Tag Archives: poster

2022

Leaving Las Cuevas (Day 12)

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Hi all, it’s Faith with Day 12 updates from the 2022 Belize trip…

This morning we woke up and prepared to leave Lac Cuevas. I enjoyed my morning hot-chocolate-coffee, and then joined the group at 8 to collect our pee samples from the forest.

We didn’t see any reptiles on out hike, but we did see lots of fungi from the rains. We did this hike rather speedily, so I don’t have much to report on. Afterwards, we worked on out poster and analyzed our findings. Our data supported our hypothesis by 66%. We did find more arthropods on the forest floor, and more were attracted to the pee samples over all. However, the ratios between pee:water on the floor was actually greater than that of the canopy. Our study had many limitations such as a short data collection time, inability to identify some insects, and having flagging tape on our trees. All of these could have skewed our data.

After we analyzed the data, or group split into two teams. One team went and collected the cameras, while my team stayed and packed up camp. By 3:00, we were all packed and ready to leave Las Cuevas. My team did make a quick run to the frog pond to grab the last camera; however, we didn’t see any fauna on that trip either. I wish I could have gone on the hike to retrieve the cameras, but our teams method was much more efficient

After a 4 hour car ride, we made it to Midas Resort in San Ignacio. We plan on staying here until our flight tomorrow… I’m so sad that tomorrow will be my last Belizean breakfast; I will miss the  fryjacks, eggs, and beans.

Goodbye Belize!

QOTD: “If you really have to, you could pee in a waterbottle. We are all really good at that now.”

Luna the cat at Midas Resort
Our Pee Project Poster

 

2022

Reef-tastic last day at GRMS!

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Today was the last day at Glover’s Reef, and we made the most of it! Soon after breakfast, we all got into our snorkel gear to spend the morning finishing our coral/urchin quadrat and transect experiment. When I went into the snorkel shed, I noticed that my dive suit was gone. I asked and looked around, and it came to my attention that Caio (Dr. Correa’s ten-year-old son) wears the same size suit as me. When I found him, he was comfortably suited up in my “NeoSpo” suit. Instead of switching, I put his on, and we got this cute photo!

The last site of our experiment was a non-MPA reef, and Liliana and I zoomed through our data collection. We have gotten to be really efficient! I saw a lot of my taxa here! I spotted a num anemone and warty corallimorph, and I got pictures that clearly show the anemone’s inward mouth (first picture) and the corallimorph’s upturned mouth (second picture). 

I also so another red beaded anemone! This one was fully red/brown, and it had bumpy tentacles (the other one had smooth tentacles).

NEW TAXA SIGHTING: I saw a corkscrew anemone! This is a tiny anemone, and I git a photo! The one I came across was less than a centimeter in diameter with thin tentacles ringed with white, making them appear like corkscrews. I was so excited to find one of these attached to a piece of rubble!

Going back to the boat, we found seven Caribbean reef squids lined up in a row! They were such interesting creatures to see.

We then went on a fun snorkel (the last one), where I got to see so many beautiful fish! However, the water conditions were very rough, so it was a bit like being in a washing machine.

I did spot sponge zoanthids! These <1cm yellow/orange polyps were colonial across the surface of a green branching vase sponge! I was so excited to get this last sighting in 🙂

After lunch, we analyzed our coral/urchin data and made a poster! If you’ve noticed, all of our reef posters have a special heart <3

After dinner, we measured and dissected the three lionfish Dr. Solomon caught over the days at the reef. My group named our fish Appetizer. We then ate the lionfish in ceviche! I was glad to do my part in removing these invasive species but also putting their meat to good use, and I’m so happy that Liliana’s lionfish-eating dreams finally came true!

With my incredibly tanned hands, I will wave Glover’s Reef goodbye tomorrow morning. I’ve had an amazing time here and have learned so much, and I can’t wait to continue this journey in other ecosystems! Tomorrow’s destination = savanna!

– McKenna

2022

Dramamine For The Win

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Reef day #5 was definitely the most packed (and exhausting) day yet! There was a storm last night, so there was leftover cloudiness and winds this morning. However, conditions still looked good enough to go out onto the fore reef! I took dramamine at breakfast, and thank goodness I did. We hopped on the boat, and as soon as we exited the lagoon through a channel, we could feel the intensity of the waves. Even in the water, we were being forcefully sloshed around. Looking up, people were at all different heights among the waves.

Even with the rough conditions, I had a great time on the reef slope! The depth was incredible, especially at the drop off. I saw so many schools of fish, and I could clearly see the spur and groove structure of the corals down below! We also took a video of all of us diving down and making owl hands. Hopefully we make Rice’s Instagram 🙂

I felt a little sick coming off the boat, but the dramamine helped to keep the nausea at bay.

Later in the day, we conducted a trash clean-up (as an experiment in true TFB fashion). We collected so much trash and sorted it into burnables and non-burnables. Our experiment hoped to characterize the trash at different sites along the shore of Middle Caye as well as the general efficiency of collection at each site. We spent the entire afternoon planning out our experiment, conducting our experiment, measuring and sorting to collect data, and then making a poster and presenting it. We are hopeful that this data will help to inform future trash clean-up efforts! I also managed to get a really cute, homecoming-style picture of TFBs lined up on the stairs to wash our hands.

I gave my first presentation today! I presented my reef taxa (anemones, corallimorphs, and zoanthids), and I feel like it went really well. Everyone asked really great questions too!

Before dinner, Nate (a fellow TFB) placed a shell in front of a hermit crab for giggles. Not only did we have some giggles, but we also witnessed something incredible: the hermit crab switch shells! I was able to get it on video and am thrilled to have seen something so rare to catch.

I didn’t have any taxa sightings today, but my other sightings and experiences were more than captivating! Ruth also taught us so much about Belize at dinner! Best off-the-cuff topic lecture ever!

The fact that my eye has been twitching since around 2:00 pm is a clear sign that I am more than ready to get some rest. I’m ready to sleep as soundly as I can to appreciate my last full day on the reef tomorrow!

– McKenna

 

2022

Quadrats + Coral Graveyard

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I felt like such a tropical field biologist today (with training wheels of course). We started off the day with a land activity using transects and the quadrats that we made yesterday. Liliana and I got some practice using the gear and with the methodology by gathering data to characterize what percentage of the measured area had evidence of hermit crab movement through the sand. Here is a photo! (The square is the quadrat, the line is the transect, and the orange rectangle is a very fancy dive clipboard)

Then, all of the TFBs put our heads together and came up with a question to test with this procedure out in the seagrass beds. We chose to investigate how the density of penicillus (a green algae) changes with the distance from the shore. We decided on a uniform methodology and got to work! I saw a lot of warty corallimorphs and great Caribbean sea anemones in the seagrass beds! After we collected our data in the water, we came back to the wet lab and compiled our data. We all made a poster that reflected the entire experiment, including results, discussion, and figures (one of which is a taped-on penicillus in a quadrat heart).

While working in the wet lab, I ate some freshly husked coconut as a snack!

Later in the day, we went to what Adrienne called the “coral graveyard,” and which she also described as “the most amazing place on the planet.” It really was amazing! The field of coral skeleton rubble was extremely well-preserved, and we were able to identify a lot of the species! One thing that I was particularly excited about was seeing and correctly identifying Montastraea cavernosa fragments. I took Adrienne’s coral reef ecosystems class, and my semester-long research proposal centered around this coral. It was so gratifying to get to hold a piece of its skeleton framework!

Besides the few sightings I got in during our penicillus data collection, I didn’t have a lot of time or opportunities to focus on my taxonomic group today. However, I am now so much better at recognizing great Caribbean anemones and warty corallimorphs!

Although my collection of mosquito bites has grown to be rather impressive, I can’t wait to get more if that means I can have more days like this!

– McKenna

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Day 5: Our First Poster Day

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Blog Post #5

Day 5: Our First Poster Day

Written on May 20that 6:17 am

 

DISCLAIMER: Las Cuevas was supposed to have internet—right now, it isn’t working. All LCRS posts from the rainforest will be posted after the fact!

 

Well May 19thwas a day for the books! We were tasked with our first project that we were to start and finish in one day. We were attempting to look at new pioneer plant biodiversity in hurricane gaps with tree regrowth vs not.  However, the hurricane gaps (tree fall areas induced by hurricanes) were so dense that we couldn’t enter the forest with the methodology we had created. So, we just ended up looking at plant biodiversity in hurricane gaps vs. forest.

We collected leaf samples from 10 different plots and then sorted them into morphospecies (categories of leaves that we think looked like the same species, not rooted in actual knowledge). It appeared to us that there was no significant difference between the two—had 30 morphospecies in gaps vs 28 in forest. We made a very lovely poster, and Scott thoroughly enjoyed our presentation.

After that, I gave my presentation on Amphibians! Everyone really liked my Frog and Toad slide especially. We had hoped it would rain so that there would be frogs out during our night hike, but unfortunately, it did not. We could hear frogs but unfortuantely couldn’t see them. I don’t think my eagle eye spotting was the best, and I was still somewhat confused by the calls of amphibians vs. insects, so the sound was hard to follow.

However, we did see lots of nocturnal reptiles including mud turtles, a red backed coffee snake, and a banded gecko! I also really enjoyed listening to the insect chorus of communication throughout the night. And I even had a chance to feel like Newt Scamander when I held a stick bug that looked a lot like a Bowtruckle! 🙂