The tropical rainforest in the Chiquibul Forest Reserve and the coral reef at Glover’s Reef Research Station are two of the most biologically diverse ecosystems on Earth, and they share several important similarities that help explain this richness. Both ecosystems are incredibly complex, offering a variety of niches that support countless species. Their structures—multi-layered canopies in rainforests and three-dimensional coral formations in reefs—create numerous habitats. They also rely heavily on mutualistic relationships, like trees with ants and flowers with pollinators in the rainforest or corals with symbiotic algae in the reef, which enhance survival and productivity in nutrient-poor conditions. These tightly woven interactions create resilient systems where biodiversity thrives despite environmental limitations.

Being immersed in both environments revealed great contrasts aswell. The rainforest felt closed-in and shaded, dominated by towering trees, buzzing insects, and constant humidity. In contrast, the reef was breezy, bright, open, and full of visible aquatic life, from beautiful parrotfish to nurse sharks. The main difference I felt that we experienced was our interactions with the wildlife of these areas. In the forest we had to set out camera traps and go on night walks in hopes of seeing animals. On the reef we were able to swim along side all the sea life, and often didn’t spook them until we were within inches. It made the reef an unforgettable opportunity because we got amazing first hand interactions. The course far exceeded my expectations by not only teaching core ecological concepts but also by providing immersive, field-based learning and exposure to real-world conservation issues, which added cultural and environmental depth to the scientific study.

My favorite moments were definitely when I caught Angie the squid, and watching as we dug up the ant hive and seeing just how excited everyone was to see the queen and her fungal garden. The best part of the whole trip was watching how into it everyone was. I absolutely loved watching each person totally nerd out about their taxon groups and get everyone else more excited in the process. A few minor hiccups occurred when I got an infected bug bite, and sunburnt my face, but all and all no issues.

5 years from now I assure you I will remember everything possible to know about stingless bees and their mandibles for biting. I also will never forget how freaking cool seahorses are for making males carry the babies and give birth to them (especially since they often mate for life). Finally I will never be able to burn the image of a cecropia tree out of my brain, and I will remember all about their relationship with Azteca ants.

We packed up bright and early today and I had my final plantains of Belize. We got onto the boat at 6 am to begin our 3 hour boat ride back to mainland.

It was very weird getting back to mainland and seeing populated areas again. It was also very sad leaving Glover’s Research Station, I will miss that dock very much.

We headed straight to the airport from there. A lot of us were very excited to do some shopping at the very touristy shops, I definitely did some damage myself. Then we all hopped on the plane and took some much needed naps.

Goodbyes felt unreal and very sad after having a spent the last two weeks together 24/7. But getting back to a warm shower and AC was very nice!

We started the morning by making a research project that we could complete while we picked up trash on the island. We decided to compare the trash density in 3 different areas with different currents and protection due to the atoll.

In the afternoon we dissected 6 lionfish, all of whom were caught by our very own professors. After a little exploration we used the remaining parts to make a ceviche. Although slightly disturbing after having dissected him, still tasted delicious.

We then started packing up and had free time to swim and snorkel. I went for a final snorkel around the patch reefs just off our dock. Thankfully I saw one final trumpetfish during my outting. Again among the branching soft corals camouflaged with his face in the root.

We met this morning to come up with a new project relating to the impact of Marine Protected Areas. We decided to compare the biodiversity and overall health of the coral reefs in a Marine Protected Area and an unprotected area.

We went and snorkeled 4 separate reefs (2 of each) and placed 2×2 quadrants onto the coral and took photos. After each group surveyed 3 quadrants at all 4 locations we headed back.

In the afternoon we compiled all our data and made a poster to present to our professors. We concluded that the MPAs were more biodiverse, but were inconclusive on the health of the reefs based on algae growth.

Unfortunately no trumpetfish or seahorse sightings today – hopefully more to come tomorrow!!

We started the day by meeting as a group to make conclusions about Parrotfish feeding behaviors and presented a poster to our professor. We decided they are primarily algaevores.

In the afternoon we visited a coral graveyard on the island where we could see the 3 stages of the coral: living, dead, long dead. The newer dead coral was bleach white with some crustose coralline algae growing on it. The coral that had been dead much longer was a charcoal black/grey color and lost some of its definition.

At night it was too windy to do our night snorkel so we instead hung dive lights off the dock and attracted some of the marine life. We were able to catch some sardines, shrimp, and glass eels. There was finally one predator attracted: a squid. I was actually able to grab her with the tiny fish nets.

We put Angie, as I have named my squid, in a bucket and observed her camouflage color changes, and she even inked in the bucket. The coolest part was when she came in contact with the green net that was spotted with ink, she would change from translucent to a darker color with black speckles to match her own ink on the net.

Since no snorkeling today – no trumpetfish or seahorses! 🥲

We met as a class this morning to come up with a research question surrounding the vertebrates we had seen around the reefs the day before. We decided we wanted to look into the parrotfish species and what their behaviors and eating habits are.

We went out in the reef just off our dock  and searched for our assigned species of parrotfish – mine being red band parrotfish. In the afternoon we went to two more reefs to continue our searches!

During my search for red bands I also came across two more trumpetfish. One was a smaller one around 15 cm again found in yellow sea rods, and the other was closer to 50 cm and also found within tall vertical soft corals with finger like extremities. They like to hide their face down at the root and camouflage to make them look like just another one of the coral extensions.

Immediately after breakfast we got all our snorkel gear on and started testing it out on the reef just off our dock. We did a quick swim test and then just explored the reef.

In the afternoon we got our gear back on and hopped on the boat to explore what the call the “aquarium” because it’s such a beautiful reef. Almost all of us were able to find our taxons just within this outing.

After much help from my classmates I found a singular trumpet fish. It was a juvenile, so very short in length, and taking advantage of his camouflage skills. He was among a yellow sea rod, and he perfectly matched its coloring.

No seahorses found yet, but it’s just the beginning!

Today we woke up the latest we have so far. We had a nice slow start at the Tropical education center before hitting the road towards Belize city. We stopped along the way for lunch and found lots of good souvenirs.

After lunch we got back in the bus to head to the clock where our boat was waiting.

After around a 3 hour boat ride towards glovers reef where we got to go right over the reef and experience how much protection the reef offers from the big waves.

Once arrived at glovers we got a quick tour and immediately found some hammocks. We settled into our rooms and had some down time to hang out on the dock and enjoy the first breeze we had felt in a while. We’re now all having a quiet restful night before a very fun morning of snorkeling and exploring the reef surrounding us!

Leaving Las Cuevas was very bittersweet this morning after an amazing 6 nights there this past week. But we hit the road early to make it to our caving adventures with plenty of time.

The hike to the cave was a 30 minute easy hike through 3 streams. We then spent around 3 hours inside the cave traversing and eventually getting to sites with mayan pottery remains, and even some sacrificial remains.

We quickly got back on the road to reach The Tropical Education Center that connects to the Belize Zoo. We took an amazing night tour where we got to help feed many of the nocturnal animals including jaguars, tapirs, margays, kinkajous, crocodiles, and more.

Tomorrow we will be off on our 3 hour long boat ride to Glovers Reef for another amazing week! Stayed tuned for Trumpetfish and Seahorses!

I started the morning as I always do with 5:30 am bird watching, but this morning was the first that was somewhat uneventful. We made up for it by seeing 13 Macaws during our sunset dinner (keep in mind there’s only 250 officially recorded macaws in the Chiquibol forest).

The group then went out to retrieve our camera traps that we set out on the first day. After dinner we went though all 14 cameras and recorded all animals spotted, including 3 pumas!!

To finish out the night we had an amazing group campfire just outside the LCRS clearing, within the Mayan trail. This meant in any direction we looked we could see an uncovered Mayan mound.

No abnormal or exciting bee sightings today unfortunately, but I have absolutely become friends with the black slender stingless bee that bird watches with me every morning and sits on my bright orange bracelet. If I’ve taken anything away from my bee assignment, it is a total desensitization to all bees surrounding me.