Today we made our way back to Houston- not too quickly though, of course. Who would want to leave the beach? I am however okay with taking a break from the sand flies.

This morning we packed the boat up again and took off. First stop was Carrie Bow Caye, home of a Smithsonian institute research station. We got to take a tour of the facilities on the very small island. In fact the island is shrinking due to rises in sea level and is now about the size of half an acre. It was a functional lab in the field biology sense: a wet lab, dry lab, library, and boats for use. I’d definitely want the chance to research here.

The next stop was at Twin Caye, an island split in two and covered with mangrove ecosystem. We tromped through the mangroves and then took to the water to snorkel one last time. I did not see any anemones, zoanthids or corallimorphs, but in fact I didn’t see much at all. Being in the mangroves, there was a lot of loose sediment that made the water fairy murky. I did see upside down jelly fish(Cassiopea…), a cushion sea star, and a lot of juvenile fish.

Another short boat ride and we were back in Belize City to eat lunch and head to the airport. Officially over when we reached Rice University, EBIO 319 is complete.

Today was a very busy day. This morning we went out to the back reef again, this time while collecting algae and other things that were safe to bring back to the wet lab. I saw my same anemones I have been seeing (Giant Caribbean and Sun anemones). I did see something that was sort of new though. I think I saw a purple morph of the giant Caribbean anemone. We ended up collecting a sea cucumber, razor clam, crabs, so much red, green, and brown algae, and egg pods that hatched into hundreds of baby shrimp after we collected them.

The other happen stance with my groups today was that a student accidentally put her hand down on an anemone and it stung her pretty decently. Luckily, no one got stung by the box jelly fish (Carybdea alota) that were found today.

We also dissected the lionfish (Pterois volitans) that had been caught previously. The lionfish I worked on was a mature male who had recently consumed a 4-5 cm fish. It had begun to digest, but we could tell that the fish had had yellow scales.

After some relaxation, we will still need to pack up and prepare for tomorrow. We may be getting back tomorrow, but we are not done yet.

In the morning, we did a mini beach clean-up…and analyzed the trash of course. In an hour of clean-up, we collected over 90 lbs. of marine debris (trash). By mass there was by far the most plastic. I hadn’t been expecting the incredible amount of Styrofoam that washes up on the beach. There were some pretty crazy items also like a melted my little pony, a Barbie leg, a toy soldier, and a bunch of shoes. The craziest part is that beach is cleaned up a bit every week and we hardly made a dent in all of the trash there.

We went to another section of back reef to measure corals again. I did see a corkscrew anemone again. I didn’t see any other of my taxa today.

And then… we did a night snorkel. It was pretty short but I could tell everything is so different on the reef at night. It’s thrilling and a little nerve wracking. You can only see in your beam of flashlight and everyone kicks each other in the face. It is a whole other world, where you get to see the creatures you wouldn’t see otherwise (slipper lobster, squid, tiger-tail sea cucumber. All I wish is that I would have had a brighter flashlight to see even more.

Today we went out on the boat to patch reefs. We were looking at the stony coral coverage in the marine protection area versus outside of it. Also we caught, identified, and measured sea urchins in each area.

In the morning, we were in the marine protection area. I didn’t see very much stony coral, but I was able to recognize it. I also had a hard time collecting sea urchins. In the timed 25 minutes we had I found probably a dozen but all so far in crevices I couldn’t get any of them out. I did see another barracuda and some parrot fish. Honestly I’ve seen so much I can’t hardly list it all out. Except for my taxonomic groups. I didn’t manage to see any anemones, zoanthids or corallimorphs. Other people did though and said they were able to recognize them.

In the afternoon we went out to a patch reef outside of the marine protection area, where the water was a bit choppier. My partner and I saw more stony corals. We also saw a lot of fire coral, so we had to be careful not to bump into it. I did manage to collect a single sea urchin at this site. I also tried shifting more rocks around in hopes of finding anemones, zoanthids, and corallimorphs. I didn’t see any again, but I did see a few brittle stars and a very pretty colored sea slug. I will continue to turn over rocks in hopes of finding my taxa. Today was probably my favorite day I’ve had so far. I really remember the reason I love the water so much when I am staring at beautiful reef with waves washing over my back.

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.

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.

We went to the zoo this morning and I saw a harpy eagle, a jaguarondi, howler monkeys and more- so basically most of the animals that were asleep during the night tour. I think the cat I saw yesterday at Las Cuevas might have been a jaguarondi but I am not sure at all.

We made it to the reef today! The boat road was a little less than three hours and for the most part was pretty smooth. Once we reached the reef crest the water was clear and we could see the bottom as it shallowed out. As soon as we finished orientation we geared up and got in the water.

We stayed pretty close to shore, snorkeling above a patch reef and a section of sea grass. I saw a lobster and a barracuda on the patch reef. The barracuda wasn’t very large yet, probably a foot or just over. I also saw a spotted ray in the sea grass. I did not see any anemones, zoanthids or corallimorphs. I think the problem was just not having very much time to look and also trying to work out the kinks in my gear. We will be on the reef much more tomorrow and the next days so I am sure I will see some.