The Greenhouse Harvest

Photo: Barrett Klein

One year ago, the great harvest took place. Harvest time is always an exciting, bittersweet scramble. I've been studying these colonies for these colonies for two years - discovering them in the field, getting to know their personalities, extracting them and implanting them into my greenhouse, watching them recover and grow, and studying their change in behavior, if any. Now to answer many fascinating questions about colony growth, morphology, plant investment, nutrient flow, and microbe communities, the colonies and plants must be sacrificed. With 42 plants, half of them hosting colonies, timely processing is an incredible feat - impossible for one person. It was at this time that I called on the other scientists at the Gamboa field site to volunteer their spare time to help with the harvest. I was overwhelmed with support, and together, we pulled it off. Sample analysis and behavioral scoring is underway. I could not have done this without you Sebastian Stockmaier, Agustin Diaz, Megan Pendred, Eloïse Lebrun, Yussef Castillo, May Dixon, Claire Hemingway, Krzysztof Kozak, Aaron Goodman, Eva Gril, Clément Aubert, Lynette Strickland, Barrett Klein, and Brendan Dula. Any time you need a helping hand, I'll be there. 

Photo: Barrett Klein