Movement Mondays
Join us for invited seminar talks by world-leading scientists and informal research and technique-oriented talks by CAM members where we discuss our latest and greatest ideas!
Our next speaker:
Dr. Nina Zitani - September 14th
Sloths, large birds, pink river dolphins, social spiders: natural history observations from 12 field trips to the Amazon Rain Forest of Peru
Summary: The Pacaya Samiria National Reserve (PSNR) in Loreto, Peru is a protected area of ~20,000 km². Home to the remarkable seasonally flooded rain forest, it contains both white water and black water flooded forests. These forest types host phenomenal resident species of plants and animals and serve as critical refuge for a diversity of migratory animals. In my role as Smithsonian Journeys expert for the Smithsonian Institution Travel Program I’ve led the educational component of 12 week-long ecotourism field trips spanning just over a decade (August 2015 – October 2025). Along the way I’ve made many scientifically interesting and memorable natural history observations, documented in photos and some video that I will share in this talk. I will include an introduction to the Amazon River System, the PSNR, and the complex seasonal dynamics of the flooded forests. Then I will summarize my encounters with some of the charismatic species such as brown-throated sloths, large birds (e.g. jabiru storks, hoatzins, horned screamers), pink river dolphins, and social spiders.
