of northwestern Costa Rica to establish a small, ag- 

 riculturally based community. It represents an inter- 

 esting mixture of cultures, combining modern dairy 

 practices with isolated life-styles and values. The Mon- 

 teverde community is famous among naturalists and 

 tropical biologists because it forms the point of access 

 to one of the largest expanses of virgin montane cloud 

 forest remaining in all of Central America. For our pur- 

 poses, Monteverde is an ideal place to conduct our stud- 

 ies because of the several major habitat and forest types 

 found in close proximity to the community. We are stay- 

 ing at a local inn (here called a pension) and have our 

 laboratory set up in the loft of a dilapidated, leaky barn 

 which we are renting from a Monteverde resident. 



Because of the large expanse of nearby virgin cloud 

 forest, progressive land and fojest management, and 

 strong conservation ethic in the community, wildlife in 

 the area is abundant. While on our study sites we fre- 

 quently observe a wide variety of wildlife including 

 peccaries, foxes, howler monkeys, agoutis, resplendent 

 quetzals, and a tremendous variety of other rare and 

 beautiful tropical birds, many of which are virtually ex- 

 tinct elsewhere. The howler monkeys are especially 

 exciting to observe at close range because of their ag- 



Bob Timm processing specimens in the makeshift lab at Mon- 

 teverde. Hanging at left are Berlese funnels, used for separating 

 insect specimens from debris, such as forest litter. Photo by Barbara 

 L. Clauson. 



Curators Timm (center) and Ashe (right) about to ride up to their 

 research site. At left is Margaret LaVal, Monteverde resident who 

 provided the mounts. Photo by Barbara L. Clauson. 



15 



