Student blogs
Viggo Rey, first year CREATES DLA student in the Department of Zoology, on fieldwork in the peatswamp forests of Borneo
The DLA studentship has allowed me to pursue a PhD on the swimming behaviour of Colobopsis schmitzi, an ant endemic to the tropical peatswamp forests of Borneo. It has remarkable adaptations: secretions that prevent aquaplaning on water, and a lifestyle intertwined with carnivorous pitcher plants. Near impossible to keep alive outside Borneo, the species demands extensive fieldwork in one of the world’s most threatened ecosystems: 95% of Borneo’s peatswamp forests are now degraded, so the clock is ticking.
Days in the field mean macheting through dense jungle to locate pitcher plant colonies and find swimming ants to measure. The forest rarely lets you forget where you are - saltwater crocodiles swimming, leopard cats trailing, monkeys climbing, enormous fruit bats roosting, and occasionally a carpet of army ants reminds you, painfully, that you are a guest here.
The forest reaches 100% humidity daily, which paradoxically leaves you drenched in sweat but on a lucky day, a nearby waterfall could be taken advantage of with some spectating frogs. There is something special about fieldwork that makes you live and breathe your research, driven not just by the science, but by a deepening desire to understand and protect the extraordinary place you are working in. Highly recommend it!