Quick project update

Dear friends and supporters,

I wanted to give all of my generous supporters a quick update on the progress of my research, as things haven't quite gone as planned in my 2020 calendar (massive understatement). I hope you are all staying healthy and maintaining a modicum of sanity during this incredibly challenging time.

 

Palo santo tree in the inter-Andean dry forest of the Rio Mira, Ecuador

Milestones completed (aka the good news!)

Successful collecting trip to Colombia in November 2019 - collected DNA and herbarium specimens from 30 individual palo santo trees in two major dry forest areas (coastal and inter-Andean).

 

Me in the Caribbean coastal dry forest in Taganga, Colombia

 

Inter-Andean dry forest near Liborina, Colombia

Successful collecting trip to Ecuador in February/March 2020 - collected DNA and herbarium specimens from 80 individual palo santo trees in two major dry forest areas (coastal and inter-Andean).

 

Collecting leaf samples for DNA analysis in Jipijapa, Manabi, Ecuador

Twenty of these individuals were from trees planted by Ecuadorian hands in their reforestation area in Manabi, Ecuador. I will compare the genetic diversity in these planted trees to the genetic diversity in the natural populations to guide reforestation efforts in how to maintain genetic diversity in reforested populations.

 

Ecuadorian Hands dry forest reforestation area in Jipijapa, Manabi, Ecuador

 

Planting trees in Ecuadorian Hands' reforestation area (Left to right) - Catalina Quintana, Monica Tacuri, Betsy Collins

Specimens received from Colombia - probably the most unexpected (and welcome) news I received was that Alejandra Vasco and her undergraduate student, Susana Vega, were able to miraculously export our specimens from Colombia to the United States in the midst of a global pandemic. We should be receiving these samples in Virginia in the next week. I am so grateful to them for their support.

Future outlook and timeline

I arrived back from my field collection trip in Ecuador on March 11th. It was an unnerving trip back (no masks available anywhere in Ecuador at that time, so I made the trip without a mask), but little did I know how close I came to an extended stay in Ecuador. Just 5 days after I arrived home Ecuador closed all borders, trapping thousands of foreigners inside the country. I am very grateful to have made it home to my family in time.

Specimens from Ecuador - my collaborators in Ecuador are working hard to try to send the specimens, but no one really knows when that will be possible since the Ministry is closed. I hope to receive them in September or October.

Starting lab work - I am very grateful that my university will be partially open in the fall, which will allow me to begin lab work. I will have specimens from Peru, Mexico, and Colombia in my possession when the university opens at the end of August and plan to do as much lab work as I can before receiving the samples from Ecuador.

When will I have results?

Assuming I receive samples from Ecuador in mid to late fall, I expect to have some preliminary results by February or March. I will update you all when I begin lab work and let you know how that is progressing.

I want to thank all of my generous supporters again, and I look forward to communicating some results soon!

Betsy Collins