: -

The historical development of agriculture in Belize;
The agricultural geography of Belize;
The internal marketing of foodstuffs in Belize;
Transport and economic development in Belize;
The conservation of nature in Belize;
Soil and vegetation variations at Bullet Tree Falls;
The effects of milpa cultivation on plants and soils.

Panama Phase - Operation Drake, 1979 *

Documentation

Panama Report (84pp - 3 copies): -

Part I : Summary of the report;

Introduction;
Personnel.

Part II : Project reports in full, comprising the following sections: -

Archaeological Project;
The Diving Project;
Forest Canopy Research;
Jungle Survival Training;
Study of Saguinus Oedibus Geoffroyi (Geoffroy's Tamarin);
Nesting behaviour of the Leatherback Turtle;
Balboa Patrol.

The British Trans-Americas Expedition, 1971-72

Aim

To drive a road vehicle from Alaska to Tierra del Fuego, making a scientific study of the Darien Gap en route.

Documentation

Report (iii+242pp) / prepared by the Expedition Committee.

Expedition to Central America - University of Edinburgh, 1970 *

Documentation

General Report v.1 (189pp) / edited by Peter A. Furley, including sections on: -

Soil and Plant studies;
The small-scale citrus grower in British Honduras;
The state of the sugar cane industry in Belize.

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Latest revision on 14th January 2004 by Kerr Jamieson (RSGS Map and Photograph Curator)