All posts by vk19

Day 6 (5/21): Nu-Nu-Nu-NURSE SHARK

The wind was choppy today, but we thankfully still snorkeled right after breakfast. The main goal was to collect a diverse array of species from the back reef to have a little show-and-tell before lunch. And let me tell you- that back reef experience was crazy. Right from the start, Adrienne showed me a baby shark lying down in the seagrass bed. Based on its behavior, it looked like a nurse shark (Ginglymostoma cirratum), but it had spots on its head which made it hard to solidify a classification.

Possible nurse shark in the middle of a seagrass bed

After reaching the reef, it was just piscivorous fish paradise. Yellowtail snapper (Ocyurus chrysurus), mahogany snapper (Lutjanus mahogani), keeltail needlefish (Platybelone argalus), and French grunts (Haemulon spp.) were all in that reef. I also saw a Nassau grouper (Epinephelus striatus) but my camera ran out of juice before I could take a picture of it. Adolpho and Javier also pointed out a scorpionfish to me- it was so well camouflaged that I accidentally took a picture of a rock instead of the fish. After acquiring a decent collection of marine organisms, we went back to the wetlab and presented our specific taxon groups. In relation to fish, there were three crested gobies (Lophogobius cyprinoides) and one damselfish (Stegastes variabilis). Other interesting organisms brought back were the Mantis shrimp, a fire worm, and a baby octopus!

After lunch, Ellie presented on herbivorous fish, I presented on piscivorous fish, and Anna presented on invasive reef species. We then returned the marine organisms to their habitat and analyzed/presented the data from our marine debris collection. SFS, Dory, and Turiez loved it. Because we had such an amazing presentation, they let us do a short snorkel in choppy waters near the patch reef we visited the first day.

Tomorrow is the last full day on this island. It’s kind of weird how slow yet fast time went by- I’m sad to leave but excited for the rainforest coming up.

Day 5 (5/20): Trash is Trash

Today was a good day. It was pretty laid back and I really enjoyed the time allotment of activities. After breakfast, we decided to knockout the taxonomic presentations (mollusks and annelids presented by Damien and crustaceans presented by Anna) because we planned for a night snorkel if the wind was not too choppy. Afterwards, we started a new project at 9AM today- we were asked to test host preference of Christmas tree worms in relation to certain species of coral. Figuring out the logistics of the operation took some time, and it also involved going to a back reef through “the mangroves of death” as Scott and Adrienne refer to them- this name was given primarily because the mangroves are known to be a wet habitat with roots waiting to trip someone over and mosquitos by the millions. Today, we were lucky though; there were hardly any mosquitos (first time ever according to Scott and Adrienne) and the roots were visible and dodgeable.

In the water, we collected Christmas tree worm data- in the middle of data collection, the water safety officer Adolpho yelled at me across the ocean telling me he found 2 huge Great Barracuda (Sphyraena barracuda). Unfortunately, I did not make it to Adolpho on time to see the barracuda. No piscivorous fish were seen by me on the back reef. Data collection finished around 11:40AM and after lunch, we performed data analysis of the Christmas tree worm data and then Isaac presented on marine debris. This discussion led us to the next project of the day- quantifying marine debris on Middle Caye.

Christmas tree worm on a Pseudodiploria coral

The main goal was to see which type of debris (plastic, metal, fabric, rubber, etc.) is the most abundant on the island. After 30 minutes of trash collecting, the group ended up with 40 kg of debris! This project really put the amount of debris in the world into perspective. Controlling how much trash someone produces and proper waste disposal and recycling and creating biodegradable materials and so many more aspects of debris are such complicated topics to discuss, but it’s a discussion that needs to be had in order to preserve the world that we live in today.

Day 4 (5/19): More Urchin Shenanigans

They say routine is a key to success, and in the past few days a new routine has been established. I woke up at 6:45AM, ate breakfast, and awaited our next adventure in the wetlab. We gathered the different species of urchins collected yesterday and tested for each one’s size and abundance. One particular species, E. viridus, was collected 131 times! Around 9AM, we hopped on a boat and went back to the protected back reef area to return the urchins to their habitat and then proceeded to the non-MPA (Marine Protected Area). There, my partner Isaac and I performed the same quadrat testing (from May 18, 2017) in the unprotected zone which will later be used to assess Belizean reef health. We were also asked to collect urchins in a 25 minute period in the unprotected zone, resulting in a mission which around 400 person-minutes was put into progress.

While snorkeling today, I managed to see a nurse shark (Ginglymostoma cirratum) and a southern sting ray (Dasyatis americana). My lovely instructor Scott (AKA SFS) pointed the nurse shark out to me which was laying down underneath a small coral colony. I was mainly able to see the nurse shark’s tail and lower body- the shark did not move around at all, suggesting it was probably resting or hiding.

The southern sting ray was spotted on the reef floor while performing quadrat testing. It too was completely motionless, darting away only seconds after the picture was snagged.

 

Southern Stingray on the ocean floor

Other than those two piscivores, I want to say I saw an unidentified Grouper of some sort- it was really colorful and had the head skeleton structure/ jaw structure which l believe resemble a Nassau Grouper. It kept swimming around on the outside of a coral colony probably searching for food.

We arrived back at Glover’s around 12:10PM, at lunch, and got started on the reef health project we are working on- Adrienne and Scott wanted us to compile all the data together and present our findings to them. One of the discussion topics that came up while creating the presentation was the fact that there are more urchins in marine protected areas (based on data collected in both MPAs and non-MPAs) because less disturbance (fishing) occurs in MPAs, allowing for diversity to persist. We compiled all of the species data together and presented to Scott and Adrienne around 4PM; they listened patiently and provided useful feedback which can be used for future projects.

We were supposed to go night snorkeling tonight, but the winds and waters were way too choppy to execute that plan. So, instead, a couple of friends and I played soccer (scraped up my leg from that), ate dinner, and listened to presentations about red, brown, and green algae from Tian-Tian and Sarah G., a cultural presentation of Belize by our water safety man Javier, and a presentation on the implications of overfishing and climate change on reefs by Ellie.

Hopefully, we hit the water at night tomorrow. Nonetheless, I am excited!!

Day 3 (5/18): Quadrats are love, quadrats are life.

Today was packed. The day started at 6:45AM for me, with breakfast at 7AM and discussion and testing for crab density on the Middle Caye starting at 8:15AM- we basically chose a certain portion of the island (Isaac and I chose a trail) and test for the number of crabs in that specified area using the quadrat we made yesterday.

After that was done, we did the same exact type of testing on seagrass beds next to port. This time, we were looking for the density of species diversity in a certain sector of the seagrass beds. Unfortunately, my partner and I did not find much- we were only able to report an upside-down jellyfish, a small crab, and some sea anemone in our area of the bed. That did not discourage us though, because those kinds of results are common within the confines of this experiment. I snorkeled around a bit after the species density testing and managed to see a family of piscivorous yellowtail snapper (Ocyurus chrysurus) and a lot of upside down jellyfish about 100 feet west of the dock. Adrienne told me that a lot more piscivorous fish should be available out in the fore reef region of the Caye as opposed to the back reef, so I’ll patiently wait my turn until that day comes.

Crab density quadrat project

We came back to land, ate lunch, had some free time, and then jumped on the boat Koolie Gial to the back reef located in the Marine Protected Area. We again performed quadrat testing (this time looking for species diversity of coral in the back reef) and collected urchins which we’ll test tomorrow as a part of our ongoing lab on reef health. In the 25 minutes we had to find urchins, I managed to snag two under a rock and inside a coral crevice. Tomorrow we’ll collect more urchins from an unprotected area and compare the health (size and shape) of the two samples of urchins we had.

Me with a Diadema antillarum urchin

I’m tired, but content. In the words of Vivekanudeep, good night.

Day 2 (5/17): Yep, this is paradise.

I woke up at 5am today. The last time I did that was [INSERT DATE HERE]. It wasn’t too bad though because I crashed at 10pm in a really comfy bed. After our PB&J sandwich breakfast, we loaded our luggage and ourselves into the van and headed for the port. By 7:55AM, we reached port and were speeding away from mainland Belize in a small boat to Middle Caye (Glover’s Reef). We saw some flying fish and a giant sea turtle on the way, but the real sight was the view of Glover’s Reef as we floated into port- turquoise and yellow painted buildings sprawled on white sand surrounded by turquoise blue water greeted us warmly.

After sorting luggage into our rooms, the island manager Kenneth gave us a tour of the place, telling us we will be “working in paradise”. Shortly after a lunch of potatoes, chicken, and a vegetable medley, we put on our snorkeling gear and swam out to a patch reef to identify reef organisms.

Taxon wise, I had some luck seeing piscivorous fish. I was able to spot a group of yellowtail snappers (Ocyurus chrysurus) cruising around some corals on the patch reef. I had a glimpse of the tail of a flat needlefish (Ablennes hians), but it swam away before I could take a picture of it. Outside of my taxon, I saw a Christmas tree worm and a variety of branched and brain corals. There are still some facets of snorkeling I need to get used to, but it was an awesome first experience.

Yellowtail snapper I saw

Around 4PM, our professor Adrienne led us on a trek to the edge of the island where there is a huge pile of fossilized coral and got really really really really excited when she started explaining the different species of coral. It was great- I can successfully name 6 species of coral because of that 1.5 hour excursion. Then, we ate dinner, listened to presentations on stony coral and echinoderms, and then learned how to make quadrats. It’s currently 9:59PM and my eyes kept   shutting as I write this last paragraph. Must be getting old.

Are We In Belize? Yes we are.

I met the whole crew around 10:15 AM. And just like that, we passed through security check and I’m munching on a footlong tuna Subway sandwich. The time is 1:20pm. I’ll be in Belize in T-3 hours. Life is awesome.

What was that? My face looks like the Mona Lisa? Oh, stop it you.

We landed in Belize around 4pm and went through immigration and customs. Afterwards, we hopped into a van and made a pit stop at Low’s, a general grocery store. I didn’t buy anything, but the smell reminded me of the convenience stores in India- it was probably the detergent powder.

We reached the Tropical Exploration Center (TEC) around 6PM, got a brief tour of the place, put our luggage into our rooms, and ate dinner.

No luck with arachnids today. I saw some fish in the dining room’s fish tank, but unfortunately I don’t think any of those were piscivores. I did manage to see a really big leaf cutter ant colony at the entrance of TEC and there was a group sighting of a green iguana reaching for leaves on a tree branch.

I just realized there is no iguana in this picture.

We’re boating to Glover’s island tomorrow. I heard that involves intense equatorial sun rays and getting wet. At the same time. The whole time. Literally the whole boat ride will be me caramelizing in the sun while getting battered by massive torrents of Caribbean sea water. I am excited.

 

 

 

Belize: the Country, the Myth, the Legend

In 14 hours, I’ll be on a Southwest Airlines flight, hopefully in an aisle seat. Unfortunately, that dream has never been a reality. But tomorrow is the day. Tomorrow is the day I fight anyone and anything for that beloved aisle seat covered in rich velvet and provided with technologies such as extra leg room and a free arm rest. Oh, tomorrow will be the day I come, see, and conquer. After that, I’m going to Belize.

I’m not really too sure what to expect out of this two week journey. I’ve never been to the tropics or a reef before, and there are so many variables that’ll be thrown at me all at once in such a short time period- the sights and sounds of a new country, the vast unknown of the tropical rainforest, and the shimmery blue depths of the reef. I’m pretty pumped for the sensory overload and figure it’ll be an awesome experience. Reading the book and researching my lecture topic/taxon assignments prepared and provided me with somewhat of an idea of what Belize has to offer, but experiencing everything firsthand will definitely be eye opening.

Honestly, I hope I can identify piscivorous fish and arachnids when I get to that jungle of a place. The piscivorous fish finding should not be too bad because they’ll be in plain sight underwater, but arachnids might be a bit tough. There are so many of them that’ll scurry past before you can identify them and a lot of them are hidden under rocks/debris. But where there is a will, there is a way.

I’m the most nervous about snorkeling. I don’t have too much experience with it and mainly need to work on depressurizing my ears. That being said, I’m really excited to venture out into the tropical rainforest and walk under a canopy of leaves while surrounded by massive, towering tree trunks. I really hope I can see an ocelot- if not in real time, at least from a camera trap. Also, I’m weirdly stoked about getting down and dirty on the forest floor to identify some arachnids. I’ve never been to the tropics before, but I also never rode a bike until I rode a bike.

Watch out Belize- Deepu Karri is coming to town. On a Southwest Airlines aisle seat.