Tag Archives: 2017

2017

Fish on Fish on Fish

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Today was a busy day! We woke up at 5 am to get on the bus to go to Glovers Atoll. After a short drive, we arrived at the dock and met our marine safety officers, Javier and Adalfo. We then took a three-hour boat ride to Glovers. The boat ride was a lot of fun! Once we got outside the Great Barrier Reef of Belize, there were huge swells on the boat. A very large sea (approximately 6 feet wide) turtle popped up near the boat to see us. We also spotted lots of brown algae, a few pelicans, and possibly a flying fish.

We arrived at paradise, aka Middle Cay island at approximately 10:40am. We toured the field station and ate lunch. After lunch, we got ready for our first snorkel adventure. We snorkeled directly off the pier of middle cay on a patch reef. There were so many different organisms. I saw one of the largest lobsters I have ever seen peeking out of a hole in the coral. I also saw a yellow stingray swimming above the reef.

On the reef, I saw so many herbivorous fish!!! The first fish I saw was, Acanthurus bahianus, commonly known as the ocean surgeon fish. I also saw the adult form of Acanthurus Coeruleus, the Blue tang surgeon fish with the characteristic yellow caudal spine. The next herbivorous fish I spotted was Chaetodon Capistratus, the four eye butterfly fish swimming above the reef. I also saw Stegastes variables, the cocoa damsel fish, which is primarily yellow with a blue dorsal region. I identified Scarus croicensis, the striped parrot fish, in the initial and terminal phases. The last herbivorous fish I saw was, Sparisoma Viride, the stoplight parrot fish, in the Initial and Juvenile phases. I feel like I notice so many more herbivorous fish now!

After our snorkel trip. We hiked to the coral graveyard and learned how to identify different coral species from their calcium carbonate exoskeletons. I now see coral in a whole new light. I can’t wait to try to identify some of the corals tomorrow.To end the day, we ate dinner and listened to two presentations on Echinoderms and Hard Corals. We also learned how to make a quadrant!

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Splash

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The 5am wakeup ended up being an easy one, since I went to sleep at 10pm for the first time in a while, not to mention the morning songbirds’ assistance. After a quick breakfast of PB&J sandwiches, we set out for Glover’s Reef Atoll. One hour and the bus and two and a half more on the boat, which featured a massive Green Turtle surfacing close to our boat. We finally arrived at Middle Caye, settled in, toured the island quickly, and then ate a much-desired lunch.

A boat at Middle Caye

After lunch, it was time for the main event: our first snorkel of the trip. After pulling on my brand new dive skin and putting on my much older mask, the water invited us in to take a break from the blisteringly hot sun. We stayed in the shallow waters by the dock for today, snorkeling around some patch reefs a short swim away. I managed to find a fair amount of my assigned taxon group of anemones, corallimorphs, and zoanthids. With Adrienne’s help, I found a small colony of mat zoanthids (Zoanthus pulchellus) growing on a small stony patch, and I then found some small Sponge Zoanthids (Parazoanthus parasiticus) growing on a pale blue, vase-shaped sponge. I even managed to spot a small Caribbean Giant Anemone (Condylactis gigantea) among the sea-grass on the way out of the water. Although I don’t have to keep track of reptiles for another week, I noted the appearance of three spiny-tailed iguanas (Ctenosaura similis) on Middle Caye, as well as a house gecko (Hemidactylus frenatus).

Zoanthus pulchellus: Mat Zoanthids

After our snorkel, we went to a coral graveyard on the island full of dead coral skeletons. We identified them using guidebooks, and used them to learn to recognize the potential corals we will see tomorrow. After dinner, we rounded off our day with lectures on echinoderms and stony corals, and finished by making quadrats that we will use tomorrow for our activities.

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Are We In Belize? Yes we are.

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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.

 

 

 

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Spotted Shirley Temple

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Day 1 in Belize was a major success! We’ve all arrived safely, and  traveling was remarkably smooth, considering we have a group of 14 people.

We’re staying at the Belize Zoo tonight. The beds are comfy and bug-free, and dinner involved banana bread. I have no complaints!

In terms of wildlife, I was most excited by the two species of epiphytes I was able to identify from my taxon card research. I feel much better about my identifying abilities already! I even saw my favorite epiphyte, the Shirley Temple plant (it’s small and curly). I also saw Aechmea brachteata.

Tillandsia streptophilla (Shirley Temple)
Aechmea brachteata

We’ve only been here a few hours, but I’ve already learned so much: pack things inside your boots, don’t try to take pictures as you’re getting off the airplane, hydrate or die-drate, and sometimes things look like deer but they’re really just dogs. Our adventures continue at Glover’s Reef tomorrow, and I’m excited for the new experiences that await us!

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Day 1: Movement (05/16/2017)

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Today was about movement. In the morning, I moved out of my apartment, and, in the afternoon, I moved into a new country – Belize!

Before my eyes even caught a glimpse of the wildlife, I became fixated on the sheer differences between the U.S. and our neighbor just a two-hour flight south. Everything seemed less commercialized, less polished, and less reliant on technology. The infrastructural and cultural differences between the U.S. and Belize was something I never thought about before stepping foot on Belizean soil.

The inside of a Belizean connivence store

Witnessing these differences adds an anthropological element to this trip, something unexpected but enriching.

About an hour after exiting the area surrounding the Belize Airport, we arrived at the Tropical Education Center. Rainforest surrounds the Center on all sides, providing us with an excellent first look into tropical rainforest life.

My most memorable tree sighting was a bullhorn acacia tree (Acacia cornigera) on the trail. The tree was about 15-feet tall, covered in paired black thorns and housed many small dark ants.

We took a tour of the Center’s campus. I felt like I was at camp again, except with a much higher humidity rate.

A tour of the Tropical Education Center

The Center had its own diverse array of wildlife. While I am unsure of their exact names, I noticed epiphytes with roots hanging down, a big black beetle, and a dark green frog with black spots. My superstar sighting was a green iguana (Iguana iguana) lounging on a tree branch, snacking of some leaves.

The first day has been extremely transitionary, but I feel energized for the adventures that lay ahead.

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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)

2017

Day 1 – Iguanas are pretty cool

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Hi friends,

FINALLY HERE IN BELIZE WOOHOO!!! I wish I had pictures to show off the place but my camera is experiencing some issues now hmm. So I only have my first selfie to share with y’all.

But anyway, I have landed safely and soundly and can’t wait to start my journey as a budding tropical field biologist. The first thing we did after getting off the plane was to go to a general goods store to stock up on supplies and to pick up things that people forgot to bring. And now we’re all ready!

We reached out accommodations after a short bus ride. We’ll be staying at the Tropical Education Center (TEC) for a night before leaving 5.30am the next day for a long trip to Glover’s Reef. So the theme of the day is lots of travelling and then resting for more travelling. Nice.

I did not manage to see any animals that are part of my assigned taxon groups. But we definitely saw some animals even just in the TEC. Officially, the first organism that I saw in Belize in a really fat green iguana perched on a thin tree branch feeding on the leafs and looking very satisfied with its meal. As a mechanical engineering major, I was amazed just by the fact that the branch could support all its weight.

Besides the precariously perched iguana, we saw a trail of leaf cutter ants, as well as some frogs and insects.  Oh we saw a bunch of interesting looking plants as well. More to come when we go out into the actual undisturbed habitats!

Damien

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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