Monthly Archives: May 2016

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Patch reef

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This morning we all improved our skills clearing our mask and snorkel without surfacing while on a reef scavenger hunt. There were many annelids around but you have to be looking for them because of their small size, and sometimes they were under corals or in crevices. I saw the same star horseshoe worms, but also a light orange-ish christmas tree worm and a brown and white social feather duster. They are beautiful little creatures. I also spotted some fire coral around the patch reef. Aside from the annelids and hydrozoans I saw corals, sponges, sea fans, fish, urchins, barracuda, and a nurse shark today.

This afternoon we practiced using a transect and quadrants to survey things on the reef or ocean floor. It’s tricky but I’m getting the hang of it. We also got the chance to walk to a part of the island covered with thousands of fragments of old, fossilized corals. This was really helpful in practicing identifying them based on their corallites and overall shape. I am ready for what tomorrow has to bring!

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Sophia Streeter

5/26

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Day 10: Quadrats and Transects

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We started off this morning with a refreshing snorkel session at 8:30am. This time we brought out more gear, specifically a clipboard with waterproof paper to take notes of what we saw. There was a general feeling among all of us that the waterproof paper had to be some sort of black magic, but it worked so we stopped questioning it. Holding the clipboard and trying to take photos and write notes while avoiding being pushed into the coral by the currents took a long time to get used to, and I definitely haven’t mastered it.

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Gathering data in sea grass beds

To make everything more confusing, we added more gear after lunch. We performed a short experiment to practice using transect tapes and quadrats. The question that we were trying to answer was whether Halimeda or Penicillus species had a higher abundance and density in the sea grass off of the pier at Middle Caye. We worked in 6 groups to run transects across the beds of sea grass and counted the number of individuals of each species in quadrats along the transects.

In the end, we found 153 Halimeda individuals and only 1 Penicillus individual in the 216 square feet that we measured. We noticed that even slight differences in the composition of the sea grass bed, such as the density or length of the grass, changed the likelihood of algae being found in the plot. To quantify these differences we would have to run another experiment that focused on the different zones in the sea grass bed. Our experiment was limited because of the small area that we covered and difficulty that we had counting the individuals. Even though we were in water that was 8 feet deep at most, it might have been easier to run the experiment using SCUBA so we wouldn’t have to keep surfacing, which made counting confusing when we had to see under blades of grass.

Halimeda and Penicillus are interesting green algae because they are calcareous. Halimeda incorporates calcium carbonate into its thallus in flat chips, whereas Penicillus has calcium carbonate in the brush-like filaments at the top of the algae. The different forms of calcium carbonate lead to different types of sand. Halimeda creates large, flat grains of sand. The sand from Penicillus is finer and muddier.

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Day 9: The Reef!

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View of Glovers Reef from observation tower on Middle Caye
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Patch reef in Glovers Reef

Today we traveled from the zoo to Glovers Reef. Glovers Reef is one of three atolls in Belize. It consists of four islands – Southwest Caye, Middle Caye, Long Caye, and Northeast Caye. We got to the island around 3:45pm and were able to snorkel for an hour before we had dinner. To our surprise, the water was like bathwater, especially right by the pier. It almost wasn’t refreshing, but being in the water was amazing.

Most of the sea floor that we saw was covered in sea grass. There weren’t any trees in the sea, but someone found a Penicillus capitatus, which is a species of green algae that looks like a paint brush. A little farther out, the sea grass gave way to a few patch reefs. The reefs had more sediment than I was expecting, but the diversity on the reefs was still greater than almost all reefs I have visited. The first species that I noticed were Gregonian sea fans, that were purple and rose gracefully from the mounds of coral.

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Halimeda sp.

The sedimentation on the patch reefs made them a good habitat for green algae. The highest concentrations of green algae that I found were along the edge of the patch reef. There were multiple species of Halimeda, but I wasn’t able to identify the exact species. There was a lot of Caulerpa cupressoides, which was smaller than I was expecting but still very recognizable. I also saw a species that could be Anadyomene stellata, but I need to look at the morphology of the algae more closely.

Tomorrow I’m looking forward to having more time in the water and learning about more reef species.

2016

Day 10: The reef adventures begin!

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Today was our first full day on the reef! This morning, we swam to a nearby patch reef to see what we could find. The reef is home to such a wide variety of species, from large flounder nearly invisible against the sand to tiny, brightly colored damselfish aggressively defending their algae gardens. It’s a little tricky to distinguish red and brown algae, but I identified Spyridia filamentosa, Laurencia papillosa, and Galaxura rugosa.

In the afternoon, we worked in the sea grass beds to practice using transects and quadrats underwater. We set up a 100-foot transect in the sea grass, and then counted the number of green algae plants that we found in our quadrat every 20 feet. We didn’t find any green macro algae on our transect, but it was still good practice for a more complicated project tomorrow.

Before dinner, we hiked a little ways to a different beach that was covered in well-preserved stony coral skeletons. We used these structures to practice identifying the stony corals we’ll see on the reef. As we were walking back in the sunset, it really struck me how incredible this place is, and how lucky we are to be allowed to use it. Aside from a small team of staff, we are the only people on the entire island. Glover’s may not have AC or a fancy swimming pool, but it’s far more beautiful than any resort I’ve ever seen.

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Day 10

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Today was our first complete day on the reef. I can’t really put into words how lovely it is here. Sure I have sand on just about every surface of my body, but I am thoroughly enjoying my time here. The day was centered on two tools: the transect and quadrat.

First, we tried to quantify the percent cover of crab holes on the paths around the station (using the quadrats/transect on land). Honestly, my group did not get that much data (only one half of a square was covered over our entire transect).

This was then scaled up for our afternoon activity, transects searching for two geneses of green algae (Halimeda and Penicillus). We were trying to answer a similar question to the percent crab hole cover. We wanted to know if Halimeda or Penicillus would be more abundant in the sea grass bed.

Again, my groups struggled to find anything on our transect, with it being placed in some of the thickest grass. Either way, our data showed a significantly higher amount of Halimeda over Penicillus.

On the reef I continued to see Gorgonian sea fans, as well as whips and rods. I think that the future challenge that I will face is distinguishing between soft corals that are branching, yellow/brown, with them all being of similar morphology. Tomorrow on the more distant reef, I hope to see more.

2016

Day 10: Crazy about Corals

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Did another practice snorkel in the morning. We went out to a couple of the patch reefs and did a scavenger hunt. It was a bit of a struggle. Not only am I not the most graceful person in the water, I didn’t recognize most of the things we were looking for. I had a good time nonetheless, and I think I’m getting better bit by bit.

In the afternoon we did a mock quadrat exercise. We investigated the density and abundance of two different types of algae. But mostly it was just to practice snorkeling and diving a little. Our group unfortunately didn’t find any algae. I’m pretty sure it was because there actually wasn’t any algae along the area we sampled but the tall sea grass didn’t help. I did however see a pufferfish, kind of made going out in the water worth while.

Later on we went to a coral fossil graveyard to look at different types of coral fossils to help us learn their shapes and sizes so that when we do get into the water we can spot and ID them easier. I’m officially convinced Adrienne is crazy… about corals! She seemed like a kid at the playground, with all her corals. I always feel inspired listening to someone talking about something they are truly passionate about. And Adrienne is for sure passionate about corals.

-Randy

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Day 9

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While some may not enjoy days in which we spend most the time in various forms of transportation, especially because they always seem to fail us, I find it to be very calming. After leaving The Education Center Lodge a bit late (classic), we drove across the country yet again to Belize City. I was very surprised as to how small it was, especially seeing as the two cities I live in are Houston and Philadelphia.
Anyway, the next challenge that we had to overcome was the boat ride to the actual marine sanctuary. I was a bit worried about the seasickness. I have previously experienced this on a ferry. In the end, it was not a big deal, a pleasant experience. I am now looking forward to being on the boat as we go on to explore the rest of the patch reefs.
The rest of the day was spent getting acquainted with the research station and the nearby sea grass beds. I immediately saw my taxonomic group (soft corals). My initial impression was that Gorgonia ventalina is extremely common the patch reefs. I also saw many other soft corals, including Briareum asbestinum and several species of sea rod.

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Day 10: Strangers in Paradise

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It takes time to build trust with a person you’ve just met. In a similar way, we TFBs need time to adjust from the forest into the surf. I’m learning that the insects at the ocean are much more bloodthirsty than those in the dry forest. We also practiced some diving research methods, most notably using hand-made quadrants to measure density and abundance of certain kinds of green algae. Navigation through water, as well as diving well took a lot of effort and many problems were encountered.

In a way, I feel like a stranger in a paradise setting, unaware of how to cope with the surroundings around me. Glover’s reef is one of the prime pristine locations of the world, with a great amount of biodiversity. Yet today, I realized that this paradise has some caveats. During a dive, I located a mangled box jellyfish (Cubuzoa, species: Alatina alata) swimming near the sea grasses. Box jellyfish are some of the most complex jelly-like creatures out there, not only due to their unique shape, but also to their notoriously strong stings and their advanced invertebrate nervous system that allows for complex visual tasks. In the picture I took, you may be able to notice small brown dots in the jellyfish, that may resemble pieces of sand but are actually its eyes.

Can you find the venomous box jellyfish in my photograph? Can you also find it's eyes?
Can you find the venomous box jellyfish in my photograph? Can you also find it’s eyes?

Box jellyfish aren’t really commonly seen in Glover’s reef, and those that do make it to shore are often torn apart by the currents and sharp corals that surround the atoll. But this sighting is cool but firm reminder for all of us to be careful of the things around us.

Jellyfish don’t seem too common by the Middle Caye, the island that we are residing. Perhaps, tomorrow’s boat ride out to deeper reefs will yield waters with these phenomenal creatures.

P.S.: I found a special stranger joining me on this paradise. Wish it luck on this isolated place and hope it can send postcards to the forest!

Say hello to my old friend, the Glover's reef roach!
Say hello to my old friend, the Glover’s reef roach!
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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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Day 10: Aneme- Anemo- ANEMONE.

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Today was our second time out to patch reefs. This morning we had a bit of time to snorkel around looking for certain things. The list we were given helped direct my attention to bits of the reef I wouldn’t have noticed otherwise I don’t think. I think I saw a parrot fish that was red with white spots, but I was having a hard time getting a look at its mouth since it was very close to a coral. I also saw my first anemone. I saw a Condylactis gigantea(Giant carribean anemone) and a Stichodactyla helianthus(sun anemone). Unfortunately, my camera ran out of battery before I saw them or I would share a picture.  I also saw plenty of coral that I’m still getting the hang of identifying.

In the afternoon we went back into the water, but this time stuck to the sea grass patch. We were surveying squares for the presence of two different macroalgae. Right before getting in we saw a baby nurse shark (don’t worry it’s not a threat). My snorkel buddy and I happened to have a section of the sea grass that had fairly dense populations of one of the algae and it took a while to repeatedly dive down to count. After we headed in, we learned that most of the other groups hardly saw any hadn’t had to do much counting. Among the sea grass we had also seen two spotted rays, another sun anemone, and I think I might have seen a puffer fish.

Lastly, we went to a different part of the island to look at fossilized coral skeletons. I feel significantly better about recognizing different corals on the reef tomorrow, but I’m still a bit nervous. I guess I’ll find out if I really can.

Oh and there was a gorgeous post-card-worthy sunset on the island that already looks like a postcard.