Brasso Seco has been the home to several research projects already and the possibility for more research topics is truly endless! There has been a master’s project done on the ecology of the Paria River, a PhD project on the white-bearded manakin, several projects have been done on guppies and their stream habitats and there has also been some observations done on the golden tree frog. Several social research projects have also been done on things such as how villagers use plants (ethnobotany) and what effects eco-tourism development has on the community.
Currently, there is a PhD student conducting research on the little hermit hummingbird. (pics)
Also, a Brasso Seco resident was recently trained and certified as a bird bander and is doing research with a University of the West Indies student on the bananaquit in addition to collecting data on all other birds that they net and band. (pics)
The Brasso Seco Tourism Action Committee (TAC) will also be embarking on a Turtle Monitoring Project starting in 2012 where we will be tagging Leatherback and Hawksbill Turtles that come to lay their eggs on Paria Bay Beach. This beach can only be accessed by foot or boat and thus have not been included in the many other turtle monitoring projects that are conducted by other groups along the east and northeast coasts of Trinidad. We are excited to add our data to the international collections and see what more can be learned.