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.