CHENNAI: Various species of the Amazon forest captured on camera in their natural habitat were screened for a select audience on Friday.

The photographs were taken during a field study in tropical rainforest ecology by Varun Swamy, a student pursuing his doctorate from the Nicholas School of Environment and Earth Sciences at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina, USA.

Mr. Swamy said the focus of the dissertation was to examine the critical role played by animals, particularly primates and terrestrial mammals, in the maintenance of species diversity and spatial organisation of the rainforest plant community.

`Passport to Peru'

The 45-minute presentation, titled `Passport to Peru', began with the view of a rain forest tree canopy. Mr. Swamy chose the Madre de Dios River Basin in southeastern Peru for the study, collecting data for the research project. The presentation was divided into five categories - charismatic mega flora, fauna, creepy crawly gallery, reptile life and birds in his area of study.

In the charismatic mega fauna section, he had photographed a capybara, the largest of living rodents, common to tropical and temperate parts of South America east of Andes, he said.

Tarantula for company

Mr. Swamy said, during one of the field trips, he collected a pink-toed tarantula, which he kept as his companion. Tarantulas were not poisonous, but their sting could result in itching he explained.

Similarly, he had photographed the bird and reptile life in his study area, which he explained to the audience.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail