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Day 2: Growing Confidence

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Today we did our first two snorkeling expeditions. Before lunch, we snorkeled a patch of reef near the dock for about an hour, and after lunch we snorkeled a patch of reef on another side of the island. To get to the second location, we had to run through a mangrove forest infested with mosquitoes (not my favorite part of today!)

The first snorkel session was pretty uncomfortable for me. I have never been snorkeling before today, and the water was surprisingly cold! I struggled to catch my breath after the initial shock, and I found myself shivering by the end of the hour. Shivering! In the tropics! Who would have thought?

The second snorkel session was actually better for me, despite the mosquito-laden start. I felt a lot more in control of my breath, and I actually felt confident enough to dive down beneath the surface to get a closer look at the beautiful corals, sponges, and sea fans.

Sponge Species sighted today:

  • Yellow Tube Sponge (Aplysina fistularis)
  • Orange Icing Sponge (Mycale laevis)
  • Branching Vase Sponge (Callyspongia vaginalis)
  • Fire Sponge (Tedania ignis)
2022, Uncategorized

Getting to Glovers!

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Mask in car e made it! It was quite a long day, but also a really incredible one. We started bright and early at 6:15 meeting at rice before heading to the airport. We had not TOoo much trouble getting on our flight, save for the fact that Dr. Solomon and Dr. Correa found out they need notarized forms to bring their children to Belize, and free to the Belize city international airport. On the flight, I was struck by just how much wilderness I was seeing out the window as we approached the Belize City airport. There were lots of forested areas and small bodies of brown marshy looking water right up until we hit the runway. It didn’t much look like a city! 

After a brief stop at a convenience store (where I got Belizean change for buying a vitamin water) We headed off on what was supposed to be a 2-3 hour boat ride to glovers reef. However, 4.5 hours hater we would realize that the length of that trip was exceeding our expectations. When I first got on the boat I was quite worried as I already felt slightly seasick, but as the journey began I found I could manage (or so I thought) by fixing my gaze on the horizon and leaning back and forth as the boat moved around me to keep myself level. However, the journey got much worse as we left the emerald green waters protected by the Belize Barrier Reef that runs parallel to the shore and into the open ocean. At this point water was spraying onto and over the boat, and it took all my focus to keep from getting completely sea sick as the boat pitched and heaved around me. Finally we reached glovers reef, a ring shaped atoll of coral reefs, and its protected inner waters. We finally made it to the glovers reef research station, a rather magical (and a bit patchy) set of buildings on part of the atoll that has grown into an island. The group was pretty tired after the journey however, so after a delicious dinner made for us by the staff and a group meeting we decided to call it a day. 

With all the traveling I did not have much time to look for green algae. I did see a bunch of what appeared to be brown algae floating during our boat ride, and I did see one patch of green algae near the mainland dock. It was filamentous or hairy in nature making me guess possibly Chaetomopha linum (sea hair) or Ulva Prolifera, and getting pushed around by the waves and occasionally exposed above the surface. Finally, I am very impressed by the crabs and hermit crabs on the research station. They are huge! Often with one giant claw. The crabs can be larger than my expanded hand and look the size of a good meal!

A quick algae photo as we walked to the boat
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A long day of travels

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The intrepid tropical field bio students started their adventures today at 6:15 am meeting at Rice University and ended the day at Glover’s Reef Research Station. Most excitingly, once we landed in Belize City, we got our first taste of what these ecosystems will be like! 

From the view outside the shuttles and buses we were on, we were able to see a fascinating array of different trees and other vegetation I had never seen before. While on tbe boat we saw the barrier reef off the coast of Belize, and experienced the very bumpy ride passing through its channel. Speaking of rough waters, it was my first time on a boat for any extended period of time and I got pretty seasick! But I’m fine now and I know that I can take motion sickness medicine for the ride back in a few days.

There was an insane amount of travel and tribulations today, but somehow we made it through. Although I’m exhausted, I”m still excited to start snorkeling tomorrow!

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Day One: Adventure’s Just Begun!

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Today was about as good of a first day as I could have hoped! Of course it wasn’t perfect- we had a few hiccups checking into the airport and an exceptionally long, but eventually we all made it to our first study site, Glover’s Reef Research Station.

After a full day of travelling (2 hours), a bus (half an hour), a plane (2.5 hours), a van (about an hour), and a boat (4 hours!), finally arriving at our home for the next week was a relief, to say the least! We gathered our luggage and settled into our rooms for a bit before being treated to a delicious dinner of chicken, salad, and rice. It’s taking all of my remaining willpower to type this blog post before I pass out from exhaustion.

At first impression, Glover’s is truly tropical paradise. Lapping waves, lush greenery, colorful bungalows, and scuttling crabs greet you as you walk from the docks. But the smiling faces and friendly attitudes of the resident researchers and crew is was really makes this oasis feel like a home-away-from-home.

My favorite part of today was during the boat ride, seeing colors that I never thought could come from water. The deepest, most intense blues of open ocean and the green and turquoise of seafood breaking on shallow offshore reefs; it was like something out of a dream. The murky browns of Galveston Bay will officially never satisfy me again!

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Day 1: Longest Boat Ride Ever

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Hey, guys! It’s Michiel again. Today was our first day in Belize, so I’ll try to quickly tell you guys all about it.

I woke up bright and early at 5:15, got an uber to campus, and was with the rest of my group around 6 am. Together, we took a bus to IAH, which was packed, and successfully made it to our gate. Before boarding, a few friends and I picked up Panda Express (a great way to start one’s day). The flight itself was actually very fast, I spent the majority of it sleeping and reading. Once we landed and were ready to leave the airport, we took a bus to a grocery store, where I bought a souvenir water bottle and pingüinos. After this, it was finally time to take the boat to our research station. The boat ride was four hours, and the weather was extremely hot and humid, but we were all entertained with the changing color of the ocean as we went from shallow to deep water and the increasing intensity of the waves – though that much movement did give me a killer headache.

By the way, I’ve included a picture of me as I was relaxing on the boat!

Anyway, someone told me that they saw a flying fish while we were on the boat. Though I didn’t get to see it, I wondered if it may have been herbivorous. I determined that it was unlikely they were herbivorous because none of my research on herbivorous fish had mentioned flying fish.

Finally, the boat landed, and we got to see the island for the first time (it’s beautiful). We all settled down, had dinner, and had a group meeting to discuss what we’re going to be doing tomorrow. We also saw lots of crabs as we walked between buildings. The hermit crabs didn’t mind us at all, but the larger crabs quickly scurried away whenever we approached.

Overall, today has been very tiring, but I’m glad we’ve finally made it. I’m excited to see what’s in store!

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PRE-TRIP EXCITEMENT

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Hi, everyone! I’m Michiel, and this blog will record my experience in Belize as I study mammals and herbivorous fish with the rest of my class!

In only a couple of hours, I’ll be on my way to ABL, fighting sleep, to meet with the rest of my class before we start our journey to Belize. I’m excited to get to explore the country, swim through the reef, and I expect that the physical exertion required of this class will be gratifying, but I most look forward to getting exposed to field research. It’s something I know very little about, and I had not imagined I would ever do anything outside of a lab before this class. I hope that this pushes me to continue to push my boundaries and explore topics in science that aren’t necessarily related to my field of study. I also expect that, through the exploration of different ecosystems and study of different taxa within the country, this class will create a deeper love and gratitude for biology within me.

I’ve been preparing for this class for months – buying equipment and getting my passport – but I began to start preparing mentally about a week ago. I got really nervous about going to a new country and staying out in the wild instead of the city, and I still am a bit nervous, but I’m confident that the leadership from my professors and companionship of my peers will help put me at ease. Other than that, I just flew into Houston from El Paso in order to meet with the rest of my class, and I have been packing all day, racking my brain about the smallest things I may forget. I’ve been thinking a lot about the unbearable heat and humidity we’re going to endure. Coming from a desert, the Houston humidity is often too much to handle, and the closest I’ve ever been to the tropics is Cancún, Mexico, which was filled with many more opportunities for relaxation than I expect we will encounter in Belize. However, I’m hopeful that I will quickly get used to it so that I may put my focus to the work we will conduct.

Though I have bits of anxiety about the trip here and there, I am very excited for our trip and hope to return a changed person.

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12 Hours and 1000 Miles Away

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Hi everyone, I’m Michael, and this blog will serve as a record of my experiences over the next two weeks in Belize!

I’m going to do my best to put into words how I’m feeling:

In a word? Paradoxical. Simultaneously excited and nervous, fully-packed and somehow unprepared, ready to start, but unsure of what’s to come. Tomorrow my day starts at 3:30 AM. I need to drive to campus, meet the group at 6:00, bus to the airport, and catch a flight by 10:00.

I think I’m most excited about being able to apply, reinforce, and expand my knowledge about tropical ecology with actual experience. I’ve had countless lectures about the vast importance of rainforests and coral reefs. They’ve been the flagship ecosystems for conservation efforts for decades (anecdotally evidenced by this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m4bNrIIe0bk ‘Rainforest Rap’ that I remember from elementary school). I’ve dedicated my academic career to studying and protecting the environment— and yet, this will be my first time actually coming face-to-face with these dazzling bastions of biodiversity.

To prepare, I’ve gone over the packing list and syllabus (several times), read books, scientific articles, watched TedTalks and documentaries, and pored over notes from previous classes. Practically, I’m still a little intimidated about identifying my taxa (Sponges and Ants), but theoretically, I’m ready to share and apply what I know.

I have some limited experience being in the tropics and doing field work (separately). I’ve spent six weeks in Hong Kong during the wet season, so I know what sticky heat and torrential downpours feel like. I have field experience in Brazos Bend, Laguna Atascosa, and West Virginia, so I won’t be completely unprepared for physical exertion and scientific rigor. Hopefully these separate experiences have prepared me for their intersection in ‘Tropical Field Biology’

I asked a friend who took this course for any sage advice… she said to “enjoy every moment.” That will be my mantra for the next two weeks.

Whatever happens, I know this will be unforgettable.

2022, Uncategorized

Pre-departure… Can’t Wait!

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I think a lot of what excites me about this trip is summed up in the name: Tropical Field Biology. Firstly, I am super excited about being out in the field, experiencing the tropics. Having read some of the past blogs and learning a bit about what the rainforest and coral reefs from our readings, I know that this is an unbelievable. opportunity to see and experience these incredible areas. However, what makes this even more exciting is that we will be seeing these places through a lense of Biology. Rather than just passively admiring  the rainforest and reefs as sightseers, we will get to study these areas and understand more of how they function. I hope that making meaning of what we are seeing through our understanding of biology will make our experience of these areas even more interesting and exciting!

That being said, I also realize that I shouldn’t expect this trip to be a ride on a merry-go-round. I don’t have much experience in the tropics, but I expect I will have to face a fair amount of physical discomfort, be it the bug bites, the heat, etc, and I also realize that this trip will entail a lot of hard work. However, I am hopeful that those challenges will be part of what makes this trip rewarding and meaningful. I think many times having to embrace and work through those things are what make memories all the more memorable!

But at the end of the day, I find that even in the process of writing this I am realizing that I don’t actually have a very good idea of what I should be expecting at all. But whatever comes, I hope that I learn lots, ride with the punches, and come away feeling like I made the most of it!

See you in Belize!

 

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It’s Almost Time!

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Hi! I’m Liliana, and I’m so excited for this trip and the chance to learn and explore someplace I never would have gotten to go otherwise!

I can’t believe that we’re going to be there so soon! At the beginning of the summer this trip felt like it was ages away but the time flew so quickly and now it’s only 2 days away! I am expecting this trip to be pretty intense, a whole course in such a short time sounds like a lot, but I think I’ll be so caught up in the excitement of everything we’re going to learn that it won’t even feel like work. I’ve done the pre-trip readings and presentations and everything I’ve learned about from that makes me even more excited to finally see what we’ve been reading and learning about in real life. I am especially excited for Glover’s Reef, I’ve always loved marine biology and the ocean but I’ve never been snorkeling before. I have some basic familiarity with ocean ecosystems and organisms from being an intern at the New England Aquarium, but my knowledge is pretty limited to New England, since I live in Boston. I can’t wait to experience a whole new part of the world and everything new that lives there! My taxon is crustacea for that part of the trip, so I will probably be digging through sand and looking under rocks to see if I can find anything cool, I especially love tidepools, looking into a tidepool is like staring into a portal to an entirely different world!

I will admit I’m a little bit nervous to travel internationally. I haven’t been anywhere but Boston and Houston since COVID started, and before that I hardly ever went outside the U.S., and if we did it was probably driving through parts of Canada. I’m not too worried though because even if I’m nervous I think there will be plenty going on to distract and interest me. I can’t wait to meet everyone else on this trip and get to know them better, and to learn from our professors and guest speakers and from everyone’s presentations! Also shout-out to my high school teachers who really pushed my love of the ocean and ecology! I hope you’ll follow along with us on this adventure!

2022, Uncategorized

PRE-DEPARTURE PREPARATION & EXCITEMENT

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Hi my name is Maegan Aljure and I feel so excited and thankful to be part of Rice University’s first tropical field biology trip to Belize since the pandemic.

After reading about Belize’s fauna and flora, I expect to be amazed at biodiversity of creatures we encounter as well as admire the beauty of the rainforests at Las Cuevas Research Station and coral reefs at Glover’s Reef. I have lived on an atoll in the Marshall Islands for most of my childhood. This has enabled me to see many marine organisms while snorkeling, and has inspired me to continue to learn about these ecosystems and a desire to protect them. I am not familiar with many of the Caribbean species of fish, but I am excited to expand my current knowledge. I’m also thrilled about the opportunity to hike through the rainforest!

I researched beetles and hydroids for this trip. I have learned a lot about these creatures including the important roles they play in their ecosystems which as given me a new respect and love for these animals. Hydroids have stung me before in the ocean, but now I know that their goal is not to sting people- but to catch food.  I am very excited, but I am also nervous about lacking in field biology experience and I am worried about being overheated in the climate. I hope that the data I record in Belize will help me decide on my career path and contribute to current conservation efforts.  I am already packing all of my required supplies in anticipation for this amazing trip! I can’t wait to share all our experiences! I’ll see you all in Belize!