[ WilliamsWebMasters - 1 - 09:50:41 ]
This is a test of this site...

[ GHS - 2 - 10:23:06 ]
This is GHS linking in from Mississippi State where we are actually talking now by phone to Brazil... and West Virginia to coordinate tomorrow's broadcast. Unfortunately, our planned guest for today literally missed the boat this morning--a result of travel logistics and the Easter vacation. But he will be with us tomorrow, and Susan and he will both answer questions on-air, and Susan will be here for the announced WebChat. But for now--we hope that Ann Devereaux--one of the satellite engineers--will be with us now, online, and GHS will answer questions from Mississippi as well as his own experiences in Brazil permit. Sorry, chatters, but hope we can still get some useful "chat" out of this session.

[ GHS - 3 - 10:29:10 ]
Since it's just "air time" for the chat to begin, maybe we should sign on by introducing ourselves as we link in. GHS is Geoff Haines-Stiles, Project Director for PTK and the LFRF electronic field trips.

[ WilliamsWebMasters - 4 - 10:30:50 ]
Roger Stryker and 5th grade class from Austin, Texas.

[ WilliamsWebMasters - 5 - 10:31:53 ]
Shoot, we had some good mammal questions,too. We'll be there tomorrow for sure, however.

[ GHS - 6 - 10:33:38 ]
Hi, Roger--why not pass along some of the questions and we'll see if we can get Marcelo to respond directly to your loyal students!

[ Eileen - 7 - 10:36:09 ]
H!

[ GHS - 8 - 10:37:45 ]
Roger, if you're still with us, did you catch the Austin kids on camera last week? We all thought they did a very nice job of expressing questions of interest to students all over. Must be something good in the Austin air!

[ WilliamsWebMasters - 9 - 10:38:26 ]
First, we're really facinated by the Sloth. It's hard to believe that it moves so slow! We had a visitor in our class last week that related a story about having to wait for one to get out of the road once. My student's question - is there anything that we can study about the sloth that will benefit humans?

[ GHS - 10 - 10:39:06 ]
Eileen: good to see you online. How are you? And what's hot in the "Backyard Biodiversity Survey" this week?

[ WilliamsWebMasters - 11 - 10:40:46 ]
I'm impressed that they did so well also! We enjoyed being so close to the real program. Unfortunately, we had to go to the symphony that day and finished the program later. Great job, by the way!

[ Eileen - 12 - 10:41:16 ]
The "Backyard Biodiversity Survey" is very slow. I think that there are too many schools on spring break.

[ GHS - 13 - 10:42:08 ]
Those sloths are really fascinating, aren't they? We'll pass that along to Marcelo, and be sure to get back to you...

[ Eileen - 14 - 10:45:57 ]
Geoff, you probably didn't get my message, yet, but one of the scientists from last week must have looked up more information for one of the kids. He sent me the follow up of the question for our archives and sent the message to the student.

[ GHS - 15 - 10:46:26 ]
We're really mixing technologies here, Roger: I just passed along your first sloth question via phone and ACTS satellite to Brazil, and asked our team there to share it with Marcelo when he gets there later today. And tell your kids we'll have some more sloth shots in our "Canopy to Understory" sequence in tomorrow's show.

[ WilliamsWebMasters - 16 - 10:48:23 ]
Excellent! Thanks - we look forward to tomorrow. Our biodiversity project submission will go in this week.

[ GHS - 17 - 10:49:09 ]
Hello, Ann in Brazil... are you linked in to the Webchat yet?

[ Eileen - 18 - 10:49:29 ]
Thanks, Roger we will look forward to the kids work.

[ GHS - 19 - 10:53:30 ]
Eileen and Roger--just before Ann links in, do you think teachers use the "preview" copy of the script we publish online before the broadcasts? To create "anticipatory set"?

[ AnnfromBrazil - 20 - 10:55:45 ]
Hello, all!Seems like sometimes it's just as hard to do email from the rainforest as TV! Sorry that we coldn't get Marcelo to you this afternoon, but we'll be sure to get he and Susan on line for you tomorrow morning.

[ Eileen - 21 - 10:57:48 ]
I haven't had any feedback on this from anyone. I like getting it because it lets me know what will be in the broadcast ahead of time. We only had four days last week and Thursday we had assemblies. So that left three class days. I needed them to do the BBS. I'm showing the first broadcast next Monday and the second broadcast later in the week. I will definitely use the script with the kids ahead of time for the third broadcast. Spring break came at the wrong time to do some of what I wanted to do.

[ GHS - 22 - 10:58:24 ]
Thanks, Ann--good to have you with us. You were part of the great sloth-taping expedition: just how fast (or not) was that critter moving???

[ MrsFlorences3rdGrade - 23 - 10:58:57 ]
Hello from South Carolina

[ MrsFlorences3rdGrade - 24 - 11:00:07 ]
How does the proboscis monkey protect itself?

[ AnnfromBrazil - 25 - 11:00:20 ]
Hello, Geoff! Sloths move with truly unbelievable deliberateness. Not only do they mmove just as slowly as you saw on tape, but they do each movement EXACTLY the same speed-slow. They hardly look real!

[ WilliamsWebMasters - 26 - 11:00:48 ]
I've only looked over it briefly for the most part. I've never read it at thoroughly - beginning to end beforehand. I've enjoyed having access to it.

[ MrsFlorences3rdGrade - 27 - 11:00:49 ]
Is there anyone here to answer questions today?

[ AnnfromBrazil - 28 - 11:02:30 ]
Hello, Mrs Florence's 3rd grade! Unfortunately, our monky expert missed his boat this afternnon (this IS the jungle!) and all we have on line is a non-biologist--Ann, from NASA. Marcelo will be back with us tomorrow, though, so I hope you can get your questions in, then.

[ MrsFlorences3rdGrade - 29 - 11:03:55 ]
Ann....what do you do for NASA?

[ GHS - 30 - 11:04:05 ]
Hello, Mrs Florence's class--sorry, but we had to start this Webchat with a sincere apology that our guest planned for this morning did not make the boat out to our uplink site, but we promised to pass along the questions submitted here to our guests when they arrive, and then get back to you? OK?

[ AnnfromBrazil - 31 - 11:04:53 ]
T

[ AnnfromBrazil - 32 - 11:04:55 ]
T

[ MrsFlorences3rdGrade - 33 - 11:05:08 ]
This is fine with us...we are debating on missing art so we can be in our class for the live chat....

[ MrsFlorences3rdGrade - 34 - 11:05:52 ]
Are any of the scientists bird specialists?

[ MrsFlorences3rdGrade - 35 - 11:07:19 ]
Will would like to know if the arrow poison frog has any enemies.

[ AnnfromBrazil - 36 - 11:07:57 ]
Mrs. Florences class: well, when I'm not pretending to be a research biologist in the rainforest, I'm a satellite communications engineer at NASA JPL in California. Believe me, I've experienced more biology here--in my shower sometimes--frogs, crickets, bats! than in 15 years out in Pasadena.

[ GHS - 37 - 11:08:49 ]
Susan Laurance, who'll be online tomorrow at 09:30-10:30 Eastern is indeed a bird expert, and you'll see a really nice video sequence during tomorrow's program, in which she gets her hands on and shows us 5 different kinds of birds, including woodcreepers--with amazing curved beaks and strange tail feathers they use to prop themselves against a tree to eat insects!

[ WilliamsWebMasters - 38 - 11:09:28 ]
Ann - What is the scariest organism you've come across so far?

[ AnnfromBrazil - 39 - 11:09:29 ]
Susan Laurance, one of our two guests next week, is an expert on birds. In fact, after you chat with her live, you can see her live on TV, in the program tomorrow afternoon.

[ Eileen - 40 - 11:10:16 ]
Two of the scientists who will be answering questions tomorrow during the live broadcast are experts on birds.

[ MrsFlorences3rdGrade - 41 - 11:11:42 ]
Ann...how do you take a shower in the rainforest? Do you have to just wait for it to rain?

[ AnnfromBrazil - 42 - 11:12:09 ]
Scariest organism?? Well, we've seen several scorpions, a couple of tarantulas, and a couple of snakes and caimans (a type of crocodillian). We joke, which is actually rather true, that everything here seems to bite, sting or scream! A very tooth-and-nail environment, but if you were to see the poorness of the soil, and the deeo gloom in the understory,you can understand the need for competition.

[ GHS - 43 - 11:13:04 ]
Susan Laurance, who'll be online tomorrow at 09:30-10:30 Eastern is indeed a bird expert, and you'll see a really nice video sequence during tomorrow's program, in which she gets her hands on and shows us 5 different kinds of birds, including woodcreepers--with amazing curved beaks and strange tail feathers they use to prop themselves against a tree to eat insects!

[ WilliamsWebMasters - 44 - 11:14:54 ]
We studied the durian of the Malaysian rainforest - are there any strange (to us) fruits that you've been asked to try?

[ AnnfromBrazil - 45 - 11:15:01 ]
Mrs Florences class: I hate to say it, but where we are staying, we have little showers, but hey, it's only cold water! Most places, there are little streams to wash in, however. You don't really get too clean from just rain, if you really are in the woods, because the rain tends to wash down all the unpleasant waste materials that the plants and animals of the canopy have deposited!

[ MrsFlorences3rdGrade - 46 - 11:16:28 ]
We were punted!!!! Sorry! We don't know if it is our system or the satellite.

[ MrsFlorences3rdGrade - 47 - 11:17:37 ]
We read about the howler monkey dung coming down from the trees! Oh yuck!!!!

[ AnnfromBrazil - 48 - 11:18:06 ]
I have heard of the Durian, and, as I understand, the INCREDIBLE smell of the fruit! I can't say that there is anything like that here, but the sheer variety of fruits IS truly amazing. Besides passion fruit and coconuts (which can be bought on street corners, with a straw pushed into the top to drink the milk)there are several fruits along the lines of mango or papaya, which are made into "sucos" (fruit juices) that can b bought everywhere.

[ MrsFlorences3rdGrade - 49 - 11:18:59 ]
What kinds of food do you eat when in the rainforest? The students said fruit and salads!! :)))

[ AnnfromBrazil - 50 - 11:19:43 ]
I've had quite a few angry bugs washed down on me, too, so the rain isn't ALL that refreshing. On the other hand, you get so hot and sticky from the weather that it's actually a relief to have it rain, just to soak your clothes and cool you off. NObody uses a raincoat, it's just too hot.

[ MrsFlorences3rdGrade - 51 - 11:20:22 ]
Has El Nino affected the amount of rainfall in the rainforest?

[ AnnfromBrazil - 52 - 11:22:59 ]
People actually eat a lot of meat here, lots of beef, which, unfortunately, comes from pastureland which was once forest. There aren't actually a lot of good vegetables here, I think because those sorts of plants are not adapted to growing in the poor soils here. The Indians that live here traditionally exist on forms of "manioc" which is a root vegetable something like a potato, and eats lots of fruits. I have heard that pineapple is one of the favorite fruits of th rainforest: it's actually native to this area, and there are almost a hundred varieties, including red and green ones.

[ AnnfromBrazil - 53 - 11:24:12 ]
Just like in the US, any weird weather is blamed on El Nino. However, the water levels here are much lower than normal, and people have said that the hot days last longer.

[ GHS - 54 - 11:24:22 ]
Hi, Mrs.F's class--I'm not a biologist, but when we were out taping Claude Gascon for the frog hunt, he spoke about how this very dry year made it a problem for frogs--who need it to be wet to find mates and lay eggs, and that there would normally be MUCH more rain than now. But El Nino seems to be just as important for disurupting the normal cycle and timing of rainfall--lately the river's been rising and the weather has been much wetter, but it's still later and less than expected.

[ WilliamsWebMasters - 55 - 11:27:08 ]
Thanks to all for talking with us! We're signing off now. We look forward to tomorrow and the rest of this adventure...

[ AnnfromBrazil - 56 - 11:27:55 ]
Thanks for visiting with me, we don't get many visitors down here! Be sure to tune in for the REAL biologists, tomorrow!

[ Eileen - 57 - 11:29:44 ]
Ann, your experiences were just as great as the REAL biologists.

[ GHS - 58 - 11:30:17 ]
Well, we're almost out of time, but thanks a bunch, Ann for pinch-hitting: seeing how much information you've got to share, you realize how being in a place makes you very receptive to new information. Let's hope we can do that just a little through these video and Internet experiences. Finger's crossed, in any event! And, Ann, please can you see if both Marcelo and Susan can be on the chat tomorrow? Have a feeling we'll have both mammals and birds questions ready to go! Bye, everyone, and thanks for being with us, live TO and FROM Brazil! See you online and on-air tomorrow!

[ AnnfromBrazil - 59 - 11:30:26 ]
Thanks! Talk to you all tomorrow.Ann D

[ AnnfromBrazil - 60 - 11:30:29 ]
Thanks! Talk to you all tomorrow.Ann D

[ unknown - 61 - 11:33:45 ]
Thank you!! Talk to you tomorrow!!