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The Barro Colorado BAMBI lectures
Sailing out of Bocas

Going out to BCI for a BAMBI lecture

photos and captions by Eric Jackson

This time this reporter took the late boat from Gamboa, which meant hardly any time to see Barro Colorado Island, and also, because there weren't any big supply shipments to take out to the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute's laboratory, that we went in the cramped water taxi rather than one of STRI's more spacious boats. But if one takes the mid-day launch to the Thursday night scientific lecture series, that gives an opportunity for an afternoon of exploration on the famous island.

No, people have not been eaten by the reptiles here. But legend has it that at least one of the island's monkeys was with one snap converted into Purina Crocodile Chow.

This spider's name is Boris. All spiders are named Boris. Just as was the case in this reporter's house when he grew up on the Atlantic side, spiders are protected species on Barro Colorado.

Pretty sneaky: this walking stick has its hind legs extended so that they look like a single stem. That way, unsuspecting dinner will think that it's just a stick until too late.

After dinner came the lecture. This time STRI biologist Egbert Leigh spoke about the "intelligent design" notions about evolution, which some people coming from religious perspectives, and others who are more seriously scientific, believe would be a better explanation for evolution than the idea of natural selection among random mutations over time. Not that Leigh himself advocates this idea, but he points out that while Darwin swept away the opposition to the extent that he rather conclusively proved that evolution exists, the idea that the mechanism by which evolution works is natural selection could still be open to challenge by the right anti-Darwinian whose thinking comes from a truly scientific perspective rather than out of religious dogma in search of a scientific-sounding justification.

The BAMBI lectures are mostly attended by serious scientists at the cutting edge of tropical biological research, but every now and then one of the talks is a spoof.

On the way back through Gatun Lake to Gamboa one of the larger STRI launches, the Las Cruces, passed this dredge in the night.