2.1 Study area
Desamparaditos de Puriscal is located in the province of San José, Costa Rica. The town is on the Pacific side of Costa Rica and its elevation is around 850 meters above sea level. It is located north of the main local city, Santiago de Puriscal, which is at least 500 meters higher. The area can best be classified as Tropical Moist Forest (Janzen 1983) with a rainy season that begins in March and continues through September/October. Since prevailing winds during the rainy season are from the south, Desamparaditos finds itself in the rain shadow of Santiago, and its annual rainfall is considerably less. Thus, during the rainy season, on most days a dry morning is followed by a rainy afternoon, and a clear night. Although heavy tropical rains (aguaceros ) sometimes continue throughout the day, they are much more likely to only happen in the afternoon, and at the most last several hours.