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“Research, Education and Ecotourism Opportunities Make Conservation Possible” Laman'ai (a corruption of "Lama'an/ayin", Maya for "submerged crocodile") is an ancient Maya center known to have been continuously occupied for almost three millennia. Much of the once-great city of Lamanai is now within the boundaries of the Lamanai Archaeological Reserve... and it is this area, with its ruins and its prodigious wildlife, that researchers from various scientific disciplines come to the Lamanai Field Research Center (LFRC) to study. The Lamanai area boasts:
The Lamanai Field Research Center, a Belize non-profit organization based at the Lamanai Outpost Lodge, has been active in conservation and archaeology programs since 1992. With the Lamanai Outpost Lodge's excellent service and accommodations, the area's tremendous natural and cultural resources, and expanding research facilities, it is easy to see why a growing number of researchers are choosing the LFRC for their fieldwork, and why more visitors are joining in Lamanai's scientific educational programs. LFRC Structure and History The Lamanai Field Research Center (LFRC) has been in operation as a not-for-profit entity since 1992. It was formally established as a Belizean non-profit organization in 1998. Through its research related programs and by way of associated revenue, LFRC is supported by the Lamanai Outpost Lodge. The center was created through the vision of Mark and Monique Howells, owners of the Lamanai Outpost Lodge. Their goal was to create an educational facility for long-term, academic-based research projects in which students and professors from throughout the world can participate. These projects provide a wealth of valuable knowledge that can then be shared with Belizean students, foreign students and ecological tourists. Mark and Monique Howells are the current Directors of the LFRC. As managers of the Lamanai Outpost Lodge, they have contributed much time, energy and financial investment to bring the LFRC where it is today. With its continued growth, other LFRC Board of Director members will be added in the near future. Because of its prime setting on the New River Lagoon and its close proximity to the Lamanai Archaeological Reserve, the LFRC provides an ideal setting for archaeological, biological and environmental studies. Research, conservation and resource management are being carried out at the LFRC in the fields of Maya archaeology, as well as howler monkey, Morelet’s crocodile, bat and tarantula ecology. What is a Field Center? A traditional field center is designed to develop a center for advanced graduate education and research centered on the basic knowledge of that particular environment or area. It is a place where researchers can come to study a particular system, offer field oriented courses in the sciences, and expand the knowledge currently available for that area. What makes the LFRC different? While we hope to offer all the above, we also firmly believe that researchers have an obligation to advance conservation and education in the countries in which they carry out their studies. The ability to carry out research in a host country with that host country’s cultural and natural resources is a privilege that should be valued. It is the researcher’s obligation to offer something in return for that privilege. We feel that the most effective means available for protecting Belize’s cultural and natural resources is through education, increased public awareness and economic opportunities for Belizeans, in which researchers must play an integral part. What Concerns Do Field Centers Address? Critical issues regarding the environment, cultural resources, agriculture, and development will continue into the coming century. Demands on our global resources, pollution of the environment, and loss of valuable cultural resources have created threats to our future. There is a pressing need for scientific study of our resources to allow us to make educated and balanced decisions on how best to preserve them. Once that data is gathered, it is essential for that information to be disseminated to a number of audiences: the scientific and academic community worldwide, Belize’s government officials, Belizean organizations, and the Belizean public via educational and outreach programs. The LFRC will address these issues by being host to a growing number of researchers from universities from around the world who have an interest in studying Belize’s cultural and natural resources. It will also require these researchers to provide the information they publish to the appropriate authorities here in Belize, and to be involved in educational programs via the LFRC. In addition, conservation by the Belizean people can only happen when those wishing to conserve have economic opportunities that make destruction of the resources unnecessary. Places like this center provide stable jobs for the local community, a means to access information about our cultural and natural resources, and the means to disseminate that information for the benefit of Belizeans and Belizean resource conservation. LFRC Mission Statement “To promote the sustainable utilization of Belize’s cultural and natural resources for the benefit of the Belizean people, through research in the Lamanai area, and through national education and ecotourism opportunities.” A large part of our mission is therefore to facilitate research in the Lamanai area for the purpose of encouraging and supporting sustainable utilization of Belize’s cultural and natural resources. By ‘sustainable utilization’ we mean the broadening of researchers’ awareness to include the cognizance of the impact of research on local resources, both human and environmental. Association with the LFRC entails a commitment by researchers to safeguarding, expanding and enriching these resources by contributing to any one or all of the following: the training of local research and student assistants; local and/or national educational efforts; ecological tourism; knowledge leading to better resource management. LFRC Purposes, Goals and Objectives The specific purposes of this organization are to:
Research History 1993 - 1999: In 1993, The Howler Monkey Research Project was begun in conjunction with Dr. Hal Markowitz of San Francisco State University. Accurate ecological data is critical for national conservation efforts for this endangered species. Studies have focused on habitat requirements, population dynamics, infant behavior and development, vocal analysis, diet, parasite loads, reintroduction of captively reared animals, hormonal analysis, human impacts on howler populations, and DNA fingerprinting. 1994 - present: Dr. Steve Reichling of Memphis State University and Curator of Reptiles at the Memphis Zoo, began his work here on tarantulas in 1994. Calling the Lamanai area a “hotbed of tarantula diversity”, Steve has discovered three new species and one new genus (Crassicrus lamanai) in the vicinity of the lodge. 1995 - present: In 1995 the Lamanai Archaeological Project began under the direction of Dr. Elizabeth Graham, continuing excavations initiated at the site by Dr. David Pendergast of the Royal Ontario Museum in 1974. With Laura Howard (Florida State University) acting as Field School Director, the project continues to work closely with David Pendergast and Elizabeth Graham (University College of London). It also conducts several field schools during the summer and provides educational programs for guests. Archaeological interests at Lamanai include Maya settlement from 1500 B.C., the Spanish colonial period, British sugar mill operations in the 1850’s, focus on Maya architecture, archaeology of animal bones found at Maya sites (zooarchaeology), ancient diet and health of the Maya, ceramic chronology and microscopic analysis, the analysis and use of flint sculptures, iconography and Maya metallurgy. 1996 - present: Dr. Steve Platt of the Wildlife Conservation Society began work at Lamanai on the endangered Morelet’s crocodile (Crocodylus moreletii). In 1997, Dr. Scott McMurry and Thomas Rainwater of Texas Tech University expanded on this early work by using Lamanai as their base and the New River lagoon populations as their focus of study. The goals of the Crocodile Project are to collect life history data for this endangered species, to develop baseline toxicology data one of Belize’s most diverse and sensitive ecosystems, and to examine the effects of trace amounts of environmental contaminants. Through information gathered on nesting behavior, infant survival, radio tracking data, DNA assessment and diet, this project hopes to contribute to the development of conservation and chemical use guidelines in Belize. 1998 - 2000: Between 1998 and 2000, Marcus England (Ohio State University) conducted the Lamanai Ornithology Project. The project focused on mist netting and banding birds to acquire census, diversity and dispersal information. Over 370 species have been documented in the Lamanai area, reflecting the species richness and diversity of bird habitats found here. 1998: Dr. Scott Franklin and Amy Webbeking (Memphis State University) conducted a dual project of forest ecology and tropical agriculture, seeking clues to the relationship between local agricultural practices and forest recovery. The project focused on species diversity, recovery rates, productivity and longevity and how these measures are impacted by milpa agriculture. 1999 - present: Dr. Brock Fenton of York University began bat research on the echolocation, roosting behavior, and diversity of bats in the Lamanai area. One of the world’s foremost authorities in bats, Brock Fenton has been studying bats throughout the world since 1963. He is the author of The Bat : Wings in the Night Sky . 1999: Fiona Reid and Mark Engstrom have studied mammals throughout Central America. They conducted a Small Mammal Project here, using a “shake and bake” method with phosphorescent powder to study the movement and nesting behavior of small mammals in the Lamanai area. Fiona Reid is the author and illustrator of A Field Guide to the Mammals of Central America and Southeast Mexico. |
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