Field Notes: Updates from the Class of 2024

Lvcas Fiat Presented a New Species of Praying Mantis For the First Time at GLEX 2024

During their April 2024 expedition to the Atlantic Rainforest in Brazil, Projeto Mantis, led by EC50’s Leo Lanna (Class of 2023) and Lvcas Fiat (Class of 2024), discovered a new and rare species of praying mantis with impressive lichen/moss camouflage in the fragile Chapadão da Serra Negra Reserve. This unique rainforest, with its white sand crystal soil and frequent cloud cover, is rich in biodiversity. Lvcas Fiat presented the new species to the public for the first time during The Explorers Club’s Global Exploration Summit 2024. While this creature still has no name to humanity, it is a reminder of the importance of exploring and protecting our forests.

“Camouflaged, as if one day a small piece of lichen started to walk. This is potentially the most camouflaged mantis we have ever seen. This stunning species is new to science! The first lichen/moss praying mantis known to the entire Atlantic Rainforest! However, this ancient and unique rainforest now faces its most dangerous threat: climate change. If the endless clouds of humidity covering that valley disappear, it will become a dry forest and this novel mantis will be gone. Only fifteen percent of the Atlantic Rainforest biome remains. And we may be seeing one of the last nebular patches able to thrive on white sand.” – Lvcas Fiat

Hari Budha Magar Summited Denali 

On June 28, 2024, Hari Budha Magar became the first double above-knee amputee to summit Denali, the tallest mountain in North America. He is in the process of completing the 7 Summits – climbing the highest peaks on each continent. Four summits down, three to go!

“My goal is to positively transform the way people with a disability are perceived and, just as importantly, change the way they look at themselves.” – Hari

Hari has also been working on research and development for prosthetic legs, to not only help him complete the Seven Summits, but also to help future generations.

Rosa Vásquez Espinoza and the Ashaninka Launch Groundbreaking Bee Conservation and Knowledge Preservation Projects in the Amazon

Dr. Rosa Vásquez Espinoza has been working with the Ashaninka indigenous group and Peru’s Ministry of Environment park rangers to create the first distribution map of stingless bees in the Amazon in order to assess the link between deforestation and bee decline, and to propose the first natural corridor of bees to encourage sustainable tourism and bee protection. On her recent visit to four communities in the Andes-Amazon Basin, Rosa and the Ashaninka started drafting the first indigenous-led declaration of the Rights of Nature of bees in the Amazon and have agreed to create their first encyclopedia of traditional plant and animal medicine and knowledge in their own native language to prevent knowledge loss.

With her organization, Amazon Research Internacional (ARI), Rosa has launched the program “Meliponicultoras” providing training to 200+ indigenous women of Kukama, Ashaninka and Ese Ejje in Peru and Bolivia to become stingless beekeepers providing income to their families and strengthen their conservation efforts.

Additionally, Rosa and Sammy Ramsey, both EC50 Class of 2024, are working together to start the first study of parasites in stingless bees in the Peruvian Amazon led by Sammy’s lab at University of Colorado Boulder!

Sammy Ramsey’s on a Flag Expedition Mapping Pollinators across Asia

Dr. Sammy Ramsey is currently leading an expedition in Taiwan, Province of China, where he and his team are studying pollinators and the parasitic mites that threaten to create a pollinator pandemic. Sammy is carrying EC Flag #151 on this expedition to assess global honey bee health.

In June 2024, Sammy Ramsey took the stage at the GLEX Summit in Portugal to share his groundbreaking research on bees, focusing on the critical threat posed by the “varroa destructor” parasite and his efforts to safeguard essential pollinators. Reflecting on the experience, he noted:

“Being an explorer often comes with an unhealthy dose of imposter syndrome. People talk about you like you’re Jacques Cousteau but you tend to feel like just your average Jack. GLEX cranks that feeling up to 100 with one subtle reminder that makes all the difference: you’ve been hanging out with these people all week long and they’re just as human as you are. You’ve seen them lose their phone, get hangry, forget their room number, make terrible puns, and stay up all night the day before their talk working on last minute slide details. At GLEX you feel like you should feel like an imposter with people who have discovered a new human, fixed the ISS, or singlehandedly generated a sustainable fix to a segment of capitalism that once took advantage of creative indigenous people by design. But somehow with all of that skill, finesse, and success in front of me daily, I felt so refreshed to be reminded that every superhero there was just as human as me.” – Sammy Ramsey

Chinedu Mogbo is Raising Awareness on the Plight of Pangolins in Nigeria

Chinedu Mogbo is tackling the pangolin crisis in Nigeria from multiple fronts. He has been working closely with government officials to curb the trafficking of pangolin scales. He also has been caring for orphaned pangolins at his wildlife sanctuary, The Green Fingers Sanctuary. And Chinedu has organized Play4Pangolin tournaments in Nigeria to use sports as a way to raise awareness about the threats to pangolin among high school children and take a stand again the illegal killing and trafficking of pangolins.

Stephan Crawford and The ClimateMusic Project are gearing up for two new music premieres

Stephan Crawford and The ClimateMusic Project premiered “Voice of the Animals“, composed and performed by the incomparable Scarlet Rivera and highlighting the interrelationship between wild landscapes, climate, and biodiversity on September 27, 2024. The premiere anchored our own Climate Week programming at TEC Headquarters! In January 2025, The ClimateMusic Project will premiere a new violin concerto performed by the South Dakota Symphony in Sioux Falls. The new work by composer Theodore Wiprud, “On the Brink” explores the vicious cycles that have precipitated the climate crisis and the virtuous cycles that could still pull us back from “the brink.” The premiere will also include collaboration on public programming on climate science and solutions with the University of South Dakota.

Nathan J. Robinson is Discovering Sea Turtle Behavior in Mauritania and the North Atlantic

Have you ever wondered what the world looks like through a sea turtle’s eyes? Nathan J. Robinson is currently answering this very question with the TurtleCam. This small device can be readily deployed onto the shell of a sea turtle before harmlessly “popping-off” a few hours later. The recovered camera can then provide a first-person (or should it be turtle?) viewpoint of how these animals see and interact with the world around them!

Nathan has recently returned from expeditions to deploy TurtleCams in the coastal waters of Mauritania (in partnership with the University of Lisbon) and deep in the north Atlantic (in partnership with the Coonamessett Farm Foundation). At both sites, Nathan partnered with local fishers to find turtles and deploy the devices. While the TurtleCams have already provided ground-breaking new insights into the behavior of these animals, perhaps the most exciting discovery is that sea turtles are far more social than ever expected! The next thing we need to find out is what these turtles are “talking” about!

Aidyl Gonzalez-Serricchio is researching Soil Health and Inspiring Future STEM Scientists

Since joining the EC50, Dr. Aidyl Gonzalez-Serricchio has been delving deep into the study of soil health and microbiomes in extreme environments and the fascinating behavior of nematodes. Her research at CalTech extends into the potential of nematodes for dementia and Alzheimer’s research, reflecting her commitment to groundbreaking science that intersects environmental stewardship and human health.

Aidyl co-founded STEAM Superheroes, a non-profit organization with the mission to ignite a passion for STEAM careers in children, adolescents and adults by providing innovative content and programs that foster future success. This year, they are excited to launch their first comic book featuring real-life scientists, including Aidyl, to further inspire young minds! Aidyl also recently published a children’s book, Gigi & Nema: Guardians of the Soil, inspired by her life experiences, to educate and inspire young minds about soil health and sustainability.

Aidyl has been presenting at various conferences to inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers. She led a multi-day event at Kiewit Luminarium in Omaha, Nebraska, which combined field research for her soil citizen science project with seminars and hands-on experiences exploring the microcosmos, offering participants a deep dive into the world of soil health and microbiology. She looks forward to continuing to advance STEM education, promote inclusivity, and make significant scientific contributions.

Justin Walsh & Alice Gorman Publish Results of First Archaeological Survey of the International Space Station

Justin Walsh and Alice Gorman have published the results of the First Archaeological survey of the International Space Station (ISS). Their survey, known as the Sampling Quadrangle Assemblages Research Experiment (SQuARE), was conducted between January and March 2022 and involved ISS crew members performing archaeological fieldwork in space to explore human adaptation in this unique environment and compare planned versus actual usage of ISS facilities. The team utilized a re-imagined ‘shovel test pit’ approach, marking and documenting six sample locations around the space station that the ISS crew members then documented and photographed for 60 days. In their published results, Justin, Alice and their collaborators focused their analysis on two of these areas—one near equipment maintenance and another near exercise equipment —revealing 5,438 items categorized by type and function. The study found discrepancies between intended and actual uses of these spaces, finding that the maintenance area was primarily used for storage, while the area near exercise and restroom was commonly used for storing someone’s toiletry kit. Read more about their results in their Report 1 of the study.