The Adventures of Andrea and Salvador: Shedd Aquarium comes to Karanambu!

Dr. Ilze Berzins and her team from the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago, Illinois came to Karanambu for a week. They came to begin their research at Karanambu on the fish, the ponds and the water and to teach! They brought with them two University of Guyana Biology students; Oceana and Cherylynn. Members of the Karanambu staff from the local Amerindian villages studied side by side with the University of Guyana students.

This is what the Karanambu Trust is all about! Sharing knowledge. Studying and preserving these wetlands for future generations.

Shedd came to us, because Karanambu offers the unique opportunity to study a complex bio-diverse system, which can be found in a this very small contained area.

Allen LaPointe is Shedd's "Director of Environmental Quality". His specialty is water quality. He was excited and amazed at what he found. He kept going on about the oxygen levels in the water in the ponds. "These Oxygen levels are so low, these fish shouldn't be able to survive, yet they are thriving!"

Dr. Chuck Knapp, Director of Conservation and Research and Senior Aquarist Dan Lorbeskeat from Shedd, took pictures of the over 40 species that they found over the few days they were here. It was a challenge to set up a photo box under these conditions in this environment. Luckily we had brought some foamcore with us when we moved here....from old art projects!

Oceana, one of the students from the University of Guyana learned how to take skin scrapings and gill samples from Dr. Ilze.

How amazing to see a microscope in use in the Trust House! Diane envisioned this years ago, and now it is coming to fruition.

Shedd also brought a Rain Gauge and a Temperature & Humidity Monitor. The beginnings of a Meteorological Station that will provide baseline data for future researchers! And all computerized!!