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Day 6: Boiling in Belize

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Hi! Today is day 4/5 in the rainforest! And it was definitely a hot one! Today we got a special tour of the Las Cuevas Cave. We were shown the main chamber and you could see stairs winding down to a cenote built by the Maya. We were told the cave represented the border between the living and dead and was an entrance into the underworld. The cave was probably used for religious rituals the maya did. We were able to see remnants of charcoal and pottery from those rituals.

In the afternoon we collected our pitfall traps and analyzed the amount of species and what species fell into which vials. We found that the difference in the tree in the pee vs water vial was greater than the difference in the ground vials. This signified  greater nitrogen limitation further from the ground.

We then hiked to the bird tower for sunset where we got a great view of the rainforest as the sun was setting. Along our treks we saw a few beetle species including a long horned beetle!

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Parrots, Ants, Beetles oh my!

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Hi! Day 3/5 in the jungle! Today we listened to a lot of presentations. One was by the head of FRC where we got to learn more about their mission and role they play in LCRS and the surrounding areas. The other was about the caves here in LCRS and the cultural importance of them.

Then we did a leaf cutter nest extraction. We found  young leaf cutter ant that looked to be about 1.5 years old and had few ants. We got to see the queen on the fungal garden and see how big she was! This nest was young enough that the hive had no army ants yet. We then extracted an older leaf cutter nest that was about 20-25 years old! That one definitely had army ants. We were stomping our boots left and right. This nest had a guest cockroach and was absolutely massive. We dug in through the side to find the fungal garden of that nest as well. That fungal garden was huge with multiple chambers.

We then went on a night hike to finish the day. We put on our head lamps and headed out. Unfortunately we didn’t see much but a few cockroaches, tarantulas and other insects. We did see a lot of beetles though! There was one during dinner and a few during the various hikes throughout the day. The beetles we found were dung beetles and herbivores beetles.

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Day 4: Into the Thick of It

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IMG_0329Hi! We’re still in the heart of the jungle, on day 2/5 at Las Cuevas. Today was a busy day with us successfully setting up two research projects!

This morning we set up a research experiment using pitfall trap to try to see the nitrogen limitation between the forest canopy and ground by seeing the difference between invertebrates in the nitrogen (our pee surprise!) and the water pitfall traps. We spent the morning setting up the experiment on several trees.

In the afternoon we set up another research experiment to see if bullhorn acacia trees change their defense mechanism based on age and colonization of ants. Usually a Bullhorn Acacia tree has a mutualistic relationship with ants where the ants live inside the hollow tree and are provided food by the tree. In return the ants provide a protection to the tree from herbivores. We collected leaf samples from a young and old acacia tree and several different species of invertebrates from grasshoppers to crickets to katydids and put them inside with the leaves to measure change in biomass and monitor the insects health with close proximity to the plant.

Along our treks on the woods we observed several different cool species from a queen ant who had just mated her larvae in a young acacia tree to many different tarantulas. We also saw several beetles. Of note Sam found a Tiger Beetle which is really cool because those beetles are very fast!

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Into the Woods We Go

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I’m Hi! Since yesterday I have come across many different species of beetles and other bugs, some more unfortunate than others. While chatting with everyone last night I stepped outside with my flip flop and heard a huge crunch. When I looked down I was shocked to find a huge green grasshopper. Unfortunately the grasshopper do not make it, RIP.

On a happier note, today we tracked through the jungle to but up different camera traps for large bodies animals. Our aim is to see if large bodies mammals use or/and are affected by man made human paths. We set up a majority of 14 cameras today. While setting up we saw a large variety of biodiversity. All the way from a snake to different beetles to evidence of insects on plants.

The beetles especially were of interest to me. We saw a beetle that secrets a smell to deter predators that was of darker coloration in a rotting log. This beetle was probably a stink beetle which doesn’t need to drink water and can produce a foul odor when disturbed!

While all throughly tried again, everyone was excited to see all the wildlife the jungle had to offer! Fingers crossed we see a Jaguar!

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Busy Day in Belize!

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Hello! Today we woke up at 6:30 for breakfast for a travel day to Las Cuevas. We stopped along the way at Caraco, the Maya ruins. We were shown around by our tour guide Leo who taught us about the history of the Mayans and explained what we were seeing. We climbed the Maya temple, which is the highest building in Belize! We saw where the Mayans lived and where they would make offerings. Along the way we saw a baby fox among the ruins.

We then headed over to Las Cuevas after a quick lunch. Along the way we saw Howler Monkeys and a Tucan in the trees. We arrived after about an hour and a half and got settled before heading into the rainforest.  In the rainforest we went for a mini loop where we observed army ants, a Tucan, and several interesting plants. One of which was a Bull horn acacia which is known for its symbiotic relationship with ants. Where the ants protect the tree and the tree has hollow horns that provide a home and nutrients for the ants.

Today I only observed one beetle back at Crystal Paradise Resort by the door of our cabin before we left for the day. It was about 20 mm long and had a unique horn on its head. Because of the horn this beetle was probably a Dung beetle.

We ended the day with presentations all throughly tired but excited for tomorrow! IMG_0245

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Travel Day to Belize!

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Today we traveled to Belize! We started the day early, meeting at 6 am for a bright and early start. The flight was a quick 2 hours! We then took a bus over to get lunch where we ate some local Belize food and tried their signature hot sauce. We continued on our way to a local market in Belize to buy snacks and goodies before we step into the rainforest.

We arrived safely at Crystal Paradise Resort where we had a little time before dinner to explore. We hiked down to the river by the resort guided by the local resort dogs! We got back in time for some dinner that the resort provided.

During our brief time at the resort I found many beetles, like the ones in the taxa I researched. I observed two different species of beetles in the fruit scraps that the staff put out for the birds. One of which was distinctly a Dung Beetle. Later in the night, as we were eating dinner several beetles were attracted to the light and were dive bombing us as we ate and listened to presentations! While unsure, because it was dark and the beetles were flying this was probably a Neoclytus muctonatus. Excited to see what the rest of the trip brings!

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Excited for Belize!

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Hi! My name is Noelle Hall and I’m going to be a senior at Brown College in the fall. I’m studying BioSciences with a concentration in Integrative Biology. I’m incredibly excited to explore the rainforests and coral reefs of Belize! I expect to encounter a wide variety of animal and insect species and to experience firsthand the incredible biodiversity that Belize has to offer. I’m looking forward to observing how ecosystems function in such a rich tropical environment and gaining a deeper appreciation for the species interactions and ecological relationships that I’ve only studied in class up until now.

To get ready for this trip, I’ve been doing a lot of hiking back home in Washington State, especially with my sister and mom. While the landscapes are very different from Belize’s tropical forests, the experience has helped me build up my stamina and comfort with being outdoors for extended periods. I’ve also been reviewing course material and packing!

I hope to learn as much as I can about tropical species and the roles they play within their ecosystems. I’m particularly interested in how species adapt to specific niches in such a biodiverse environment, and how those interactions shape the broader ecological community. I also hope to strengthen my field research skills—everything from species identification to data collection techniques—so I can apply what I learn here to future research in ecology or conservation.

I’m probably most nervous about the bugs and snakes we might encounter. That said, I’m also very curious and excited to learn about them ! The part of the course I’m most excited about is definitely snorkeling! I had the chance to snorkel before and loved doing so, and I can’t wait to see the marine biodiversity up close and learn how these ecosystems are studied and protected.

While I haven’t been to the tropics of Central America before, I’ve had some great hands-on experience with fieldwork through lab courses at Rice, including BIOS 211, BIOS 213, and BIOS 322. Most recently, I took the Conservation Biology Lab, where I really enjoyed participating in on-campus restoration work and studying how to manage and protect local biodiversity. That course helped spark my passion for conservation, and I’m looking forward to applying what I learned in a completely different environment like Belize.