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Warm (Make that *Hot) Welcome from My Taxonomic Group

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5.16.2017

Today started bright and early at 4:00 am to catch a flight from Miami to Houston without much of a break since. Needless to say, the lack of sleep and full day of traveling has left me completely exhausted. That’s why I am excited to report that I get to sleep in until 5:30 am tomorrow when breakfast starts! Note the hint of sarcasm?

All jokes aside, today has been really incredible. I am usually a proponent of aisle seating on planes, but I decided to take the window seat and I’m glad I did. I got a beautiful bird’s eye view of Belize and all the tree canopies that blanket its terrain.

After landing, we swiftly made it through customs and our driver met us outside to take us to the Tropical Education Center (TEC) where we are staying for the night. On the way, we stopped at a small store where I bought some snacks (I’m super excited that they had mariquitas, aka plantain chips) and much needed shampoo and conditioner. I do not need to come out of this trip sporting dreadlocks.

Spotting and identifying species of my taxonomic group has been quite challenging today as you can see from the picture below.

“Leaf Cutter Ants Crossing” sign at TEC

It was really neat that within minutes, I was able to come across members of a key species of my taxonomic group, leaf cutter ants (A. cephalotes),  doing what they do best –  foraging for leaves to take to the fungi in their nest. It was also nice that the type of ant was pointed out and identified for me. Can that be the case at Las Cuevas too, please?

Leafcutter ants (A. cephalotes) carrying leaves

Another key find while walking to dinner was a juvenile green iguana up in the branches of a tree alongside the gravel pathway. I hope that all these sightings in such a short amount of time are an indication of the diversity I will get to see in the rainforest part of the course.

Green iguana hungrily eyeing some leaves

For now, I am extremely excited to be making the boat ride to Glover’s Reef tomorrow. Time to rest up for an early wake up call and another busy (but hopefully incredible) day in Belize!

 

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Finally Here! (Day 1)

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Today has been a long day of travel. Fortunately though, everything went smoothly! I can only hope that tomorrow’s boat ride is equally lacking in complications.

We left Rice a little after 10:30 this morning and loaded on a bus to go to Hobby Airport. Even though our flight didn’t leave until 2:30, the five hours we gave ourselves ended up to be just the right amount of time. As I’m learning, everything goes slower when you’re part of a group of fourteen.

Even though I was in one of the later boarding groups, I managed to snag a window seat. Most of the trip we were flying over the Gulf of Mexico. I fell asleep for a good chunk of the flight, but luckily when I woke up I could see boats below so I assumed we must be nearing the land, and I got to get a glimpse of Mexico’s gulf coast as the land reappeared.

The Gulf coast of Mexico, as seen from the plane

I thought I remembered reading in the textbook for this course that we would fly over the Chiquibul as we approached the Belize City Airport, but I only saw agricultural plots with some trees in between. Maybe I wasn’t looking at the right time, or maybe the author came from a different direction.

Once we landed in Belize City, got our luggage, and got through customs, we got on another bus to head to the place we’re staying for tonight. We also stopped at a supermarket to pick up some snacks.

We are staying for tonight at The Belize Zoo’s Tropical Education Center. We got in just around dinner time, so although they showed us the trails, pond, and observation deck we did not get to do much before dark. However, we’ll be back here again at the midpoint of our trip before we head to Las Cuevas Research Station.

Just walking around the gravel trails here though, we did see a little bit of fauna. I did not see any Green Algae or Orthoptera species, but it was cool to see other people in the class recognize species from their assigned taxa groups.

We saw a green iguana snacking on some leaves in a tree right over the trail.  There was also a lot of leaf cutter ants, to the point where there was a sign warning us of their traffic corridors. We saw a lot of epiphytes around the trail on the many trees here. We are in a savanna environment, but at least in the near vicinity of where we’re staying there is much denser vegetation than I would expect for a savanna. Although, driving here we passed a lot of ‘classic savanna’ scenery: sparse short trees, grasses, and very flat land.

Green Iguana Perched Precariously on a Branch

Right in the middle of our cabin, we also saw a little toad. It would be great if all the Orthoptera and algae species got the memo and were to show up right by my bed in the coming days, but my hopes are not high.

This Kind Toad Came Right into our Cabin to be Identified!
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WE ARE FINALLY HERE!!!

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We finally arrived in Belize City after a short flight 2-hour flight. I fell asleep almost immediately as the plane was taking off and didn’t wake up until we were about 30 minutes out of Belize city. As the plane was landing, I got my first glimpse of the beautiful rainforests of Belize. The sunlight glinted off the muddy rivers turning them a brilliant golden color as they wound through the dense jungle.

We quickly passed through customs and immigration and were officially on Belizean soil. My excitement began to build as we climbed into the bus and started making our way to the Tropical Education Center where we will be sending the night. We stopped at Low’s convenience store and got snacks for the trip. I can’t wait to try the plantain chips with hot sauce. It was very interesting to see how many American brands and symbols have permeated into Belizean culture. We even saw a truck sporting a Houston Rockets sticker driving down the road ahead of us.

When we got to the research station, it was dinner time. We quickly through our stuff in the cabins and went to dinner. The chicken and the fruit juice was amazing!

When we got back to the cabins after dinner, I had my first amphibian sighting! Luckily, we turned on the light on just in time to avoid stepping on the little frog. Although I am not entirely sure, I believe that the frog was a Smilisca baudinii, commonly known as the Mexican tree frog. After a few narrow misses, I was able to take a picture of the frog and get a close up view of him. This frog had the characteristic large eyes and broad flat head of the Mexican tree frog. Furthermore, this frog was primarily a lighter brown with darker brown spots all along its ventral side. Despite much protest from the frog, I was eventually able to pick up the frog and carefully carry him outside in order to avoid future mishaps.

On the way to write this blog entry, I had my second amphibian sighting. A very large toad crossed our path on the way to the classroom. Unfortunately, he hopped away before I could get a close look at him. However, he was approximately the size of my fist and had large warts all along his body. I am so glad that I have already seen some amphibians on this trip. Initially, I was afraid that I wouldn’t see any amphibians becuase we are traveling in the dry season and they are supposed to be very rare during this time. I hope that my luck will continue and I will be able to spot a Mexican Burrowing toad by the end of this trip.

I am so excited to finally be in Belize and can’t wait for the boat ride to Glovers early tomorrow morning. (I also can’t wait to take a shower tonight as I hear it is the last place with hot water for a while)

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Just like that, we made it to beautiful Belize

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DAY 1 — We met this morning, bright eyed and bushy tailed at 10:30am. By noon, we were waiting in the security line at Hobby. By 1:45, after a quick bite, we boarded our plane and took off!

Looking out the plane window during our descent, I began to get a sense of Belize. I could see the bright blue coast, large expanses of lush green, expanses of brown, and, nearer to the airport, brightly colored homes.

Leaving the airport in our van, we got a little taste of Belize City, with its colorful buildings and big, bold Belikin advertisements. We stopped at Low’s general/grocery store for snack-age (I got some plantain chips and wheat biscuits).

The drive to TEC (Tropical Education Center) was beautiful, the sun was low in the sky. When we arrived around 6pm, we were greeted by a procession of leaf cutter ants (see below) and a delicious meal (beans and rice, plantains, banana bread, etc).

Hard to see here, but there were leaf cutter ants crossing, I promise!

No bee sightings today. I’ll keep my eyes peeled. No sponge sightings either (surprise, surprise). Hopefully, I’ll see some sponges tomorrow, our first day on the reef.

We did see a cool, calm, and collected green iguana teetering on a skinny little branch at the top of a tree, eating leaves. We also had a little frog friend in the cabin.

I’m really looking forward to the boat ride to Glover’s tomorrow. Sunscreen will be applied amply (don’t worry, dad).

The gals of dorm 7 (minus yours truly):

Left to right: Tian-Tian, Anna, Sarah, Jordan, Ellie, Alessi
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If You’re Reading This, I’m Sweating

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It’s hard to believe that it was just this morning that I hopped on the lightrail in Houston with my backpack and suitcase to meet the rest of the group at Rice.  After some preparation at Rice, we got on the shuttle to Hobby for our flight. Despite slow lines and a minor delay, we finally got on our way to Belize City.

Upon arriving at about 4pm, we were picked up by a van, loaded all of our gear up, and went on our way to the Tropical Education Center (TEC). After stopping to buy snacks and refreshments at a convenience store on the way, we arrived at the TEC around 6. We managed to spot some reptiles here, including a green iguana (Iguana iguana) in a tree eating some leaves, lots of little geckos that I believe are house geckos (Hemidactylus frenatus), and a spiny-tailed iguana (Ctenosaura similis) on a windowsill after dark.

Leafcutter ants at the TEC
Low-quality picture of the green iguana we spotted at the TEC – sorry for the quality, look at the branch 

I don’t think I have stopped sweating since I got to Belize. I’m realizing quickly that I won’t feel clean again for the next two weeks, but I am already dreaming of the ice-cold shower I will take after writing this post. I’m very excited for our journey to Glover’s Reef tomorrow, despite the before-6am wakeup that comes with it. I guess it’s a good thing I am already prepared to crash at 8:30 pm.

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HERE!!!

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Wow, we’re finally here! It’s a whole lot warmer and sweaty here than I anticipated, but that’s not stopping my excitement.  Within the first hour of being here, I  had already seen views of the savannah, some goats, and of course some birds.

I saw two white birds with longer necks on the side of the road when we were traveling to the Tropical Education Center.  They looked similar to Great Egrets, but this was in the tropical savannah and usually Egrets are found in marshlands or waterside.  I also saw a glimpse of a parrot and Scott did an impression of its fast wingbeat that is so characteristic of parrots.

I keep hearing bird noises and wanting to find the source of them! I guess to see them well I’d really have to wake up early.  I also saw a bird feather, but cannot identify what it is from.

Other cool highlights so far is that we saw an iguana and two toads, one of which was in my room. The iguana was feeding and I was surprised to see how agile it was on such a small branch.

The trip is only just getting started and I cannot wait to see what else it holds!

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T-1 Day From Crossing Belize Off My Travel Bucket List

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This morning, I went out fishing on my boat in Miami and it suddenly hit me that the next boat I’ll be on will be headed for Glover’s Reef Research Station. It’s crazy how fast these past two weeks have gone but I am so excited to finally visit Belize. It was on my list of the top two destinations for my high school graduation trip, but I ultimately visited Costa Rica. Now I’ll finally get to go.

These past couple of weeks have been a whirlwind of catching up with family and friends, and ultimately procrastinating on my assignments for this course. As deadlines approached, I mustered the motivation to read the textbook, make sense of jargon in about 10 different research papers on mangroves, cringe my way through magnified photographs of ants, and put together three presentations.

Speaking of my presentations, I am kind of nervous to give them. My public speaking skills aren’t too great but I’m hoping that all the preparation I’ve done will carry me through my awkwardness.

Ultimately, the presentations are just a fraction of the course and I absolutely cannot wait to get out into the field. I hope I get to learn more about two ecosystems that have fascinated me: coral reefs and rainforests. Living in South Florida and being just a stone’s throw from the Bahamas has given me the opportunity to snorkel and scuba dive, awestruck at the beauty of reefs. And just the previous summer, as I briefly mentioned, I got to visit the Osa Peninsula in Costa Rica which gave me my first immersive experience in a rainforest.

With this trip, I am hoping to see these two ecosystems through the lens of a researcher and gain some practical knowledge about them that I can carry with me when I go diving or on future vacations. I’m also interested to compare what I see in Belize to the reefs of home and the wet season in Costa Rica. If I’m going to be ready, I should probably go finish packing.

No way… next time I post I’ll be in Belize!

P.S. I’m also hoping to take some great pictures like the ones I got from Costa Rica for memories 🙂

 

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Almost done packing, I swear

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Phew… it’s been 2 weeks of hardcore supply shopping/ reading/researching/citation writing (so. many. citations.) and it still hasn’t sunk in that I’ll be in Belize tomorrow afternoon. The closest I’ve gotten to the tropics is the 100%-humidity streets of Hangzhou, China, so I have no idea what to expect– but I am prepared at least for action packed days and aching feet, maybe like hiking Big Bend?

My goals for this trip are to experience firsthand what it’s like to be a field researcher. I’m hoping to become a zookeeper or museum curator, which both can have elements of field research, so after this trip I’ll be able to decide if I really love it and maybe want to do it full time.

I think I’m most nervous about snorkeling, as I’ve never done it before and only recently got the hang of breathing. Hopefully I won’t be slowing down the rest of the group… And my ears are still not used to the pressure in deep water. Another thing is that I haven’t actually taken a proper biology course since high school, so I feel a bit rusty on some general conceptual things, like how taxonomy works. I’m nervous about possibly getting something wrong in my presentations especially.

The thing I’m most looking forward to is exploring the caves, thanks to my topic assignment! There are so many freaky unidentified creatures down there; maybe I’ll see some bug that no human has set eyes on before. Also, I love the eerie atmosphere of a cave, like a bubble completely sealed off from the rest of the world. Even though most nutrient sources come from outside, if we’re being picky ecologists here.  And the specific animals I want to see: any classic rainforest animals, like big cats and primates, bats, and the humble fungus gnat (makes strands of silk that hang from cave ceilings).

 

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Belize: the Country, the Myth, the Legend

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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.

 

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I’m Procrastinating Packing by Writing This Blog Post :)

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As I sit here on my couch watching a segment called “Extreme Ironing” on Ellen, the pre-departure anxiety is starting to set in. Do I have enough sunscreen? What if I have no coral-identifying skills? What if Scott and Adrienne ask us to iron a shirt while kayaking?

While some of these anxieties are slightly more realistic than others, I know that once we’re on our way, my worries will be gone. I have come to terms with the personal fact that sunburn is unavoidable, and I have spent a significant amount of time creating taxon sheets and Powerpoint presentations to help me with identification. I feel pretty prepared for this trip after doing the required readings and extra research.

As an aspiring marine biologist, I am obviously jumping for joy at this opportunity to experience field work at a real coral reef. However, the required readings have gotten me incredibly excited to experience the diversity of the rainforest as well! I honestly can’t pick one thing that I am most looking forward to. My biggest goal for this trip is to get a feel for field research and make sure I would be happy doing it for the rest of my life.

After all this preparation, I cannot wait to get to Belize! I’ve been to the tropics before on family vacations, but I’m thrilled to visit again with the perspective of a researcher, rather than a tourist. I’m excited to see all the things I’ve spent so much time reading about up close and in the flesh, and I’m ready to completely immerse myself in the ecosystems we are there to study. The only thing left to do is pack!