Tag Archives: snorkel

2022, Uncategorized

First Snorkel!

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After naturally waking up to birds and sun, we got our snorkeling stuff ready for our first trip on the water. Right on the dock, I was struck by the number of fish I could see! There were large fish in close proximity to one another with their fins out of the water, and their was an enormous school of small minor sized fish everywhere! When I got in the water I felt like the whale shark in the aquarium with all the sardines parting around it.

In the reef, we found astounding and dynamic “patch reefs” or structures of chorals, sponges, fish, etc, among the sea of seagrass in the lagoon of the atoll. I was struck by the 3-dimensional variety of shapes and sizes of organisms! Some highlights included seeing a lion fish and a small barracuda.

Dr. Correa also helped me pick a green algae from among the sea grass. I had seen the type of algae she picked but had been initially confused as I thought they were fuzzy spheres on sticks like lollipops. However, they were actually Bristle ball brush algae with rounded tops, a genus called Penicillus I did have on my taxonomic card when we got back! I was able to use the guidebook in the station to identify it as Penicillus Dumetosus mainly through the shape of the top which was much longer than wide and flat on top.

I also saw lots of Halimeda green algae mostly on top of the patch reefs characterized by long chains of roundish segments. Again using the guide books I think it was Halimida goreari as the segments seemed to match the shape and size description best of flattened 2.5-6mm wide segments.

After that we also did a scavenger hunt to practice being in the water with clipboards and cameras in another part of the atoll that was much shallower and sandier. I saw some green algae that appeared to a type of Caulerpa (sea grapes) and Udotea (Mermaid’s fan), but I plan to look at the pictures more closely to get the exact species tomorrow!

2022

Beware the Mangroves of Death

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Today was the first snorkeling day!

We started out by snorkeling in the area by the dock, to make sure everyone was comfortable. We then moved to a patch reef further out, and we saw a lot of cool organisms, including some Christmas tree worms, huge brain coral, a corallimorph, some lionfish, and some lobsters. And even more exciting than that-lots of white scroll algae (padina jamaicensis) and sargassum (I did not identify it, but it sure was floating)!  Afterwards we came back to the wet lab and constructed quadrats- 3×3 foot pvc pipe frames with strings woven across to form crosshairs. We will be using the quadrats to measure stuff in the field, starting tomorrow.

After lunch we had a vote-either to return to the patch reefs we had gone to this morning, or go to a new area, through the Mangroves of Death (MOD). The professor’s kids (who are along for the ride, I don’t know if I mentioned that) provided a very convincing argument, including the threat of crabs in our rooms if we did not choose the new area. So a landslide vote was probably expected, even considering the risks. We suited up in our snorkeling gear, including our masks, and then ran through the mangrove forest to the reef. At first it was fine, but then we began to feel the pinches of the mosquitoes biting through the dive skin. We had been descended upon by the mosquitoes of the MOD! We ran faster until we finally made it into the water. Not one person was left unbitten.

We then had an enjoyable experience in the patch reef, looking for the organisms or interactions listed on our scavenger hunt pages. Some notable things we saw were a sea urchin and many species of colorful fish.

When we were done, we were presented with the option of either running back through the MOD, or snorkeling. The choice was obvious. While snorkeling back, we saw many orange sponges, some anemones, a yellow ray, and a shark among the sea grass! All around, snorkeling back was the right choice.

We then listened to our classmates present their topics and taxa, and then we split for the night.

Overall, the patch reefs had so much to offer, and I’m looking forward to exploring them more! Also tune in tomorrow, I heard we’re going somewhere deemed “Un-Belizeable!”

-Elena

ps. happy birthday Hugh!!

pps. sorry for the bad photo quality-I can’t easily download the pictures from the digital camera to my computer :'(

picture one is part of the group, picture two is the shark, picture three is y-branched algae (dictyota cyliolata), picture four is white scroll algae (padina jamaicensis) and an unidentified brown algae, and picture five is the kids and their hermit crab empire (under each coconut shell is a hermit crab)!

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The First of Many (quadrats)

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May 23rd, 2019

So surprise, I figured out that I’m used to having breakfast at 6:00 am (we did most days at Las Cuevas) because I woke up at 6:34 and had a mini heart attack thinking that I was 34 minutes late to breakfast. After my initial panic, I got up for a good breakfast and we started the day in the classroom explaining transect techniques to use when underwater in conjunction with the quadrat (square grid made of pbc pipe and string). To practice, we went to a apart of the island that was littered with dead coral amongst other things, and tallied up the amount of coral vs. other.

 

After lunch, and waiting for the wind to calm down, we went into the water and swam to nearby seagrass beds to see if we could quantify community changes using quadrats. This involved counting the seagrass, algae, and neither. Once done, the group was asked if we wanted to swim to a patch reef so of course I immediately said yes. Upon approaching the reef, our instructor pointed out a brown Nurse Shark laying under an overhang. After snorkeling around for a but, I began to see some herbivorous fish. I saw a brown Ocean Surgeonfish swimming amongst the coral heads and a bright yellow, juvenile Three Spotted Damselfish, it has single spots on its dorsal, caudal, and tail fins. It looked like it was picking at some algae and seemed to stay on that coral head, which could mean it was tending to an algal garden although this is usually done by adults. It could have just been eating the algae.

Living the dream

 

We ended the day with presentations on echinoderms (sea stars, brittle stars, sea urchins, and sea cucumbers), red and green algae, and an overview of mangroves and their importance to coral reefs.

 

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Pre-departure blog

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All of my snorkeling gear and the giant rubber boots

After the slog of finals its finally time to head on a two week trip to Belize to the Las Cuevas research station and Glover’s reef. I really hope to see first hand what research in these environments is like, as I’m very interested in eventually pursuing a career in Marine Biology. Furthermore, I’m really interested to see if I can identify rainforest animals with limited resources. I’d also like to learn how to quickly identify an animal in the field using the i.d cards, which I’ve never had to do because I’ve always had access to a database.

I’ve prepared by reading more about the biodiversity of the rainforest as well as trying to identify certain species of birds that I see in my backyard (most of which are house sparrows and robins).

The one thing that I’m nervous about is caving. I’ve never actually been in a cave before so I’m not sure how I’ll react to the confined space or seeing cave crickets. I’ve had some experience in the tropics, mainly snorkeling in the Cayman Islands which are very close to Belize.

 

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I Am Utterly Exhausted

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May 22, 2019

Today was a doozy. We had a three hour boat ride to Glover’s Reef this morning. It was a small motor boat speeding across three hours worth of ocean, so it was more like a three hour rollercoaster.

Once we made it to Glover’s, we immediately had a tour of the island, then lunch, and then our first snorkel. We couldn’t stay out for long because the current was strong, but Liz and I made it out to the patch reef, which was beautiful. I’m so excited to go out there again.

Closer to shore, we spotted many upside-down jellyfish (Cassiopeia xamachana) – a scyphozoan from my taxon ID card!!! These jellyfish are particularly interesting because they often rest on the ocean floor upside down with their tentacles in the air such that they look like harmless plants.

We went out again later to a different area of the reef. This area was much more shallow, which made it harder to navigate. This wasn’t ideal because there were many fire coral. I noticed both branching fire coral (Millipore alcicornis) and blade fire coral (Millipore complanate). These hydrozoans are actually not coral at all and can cause a nasty sting with their nematocysts.

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Quadrats, not quadrants!

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Day 1 of Beach Days, 5/23.

My day began in the savanna cabanas of the tropical education center and it is about to end in a hammock on the Middle Caye of Glover’s Atoll. The view has changed drastically. Compared to the 100 meter visibility in the savanna, my view here at Glover’s is only cut short by the horizons. In this grand view, I see faraway lightning that may be associated with a brewing tropical storm. But because it is likely more than hundreds of miles away, I cannot hear the thunder.

This is our first day at the beach and it has mostly felt like vacation. We travelled to a marina in Belize City to catch a 3-hour boatride to Glover’s. On the way we saw the difference between deep and shallow water, and a myriad of other islands in the area. One constant object I observed was the availability of Sargassum on the ocean surface, some of which were cut up by the motors on our boat. Before I knew exactly what I was looking at, Scott and Jessica yelled out to me asking me to identify the green floating algae. With the amount of intensity and excitement they yelled at me, I understood it must have been something obvious: they are the Sargassum seaweed that has been infesting many coral reef areas, outcompeting many other species of corals and causing their decline. They are a group of brown algae that utilizes fouaxin to photosynthesize which gives them a slightly redder and browner color, although they also have the green pigments that come with chlorophyll. They are also the only species of red and brown algae that has air bladders, allowing them to trap air within the organism.

After arrival, we practiced snorkelling, a follow up to to first practice we had on campus in the recreational pools. This time we were surrounded by bone fish, nurse sharks, stingrays, corals, and jellyfish. The most difficult aspect of this practice was not touching things we should’t touch: corals, stingray and wildlife in general. Compared to the rainforest, where we were able to put our hands on almost anything that we were able to catch, the corals here are very fragile and many animals here are hidden and able to be aroused if touched, such as stingrays. With the construction of marine-use guadrats, we will be exploring and initiating contact with corals and perhaps a Echinoderm or two. The key is to not destroy the wildlife and no let the wildlife destroy us.

Stay tuned to find out how to best place quadrats on corals!

 

 

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Last Day?

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I’m sitting in the pleathery seat of a Southwest flight. It’s certainly strange to not be spending the day in the water. We did this morning, but now, not even being on land, but catapulted into the air, is discombobulating.

This morning’s snorkel was my favorite of the entire trip. We took the boat out with our two amazing tour guides (Herbie and Javier) to Twin Peaks. This is the name of a caye that is made up of mangroves and is separated into two pieces by a sea inlet. We walked through a portion of the land. This was quite difficult due to uneven ground hidden under a layer of seawater. We were falling into holes left and right. I fell in one that went all the up to my mid-thigh.

The best part, however, was when we got to snorkel through the inlet. I was shocked as to the community complexity that was happening on the roots of the red mangrove trees. (Unfortunately, the reign of the soft corals was over. I didn’t see any today.) The sponge symbiosis was so obvious. It was amazing to see something that was mentioned in both a taxonomic briefing and a topic lecture actually flourishing out in the field. The fact that the mangrove is an understudied ecosystem makes me even more interested in it. What if I end up there, studying evolution?

Our other stop of the day made the idea of continuing my studies out in Belize that much more attractive. We visited the Smithsonian research station. Despite being on an island that is only an acre, the facilities were beautiful. I can definitely see myself returning in some capacity. At the same time, there is so much of the world to be examined under the lens of evolution.

 

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Back to reality

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Even on our way to the airport we managed to squeeze in one last snorkel. This time we went to the mangroves and swam around their roots, which many organisms use as a substrate to grow on. Fish also use mangroves as a nursery where they are fairly sheltered from larger predators. Upside-down jellies bobbed along the bottom of the sea bed and fire sponge glowed orange through the murky water.

I finally saw the magnificent feather duster, recognizable by its larger size and double crown of radioles. Their tubes were attached to the mangrove roots, among the encrusting algae, sponges and hydroids. They were various shades of brown and white and tucked their filter-feeding radioles into their tubes if you touched them. Unlike the other feather dusters I’ve seen, they didn’t tuck their radioles in all the way, and the tips of the crown poked out of the tube. I am guessing this is because they are too big to fit all the way in.

Time has never passed so quickly as it did on this trip. We were so busy and there was so much to do and see that the two weeks were over before I knew it. I was never bored for a second. Being back in Houston is so strange and claustrophobic. I already miss the fresh air and pristine nature. I’d take that over clean laundry any day!

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Sophia Streeter

5/31

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Sharks and corals and rays, oh my

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Today checked two more things off my Belize wishlist—sharks and rays. We had seen some smaller stingrays around but today, snorkeling on the fore-reef, we saw a huge spotted eagle ray gliding underneath us. Then, during our drift snorkel a nurse shark came and swam under us three separate times. It was a dream come true. We also had the opportunity to see the stag horn and elk horn corals that have been mostly destroyed over the last decade. There have been so many times during this trip that I was blown away by the things we have gotten to see or do. Truly a once in a lifetime opportunity.

The first two snorkel excursions were a little too deep for me to find many annelids but on our short trip out to the back-reef I found three split crown feather dusters. There were also spaghetti worms buried into cracks and crevices all over the place. There has been fire coral fairly evenly dispersed over every reef we’ve been to, both the branching and bladed formations. Looking forward to more christmas tree worms!

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Sophia Streeter

5/28

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Comparative study

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We leveled up today on our length and difficulty of our snorkeling projects. We visited patch reefs inside and outside the protected area and did transects for comparison. We also collected sea urchins in a 25 minute period, then measured and ID’ed them. Compared to the no-take zone, the unprotected zone had drastically fewer urchins, which starts to give you an idea of the breadth of human impact on some of these reefs.

To be honest, I got a little distracted during the urchin collected period because there were so many worms around! I saw about 20 christmas tree worms, two social feather dusters and one split-crown feather duster. They’re really beautiful little things. There was one coral in particular covered by about 10 christmas tree worms in a variety of colors—from blue-grey to yellow to orangeish-brown. If you wave your hand in front of them they tuck themselves inside their tube to hide, then slowly reemerge after a moment. There will be pictures to come.

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Sophia Streeter

5/27