Barro Colorado Island and the Panama Canal
Our last day of the trip found us within Gatun Lake, just outside of the Barro Colorado Research Station. This lush island was formed in the middle of the lake by the damming of the Chagres River. It is managed by the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute. Once restricted only to scientists, the island is now open to tourism. Our vessel is the only ship that is allowed to anchor within the Institute’s extended lake boundary, and we took advantage of this privilege by walking through the Reserve’s trails and by taking Zodiac rides. All of us received different gifts from nature in the activity of our choice this morning, but few of us realized how incredible one of the smallest creatures we saw is.
Few people visit the Neotropics without encountering leaf cutting ants. These ants live in underground colonies of up to eight million individuals, consisting of a single large queen and innumerable worker ants. The sight of leaf cutter ants marching along, most of which are carrying neatly clipped leaf fragments, is unique to the New World Tropics; they are not found in the Old World. The impact of these small creatures can prove to be enormous. On Barro Colorado Island, leaf cutters have been estimated to consume 0.3 tons of foliage per hectare (2.5 acres) per year, equivalent to the combined effect of all the vertebrates in the forest. The leaf fragments are carried into the colony where they are used as a media to culture a specific fungus. This odd fungus, which is never found outside fungus garden ant colonies, is the ants’ only food. Whoever said that incredible things come in small packages was so right!
Our afternoon ended as we headed onto our final set of locks, the Gatun Locks, which would take us into the Caribbean Sea. The construction of the Panama Canal during the early 20th Century is a true story of adventure, ordeal, and accomplishment. Despite the technological advances that have happened since the completion of the Canal, almost 100 years later, the lock-and-lake waterway remains one of the great engineering marvels of all time. As we went through the last set of locks, we reminisced on our trip and could not help but smile.
Our last day of the trip found us within Gatun Lake, just outside of the Barro Colorado Research Station. This lush island was formed in the middle of the lake by the damming of the Chagres River. It is managed by the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute. Once restricted only to scientists, the island is now open to tourism. Our vessel is the only ship that is allowed to anchor within the Institute’s extended lake boundary, and we took advantage of this privilege by walking through the Reserve’s trails and by taking Zodiac rides. All of us received different gifts from nature in the activity of our choice this morning, but few of us realized how incredible one of the smallest creatures we saw is.
Few people visit the Neotropics without encountering leaf cutting ants. These ants live in underground colonies of up to eight million individuals, consisting of a single large queen and innumerable worker ants. The sight of leaf cutter ants marching along, most of which are carrying neatly clipped leaf fragments, is unique to the New World Tropics; they are not found in the Old World. The impact of these small creatures can prove to be enormous. On Barro Colorado Island, leaf cutters have been estimated to consume 0.3 tons of foliage per hectare (2.5 acres) per year, equivalent to the combined effect of all the vertebrates in the forest. The leaf fragments are carried into the colony where they are used as a media to culture a specific fungus. This odd fungus, which is never found outside fungus garden ant colonies, is the ants’ only food. Whoever said that incredible things come in small packages was so right!
Our afternoon ended as we headed onto our final set of locks, the Gatun Locks, which would take us into the Caribbean Sea. The construction of the Panama Canal during the early 20th Century is a true story of adventure, ordeal, and accomplishment. Despite the technological advances that have happened since the completion of the Canal, almost 100 years later, the lock-and-lake waterway remains one of the great engineering marvels of all time. As we went through the last set of locks, we reminisced on our trip and could not help but smile.
