Monthly Archives: May 2016

2016

Tough Love

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Our last day here on the reef has been a little sad for me. I will absolutely be coming back here at some point in my life, but leaving tomorrow is gonna be difficult for me.

We started the day by wandering around in the back reef and collecting biodiversity in a bucket so we could identify it. I identified a species of chiton (the fuzzy chiton) and some genus of snails (cerithium and trochus snails). We also found a donkey dung sea cucumber, some box jellies, some huge hermit crabs that were using queen conch shells, and a few mantis shrimp.

As we were collecting stuff I got stung by something on my elbow and it was hurting for the next couple hours. Eventually it calmed down, but I’m still not sure what stung me. Possibly some kind of jelly.

In the afternoon we dissected lion fish to look at their size and the contents of their stomachs. Then we made lion fish ceviche which we will be eating any minute now.

After the lion fish dissection, we boated over to south-west caye and had a few drinks and watched the sun set. This place is so beautiful that it’s impossible to describe in pictures or words. I sat and watched the stars for awhile on the dock and thought about how amazing it would be to see this many stars every night. I’m gonna miss this when I got back to Houston. Despite the stings, bug bites, rashes, and layers of dirt and salt, I would love to spend huge quantities of my life here.

2016

Day 14: All my favourite seafood

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This morning we got to go back out to the back reef again. Except this time we came armed with ziplock bags and buckets to collect samples of our taxonomic groups. It was a pretty exciting time for me when we took our catches back to the wet lab to examine and ID because there were a lot of crustaceans. There were about 5 Mantis Shrimps, some were green and some were brown. One was almost 3 inches long. There were also a bunch of different crabs. There were loads of Reef Hermit Crabs, a couple of Stone Crabs and maybe a Mangrove Crab. We found two Blue Crabs, they didn’t like each very much. We couldn’t put them together in the same trough.

In the afternoon we got to dissect the 4 Lionfish that Scott caught. For a fish that is supposed to be able to eat a lot it didn’t have a lot of guts. Its organs were a lot smaller than I expected. We only found a tiny little fish under 2cm in its stomach. Everyone else’s fish stomaches only had mush in it. After we gutted the fish, the guys from the fisheries department took the meat to make ceviche for us. Still waiting to eat it.

Late in the afternoon, we took a boat to Southwest Caye. As the sun was setting and I was sipping pina colada, it dawned on me that today was the last full day we have. Time is, as always, paradoxically slow and fast. The past two weeks seemed to have disappeared. I’m not ready to go back to the real world. I’m not ready to leave this paradise. This experience is more than I could have asked for and more than I ever expected. So yes my vacation is going good, and yes you’ll be getting postcards from Randy.

-Randy

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2016

(Nakian) May 30: Dissection x Lionfish x Pina Colada

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Brown algae found today
Brown algae found today

Tonight is the last night in Belize. We went to the patch reef nearby our dorm and collected specimens in the morning. We found bunch of little crabs, a level 45 hermit crab (the biggest I have seen), bunch of algae, and played with conchs that tried to swath our hand away with their extended body. It was amazing to see so many different animals in such a shallow water. After that we returned to our coral colony project and concluded that colony coverage decreased.
In the afternoon we dissected lionfish, recording their weight, body length, gape size, body fat volume, and stomach content. Since we didn’t know the previous data we couldn’t make any conclusions but it was fun cutting up an invasive species. I am only waiting to taste the ceviche I heard they were making with the fish we dissected.
I collected the same 5 kinds of brown algae that I have seen while I was staying here: Sargassum, Dictyota, Turbinaria, Padina, and Lobophora. I couldn’t find any other and I concluded that these are the most common species in the region.
Before dinner we sailed to Southwest Caye, a resort island. We sat in a bar and drank pina colada by the dock under the sunset. After a amazing dinner, and watching the slideshow of our photo we have taken during this trip concluded our course very nicely.

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Wrapping up

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Our last day at Glovers has been bittersweet. We wrapped things up by collecting specimens from the backreef and bringing them into the wet lab for sorting and identification. While I did see several split crown feather dusters they are not the kind of thing you can remove from the reef without killing the organism because of how they attach to the substrate. However, we collected several fish, blue crabs, tiny brown crabs, all kinds of green, brown, and red algae, mantis shrimp, jellies, clam shells, and a huge hermit crab.

Yesterday we collected data on specific coral colonies for a long term study. We measured live coral coverage, and today we looked at the data for the same corals taken last year to compare the results. We found that coverage seemed to have decreased at the sites, but it was hard to tell because of discrepancies in data collection. Lastly, we dissected lionfish that were caught throughout the week to look at size, sex and stomach contents to get an idea of what the population of this invasive species looks like in Glovers atoll.

I wish I had more time on the reef and in this course. Middle caye and the surrounding reefs are beautiful and I feel like I could stay here for a long time. I may be salty, all my laundry is filthy, and I definitely have a whole new threshold for dirty, but I’m still happy as a clam.

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Sophia Streeter

5/30

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Day 14

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The day is done. I think that the entire group is in disbelief. It’s hard to imagine not living 24/7 with these thirteen people always around. I, really all of us, have become accustomed to our daily routine of rising early and exploring the different natural features of Belize. If it were up to me, we would explore the other major ecosystems of this country (the Maya Mountains and the savannah). I would also be interested to see how Belize City differs from Houston, Philadelphia, or other international cities.
Anyway, today was mostly spent quantifying biodiversity on the back reef near to the research station. This means that we spent the morning wading around the shallow area searching for any organism we could find. I was particularly proud of myself for finding a cute, small snail that crawled all of the way up my dive skin. I was less excited about the dead fish that Randy stuffed in my dive skin. We found a least five different types of green algae, a sea cucumber, a sponge, lots of brown algae, red algae, a French grunt, a yellowtail damselfish, a goby, a couple molluscs, and a couple of jellies.
On another note, I did not see that many examples of my taxonomic group. On the brief times that the water was deep enough for us to snorkel, I saw (shocker) a lot of sea fans (Gorgonia ventalina). In the end, I think that I have seen all of the soft coral on the Glover’s field guide. I wonder what the relatively high abundance of soft corals means for the hard corals, in terms of reef accretion. Anyway, this trip has opened up numerous future research topics. I hope to learn more about them in the upcoming semester at Rice.

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Lionfish, Day 14

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So today we went to the back reef for a very brief period in order to essentially say goodbye. I felt very sad swimming through the shallow patchy reef, realizing I won’t be on a reef until next year. I said goodbye to the stony corals. But as a last gift, I got to see four amazingly large queen triggerfish, and then I was content.

We traipsed through the shallow flats for a spell to find some interesting critters and organisms from our taxon assignments. Some of my favorite critters were the large hermit crab, the mantis shrimp, blue crab, and sargassum algae.

Then came the lion fish dissection. We caught a total of four lionfish. We weighed the lionfish, measured total length and standard length, had the spines cut off by Adrienne, measured the gape width and height, and then dissected the fish. Specifically, we wanted to look at stomach contents, weigh the fatty parts of the fish, and then sex the fish. My group had trouble finding the gonads, so we couldn’t sex the fish.

After that, we went to Southwester Caye for a fun excursion and then packed up and headed to bed.

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Lionfish, taken shortly before being speared
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Last full day

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The last night of our trip came too quickly. This atoll we came to so many days ago still doesn’t feel like a real place to me. It’s like this has all been a never-ending movie. Despite that it will end tomorrow. We will pull into Rice tomorrow night and it will all be over.

Enough sentimentality though, let me recap the day. Morning was spent returning to a very special spot on the back reef to collect specimens for a final display of marine organisms. Algae, crustaceans, and even box jellies were all represented in this summary of our taxa. I found a sponge in this area of the reef but was unable to identify it. It was soft, green, and encrusting but it didn’t look like any of the sponges from the Glover’s ID guide.

After the last of the lecture topics, we analyzed the data collected yesterday on percent cover of live coral on colonies measured last year in order to basically start a longitudinal study. This would be a great opportunity to look at coral colonies over the years and how they change in shape and size.

The afternoon was spent dissecting lionfish we had caught this week at the various sites we visited on the reef. Sam and I had the littlest guy, which was too immature to determine its sex. But we did open up its stomach and reveal a gross fish mush. I don’t know. It was gross but in the end we got to use the filets to make ceviche so it was all worth it.

I’m trying to make the most of these last dozen or so hours here at Glover’s. I think exploring the island a little more is in order. Sleep will certainly not come easily tonight despite the work we’ve been putting in all day. I can’t let this experience slip by too quickly.

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Sunrise + Lionfish + Tourist Tiki

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Hi everyone! The sunrise was absolutely beautiful today. The 4:45 am wake-up was definitely worth seeing the sun peeking through the clouds on one side of the island and a perfect rainbow in the sky on the other. I’m going to try and watch it again tomorrow before we leave. 🙂

The rainbow gently curving out of the clouds
The rainbow gently curving out of the clouds
A sensational sunrise
A sensational sunrise

This morning was spent in the back reef collecting as much biodiversity as we would find and analyzing the health of some corals that had been measured last year to see if the number of live colonies had increased. While we were at the back reef, some exciting things happened. I identified both some live red heart urchins (Meoma ventricosa) and their empty tests in the sand among the seagrass as well as a few more donkey dung sea cucumbers (Holothuria mexicana). I also saw a chocolate chip sea cucumber (Isostichopus badionotus); all of these sea cucumbers were also in patches of sand between coral colonies. The other news I have to share from the patch reef was my sting from an anemone, which burned like fire for a while but now has reduced to a dull throb (tip from the locals: soak stings in vinegar).

What once housed a red heart urchin (Meoma ventricosa)
What once housed a red heart urchin (Meoma ventricosa)

After lunch, we dissected some lionfish to examine their stomach contents and watched one of our marine safety officers, Herbie, make ceviche out of it. We then took a boat to a tourist island with an adorable tiki hut on the water. All in all, it was a really great day.

A lionfish, captured for dissection and ceviche
A lionfish, captured for dissection and ceviche
Beautiful view from the dock
Beautiful view from the dock just outside the tiki hut
2016

Day 14?!

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I can’t believe that this trip is already coming to an end. It seems like just yesterday we were 16 people crammed into a 14 passenger van, filled with excitement and ready to begin our adventure.

We spent today wrapping up a variety of projects from the week. In the morning, we went out onto the fore reef to collect samples to take back to the wet lab. We found many types of algae, crustaceans, mollusks, and other species. As far as red algae, I saw tubular thicket algae, Galaxura rugosa, and Amphiroa fragilissima. I also found crustose coralline algae growing on the back of a hermit crab. It looks like I’m not going to find a tunicate on this trip.

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In the afternoon we dissected the lionfish we caught earlier in the week. Ours was a male with a surprisingly large fish in its stomach. After the dissection, we made lionfish ceviche.

This evening we visited a resort on a nearby island. It was really interesting to hear the stories of other visitors on the island, and we got to watch a spectacular sunset from the dock.

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So Long, Glover’s

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Doctorfish (Acanthurus chirurgus).

Our time in Belize has nearly run its course, and while I’m excited at the prospect of a hot shower, I can’t believe how quickly two weeks have passed. For our final day at Glover’s Reef,
we set out to find as much diversity as possible in the back reef close to the shore of Middle Caye. In my final snorkel here, I found a
huge number of herbivorous fish. Ocean surgeonfish (Acanthurus bahianus) and doctorfish (Acanthurus chirurgus) swam right past me in pairs and groups, and I found an abundance of cocoa damselfish (Stegastes variabilis) in between the corals. I also saw several French angelfish (Pomacanthus paru), a large black and yellow fish that feeds on algae, as well as some invertebrates.

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Cocoa damselfish (Stegastes variabilis).

We also collected a number of species from the shallow seagrass beds by the shoreline and sorted them by taxonomic group. Using just nets, we were able to catch two yellowtail damselfish (Chrysiptera parasema) and another fish that I believe was a species of goby. We ended the morning by presenting a colorful array of macroalgae, echinoderms, jellyfish, and mollusks.

 The afternoon’s activity was our long-awaited lionfish dissection. We were only able to capture four specimens of the invasive species, but each one was dismembered and analyzed by its stomach contents. Hopefully, the more we can learn about the lionfish, the better we can manage its invasion of the Caribbean.

For the perfect ending to our last day on the reef, we visited Southwest Caye, another island inside of the atoll. From the comfort of the dock, I watched the sun set on my Belizean adventure (at least for the time being).