RUNAWAY CREEK'S LUSH RAINFOREST

Runaway Creek Nature Reserve lies south of Belize City, Belize. Flat, pine savanna surrounds steep karst limestone hills, covered in low broadleaf, semi-deciduous tropical forest.

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Sarah Hewitt

DELICIOUS COPAL FRUIT

Mary Pavelka and her team have watched spider monkeys pursue Protium copal, a favorite fruit, for four years.

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Sarah Hewitt

PRISTINE FOREST CANOPY

The forest area dubbed the "belly button" by the researchers looked untouched during an early aerial jaunt in 2008. (Thanks to LightHawk for the flight.)

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Kayla Hartwell

LEGACY OF RICHARD

Three weeks after Hurricane Richard in October 2010, areas surrounding the center of the belly button had sustained extensive damage to the forest canopy.

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Sarah Hewitt

DAMAGED, BUT STILL STANDING

Richard caused significant damage: Countless trees shorn of leaves or branches remained uprooted. The debris on the forest floor provided fuel for fire in the following dry season.

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Kayla Hartwell

A REAL FIREWALL The risk of forest fires is high in the dry season following a hurricane. Flames swept across the savanna. Hurricane-felled trees in the forest allowed the fire to spread into the hills. [Link to this slide]
Sarah Hewitt

UP IN FLAMES Flames consumed huge sections of the forest leaving ash and blackened trees where lush vegetation once thrived. [Link to this slide]
Sarah Hewitt

A CHARRED FOREST Aerial shot of the belly button two weeks after the fire began. (Thanks to LightHawk for the flight.) [Link to this slide]
Sarah Hewitt

REDUCED TO ASH A thick layer of ash covered the forest floor amidst the remains of trees. [Link to this slide]
Sarah Hewitt

STILL HOME?

A spider monkey gazed out over the charred remains of the forest in the valley below. For the monkeys, the fires meant the further destruction of their arboreal home, sleeping sites, food sources and travel routes....[More]

STILL HOME?

A spider monkey gazed out over the charred remains of the forest in the valley below. For the monkeys, the fires meant the further destruction of their arboreal home, sleeping sites, food sources and travel routes.  [Less] [Link to this slide]

Sarah Hewitt

NEW SPECIES INVASION

In the months after the fire an opportunistic plant species ( Ipomoea sepacuitensis ), uncommon in the region, took advantage of the damaged areas and quickly took root and spread, influencing the dynamics of the ecosystem....[More]

NEW SPECIES INVASION

In the months after the fire an opportunistic plant species (Ipomoea sepacuitensis), uncommon in the region, took advantage of the damaged areas and quickly took root and spread, influencing the dynamics of the ecosystem.  [Less] [Link to this slide]

Julie Boyd

A TALE OF STORM AND FIRE

Naturalists can rarely avail themselves of data gathered before and after a natural disaster in an animal habitat under study. The resiliency of spider monkeys and other forest inhabitants remains in question....[More]

A TALE OF STORM AND FIRE

Naturalists can rarely avail themselves of data gathered before and after a natural disaster in an animal habitat under study. The resiliency of spider monkeys and other forest inhabitants remains in question.  [Less] [Link to this slide]

Sarah Hewitt