Field Journal

A field journal is essential to a scientist's fieldwork, and your field journal will be your permanent record of the totality of your tropical experience. Often, young scientists do not think it is important to take good field notes if you are not collecting data. You may convince yourself that the things you see are so amazing that you will remember them for the rest of your life. But the truth is you will not remember them all, and what you forget could prove to be very important.

When you go into the rainforest or other ecosystems we’ll visit, you will record your observations, thoughts and questions in your field journal. Your field journal will be unique to you, reflecting your personal style. Some people record their observations with charts, lists and labels, while others will write long, detailed descriptions. Let these questions guide you in developing your journal: What day and time of day is it? What are the current weather conditions? What do I see? Why might that animal be doing what it is doing? Why is this plant growing where it is growing? What kinds of tracks are those? Do I see anything that surprises me? How have I traveled to this spot? Who is in my group and making the same observations? The answers to these questions, along with all your observations, interpretations, and data will be a valuable source of information for developing your own hypotheses. This class emphasizes critical thinking; therefore, you should be certain that your journal reflects how you are applying principles of critical thinking towards your field observations.

Some types of information included in field journals are:

Habitats and Vegetation: What kinds of plants are present? Palms? Broadleaf trees? What is the topography like? Is it hilly or flat? Are you in dense forest, in a canopy gap, or near a stream crossing or river? Also, what species are flowering? Do you see fruits or seeds on the ground? Do you see evidence of animal trails, salt licks, or other unusual features?

Species lists: Many journals will include a "species seen or heard today" list at the end of the day's entry. If someone in your group saw something you did not, you can include a separate list entitled "species seen or heard by others." Be sure to include a first and last name of who made the observation.

Detailed species accounts: This is a detailed account of a particular species (broadly defined--it can include termites, leafcutter ants, or a specific bird or monkey species). Include a date, time, and location for each species account, perhaps including a map if it helps. When did you start observing the organism? When did you stop? What is the organism doing? Vocalizing? What does it sound like? Feeding? On what? Perching? If so, in what kind of tree? For how long? Is it on a forest edge or in the interior? Is it flying? Jumping from tree to tree? Did it take flight when it saw you? Engaging in courtship behavior? What habitat is it in? For animals on the move, are they moving in a direction or do they seem to be engaging in a search pattern (i.e. back and forth?). For plants, describe if it is growing alone or in a group with other members of the species. Is it flowering or fruiting? Is there herbivore damage? What is its overall morphology? Are there insects on the plant? What are they doing? Do the leaves have epiphylls? These questions are examples, not an exhaustive list of things to include.

Drawings and maps: Researchers will often sketch plants they are trying to learn the names of, or birds they only briefly glimpse and need to identify later (in which case they pay attention to key field marks like bill shape, bird size, color and color pattern, head markings, etc.). Sometimes you can draw an item of interest, like a termite nest or an ant carrying a cut leaf. Maps can be useful to relocate sessile organisms like plants or key features like salt licks.

General commentary: Here you can write about anything that does not fit into the above categories. What activities did you do--river trip? Canopy walkway? Canoeing? Were the mosquitoes bad or mild? Did you observe an ecological interaction, like a monkey eating a fruit? An insect caught in a spider’s web? Beetles mating? Was there anything that might inhibit your observations from that day (like illness)?

Reflections and ideas: Write down your own insights and ideas you develop. For example, you may be struck by how few mammals you see, or the prevalence of oil development, or how you learned to find tree frogs more effectively. This is also a place for your hypotheses as you develop them.

The evaluation scheme for your field journal will be as follows:

Excellent / Adequate / Inadequate
Date, time, weather / All pages have a date and notes are listed by time and weather is noted (rain, sun, etc.) / All pages have a date; time and weather is usually noted / Use of dates and times and recording of weather data is inconsistent
Location Description / Includes trail name or other identifying features for easy relocation / Locality name is vague / No location data is available
Species lists / observed plants and animals are listed, along with time of day, habitat, location, weather conditions, etc. / observed of plants and animals are listed, but no further context is provided / Some days include observed plants and animals, other days do not
Species accounts / Most days have at least 3 species accounts with detailed observations, noting start and end times for the observation / most days have 1-2 species accounts, with limited observations and occasional start and end times / species accounts are rare or lack detailed observations
Habitats and vegetation / Excellent habitat descriptions are provided / Limited habitat descriptions are provided / No habitat descriptions are provided
General commentary / General commentary is provided every day / General commentary is provided most days / General commentary is rare
Reflections and ideas / Reflections and ideas appear frequently are often insightful
Critical thinking is widely applied in a complex manner / Reflections and ideas appear occasionally
Some amount of critical thinking
Critical thinking is simple in nature / Reflections and ideas are rare
Examples of critical thinking are rare

Keeping a Field Notebook and Field Journal: The Grinnell System

The Grinnell System of keeping field notebooks and field journals is designed to aid scientific investigation. It is the method most often used by professional biologists and field naturalists. The method was developed by Joseph Grinnell (1877-1939), an ecologist, professor and the first director of the University of California's Berkeley Museum of Vertebrate Zoology. We will use it in Costa Rica to develop strong observation skills. Old field journals have been used to have document changes in species distributions and shifts in species phenologies, both of which appear tied to climate change. Since little is known about most of animal and plant species in the tropics, most of the observations you make could prove to be useful and valuable.

You will keep two notebooks: a field notebook and a field journal. Here is the difference:

Field Notebook - You will take this with you everywhere, and you will write items down at the time you make your observations. Write this observation checklist in the back of your field notebook. Following it can improve your note-taking and develop skills of consistent observation. For every daily excursion you take, your notebook should contain this information. Essential information is in bold. Field notebooks with “Rite in the Rain” paper and a pen with non-water-soluble ink will be given to you in your field bags.

  • time (use 24-hour clock format; 14:35 for 2:35p.m.)
  • date (use international format: 03 December 2009)
  • locality (place, usually the county and the distance from a "permanent" marker of some sort is included (estimated m from trail crossroads or landmarks)
  • route (how did you get there)
  • weather (temperature, cloud types, wind, rain, etc.)
  • habitats (floodplain forest, cloud forest, oxbow lakeshore, whitewater river)
/
  • general vegetation type (e.g. evergreen broadleaf, treefall gap)
  • species seen, describe if you can't identify
  • general notes on animals, plants, and their interactions
  • sketches and maps (if you cannot photograph)
  • hypotheses or questions that occur to you

Field Journal - the field journal stays at camp. At the end of the day, you will take your raw data from your field notebook and convert it into a narrative account of what you did and what you saw on that particular day. Follow this rule: NO JOURNAL ENTRY THIS DAY, NO SLEEP THIS NIGHT.