This page's purpose is to keep everyone updated on my fieldwork progress.
1 June 2013
Went to the site in Chestnut. Google maps was not functioning properly. Wasted a decent amount of time trying to locate the GPS coordinates of the central tree in both sites. Setup transect lines of the two grids with some hassle. Total time spent in the field was 5 hours. Longest ever. D:
3 June 2013
Went to the site in Bukit Timah, near Catchment Path. Site was easily accessed. No transect lines were done in one grid due to the frequent visits of researchers to this area.
4 June 2013
Went to the site in Bukit Batok. Both grid transects were located quite far apart and accessed via two different entrances. Terrain was quite hilly in the site near Meralodge. Illegal squatters were since but unoccupied. No fishing lines were done in both sites due to the presence of squatters.
6 June 2013
Went to the site along BKE (i.e. Bukit Timah East). Very easily accessible via the entrance near the army gate along the BKE (requires a vehicle). Terrain relatively flat. Good forest to work in.
13 June 2013
First ever setup of pitfall traps in Chestnut. Was done with very little hassle.
15 June 2013
Collected specimens from Chestnut's pitfall traps. Estimated to have about 5 species from this site. Pitfall traps that were baited with Sambar deer dung had no dung beetles at all. One pitfall trap baited with python dung had no dung beetles as well.
18 June 2013
BTNR Site. Slightly hazy conditions. Might affect the number of dung beetles captured in the traps.
20 June 2013
Relatively lesser dung beetles in BTNR site as compared to previous site in Chestnut. Possibly due to the haze. Requires comparison with second sampling round to prove this. Yet again, no dung beetles in Sambar deer dung baited traps.
27 June 2013
Bukit Batok Site. Pretty tough working on a slope and setting up the traps. Not to mention the mossies that are not deterred by any amount of repellent. Lots of bites and body aches. Good fun nonetheless. :)
29 June 2013
Collected specimens from the pitfall traps in Bukit Batok. Very low diversity of dung beetles in this site. Expected.
4 July 2013
BKE Site. The best site to work in due to its relatively open understory and flat terrain. Finished setting up traps with little hassle.
6 July 2013
Collected specimens from the BKE site. Lots of dung beetles captured but no Catharsius molossus at all. Perhaps they are just not common there. Hmm. One dung beetle in reticulated python trap and once again, no dung beetles in Sambar deer trap.
11 July 2013
First ever trip to the site in MacRitchie. Really dense forest with visibility of less than 5m (maybe even 2.. hmm). Flat terrain makes life much easier in the presence of spiny rattan and nibong palms. Did both transect setting and pitfall trap setup with the help of many great assistants. Barely escaped the thunderstorm. Thank God~ :D
13 July 2013
Collected specimens from MacRitchie. Pretty difficult to find the traps. Interesting finds from this plot. And there are finally dung beetles in the Sambar deer trap! :)
25 July 2013
Returned back to Bukit Timah Site to start my second round of sampling. Fieldwork was postpone for 30 min due to the heavy rain in the area. Had trouble finding the first plot. Blame it on my own poor navigation skills. Haha.
13 July 2013
Collected specimens from MacRitchie. Pretty difficult to find the traps. Interesting finds from this plot. And there are finally dung beetles in the Sambar deer trap! :)
25 July 2013
Returned back to Bukit Timah Site to start my second round of sampling. Fieldwork was postpone for 30 min due to the heavy rain in the area. Had trouble finding the first plot. Blame it on my own poor navigation skills. Haha.
27 July 2013
Collected specimens from Bukit Timah. Got caught in the rain but it was alright. Good find from the site.
1 Aug 2013
Headed back to the site in Chestnut with many helpers! Had fun "bossing" people around. Saw the Giant millipede! Very cooling weather right after the rain. (:
3 Aug 2013
Fast and quick collection of specimens from Chestnut. Great weather.
8 Aug 2013
Back to BKE site to setup pitfall traps. Was slightly delayed due to the morning thundery showers.
11 Aug 2013
Lots of dung beetles collected from the BKE Site. (:
17 Aug 2013
Back to Bukit Batok to feed the mossies and setup pitfall traps. Saw a some animal paw prints along the stream. Cat? Dog? Always tough to setup traps on a hilly terrain.
19 Aug 2013
Forgot to bring covers along for one transect in Bukit Batok (dang). Had to improvise and use my latex gloves as temporary covers. As expected, very little dung beetles AGAIN. Saw a stray dog which is most likely responsible for those paw prints. One data logger had bite marks. -.-
24 Aug 2013
Back to MacRitchie. Although the forest is very dense with all the rattans n shrubs, it still beats working in Bukit Batok. :D
26 Aug 2013
Much lesser dung beetles as compared to the very first time I sampled this area. Could be due to the weather as there was no rain throughout the 48 hour sampling period. LAST SITE OF ROUND 2! HOORAY!!
(1 June 2013 to 26 Aug 2013... That's almost 3 months of fieldwork!!)
