An Electric Eel and a Caiman

Wherein Isobel and Maria show us the ropes -- or nets -- for surveying fishes in the Amazon. The distribution of fish in tropical river systems is important to understanding how animals move around these waterways. Where there are big fish -- like the electric eel -- we know there must be an ample supply of prey species, too!

This is a segment in a series about The Field Museum's Rapid Inventory No. 27, a journey through the forests between the rivers Tapiche and Blanco in Peru. Every year, the Museum's conservation group [the Action Center!] gathers together leading scientific experts across a number of disciplines (botany, zoology, geology, and anthropology) in order to gain an understanding of little-known areas of the rainforest. They work with local communities and their governments to help inform decisions made for conserving these unique, precious, and threatened parts of the world. 

To learn more about the Rapid Inventory program, check out the other Amazon Adventures! 

Read more about the Field Museum's Rapid Inventory programs.

This expedition would not have been possible without the generosity and help of Corine Vriesendorp, Nigel Pitman, Alvaro del Campo, Tyana Wachter, Ernesto Ruelas, and the rest of the Rapid Inventory team. Thank you for allowing us to join you on this journey, and for giving us the trip of a lifetime.