Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi.

I have been looking at weather patterns in Leticia, Colombia, to make some analysis of wild Boa constictors' environment. I was hoping this would lend some insight into providing pseudo-natural climatic changes in captivity.

I daresay much work has been done previously, but it never hurts to check the raw data and calculate such things oneself!

Having taken average ( is used as the central tendency throughout) temperature and humidity readings for each day of the month, I calculated the average for the particular month's data set. A mean of a mean if you will.

I decided to do this (find an 'absolute average' for the month) because the only alternative was to choose a single day in each month and take its average reading. This could severely skew the data if that day was unusual for the month's usual weather pattern.

Anyway; having gathered average temperature and humidity readings for every month of the year, the data was formatted into a spline curve graph to provide visual representation of the climatic conditions a wild Boa might experience.

I was surprised to find massive fluctuation in both graphs at single points in the year. Temperatures were very high in January, but extremely low between June and July (compared to the rest of the year). Relative humidity on the other hand was low in January but high at the end of the year.

I can find no consistent correlation between temperature and humidity at first glance.

Can anyone with any ideas post here? Is my raw data flawed (sourced at www.wunderground.com)? Or is this a normal Colombian climatic variation? Maybe I just gathered data from a 'freak' year?

I realise that further (much more in-depth) analysis would perhaps help to answer these questions, but I would like some imput from experienced others before I start digging in the wrong direction!

Incidentally, apologies to those with knowledge of statistics for omission of the breaks in Y's axis (0//60 etc). I don't have a familiar graph software package on this PC and the axis break formula didn't seem to apply itself

Looking forward to discussion with anyone familiar with BCI's natural habitat. Please do chip in anything of interest!

Many thanks for taking time to read and reply!
Kind regards

Lee P. Yates
Kiros Reptiles, UK

Just a PS about the graphs:

I realise that as the Y axis doesn't start at zero (as noted in the original message), the fluctuations look much more pronounced than they might otherwise.

The seemingly huge drop in temperature, for example, is only a couple of degrees Centigrade. The humidity does however range quite wildly in any context.

Had I more experience with this graph software (upgraded SigmaPlot to v8 - the format is different to v7), I would have represented the data more accurately.

I realise that the temperature changes aren't huge, but they're there and I am curious as to the true climate patterns of Colombia. The middle of the year seems a strange time for a sudden temperature drop?!

I didn't expect it to be quite so cool there (bearing in mind the graphs display means, not high/lows).

Thanks,

Lee
KirosReptiles, UK

Having spent many years in the Colombian Amazon I'll just make a couple of comments on your last post. Remember those graphs are both representing MEAN values.

The "cold" spell you mention is far from cold. Even in the coldest times of the year in the Amazon daily highs are still warm. But the mean temperature is lower. However, night time lows do get pretty low, even daily highs OOCASSIONALLY stay pretty low. I remember one particularly chilly night when it dropped to 14-15C and only reached 18C the following day.

However, such extremes are just that, extremes. Average temperature changes throughout the year are hardly noticable. The major difference you notice is rainfall. During the dry time of the year the forest floor becomes 'crispy' under foot, and the forest appears to be a ghost town. You see nothing for weeks - literally. However, when the rains come - wow.

If you are interested I'll upload some graphs of climate data taken over 17 years at the Caparu field station in the lower Apaporis region of Colombia. But remember, these still apply to B.c.c's.

>>If you are interested I'll upload some graphs of climate data taken over 17 years at the Caparu field station in the lower Apaporis region of Colombia. But remember, these still apply to B.c.c's.

That'd be great, thanks! See my other reply regarding BCC/BCI's (I have both) - anything you have to offer will be of great interest.

My sincerest thanks once again.

Lee

First point, Leticia is in the extreme southeast of eth Colombian Amazon. And, the boas from Leticia are B.c.c's, NOT B.c.i's.

You would be better of getting the data for cities such as Cartagena / Barranquilla / Medellin. But remember, B.c.i's in Colombia have a MASSIVE range, and no single graph is really going to representative. However, I applaud your effort and honestly believe people should spend more time doing such 'research.'

>>First point, Leticia is in the extreme southeast of eth Colombian Amazon. And, the boas from Leticia are B.c.c's, NOT B.c.i's.

Sorry, that was actually a typo LOL I was pulling an all-nighter and posted around 4am UK time. Yawn, LOL

>>You would be better of getting the data for cities such as Cartagena / Barranquilla / Medellin. But remember, B.c.i's in Colombia have a MASSIVE range, and no single graph is really going to representative. However, I applaud your effort and honestly believe people should spend more time doing such 'research.'

I realise that. I have actually compiled similar info and graphs for each specimen in my collection for which I have guaranteed locality data. It was curiosity more than anything; I wondered how closely my husbandry emulated the wild conditions, climatically.

My fault for not stating that more clearly in the original post (the time thing again - must drink more coffee hehe ).

Many thanks for taking time to reply.
Kind regards,

Lee