Tag Archives: West Indian sea egg

2022

Day 5: More Taxa Sightings & Reef Conservation

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In the morning, we traveled by boat to more marine protected areas to continue our coral health research project and conduct more sea urchin gathering/counting (I discovered that it is very fun to hold sea urchins and not scary at all :D).  We also caught our second lionfish of the day! Yay!

I also noticed a beautiful and healthy branching fire coral (millepora alcicornis). It dawned on me that despite a few stag horn corals in the area that it was one of the only branching hard coral left healthy on this reef. I could see fish and sea urchins all around it! It’s so important to our coral reef ecosystem!

I also saw my first star horse-shoe worm (pomatostegus stellatus)! It was bright orange and very sensitive to my water movement, but I finally managed to get a picture! You can tell it’s a star horseshoe worm by it’s U-shaped crown radiole, but it’s hard to see in this picture.

Below is another cool Christmas tree worm!

Later when snorkeling just off of Glover’s Atoll for our optional snorkel, I saw a pufferfish (pictured below) and a stingray with my snorkel buddy Faith. I also spotted a lionfish and alerted the group, but unfortunately we could not catch this invasive species.

I also saw some a new species of worm called spaghetti worms (eupolymnia crassicornis)! They usually live in holes in the sand or in coral and they have long (< 18 inches) thin noodle-like tentacles which help them to catch food! I was surprised to see so many since they usually live on or under the sand which makes them hard to see. If you lightly touch their tentacles it will retract which is so cool to see. I love annelids.

Later that night, we had a guest lecture from the manager of Glover’s Research Station, Rafael. He told us that this was one of the only places in the Caribbean that is dedicated to preserving pristine reefs. There is not commercial fishing in this area, and fishermen willing to break this rule face these thousands of dollars in fines- some can even face jail time. If a large amount of fish that is illegally caught and dead, all the fish will eventually be donated to humanitarian nonprofits such as orphanages. There has only been 4 infractions in 2022 so far. Three people are stationed on Glover’s Atoll which include the manager, ranger, and marine biologist and these people enforce the laws. Since there is limited staff, some times the  Coast Guard will also assist when there is trouble. The Glover’s Reef Staff has maintained good relations with the local fishermen and some of these fishermen will report illegal fishing that they see.  Rafael told us he saw a shift of thinking towards sustainable fishing for the local people as although fishing is a necessity for providing for their families they also want to preserve their reefs. Glover’s Reef Research Station has assisted the Wild Life Conservation Society in many surveys such as:  turtle egg surveys, lobster surveys, stony coral tissue loss disease surveys, and conch surveys.

It’s very cool to see these conservation efforts and I hope I can contribute in any small way! Peace and love from Belize.

~ Maegan

(this is such a beautifully cut mango that I felt needed to be highlighted :p)

2022

urchins upon urchins upon sea eggs

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Today, in contrast with yesterday, did start out with urchins! Bright and early in the morning we headed out to a patch reef in the MPA to collect data for our research question. Afterwards, we collected urchins for the urchin hunt, and gathered a whopping 52 urchins at the first patch reef, plus one West Indian Sea Egg that I named Harry. We had three slate pencil urchins and 49 E. virdis urchins. We went to another MPA and collected more data, and more urchins. This time around, we got 57! All of them were E. virdis. I also found another sea egg, which I named Sally. I have faith that the two of them will cross the atoll and find each other eventually 🙂 Overall, it was a great morning for echinoderms (the species including urchins, sea stars, sea cucumbers, etc), as we also came across multiple brittle stars and two sea cucumbers!

Harry the west indian sea egg
Sally the west indian sea egg, covered in sea grass

In both MPA patch reefs, I was on the lookout for brown algae. I saw a lot of the saucer leaf algae (turbinaria tricostata) and white scroll algae (padina jamaicensis). I also saw some really cool y-branching algae that had some vibrant blue branches, which I believe to be dictyota menstrualis. Also, I finally figured out what the brown algae clumps were that I couldn’t identify! I believe it to be padina gymnospora, a species related to the white scroll algae. This variety had been covering the reef patch in the MPA that we saw yesterday, so it was nice to figure that out.

dictyota menstrualis (the brown y-branches and the blue y-branches toward the center)

In the afternoon, we went on a “for fun” snorkel in the reef flats. We came across a reef that was mostly algae, but had some sparse coral and lots of fish varieties! We came across three lionfish, but none of them were caught, unfortunately. We did spear one earlier, bringing the current lionfish count to two. Also, fun fact lion fish catching is the only kind of fishing allowed in the conservation zone, since it is an invasive species!

There were also several giant lobsters, yellow jacks, damsel fish, parrot fish, and angel fish! One of the areas was like a fish highway, which was cool to see, in spite of the reef not really being a true coral reef anymore. As I mentioned, the reef area was mostly algal-dominated, and there was rotting sargassum covering a lot of the reef floor. As the sea weed rots, it releases nutrients in the water, which actually promotes more algal growth, rather than coral growth. The fact that there was healthy coral there at all was quite impressive.

But that was about it for today! Tomorrow, we will most likely be either going to the forereef or a non-MPA to do more research, and then we will be doing some sort of land activity. I will let you know tomorrow!

-Elena

a whole lotta brown algae
Sophia taking data from the quadrat
2022

Fire Coral – What Doesn’t Kill You Makes You Stronger (Reef Day 4)

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Today is the day that my hand, neck, and snorkel mask tans are so defined that they are becoming obvious. We started the day fast and strong TFB-style by hopping into a boat to collect more data for our coral/urchin experiment in two different MPA patch reefs.

The first MPA reef we went to had the best conditions for data collection by far for me and Liliana. The depth (5-6 ft) was perfect, the current was light, and the non-outrageous amount of sea fans helped tremendously with the quadrats. However, I did encounter a challenge at this location. When I was floating and writing on my clipboard, I drifted into a !!*FIRE CORAL*!! It brushed against my elbows and forearms and caused a burning sting. It wasn’t unbearable and went away after 30 minutes, but I have learned to always be on the watch for these vengeful creatures.

^ This is the culprit coral 🙁

The second MPA location was a little more shallow, so this made data collection harder, but the urchin collection led to so many cool finds. One of which was a new taxa discovery! When turning river pieces of coral rubble in search of urchins, I found a red beaded anemone! I was so excited to find a new anemone, and I got a picture of it (the urchin next to it was shortly collected).

I also got to hold a West Indian sea egg! This hedgehog of the sea was named Sally, and she was very adorable and spiny.

Later in the day, we went on a swim just for fun on the lagoon side of the reef crest. This was anemone haven! I saw so many Giant Caribbean anemones; sadly, some of them were bleached. On a happier note, I also got a new taxa sighting here! Encrusted on the side of a mound coral, I found a mat zoanthid colony! The tiny polyps (<1cm) were blue/green and curled up into domes when disturbed. Yay zoanthids!

After dinner, we listened to two guest lectures from the Belize Fisheries Department and Belize Coast Guard. I have so much respect for all that is being done to protect and conserve the ocean and its resources.

Today was extremely productive to the point where I am struggling to finish writing this blog. I look forward to going to bed and having my recurring dream (only started a few days ago for some reason) of going snorkeling and turning into a mermaid. Maybe my dream behind-the-scenes is super inspired by mermaid Ruth!

– McKenna

2022

The Best Place on Earth (Day 3)

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Hi all, it’s Faith with Day 3 updates from the 2022 Belize trip!!!

Today we started off with a new activity where we learned how to use the quadrats and transect tapes.  On the reefs, quadrats are used for making standardized measurements while fighting the wave currents. You can count them using  the individual squares or their cross-sections!!! We took on two tasks, one as a duo and one as a whole group, that challenged us to use quadrats and transect tapes to answer a scientific question.

As a pair, Maegan and I tried to measure the heights and widths of young palms (we called them coconut palms because they still grow out of coconuts) on the Glover’s island, but Dr. Correa told us to change it, so we ended up measuring the volumes of two random coconut palms. We used the transect tape as a tool to decrease the bias in our samples, and we used the qaudrats squares as a unit of measurement.

After this test-run, our entire group created a scientific question, hypothesis, and procedure for collecting data. Here are the details:

Our question was, “How does the density of the green algae Penicillium change with distance from the dock?” Our hypothesis was that the density decreased because “algae are light dependent and nutrient depended,” and we *assumed* that there was more light and nutrients towards the shore.  For our actual experiment, our pairs lined up horizontally at the doc, and then layed out 100ft of transect tape in a line straight ahead of us. Then, every 10 feet we counted the number of Penicillium in 1 quadrats range on either side of the transect tape. Our findings actually conflicted with our hypothesis because the distance with the highest Penicillium density was actually 80ft away! We concluded that our hypothesis may be wrong because 1) seagrass was outcompeteing the algae in shallower waters, 2) the waters by the shore might not be more nutrient rich or provide more light, and 3) we may have gotten better at finding the algae the more we practiced (therefore reporting more at deeper depths). However, we kinda ruled out #3 because Maegan and I did the experiment backwards, and even though we reported the algae from 100ft to 0 ft, our data aligned with the trend (we found 6 Penicillium at 80ft. which was our highest density). Another group also did a backwards collection and had similar data. To finish off this trial research, the professors made us present it just like I said it to you now!!! So, look below for pictures of our beautiful poster!

Then data collection dive was challenging in many ways. I found out how difficult data collection is because of the currents and carrying materials. Because of this, I ended up leaving my camera behind, so of course, the worst thing happened– 2 echinoderms showed up! First, Professor Correa brought me a Oreaster reticulatus more commonly known as a cushion sea star. I was not sure where she found him, but I assume it was in the sea grass where we were collecting data. I had a difficult time identifying this star because it had pillow-star depth, but the spines were the same color as the bodice and the legs lacked a prominent “fused” appearance. Most guides show pictures where their spines are lighter than the bodice color and their legs are very fused. Nevertheless, I got to hold him and feel his spiny tube feet prick my fingers. Because I didn’t have my camera, someone else took my photo, so hopefully I’ll be able to get the picture and upload it for the next blog!

Next, I saw a West Indian Sea Egg (Tripneustes ventricosus) just sitting in the sea grass, but Ruth, our marine safety guide, picked him up before I could. So, alas, I did not get to name him “Fluffy,” and I cannot cross this off of my goals list! Anyways, we got to see the interesting sea urchin suction mouths because he suctioned to us while we held him. Shortly after seeing him, messing around with plastic-bag jellyfish, and trying to grab upside-down jellyfish, we went inside for lunch.

For our last activity of the day, Dr. Correa brought us to “the best place on Earth” where we identified washed-up coral skeletons based on their coralite and polyp structures. It was a very informative talk, but I don’t think I can cover it all here. You’ll just have to visit the coral graveyard yourself with a coral guidebook! I did go a littttttllllleeeee conch crazy and collected every conch that had color in it (about 5 or so). I also found a walking stick!!!

Till tomorrow!

Quotes of the Day:

“This place is amazing!!! *points at coral* And this is Agaricia”

“Signing off in another language would be a very suburban mom thing to do, ‘like I learned a few new words today’ would be too ‘mom’ of me”

West Indian Sea Egg (sadly not named Fuzzy)
Tripneustes ventricosus
Our presentation poster with a quadrat heart <3
Labeling Coral from the coral graveyard
Fossilized Palm Roots from the coral graveyard. This one stumpted us at first; we knew it wasn’t a coral. All we could do was ask Prof. Solomon, “Is this a land thing?” We found out what it was by finding dead palm roots that looked very similar.
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Day 11: Sea Hedgehogs

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I’m pretty sure that anyone reading my posts is kind of tired of me starting all of them with something like “OMG TODAY WAS SO AWESOME,” but seriously, today was so awesome, and I don’t even like the word awesome. It’s such a boring, generic word, but I can’t think of anything else that accurately sums up my feelings.

This morning, we headed out to the fore reefs (area outside of the lagoon) beside one of the cayes nearby, as well as a fore reef beside the island that we’re staying on. The fore reef was much deeper than the places we previously visited, maybe ~30 ft deep. The current was much stronger here than in areas we’d visited before, but I actually really enjoyed bobbing up and down on the waves (shout out to my dad for teaching me to swim)!

The benthos was covered with coral rubble, live hard and soft corals, and all forms of fish. If I listened carefully, I could hear colorful parrotfish crunching at the coral below. I spotted a southern stingray rippling along the floor and a Nassau Grouper, which is a highly protected endangered species of fish.   AhhhhHHH watching a healthy coral reef teeming with life makes the heart happy 🙂

Coral reefs make a great photo op!

After stuffing ourselves with homemade pizza for lunch, we headed out for my favorite part of the day: sea urchin collection! As the resident Echinodermata expert on this trip, I was kind of obliged to geek out about them. But really, sea urchins are so fascinating that I didn’t even have to pretend.

We headed out to the same shallow patch reef that we visited two days ago. This patch reef is inside what’s known as a Marine Protected Area, which is an area in which harvesting is prohibited but recreational activity is allowed. We got 25 minutes to search for and catch as many sea urchins as we could with the goal of comparing the urchins we found in the MPA to the ones we found later when we visited the non-MPA.

Those little guys were so hard to catch. They’re super spiny and like to hide in inaccessible reef crevices as well as under rocks. There’s a technique to catch them easily, but it requires extreme precision and lack of fear of stabbing oneself with a spine, neither of which I possess. You just have to reach in, grab a spine, and jerk sharply – but if you don’t dislodge the urchin on the first try, it’ll become almost impossible to grab. Its tube feet will reach out and suction to the rock when it senses danger.

I learned how to catch the urchins pretty quickly! I caught so many reef urchins and slate pencil urchins by turning over pieces of coral debris and picking them off the benthos below. They were adorable, especially the baby ones that were smaller than a centimeter in diameter!!

A bonus of turning over coral debris was that we found so many brittle stars, which are another type of Echinoderm. I know for sure that I saw at least 2 spiny ophiocomas and many Suenson’s brittle stars, but there were many others that I could not identify. They wriggled away and dropped their arms too quickly.

A tiny green brittle star that I couldn’t identify. 

I think the catch of the day was a West Indian Sea Egg that Claire found at the MPA patch reef. It was 9 cm in diameter and had a dark purple body covered with short white spines.

Here I am holding the West Indian sea egg that Claire found! Isn’t it cute?  What an egg. 

When we got back to the island and after we finished dinner and lectures, we raced crabs that we caught on the island! We dubbed it “Crab Derby,” or “Dermit Crab Race.” Each of us caught either a Caribbean Blue Crab or a hermit crab, lined them up, and let them race towards a finish line.

Once the starting time was called, there was a sudden cacophony of screams of encouragement as each of us egged on our crabs. I’m proud to announce that my hermit crab, Georgiano, won second place! He made me so proud :’)

I’ll be awake again bright and early for another packed day tomorrow, so good night!

2017, Uncategorized

Day 5: Human Impact (05/20/2017)

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This morning, my class and I explored one of Glover’s backreefs, noting densities of Christmas tree worms (Genus Spirobranchus).

A beige Christmas tree worm on a hard coral

While my own data collection was less than fruitful, the outing marked a major victory for me as a tropical field biologist. I encountered interesting echinoderms like a donkey dung sea cucumber (Holothuria Mexicana) in a sea grass bed and a West Indian sea egg (Tripneustes ventricosus) partially covered with algae. Both were neither in motion nor interacting with other animals. My most memorable sighting was a Caribbean reef squid (Sepioteuthis sepioidea) swimming by.

I swam after the squid for a while, trying to get a better look. The animal was iridescent and translucent, a visual schema difficult to describe with an ordinary color pallet. There is something about the ocean that compels organisms to take on the most astounding colors and sheens; it’s simply breathtaking.

This same day, my classmate Isaac gave a presentation about the expansiveness and damaging ecological impact marine debris can have. My class also spent the afternoon collecting and measuring the debris accumulation from some of the shores of Middle Caye, which lies adjacent to a protected marine area. In my ordinary life back home, I contribute little to resolve this issue. Like most Americans, my status quo involves unbridled consumerism. An ordinary shopping trip involves buying excessively packaged goods from an energy-inefficient grocery store and taking them home in a disposable plastic bag. It is both interesting and unacceptable that such an irresponsible course of action is deemed ordinary in American society.

Despite how ingrained reckless consumerist behavior is, conservation and preservation of ocean creatures is non-negotiable.

Every living thing deserves a chance to not only survive but to thrive. Waste accumulation in our oceans, the direct result of human negligence, strips many living things of their chance for survival. For the long-term wellbeing of all living things, from reef squids to the human race, communities need to make thoughtful decisions regarding their own waste production and disposal.

Literally, the fate of the world depends on it.