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Searchin’ for Urchins

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Today we continued with our quadrat theme to look at stony corals inside Glover’s Reef Atoll. For our first boating expedition, we ventured to a marine protected area (MPA) to study the health of coral reefs. Our day was entirely dedicated to data collection, but I still found a huge amount of herbivorous fish hiding among the corals. The dusky damselfish (Stegastes fuscus) is definitely the most common, but all three species of damselfish mentioned in my last blog are very easy to find on the patch reefs. I also found several ocean surgeonfish (Acanthurus bahianus). Like all surgeonfish, this species has a scalpel-like spine on their tail used for slashing predators that’s fairly easy to see in the water.

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Initial phase stoplight parrotfish (Sparisoma viride).

I also managed to find a red and brown stoplight parrotfish (Sparisoma viride) in what is known as its initial phase. Parrotfish are unique in that they can change their sex; initial phase parrotfish are either females or primary males. However, the large, conspicuously colored parrotfish are actually supermales, or females that later became males. Guess even fish can be transgender.

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West Indian sea egg (urchin).

We also spent a good portion of the day collecting sea urchins to assess reef health. You can find urchins in all the nooks and crannies of a reef, but it turns out getting them out is the hard part. We managed to collect a fair number (sustaining only minor injuries) before measuring them and sorting them by species.

Each day on the reef, we learn about a different taxonomic group, adding them to our arsenal. It’s incredible how each presentation adds yet another dimension to my next visit to the reef. Two days ago, I wouldn’t have been able to tell you what Acropora cervicornis was, but now I’m able to spot it (both alive and dead) out on the reef.

And finally, we ended it all by laying on the dock under the stars. The ocean and sky merge together here, forming an infinite black canvas littered with pinpricks of light. Forgive me for the romance, but I might’ve even seen a shooting star. Isn’t it pretty to think so?

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Quadrats and the Coral Graveyard

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Our first day out on the reef started with a scavenger hunt. We search for all sorts of reef creatures and their various interactions on the patch reef just beyond the island. Many species of herbivorous fish feed on algae here; I was able to spot another blue tang surgeonfish and several species of damselfish. Damselfish can be seen patrolling their gardens, which are small patches of algae that they feed on. I found cocoa damselfish (Stegastes variabilis), dusky damselfish (Stegastes fuscus), and threespot damselfish (Stegastes planifrons). The patch reef also contained a number of initial phase striped parrotfish (Scarus croicensis) and even a brightly colored stoplight parrotfish (Sparisoma viride).

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Mandy inspecting a carefully placed quadrat.

The real science started when we learned the art of using transects and quadrats to collect quantitative data on the reef. We began on land and then transitioned to an exploratory study of green algae (spoiler alert: we didn’t find any).

We finished the day with a visit to what can only be described as a coral graveyard. Coral skeletons litter the shore of Middle Caye, their polyps perfectly preserved due to mineralization. We studied the common reef species, using the dead corals to learn their morphologies and create a search image for the reef. Though I’ve visited reefs before, I’ve never been able to do much more than say that corals are colorful. Thanks to our grave digging adventure, I’m now able to appreciate the diversity of corals and might even be able to name some of them.

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Sunset from Middle Caye.

And then, with a beautiful sunset in the background, our first day at the reef was done.

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(Not So) Smooth Sailing

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We spent our final night on land at the Belize Zoo’s Tropical Education Center, an oasis featuring hot showers (!!!) and plenty of wildlife. On my last day searching for reptiles, I was able to spot several green iguanas (Iguana iguana) and a striped basilisk (Basiliscus basiliscus) wandering near our rooms. Both iguanas were a mottled green color, likely because they were hiding amongst shrubs and trees; iguanas can change their coloration based on health, temperature, and even mood.

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View of Princess Marina from the Calypso Restaurant.

From there, we began our amphibious transition at the Princess Marina in Belize City. We first sailed south over clear blue waters, protected from the open sea by Belize’s barrier reef. But the real journey began when we crossed the choppy waters of the reef crest to travel east towards Glover’s Reef Atoll. Who needs roller coasters when you have a boat in the middle of the Caribbean?

We took our first snorkel once we reached Middle Caye, the island where the research station is housed. I began looking for herbivorous fish (my taxon for the week) in the nearby patch reef and was able to find a blue tang surgeonfish (Acanthurus coeruleus) and a dusky damselfish (Stegastes fuscus). Both are common reef fish that feed on macroalgae growing on coral.

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The laundry of Glover’s Reef Marine Reserve.

Now that our work for the day is done, I finally get to enjoy the ocean breeze from the comfort of a hammock under the stars. I don’t know what I was expecting here at Glover’s, but it sure wasn’t paradise.

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Caves and Pitfalls

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Life in the canopy is very different from life on the forest floor. There are differences in water, sunlight, vegetation, other organisms, the affects of gravity and access to food and nutrition. Nitrogen is an important nutrient and decomposers on the forest floor are essential parts of the nitrogen cycle. With this in mind we hypothesized that the forest floor would be more nitrogen rich than the canopy. Specifically, that arthropods in the canopy are more nitrogen limited. We tested this using pitfall traps both in the trees and in the ground. We used control traps filled with water and traps full of nitrogen-rich liquid (our own urine). Tomorrow when we collect the traps we expect to find more arthropods in the urine filled traps, and more arthropods in the tree traps than the ground traps.

This afternoon we went spelunking in a cave at Las Cuevas that was used as a ceremonial chamber by the ancient Mayans. The Mayans believed that caves were entrances to the underworld and that at the end of the day the sun turned into a jaguar and entered hell through a cave to battle demons all night until it reached the other side. This cave had nine bottlenecks that represented the nine layers of a hell a Mayan hero fought through in their mythology. We belly-crawled through the mud-guano cave floor to several hard to reach spots. There are many Mayan artifacts in the cave and areas are still being excavated by archaeologists. We found a lot of pottery, but also a human femur and an animal skeleton. Most excitingly, we saw wrinkle-faced bats roosting. Other animal sightings included glow worms and whip scorpions. Of course the formations are almost alive themselves, with huge chambers swallowing you up.

I have been searching for amphibians in damp areas like the cave entrance and inside bromeliads but I haven’t had any luck today. The leaf litter can also shelter cryptic amphibians, like toads, but I haven’t found any so far.

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Sophia Streeter

5/21

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Caracol & Las Cuevas

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Today we completed our journey south-west through Cayo and into the Chiquibul rainforest. On our way to our home camp at Las Cuevas Research Station we took an anthropological detour through Mayan ruins. We were guided through the Caracol Archeological site and climbed up and in and down the ruins and tombs. Even though it was mostly overgrown and covered by years of sediment the pyramidal structures still stood and it was easy to image the bustling metropolis it was 2000 years ago. Hearing about the (hypothesized) reasons for its decline was ominous; overpopulation, agricultural collapse, drought… sound familiar?
Even though its citizens are long gone the city is still full of life. Almost everyone found an animal from their taxonomic group—bromeliads, philodendrons, birds, mammals, and a plethora of plants. The highlights included an edible red fruit (you suck on the seeds but don’t eat them, looks like gunk, tastes like papaya), toucans, a coati and a blue crowned mot-mot.
Sadly there were not any amphibians around for me to identify. The area was much too dry to be a suitable habitat. Amphibians require a damp habitat because they experience high evaporative water loss through their skin. Most also require water for reproduction. Caracal was in the forest but it was not dense enough to retain the moisture necessary for most amphibians. Here in the forest surrounding Las Cuevas should be a much more habitable medium and we can expect to see a variety of species in the next few days.

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Sophia Streeter

5-18

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Everything Goes Wrong (pt. 2)

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Mishaps and miscommunication have become somewhat regular on this trip, and today’s adventure was no exception. We were supposed to say our forlorn goodbyes to Las Cuevas and the Chiquibul at 7am this morning and set off for a day of archaeological exploration at the ATM Cave near San Ignacio. But in true TFB fashion, absolutely nothing went according to plan.

After several hours of suspense, it became evident that our van was nowhere near Las Cuevas. Instead of wasting away the morning though, we learned about the fascinating conservation issues surrounding endangered scarlet macaws in the Chiquibul and enjoyed a surprisingly tasty lunch of peanut butter and cheese sandwiches (see me for more details on said sandwich). Our trustworthy van and driver arrived only 5 hours after its scheduled arrival, and so we set off by noon for our next caving experience.

Alas, my hopes of spelunking were dashed; we skipped the ATM cave and instead enjoyed an afternoon of wifi, souvenirs, and fresh fruit juices of the Orange Gallery. Despite our misadventures, our day ended with an incredible nocturnal tour of the Belize Zoo.

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Morelet’s crocodile.

Among reptiles, we were shown both a Morelet’s crocodile (Crocodylus moreletii) and an American crocodile (Crocodylus acutus). The American crocodile was substantially larger and had a much longer snout, although both were definitely creatures to avoid in the dead of night. We were also able to see a boa constrictor (Boa constrictor), which paled in comparison to the boa we saw on day 1, as well as a Central American rattlesnake (Crotalus durissus) and a yellow-jawed tommygoff (Bothrops asper). Given that we didn’t find many of these species in the forest, this was a great opportunity to see them up close.

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Ocelot jumping to catch meat.

And in case the reptiles weren’t charismatic enough, we also had the chance to see the different cat species found in Belize and a Baird’s tapir. If you were wondering, a hungry ocelot sounds a bit like an angry housecat, jaguars can be trained to do somersaults, and tapirs enjoy being fed carrots.

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Adios, Las Cuevas

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TFBs on the Monkey Tail Trail of the Chiquibul Forest.

Our final day at Las Cuevas began bright and early as always; we were out the door for our morning hike by 8am. We retraced our steps over 13 miles to collect our camera traps in record time, much more mentally prepared for the trail this time around. Though our picture count was low, we remained optimistic that our cameras had caught some animals (besides us). We also managed to spot what was most likely a Middle American ameiva (Ameiva festiva). I had never come across this lizard species before but was able to identify it using a field guide by its coloration. The lizard was about 12 cm long (which made it too long for an anole) and was a dark brown with white lines on its side broken into spots.

We had to wait until nightfall for the day’s real excitement: our camera trap analysis. The prospects seemed poor as we sifted through endless photos of ourselves or even of leaves flapping in the wind. But our first big find was a giant curassow, casually strolling past our camera in the middle of the road. Soon after, we discovered a picture of a Baird’s tapir, and the group cheered ecstatically at our first mammal sighting. Suspense rose as we tested the final camera; our expectations were low since it was placed in the center of a giant leaf-cutter ant nest. But to our surprise, the very last camera first held a photo of an indistinct rodent, which we guessed was an agouti. As we flipped through the final photos, the characteristic markings of a jungle cat suddenly appeared on the screen. Our final sighting was of an ocelot, one of the elusive large cat species of the Chiquibul.

Though our findings may have been few and far between, just the fact that we were able to capture such diverse species in four short days is incredible. And with that, a week in the Belizean rainforest is already done. Next stop: Glover’s Reef.

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“SNAAAKE!”

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For our second to last day at Las Cuevas, we wrapped up our arthropod experiment by collecting all the pitfall traps set along the Maya trail yesterday. The majority of the day was dedicated to data analysis and the presentation of our results; there’s nothing quite like having a poster session in the middle of the rainforest.

We also spent a good part of the day discussing illegal extraction from the Chiquibul and the problems with conservation in Belize. I never fully appreciated the intricacies of conservation biology until today. The Chiquibul’s greatest threat is illegal extraction of plants and animals by Guatemalans from villages along the nearby border. Yet the issue of conservation is much greater than that of sustaining the area’s ecology and incorporates complex economic and political landscapes, as well. 

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Central American coral snake (Micrurus nigrocinctus).
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Central American coral snake (Micrurus nigrocinctus).

Since our activities were primarily indoors, the day offered few opportunities for reptile sightings. However, I was excited at the prospect of our first night hike—the evening brings out a number of nocturnal species, transforming the Chiquibul into a completely different habitat than it is during the day. We managed to spot all kinds of creepy crawlies, including spiders the size of your face and a giant roach that emitted a sticky white substance. By the end of the hike, I had nearly given up on searching for reptiles in the leaf-litter and under fallen logs. But at the very end of the trail, we approached a sinkhole; as I peered down I heard a shout of “snaaaake!” I looked down to find the distinctive tri-color banded pattern of the Central American coral snake (Micrurus nigrocinctus) all but a foot away from my boot. The snake was small but could clearly be identified as one of the most venomous snakes found in Central America. Just goes to show that you can never stop looking.

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The Art of Spelunking (Day 5)

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I never truly appreciated the feeling of being clean until today. There’s one thing about coming back hot and sweaty after a hike, but it’s quite a different feeling returning from an afternoon of spelunking covered in a fine mixture of mud and bat guano.

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View from inside Las Cuevas cave.
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Wrinkle-faced bat inside Las Cuevas cave.

But let’s backtrack. Today’s tasks began relatively lightly by wrapping up our (inconclusive) cecropia experiments. The day’s primary activity was the exploration of the cave from which Las Cuevas gets its name (and water). The 9-chambered cave is the center of an ancient Mayan ceremonial site, with each of the rooms representing one of the nine layers of the Mayan underworld. The cave holds numerous Mayan structures and pottery, and even what appeared to be a human femur. I doubt I’ll be picking up spelunking for recreation anytime soon, but our exploration gave me a newfound appreciation for cave biology. We found two species of bats within the cave system, as we crawled on hands and knees through narrow passageways that opened into large caverns. I thought I was clean until the cave’s final test: a tiny chamber with low oxygen content, housing a peccary skeleton. Let’s just say I was in great need of a hot bath after that adventure.

Finally, we set up an experiment to test nitrogen deficiency in arthropods of the rainforest canopy. Once again, we utilized extremely sophisticated technologies to create pitfall traps for arthropods in the canopy and forest floor, taking advantage of our most accessible nitrogen source: urine. I was thankfully spared from urine collection, but the afternoon was dedicated to setting up pitfall traps along the Maya trail (not named after yours truly). Though there were no sightings today, the leaf-litter our traps were set in are a prime habitat for venomous snakes; the forest floor was thoroughly checked for species like the yellow-jawed tommygoff (Bothrops asper) before setting traps. I did however spot several anole species along the Maya trail, all of which moved too quickly to be identified.

All in all, day 5 of EBIO 319 is best summed up by the following statement by Dr. Scott Solomon, “We’re exploring the mammalian excretory system!”

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An Ant’s Life (Day 4)

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We began our first real experiments bright and early this morning on the cecropia, or trumpet tree, which is known for its mutualistic relationship with Azteca ants. The hollow tree tunk provides shelter for the ants, and, in exchange, the ants defend against herbivores vying for the cecropia’s lobe-shaped leaves. Though cecropia’s mutalism with ants is incredibly effective, young cecropia trees are not yet colonized. How, then, do these juvenile trees protect themselves from herbivory?

We hypothesized that young cecropia use chemical defenses (like toxins or pheromones) to deter herbivores. Our pilot experiment involved collecting generalist herbivores, such as grasshoppers, and offering them both adult and juvenile cecropia leaves. We may not have the technology for chemical analysis here, but we do have sophisticated pieces of equipment like Tupperware and a butterfly net. We’ll see tomorrow if the insects opt to consume one leaf over the other, or even die after ingesting a toxic leaf.

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A mature leaf-cutter ant nest.

The day’s ant theme continued with an afternoon dedicated to the fascinating life history of leaf-cutter ants. We looked at three leaf-cutter ant nests ranging from 1 to 10+ years old, observing their intricate tunnel systems and foraging trails. I was most amazed by the anthropomorphic qualities of leaf-cutter ants; they essentially act as farmers by cultivating fungus for food. The afternoon’s primary goal was uncovering these fungus gardens, which can sustain colonies of millions of ants.

Our focus today made reptile sightings difficult, as snakes and lizards are unlikely to be found in the vicinity of a large ant’s nest. Though we walked many of the same trails as yesterday, I wasn’t able to spot any of the Sumichrast’s skinks found yesterday in the leaf litter. I actually found better luck indoors today, spotting another common house gecko (Hemidactylus frenatus) running along the walls of our classroom.