Ms. Carrie's response to our questions!

Carrie Seltzer said...

Ms. Kruger's class,
I am so excited to answer your questions!

As far as I know, the area of Tanzania where I work does not have problems with illegal monkey collection. Some other animals like snakes and chameleons are legally collected for the pet trade from the forest outside of the nature reserve. There are international agreements that limit how many of each species can be sent to other countries.

Scientists can learn a great deal from observing animals, but we can't always observe them directly. Most primate are active during the day in relatively open areas (trees) where it can be possible to watch them, and many scientists have been able to accustom primates to their presence. Bats and rats are active at night which makes them much harder to see. I am using motion-sensitive cameras to observe rats. For bats my method is even less direct- I observe what bats eat by looking for the scraps they leave behind. Watching ANY kind of animal in whatever friendly way you can is great practice for a young scientist.

Protecting animals' habitats is the most important way to protect them. The Amani Nature Reserve, where I work, was created in 1997 to protect thousands of acres of rainforest from being logged. The forest is home to many species of plants and animals that are very rare! Even just since 1997, much of the forest outside of the nature reserve has been cleared for small farms so it is important that the reserve exists.

Questions related to The Monkey Thief

Hi Ms. Carrie!

We had a few questions we wanted to ask you. We know you have a lot of experience studying wildlife and their habitats, and we were hoping these questions would help us better understand our novel (The Monkey Thief). Thank you so much--we are loving the website and can't wait to hear more about your work!

-Ms. Kruger's class

1. In our novel The Monkey Thief, we have a problem in the rainforest with monkeys being stolen from the wild to use as pets. Do you have any similar problems in Tanzania?


2. In our novel, the main character (Steve) is trying to better understand monkeys by observing them. He tries to act normally around them so they get used to him being around. What kinds of animals have you observed, and how do you observe them?


3. In our story Steve’s uncle is trying to preserve part of the rainforest to have a habitat for the monkeys. Do you know of similar things being done in Tanzania to help monkeys (or other animals)? Are these successful?

Mystery photo #2

Since Ms. Kruger's class asked me how I observe animals, I thought this picture would be especially appropriate!

This photograph was taken with a motion-sensitive camera that I attached to a tree in the forest. What kind of animal is it and why do you think it's that kind of animal? What is it doing?

Clicking on the photo should enlarge it so you can get a better look.

The Allanblackia Project

Scientists make hypotheses based on observations and/or background information. Then they design experiments to test their hypotheses. I'm going to provide some background information, then let you try to come up with your hypotheses.

Background information:

Allanblackia is the name of a tall canopy tree that produces big fruits with many seeds inside. People collect the seeds because they can be pressed for vegetable oil (you've probably heard of corn oil, olive oil, or canola oil which all come from seeds, too). However, when people collect the seeds from the forest, then there are fewer seeds left for the animals to eat. This isn't a big problem if only a few people are collecting seeds, but many people are collecting seeds all around the Amani Nature Reserve.

What do you think the animals will do if there are fewer Allanblackia seeds? What do you think will happen to Allanblackia over time in the nature reserve?

To answer the first question, think about the answer to mystery photo #1. For the second question, think about why seeds are important in a plant's life cycle.

Juggling different projects

Scientists almost always have more than one project that they are working on at a time. It's kind of like studying different subjects in school, except for scientists the projects are usually related. All of the projects that I am working on are somehow related to plants, rats, and bats in the Tanzanian rainforest.

Over the next few weeks I will introduce some of the different projects that I am working on and give each one a name so that you can keep track of which is which.

Mystery photo #1 revealed!

Here's an uncropped version of the same photo:

Can you tell what it is yet?

That's my hand in the background. I'm holding two large seeds that have been chewed on by a rat! You can see the teeth marks on the seeds.

After seeds fall to the ground from the trees, rodents often carry them away. Sometimes they eat them right away, but often they hide them somewhere else to eat later. Many of the seeds will probably get eaten, but the ones that are forgotten can then sprout into seedlings.

Have you seen squirrels hiding acorns in the fall? They're doing the same thing as the rodents here in Tanzania.

Mystery photo #1

What do you see in this photo? What is it a picture of? Be as specific as you can.

I'll post the answer next Sunday. Maybe I'll post some clues during the week if you need them!

What's this about plants, rats, and bats?

I am a biologist. I study how plants, rats and bats are interconnected in the rainforest of Tanzania. I've created this blog especially for Ms. Kruger's class to see what the life of a field scientist is like, but anyone is welcome to follow along.

Let's start with the basics: Who, What, When, Where, Why, How?

Who? My name is Carrie Seltzer. I am a Ph.D. student at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC). This means that I have already finished college and have a Bachelor's degree in Biology. Now I am back in school for a Ph.D. When I'm finished, you can call me Dr. Seltzer, but for now you can just call me Ms. Seltzer (or Carrie).

What? I use the scientific method to learn about the relationships between plants and animals. I am especially interested in how rats and fruit bats disperse seeds.

When? I will be in Tanzania for 3 months this spring, and plan to post to the blog 2-3 times per week while I am here.

Where? Tanzania is in Africa along the coast of the Indian Ocean. The rainforest where I work is the Amani Nature Reserve in a mountain range called the East Usambara Mountains. The area is rural- about 20 miles from a paved road. Although some of the rainforest is protected, many people also live in the area. They speak Swahili and most of them are farmers. Tea, cloves, black pepper, cinnamon, corn, beans, bananas, and mangos are some of the things people typically grow on their farms.

View Larger Map

If you go to this link, you can compare Tanzania to the United States!

Why? I study biology because I find the natural world fascinating, and science offers a way for us to understand how the world works. I care deeply about plants, animals, and people. I am studying the relationships between plants and animals so that we can better understand how to preserve those relationships when humans alter the environment.

How? You're probably wondering how scientists go about studying plant-animal relationships. Over the next several weeks, I'll introduce you to some of the questions I am trying to answer, the species plant and animal species involved, some of the dilemmas of research, and some of the people I work with. I'll ask for your advice for some of the problems I face!

I hope you enjoy following along. I look forward to hearing your thoughts and answering your questions!