Pollination Event Comparison:
Costa Rica - Rancho Mastatal

A recent trip to Costa Rica served as setting for a pollination pilot study.
The point of the study was to compare the frequency and type of pollination events for two different species of flora in each of three different habitats.

The floral subjects were:

• Heliconia latispatha
• Costus pulverulentus

The habitats studied were:

• Developed/Landscaped
• Disturbed
• Mature Forest

Heliconia latispatha (common name: expanded lobster claw)

Habitat Definitions:

• Developed/Landscaped – An area must be subject to frequent human activity and traffic as well as the subject of upkeep in a manner consistent with the common notion of landscaping to be in this category.
• Disturbed - An area must have been cleared of vegetation to a significant degree in the somewhat recent past without evidence of landscaping or directed human usage to a degree beyond clearance with a minimum of human interaction daily to be part of this category.
• Mature Forest - An area which is surrounded on all sides by somewhat mature forest growth showing no significant evidence of directed human alteration for a considerable amount of time in the past can be considered mature. This does not exclude areas with trails in the proximity, so long as those trails are not primary paths of constant human traffic and human upkeep is at a bare minimum.