Hi! It’s day 4 in the rainforest and what a day it has been so far. We started off this morning by monkeying around…literally. We met the local family of howler monkeys and had a great discussion with the manager of Las Cuevas, Jane, about their behaviors and family structure. The family consisted of five monkeys of various ages and included a small baby that was incredibly cute!
After breakfast (eggs, beans, and fruit), we met the Karst Team and went on a tour of the nearby cave system. I really enjoyed learning about the history of the cave and the species that reside within it. I also appreciated the cool cave air. We then headed to the field to collect our pitfall traps.
After lunch (rice and beans, chicken, and plantains), we listened to a few presentations, processed the results from our pitfall trap project, and worked on our poster. Dr. Solomon caught a basilisk near the cave and brought it back for us to take a look!
Basilisk caught by Dr. Solomon
We ended the day with a hike to the bird tower, which overlooks the Chibiqual forest. It was truly one of the most incredible views I’ve ever seen. I look forward to hiking there again tomorrow morning to see the sunrise and for my topic lecture on tropical parasites, disease, and medicinal plants. That’s all for now! – Elise
Bird towerFrom the top of bird towerFrom the top of bird towerTree pose surrounded by treesOn the bird tower trail
Hi everyone! Day 3 in the forest and the scenery has really grown on me : ) I woke up for birding this morning to a beautiful sunrise over the treetops. We saw four scarlet macaws today! After breakfast (pineapple, bananas, eggs, and beans), we headed to the lab to process the results from our Cecropia project. We massed each leaf and recorded the change in weight since yesterday afternoon. We obtained mixed results, with some leaves gaining mass (likely from water uptake) and some losing mass (likely from herbivory). Therefore, we decided that we could not make a definite conclusion regarding the defenses in trees colonized by ants compared to defenses in trees uncolonized by ants.
We were surprised to hear that the director of the FCD (friends for conservation and development) was at Las Cuevas today. He delivered an impromptu presentation on conservation in the Chiquibul forest for us and I really enjoyed hearing from him! After lunch (rice, pork, and salad), we headed to the classroom for more taxon presentations and a topic lecture. Then, we headed into the field to play with ants! Leaf cutter ants cultivate fungal gardens in their nests, and we excavated two (one young, one old) to see them. In the young nests, we eve found the queen ant on the fungal garden, which was incredibly cool. We spent the majority of the expedition stomping to keep the ants from climbing up our boots. Leaf cutter ants have a powerful bite, and I was fortunate to not experience it…so far.
Queen ant and fungal colonyDinner at LCRSDinner at LCRSPost-ant attack
After the sun set, we returned to the forest for a final time to see what species we could find in the dark. Sadly, we could not find any amphibians. We did find some snakes! But they part of an experiment, so they were made out of clay. Tomorrow, we head to the caves and I look forward to seeing what we’ll find. That’s all for now! –Elise
Hi everyone! It’s day 2 in the forest and I’m having a blast! Today, we started the morning by setting up a project relating to plant-insect interactions. We aimed to quantify how nitrogen-limited macroinvertebrates are in the canopy compared to the forest floor. To do this, we set up traps called “pitfall traps” with water and a nitrogen source in various locations. Want to guess what we used as the nitrogen source?! Our own urine! Urea has a high concentration of nitrogen and there was little else to use in the middle of the rainforest. This was definitely the strangest lab I have ever taken part in. We spent two and a half hours securing pitfall traps with pee to the trunks and bases of trees. We also found a really cool water vine while hiking and took some pictures swinging from it, so I’ve included those below.
Setting up pitfall trapsIn the fieldReady to hike!
After lunch (fried rice and watermelon), we met in the lab to discuss our next project. This one focused on Cecropia trees and Cecropia ants. These species work together to survive, with the ants providing protection for the tree and the tree providing food and shelter for the ants. We hoped to quantify the effectiveness of the defense that these ants provide in protecting the tree from herbivory. To do this, we gathered leaf samples from a young Cecropia tree without ant colonization and an older Cecropia tree inhabited by ants. We also collected various herbivores (grasshoppers, crickets, and katydids) along the way. Catching them was a group effort and was one of the highlights of my day.
Cecropia ant colony
After returning to the lab to set up the testing containers, we ate dinner (pasta, vegetables, and banana cake) and prepared for presentations. I will be presenting my taxon briefing on amphibians tonight (I did not find any today, sadly). I look forward to exploring more tomorrow. That’s all for now!
Hi everyone! Today was a busy day in Belize! We started off the day strong with some bird watching from the station veranda from around 6-7 am followed by a delicious breakfast of eggs, beans, and papaya. Dr. Solomon and Dr. Evans revealed our first big project theme: camera trapping! Camera traps are motion-sensing cameras that take pictures of animals that cross in front of them. It was up to us to discuss as a class what scientific question we would address using camera trapping and how we would go about testing it. We decided to look at how the impact of human disturbance via the presence of man-made trails affects the biodiversity of vertebrates (mammals and birds) surrounding Las Cuevas.
Ready to hit the trail!Las Cuevas trail map
After developing our methodology, we hit the trail. Each student in the class was responsible for setting up one of the 14 camera traps. Seven of us set up cameras in disturbed areas (along the trail) and seven set up cameras in undisturbed areas (50 steps off the trail). I set up a camera trap off the main road into Las Cuevas to the north of the station. Setting the trap required Dr. Solomon’s excellent machete skills to create a path through the thick underbrush.
Setting up camera trap
While we were setting up the traps, we observed several new species, including green anole lizards, tailless whip scorpions, and a true scorpion (we maintained a safe distance). I also tried a new food today: termites! They actually weren’t awful to eat and tasted a bit like carrots.
Post-hike!
We took a break from placing camera traps around noon for lunch, which was rice and beans, pico de gallo, avocado, chicken, and plantains. Side note: I’ve recently learned that rice and beans and beans and rice are two different dishes! Rice and beans are cooked together while beans and rice are served separately.
Plans for tonight include dinner followed by presentations. So far, I have yet to see an amphibian today, but maybe I will be able to find one around the station later tonight. I have met a new friend today though: the stingless bee or “Drunken Bayman.” It is called this because it tends to fly in a disorganized manner. It seems to be following me everywhere. Tomorrow, I am looking forward to another morning of bird watching and exploring the trails around the station a bit more. I have learned the safest way to flip logs which caecilians, salamanders, and frogs tend to hide under, so hopefully I will have an update with an amphibian sighting soon. That’s all for now!
“Toto, I’ve got a feeling we’re not in Kansas anymore.” Today, our group officially entered the jungle with a tour of the ruins of Caracol and a hike around Las Cuevas Research Station. While I encountered neither an amphibian nor an angelfish (I would have been really surprised to see that one), we saw many amazing species. While at Caracol, we observed a species of bird called Montezuma’s Oropendola. This species has a long tail with yellow feathers and builds pendulum-shaped nests. Our guide, Leo, noted that if the female Oropendola does not approve of a nest, she will push it to the ground and the male Oropendola will have to build another. We also observed several Howler monkeys (including a baby Howler monkey) and a Toucan from the road out of Caracol.
Caracol is a site of ancient Mayan ruins and we had the unique opportunity to climb the stairs to several large temples. I particularly enjoyed the view of the surrounding forest from the top. One of the structures we climbed remains the tallest building in Belize to this day. I learned a lot about Mayan culture and traditions, including their practice of playing ball games in large areas surrounded by rock walls, sometimes as a means of war.
View from top of PlazaAt the top of “Sky Palace”View from top of “Sky Palace”This tree is hundreds of years old!
After the tour of Caracol, our group arrived at Las Cuevas Research Station. We took a short hike around the area and observed several epiphytes and ant species. We discussed a bit about the mutualistic relationship between the bull-horned acacia and acacia ants after observing them on the trail. Acacia ants will fight anything that touches the acacia plant in exchange for food and shelter.
It was exciting to see these species in person after learning about them in biology classes in prior years.
We ended the day with dinner (pork, mashed potatoes, bread, and vegetables) and presentations. I am looking forward to exploring Las Cuevas more tomorrow with our first big project! I plan to wake up around 6 to bird watch before breakfast. That’s all for now!
Hi everyone! Guess what?! I’m still alive and am in Belize! So far, the wildlife we have encountered have been incredible and I am enjoying getting to learn more about them and Belize overall. Today was a whirlwind. We left Houston at 6:15 AM, boarded our flight around 10:00, landed around 11:30 (Belize time), rode on a bus for an hour and then another hour and a half to arrive at Crystal Paradise Ecolodge.
Group picture by river near Crystal ParadiseOutside Crystal Paradise Resort
We stopped for lunch at a restaurant called Cheers and I tried a fruit juice called soursop while we were there. I would describe it as a cross between pineapple and mango juice and would highly recommend it to anyone who has never tried it! While we were there, we encountered 3 iguanas, 2 of which dove into a small pond right in front of us. We also noticed a nest with about 7 eggs. We were unable to identify the bird species to which they belonged to.
At the lodge, we encountered a bird through a spotting scope and heard many more around us. The night in Belize is very loud and I certainly heard many species of amphibians. It took until the end of the day to finally see the first amphibian of the trip: a gulf coast toad. I noticed something jump in a bush near the pavement path while walking back from listening to my classmates present their taxon groups and topic lecture in the outdoor dining area. It froze immediately once it was under the flashlight. I will include a picture below. Remarkably, I encountered an angelfish before an amphibian on this trip, which really surprised me because we have not been to the reef yet. The angelfish was a painting on the wall of Belize customs and I identified it as a queen angelfish as it had a distinguishable blue and yellow marking on its head (similar to a crown).
I am looking forward to birding tomorrow morning off the lodge veranda. We will be waking up at 5:00 am (and will be sleeping on the bus later for sure). We will be visiting the Caracol ruins tomorrow and will be stopping to swim before arriving at Las Cuevas. I am looking forward to learning more about Belizean culture tomorrow during the trip to the ruins and observing wildlife from the bus while driving into Las Cuevas. That’s all for now!
Hi everyone! My name is Elise Trenk. I’m an environmental science and economics double-major, and I’m a rising sophomore at Brown. We are now two days out from departing Houston for Belize and I am incredibly excited! So far, I’ve been focused on researching my taxon groups, amphibians (rainforest) and angelfish (reef), and preparing my topic presentation on tropical parasites, diseases, and medicinal plants. I’ve greatly enjoyed the process of researching in these areas thus far and have learned (what I would consider) some pretty interesting facts. Here are a few:
1) There is an amphibian called a caecilian that gets around by feeling with a tentacle region on its head. Its appearance is in between a snake and a worm and it lives in the moist forest undergrowth. I am desperate to find one and I will promise you now that if I do, I will write the longest blog entry you have ever seen about how cool it is.
2) Some of the angelfish species that we may see in Belize (like the gray angelfish) can be up to 2 feet long (60 cm)!
3) Certain species in the plant family Rubiaceae (which encompasses many medicinal plants) can produce products such as quinine and coffee.
I fear I may have made one mistake as a result of spending too much time learning about caecilians and other cool species: I have not focused on packing nearly as much as I should have. The scattered clothes and gear across the floor of my room serve as a testament. Tonight will be a long night, I’m sure…but spending the time learning about caecilians will be worth it (I hope). I leave for Houston tomorrow afternoon and will stay the night before meeting with the group on Friday morning.
Overall, I am most excited to encounter some amazing species while hiking in the rainforest and snorkeling on the reef. I am a bit nervous about the snakes, but I’m sure that we will be fine as long as we stay alert and [leaf] them be : ) I have experience camping through Scouts, but this will be my first time doing field work (outside of the BIOS 213 Intro Lab to Ecology and Evolutionary Biology), snorkeling, and visiting the tropics,. I’m looking forward to learning as I go. I expect that I will return to Houston not only with a better understanding of the complex species relationships that I have only read about in textbooks previously, but with some incredible stories to tell. I hope to learn as much as I can while I’m there and enjoy this adventure of a lifetime!
