This book is the result of the work Irene Kopelman produced during visits to the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Panama between 2012 and 2015. Without formal scientific training, Kopelman aimed to achieve an understanding of methods in field biology, and contacted three researchers to assist as interlocutors: Stuart J. Davies (forest ecology), Owen McMillan (adaptive variation), and Bill Wcislo (animal behaviour). Her drawings include the forms of woody vines, mangrove roots, and randomly scattered crab pellets in the sand.