5/16/19: I woke at 5:00 o’clock this morning to go birding, and I must say, I was not sure if I would be able to do this. Typically, I am a night owl and late riser, but waking up early was not too bad. The prospect of seeing beautiful birds seem to do the trick in getting me out of bed. And of course, I saw beautiful birds. It is the tropical rain forest we are talking about here!
In addition to some beautiful birding, today we set up the camera traps for our research experiment. Our research question is: Does the clearing for Las Cuevas Research Station impact the species richness and species abundance (i.e overall biodiversity) found near the station? I have never used camera traps before, but it went quite well aside from the fact that four of our cameras were not working. But hey! That’s fieldwork, so we improvised and made it work. I am hoping that we get an answer to our question—-plus catch a jaguar or puma on camera traps!
On the 50-hectare plot, I saw a Gastercantha cancriformis or Spiny Orb-Weaver Spider.
Today was a spicy day for Arachnids. On the 50-hectare plot, I saw a Gastercantha cancriformis or Spiny Orb-Weaver Spider. It was black, yellow, and white, which was super interesting. It had the characteristic 6 spines and it was spinning a web in the middle of the trail. Also, we did see a spider (unknown) with a grasshopper in its grasp. On a final note, my favorite find of the day was a female wolf spider (genus: Hogna) carrying her egg sack across the trail. She looked so regal with her little children. I also saw my first scorpion and tarantula in the Las Cuevas clearing: a large Florida Bark Scorpion, Centroides gracilis, and a Red-Rumped Tarantula, Brachypelma vagans. Oh…. and…. let’s just say ticks also made an impact today. (Kaela had over 100 ticks!)
Can you spot the wolf spider? Look for the white egg sack and you should find her!A large Florida Bark Scorpion, Centroides gracilis, found in a sink at Las Cuevas Research Station.
5/15/19: Well, today was our first full day in Belize and it was quite an experience. I have never before experienced anything like this.
It was a jammed pack day full of swimming, hiking, and exploring. We went to Rio on Pools site to swim which was super refreshing after being in the hot sun. I think I am going to keep reminiscing on those moments in the cool river while out here at Las Cuevas hiking in the humidity.
A picture of me enjoying the small waterfall at the Rio on Pools site.
I have to say my favorite part of the day had to be exploring the Mayan Caracol ruins. It was crazy to me to think that I was climbing structures that were built thousands of years ago. It also astounded me that Belize struggles to find funds to excavate all of the sites. We were only able to see the 1% of Caracol that has been excavated. There were so many other sites that have yet to be uncovered. If I had all the money in the world, I feel like I would want to donate some to help fund the archeological projects in Belize. I was in awe of its magnitude and beauty, so I can only imagine what it would be like to see all of the ruins uncovered.
I am atop one of the plaza structures at Caracol ruins site in Belize
I have seen 2 arachnids today, but I was too slow to grab my camera before they scurried away. One was a small common wolf spider and the other I think could have been a huntsman/banana spider (Heteropoda venatoria). It was on the smaller side, but it had the characteristic long legs seen in most banana spiders. I hope as we venture into Chiquibul tomorrow I will see many more! Hopefully, my first wild tarantula sighting will happen soon.
On a quick final note, in honor of our driver Leo, I am excited to keep saying “Cheese Belize!” in many more photo ops on this trip.
5/14/19: We are finally here! Despite some early morning bumps in the road and a late takeoff for our flight, we made it! It feels so surreal to be here.
The majority of our day was spent traveling on bus rides and a plane ride. We have come approximately 1,679 miles. Upon arrival to Belize, let me be the first to say, the humidity hit me like a ton of bricks. But, I soon recovered, and we began our journey to Las Cuevas Research Station in a van. We stopped tonight at Crystal Paradise Lodge before we keep driving tomorrow.
While driving, I could not help be mesmerized by the difference in vegetation compared to Texas highways. Driving in Texas, we are constantly surrounded by cattle pasture or farms, so to be immersed on either side of the car in forest-like ecosystems, it was quite an experience.
I think I have been the most surprised today about how different it has been here compared to the U.S. I mean I always knew it would be different based on our readings and preparations, however, I had no idea it would be this different. The restaurant, Cheers, we ate at was also immersed in the vegatation. It makes me excited for the days to come.
This is the view from the outdoor restaurant Cheers on Belize’s main highway!
I was able to see only 1 arachnid today. I believe it was a wolf spider, but since it was dark outside, it was difficult to tell before it scurried away.
Wolf spider spotted outside Crystal Paradise Lodge
We were not able to do too much exploring today. However with all of the travel done today, we still encountered hummingbirds, termite nests, an Agouti, and leaf-cutter ants, so I have a feeling in the next few days we will definitely be able to see some more arachnids. I hope we will go walking out at night with our headlamps near tree bases or in foliage to have the best chances of catching a glimpse.
This morning I got the notification that our flight to Belize is less than 5 days away. I have never been to Belize, and in fact, I have never really been out of the country on a trip like this before, so I am definitely excited. Ah! My first trip to the tropics!
Sitting on my couch watching Blue Planet episodes of the tropics in HD has given me some pretty high standards for the beauty of these places, so I have high hopes for what I might encounter. Also, I totally plan to channel my inner David Attenborough for this trip. However, I am still a little nervous about how it’s going to go.
I am the taxon expert for arachnids and green/red algae. My family thought it would be funny to make me watch the 1990 movie Arachnophobia in preparation for my trip. Let’s just say that I found it…. a little… less funny. I have never really been scared of spiders before, but last night, I had a dream I was attacked by a giant spider, so it is safe to say I am a bit wary.
I have done my best these past few months to ensure that I am prepared for this trip. Aside from the packing and organizing of all the snorkel/rainforest gear, I prepared myself through the taxonomic research, the readings, and the creation of the presentations. I am hoping that I can identify both arachnids and algae in the field. My biggest worry for the trip is that either Dr. Solomon or Dr. Shore is going to ask me about a certain organism and I am going to stare blankly back at them like a deer in headlights. I have my fingers crossed that this won’t be the case! Not to mention, I have had to mentally prepare myself for the humidity we are going to endure. For this trip, I am most excited about experiencing fieldwork for the first time. I have always been limited in learning about the natural world from books, videos, or short field trips, so 14 days in the tropics is something I am looking forward to. It feels like it has been centuries since I first started dreaming about doing fieldwork. Overall, I hope this trip will give me some insight into what a career involving fieldwork might be like, and if this could be a career path for me. I think it will be, but you never know until you try it.
On a final note, I grew up on the Texas coast my whole life which makes me accustomed to one thing: murky ocean water (Thank you Mississippi river sediment!) So, I cannot wait to put my feet into the ocean and be able to see my toes clearly!
It’s hard to imagine that a country as small as Belize can contain such vastly different environments, which we were lucky enough to experience. The rainforest and the reef are both such fascinating views into the diversity of life, each with their own unique organisms that we humans depend on. Every time we saw something we didn’t recognize, I couldn’t help but wonder if we were the first people to ever come across it, since the sheer number of organisms in the rainforest and reef make that a possibility each time we stepped out onto the field. Even though I’ve always known how important both of these ecosystems are, I never really understood the impact they have on us until I experienced them through the eyes of a biologist.
Despite this similarity, these ecosystems were still so different. We faced unique problems in each environment that often required us to think outside of our comfort zone to answer the questions we posed. Each time we tried to solve a question, we encountered multiple other problems that we had to come together to find a solution for. In the rainforest, this was often because of just a lack of knowledge about all the organisms that were there, like in To Pee or Not to Pee with our vast number of insect morphologies. In the reef, the main problem was learning how to collect data while snorkeling. Communication became so much harder underwater and making sure that you were identifying the right organism became more complex. Despite these challenges, we always worked together to find the best solution.
I came into this course with pretty much no idea what to expect, which I think was a good thing because I never would’ve been able to guess the crazy things we’d experience. I expected to learn about the rainforest and the reef, but we also learned so much about living in research stations, caring about the environment, and working together as a group. At first, my least favorite part about this trip was how isolated I felt being in the rainforest with no internet and no way to contact anyone outside the group. However, this became less and less of an issue as the days went on and actually became something that I enjoyed. We became really close as a group and I felt like I learned so much about everyone because of how close we were to each other. Working in such a close knit group became my favorite part of the course because we were able to joke and talk with each other so comfortably. I’ll always remember this group as some of the greatest people that I’ve met at Rice.
There are a lot of things that I learned from this trip that I’ll remember for years to come. One was that despite how much you think you know about conservation and protecting the environment, there’s always more to learn and experience. Our marine debris project really showed me just how much more work we have to do to clean up the reefs and protect them for future generations. The second one is that there’s always more to an environment that you don’t always see at first. From the leaf cutter ants to the camera traps we set out, we were always finding out about hidden worlds that, even though we didn’t see them at first, still hold such importance. The last thing that I learned comes from something Andressa mentioned to me in Las Cuevas. She said it was crazy how this trip had shown that literally anyone can become friends. Despite our different backgrounds and experiences, all it took was a love for nature for all of us to become close friends. I was surprised by how true this was but extremely grateful that it was.
Overall, this course was everything I hoped it would be and more. I’m extremely impressed that everyone was able to put up with my terrible jokes and lame stories for two weeks, so kudos to all of you guys. Everyone on this trip and everyone we met in Belize played such a huge role in making this trip so memorable. There’s really no way to end this but with a culmination of my worst joke this trip:
I woke up bright and early at 5:15 to bird watch, where we saw oropendolas, a flock of Red Lore parrots, and a friendly bee that loved Elena’s hair. All these sightings were pretty expected but were really cool nonetheless. We ate a nice breakfast of eggs, beans, and journey cakes which I didn’t really eat because I’m still feeling a little queasy. We went up to the lecture hall and Scott gave us a briefing on Camera Traps. We had a quick discussion on some ideas for the traps and, after a long deliberation, we decided on testing how the presence of trails affects mammal presence and abundance.
An Orb Weaver Spider Web Chilling in The Trees
We set off on our hike at 9:30ish and headed down the Monkey Trail, up the Saffron Trail and then down the San Pastor road. Along the way, we ran into a boa constrictor chilling on the forest floor and a huge leafcutter nest, which gave all of us a jump. We came back for lunch, ate some rice and plantains, and headed back out on the 50-hectare plot. We set up our last two camera trap pairs and spotted a zombie ant on a fern. We came back, I showered quickly, then Rafael M. director of the FDC gave us a talk on the conservation efforts on the region, which was really fascinating. We ate dinner and headed to the lecture room for talks, which I gave on arachnids, Elena gave on ants, and Claire gave on the Paradox of Tropical Soils. Afterwards, we all headed to the dining room to work on these blogs!
Arachnids spotted: a wolf spider in the leaf litter of the Saffron Tree-unidentified species; Wolf spider mother on San Pastor Road, spotted by Adrienne with eggs on her back; Unidentified red mite on breakfast table; Many many chigger bites on Veronica, Jessica, and Adrienne (RIP); Almost everyone got a tick bite, including me, under my watch – they hurt; Red Rumps in the clearing by the lecture hall that scurried back into their holes after they saw us.
Can you spot the spider?
All of these are expected, unfortunately, but still really cool.
We woke up bright and early at 5:30 AM, even though it definitely didn’t feel that early at all. We got ready, had breakfast, and packed up to drive to our next destination.
First, we stopped at the Rio On pools,
The Rio On Pools
where we had a lot of fun tumbling down the waterfall slides and swimming in the small pools at the base of each waterfall. That is, until we found out that there were leeches in the pools (I was bitten 4 times). We still had fun in the pools though, even doing a train down one of the waterfalls. We got out, changed, and went back into the bus for the next leg of our journey.
Wolf Spider Hiding in the Leaf Litter of Caracol
We arrived at Caracol at about 11 and our tour guide Leo gave us a tour of the Mayan ruins. Along the way, we ran into some cool organisms, including black Howler Monkeys, Oropendola birds, wild avocado, and more. We ate a quick lunch and hopped into the van to go to Las Cuevas
We arrived at Las Cuevas around 4 and met the station manager Rafael, his wife Angelica (in charge of kitchens) and Pedro (the assistant manager) After a quick orientation and some scarlet macaws, we put our stuff up and took a quick hike around the station. Along the way, we saw leaf cutter ants, give-and-take palms, parrots, and a few others. We headed back to the station, ate dinner, and listened to Claire give a talk on birds, Ceyda give a talk on trees, and Chloe give a talk on the canopy. After that, I showered and got ready for tomorrow!
Arachnids: This morning I saw a small garden spider in the bushed of the ecolodge along with his web. I wasn’t able to identify it but it was 5mm and a transparent green in color, with a long ovular. We saw many Mexican Red tarantula webs at the bases on trees near the Mayan plaza though we didn’t get to see the actual organisms and that wold spider above in the leaf litter. Leo gave us information about the mating dances of the males which was fascinating. At Las Cuevas, we saw two Mexican red rumps in the grass outside our lodgings after dinner as they scurried into their burrow. We expected to see a few here so it was unsurprising to find them.
Day 1: I woke up at my sister’s house in Houston and began those last minute checks for all of my gear. We grabbed smoothies from Juiceland and headed down to Rice. I brought all of my bags from the car into ABL and grabbed our extra gear to pack. We all loaded into the Rice bus and headed to Hobby.
We met Claire’s dad, who happened to be our pilot, went through security and ate lunch (I ate at Yia Yia Mary’s). We waited in the terminal and then finally boarded! The flight wasn’t too long, especially since I slept for half of it. My first impression of Belize was that it was very similar in look and development to other Central American countries that I’ve visited, like Costa Rice. We went pretty quickly through customs, got our bags, and met our driver Edward as we loaded up into our van. We stopped by a store to grab extra supplies and I picked up gummy bears and a towel.
We started our drive to Crystal Paradise Ecolodge. Along the way, we drove through a lot of small villages, saw a few forest fires, and talked about the trip. We drove for about 2.5 hours and finally arrived at the Lodge. We put all of our bags in our rooms and ate a great dinner.
I haven’t seen any arachnids yet but I expect to run into a few soon. We’ve been in fairly populated areas so I’m not terribly surprised that we haven’t seen any but we will probably run into some tomorrow.
Somehow we’re about to leave and I have no idea how the time has gone by. This will be my first time going to Belize and I’m excited to see what the country has to offer. However, I’ve traveled to Central America before so I know a little of what to expect. This will also be my first time traveling outside the country for something other than a vacation so I’m also really excited to see what it’s like to travel with other purposes besides relaxing in mind.
In terms of preparation, reading the book and researching my taxa and lecture topic were all really great ways for me to feel like I’m ready for the trip. I feel like I know at least some of what to expect when we get there because of what we’ve already learned. Packing for this trip was a little difficult because this is my first time going on a trip like this so I can only hope that I’ve gotten everything that I’ll need.
I’m a little nervous about being able to handle all of the activities that we’re going to do but I’m also really excited for them. I think I’m the most excited for exploring the caves near Las Cuevas and exploring the reefs around Glovers. I expect to experience Belize in a unique and memorable way and really delve into the surroundings there. I hope I come out of this trip with a greater understanding of how important every part of an ecosystem is and how important biology is to our everyday lives. I feel as ready as I’ll ever be to get the most out of this trip!
Both the tropical rainforest and coral reef ecosystems host a great biodiversity of organisms, which depend upon each ecosystem’s structure for survival. To start off, both ecosystems can be stratified into layers; as a result, some structures in the rainforest and reef will be more exposed to light than others. Varying amounts of light creates different microhabitats, fostering a large biodiversity of organisms adapted to specific niches in each habitat. An array of organisms will also adapt to the habitat’s nutrient availability (dependent on light availability), thus also promoting a large biodiversity of life.
Personally, I have noticed that micro-organisms play a large role in the trophic balance of both ecosystems and that their presence should not be discounted. A lot of human-made environmental stressors are being put on these environments, resulting in activities such as defaunation, deforestation, and coral bleaching. As far as differences go, the rainforest appeared to be more of an enigma; whereas in the coral reefs we would see larger fish such as nurse sharks and sting-rays floating around every now and then, the rainforest offered a lot more cover and megafauna sightings by eye were few and far between. Also, life on the forest floor is different than life on the ocean floor- the forest floor has detritus, fallen tree trunks, and leaf litter which provide perfect habitats for many organisms while the ocean floor’s organismal diversity is not as abundant.
This course completely exceeded my expectations- granted, I did not really know what to expect in the first place. I have never trekked in a rainforest or snorkeled in such close proximity to coral reefs before, so every single day was a sensory overload. On one hand I was trying not to succumb to the waves and crash into reef structures/trip on a hidden root during the steep 50 hectare declines and on the other I was attempting to observe all of the sights, sounds, and smells around me because this expedition is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. I truly enjoyed every second of this course and am more confident in my body’s maneuverability because of it.
My favorite parts of the course were hands down the trek to and from the Bird Tower and the lionfish dissection. The steep hike up to the Bird Tower just oozed a serene ambiance- I felt like I was traipsing through a painting, somehow managing not to trip on anything while the evening’s orange rays poked through the canopy. The views from the Bird Tower were breathtaking. To top it off, we all sat and listened to Turiez talk about her research work while munching on Doritos. Classic. The night hike down was even better- there was a point where we quietly stood still under the moonlight and listened to the sounds of the rainforest. That moment really put the size of the rainforest and the size of my body into perspective. The world is so anthropocentric and I feel like I get caught up in human social constructs instead of realizing that other life forms exists outside of the human species. The lionfish dissection was great too- I’ve always loved dissecting animals since middle school and enjoy comparing anatomical similarities between organisms.
Least favorite part- definitely the blue land crabs and moths. They have been so menacing to me the whole trip. However, I would do anything for more blue land crab/moth interactions if it meant being able to stay in Belize for another week.
Is that a leaf? No, it is my greatest enemy.
Despite the time and effort we all put into the lectures, I think the most important lessons from the course came out in the field. No matter how meticulously tailored an experiment is to the rainforest/coral reef, the truth is that these ecosystems are incredibly complex and standardizing a problem with experimental trials and data is tough- there will rarely be a “final answer” to a certain question. I learned to trust my sense of balance a bit more after being battered by waves of salt water and tripped by roots that grab onto your ankles, which can hopefully get me through the concrete jungle of life just fine. Finally, here’s an important tidbit of information I’ll find useful if I go trekking off-trail in the future: off-trail trails made by other people can be identified by bent stems, upside-down leaves, hacked sticks, and various other subtle markers.
Belize was fun and unbelievable. It was funbelizeable (I really hope that pun catches on).
