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The Season Finale: Reflections from Belize

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Hi Blog,

When we first arrived in Belize

These past two weeks, I have had the incredible privilege of being completely immersed in nature across two distinct, yet similarly vibrant ecosystems in Belize: the tropical rainforest and the coral reef.

Night hike at Las Cuevas
Surreal bird tower view

Although the tropical rainforest and coral reef were very distinct ecosystems, I still noticed several similarities. Although both of these ecosystems—and the research stations we spent our time at—seemed significantly isolated from civilization, they were nevertheless both suffering from the impacts of human disruptions. At Las Cuevas Research Station, located in the heart of the Chiquibul Forest, we learned all about threats of deforestation and poaching (especially of the endangered Scarlet Macaw) leading to habitat loss and the unethical stripping of animals from their environment for the benefit of humans. Similarly, at Glover’s Reef, we saw firsthand how even a remote island is not immune to the impacts of human pollution and disruption. Especially on our last day at Glover’s Reef during our morning trash pick-up, we saw the countless amounts of trash that had accumulated on the edges of the island, especially in the coral graveyard. Furthermore, we learned that fish, such as surgeonfish, are often illegally harvested to be entered into the illegal pet trade.

Snorkel flick!

Another factor that I noticed could be both a similarity and a difference was the structural complexity of these ecosystems. The rainforest ecosystem is vertically stratified, with different layers—from the forest floor to the canopy—allowing the development of niche specialization and a high degree of biological diversity. Likewise, although marine rather than terrestrial, I noticed that the coral reef also had different components culminating in structural complexity, such as the surface, nooks, and crevices.

Most beautiful ocean I’ve ever seen

This course went above and beyond my expectations. Before going on this trip, I just had a vague idea of a rainforest and the ocean, but being actually immersed in these ecosystems was truly surreal. Seeing all of the cool species that I’ve only read about or seen in documentaries with my own eyes was incredible—I even got to hold a Scarlet Macaw feather! Also, I got to see so many of my rainforest mammal species at the Belize Zoo, and saw some Blue Tangs in the coral reef!!

Tapir at the Belize Zoo

My favorite part of the course was, as cheesy as it may sound, getting to know all of my fellow Tropical Field Biologists! In fact, today, a group of us (Lily, Emily, Sadhana, and I) remaining in Houston for the summer grabbed dinner and boba together! Post-Belize food was heavenly, although I must admit, the food provided to us over the trip was significantly better than I had expected. Throughout the trip, I acquired a taste for plantains and hot sauce. Before this, I had not even touched plantains that were served in Rice serveries. Now, you know what my staple meal is going to be once school restarts in the fall.

On the other hand, my least favorite part of the course, I think, would be being eaten alive by bugs both in the rainforest and the reef. I am especially traumatized by that one night at Las Cuevas when Emily and I accidentally left our dorm room light on and returned to about 20 bugs buzzing around the light… I remember us trying to ignore them at first, but it quickly turned into a bug elimination frenzy, as the buzzing of the bugs (especially near my ears!) became unbearable. We learned our lesson about turning off the lights the hard way, but we know now. :,)

I learned SO many new, incredible things on this trip, but the three most notable things were:

1) The symbiotic relationship between Cecropia trees and Azteca ants. It was so fascinating (yet anxiety-inducing) to see all of the Azteca ants swarm out from the tree trunk to protect the Cecropia tree (which Dr. Solomon had macheted down), and the countless chambers within the tree. Without knowing anything about this tree, I would have never imagined that it would be a “high-rise apartment complex” for ants.

2) Human impact is everywhere. Even on remote islands, the impact of human pollution is still transferred. It was sad but incredibly powerful to see the contrast between the black and white fossilized corals and the vibrantly colored plastic pollution on the coral graveyard.

3) I am not immune to motion sickness nor sea sickness. I thought I would be different, but snorkeling and the boat ride almost took me out every time… Heat exhaustion and the side effects of drinking seawater (on accident) were not a joke and were quite a combination. So my biggest takeaway was: when in the ocean, do not drink seawater and drink lots and lots of (fresh!) water whenever possible.

Overall, Belize was such an incredible experience, and this will be a trip that I reminisce about often. When I close my eyes, I can almost still feel the breeze from the ocean as I lay on the dock at Glover’s Reef, or I can hear the screeches of the bats as I lay on the picnic table at Las Cuevas.

As I return to civilization, I’m eternally grateful for things I took for granted, such as cold water, clean clothes, and a sand-free bed. I’m now confident to call myself a tropical field biologist.

If any of you reading this blog right now are contemplating taking this course: take it. Take it and run. You will have the most amazing two weeks of your life that you cannot gain elsewhere.

Now for the last time, signing off:

With love,

Sohee

Bye, Belize
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Final Blog

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BIOS 319 was such a fascinating class. I have been to coral reefs before, but this was my first time in a tropical rainforest. In the first half of the course, I had such an incredible time exploring tropical rainforests with all of the tiny insect life and the large animals we caught on the camera traps.

The amount of similarities between the rainforest and the reef was truly astounding. I had never thought of ants or coral as being similar, but now I can appreciate them as magnificent colonial creatures. The similarities between fungal gardens of leaf cutter ant colonies and symbiotic zooxanthellae algae in coral colonies were so cool to compare. Both animals are quite different but have incredible similarities. They are colonies that the rainforest and the reef rely heavily on to keep biodiversity as high as it is. I had no clue ants were as important as they are prior to this class, and I have a newfound appreciation for the architects of the rainforest.

I thought the nutritional paradoxes of the rainforest and the reef were fascinating. How come both are so nutrient limited but so biodiverse? The nitrogen lab was fascinating to visualize increased nutrient limitation in the canopy. While reefs are very different from rainforests, there is still a nutrient stratification with nutrients being densest near the seafloor and forest floor. Larger animals were much more prevalent on or close to the seafloor where they could find the most food.

I observed similarities between the two ecosystems while on the reef. First, animals love to live under rocks and logs. Anytime I wanted to find a cool animal quickly, I was able to turn a rock or log over and find something. Whether it was large beetles, brittle stars, or sea urchins, turning things that provide cover for small organisms over is a great place for observation in both ecosystems. Going along with this, in such biodiverse ecosystems, animals have many predators, so they must use their surroundings as protection. Whether that was a wrasse hiding from me in an empty conch shell, cecropia ants in cecropia trees, trumpetfish camouflaging into coral, or basilisk lizards running on water, animals in both ecosystems need to get incredibly creative with their defense adaptations. I loved seeing how animals used their environments to their advantage.

(brittle star found under a rock)

I had high expectations for this course, and it exceeded all of my expectations. I expected to learn field research techniques, but the amount of technical scientific research skills I gained was incredible. While we had minimal technology and could not use fancy techniques, I gained a lot of knowledge from doing studies with limited resources. We were forced to be creative to make our studies as productive as we could. We also got to learn from each other when setting up a project and designing a poster to show our results. I loved watching us grow together as a group with our poster and presentation skills.

I also expected to be in the field a lot which we sure were. We spent hours upon hours immersed in the rainforest and under the surface of the water which is exactly where I wanted to be. I loved seeing rugged nature and learning as much as I could from it.

My favorite part of the course was how much we talked about biology. Whether it was in the field hiking somewhere, over coffee while birding, on the dock observing glass eels, or at mealtimes, we were ALWAYS talking biology. I loved being in such a nerdy environment with people who care about biology as much as I do and know worlds more about it than I do. Dr. Evans and Dr. Solomon had so many fascinating facts to share, and my classmates and I asked so many questions that we were constantly talking bio. The people, the questions, and the conversations about science in such gorgeous places were my favorite parts of the trip.

I have almost no complaints about this class. Aside from the trip only being 2 weeks long (I wish it had been much longer), my least favorite part of the class was the fact that the trip took place entirely in the peak dry season. I wish we had been able to see the rainforest as a RAINforest. I would love to see how the ecosystem changes when it gets more water. At points in time, it felt like the rainforest was asleep, and I wish we had been there to see it wake up.

I learned a TON through this class; there were definitely some things that I learned that will stick with me forever. 1. Ants are so much cooler than I could have ever imagined. Learning about the differences between leaf cutter ants, cecropia ants, bullshorn acacia ants, and army ants was so cool, and I am so glad we spent so much time focusing on them. Cutting into the cecropia tree was the coolest thing I saw in the rainforest. The chambers were so complex. 2.  Cryptobenthic fish are so incredibly vital to reef ecosystems. They are not just funny looking little fish that sit on the sand, but they make up the diets of so many fish that are crucial to the oceanic food web. I had no clue how big of a role they played in nutritional cycling.  3. Catching small lizards is so much fun and can be so easy. Sometimes they are easier to catch than others (sometimes they just jump onto my hand), but with the right technique (pouncing on them), it can be quite simple. I look forward to catching many more small lizards in my future. After this trip, I have a newfound appreciation for lizards (not including iguanas). The blue-tailed skinks are not going to see me coming this summer.

I’ll always be a TFB, but the first chapter of my TFB life has come to a close. Come along to see what the next one is!

Claire C

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Final Blog: Forever a TFB

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Wow. Even now, I truly cannot believe everything we got to experience and do in these past two weeks. From exploring the forests and the caves at Las Cuevas to snorkeling around the reefs of Glover’s, everything has truly been so unbelievable. The rainforest and the reef, though they are so different, can honestly be comparable to each other as the terrestrial and aquatic equivalents. Both environments host some of the most biodiverse ecosystems in their respective areas, from the insane diversity of creatures of the rainforest to the absurd abundance of fish and corals of the reef. The comparisons between trees and corals is also one that cannot be ignored, especially how both provide structure and habitats for so many organisms, and are arguably the defining trait of each ecosystem. Without trees, there is no forest, and without corals, there are no reefs.

Never had I thought about the two in such similar contexts, but going from forest to reef back to back, these similarities were inevitable. But though they feel like the terrestrial and aquatic counterparts, there are still many a differences between. Everything in the forest felt so hidden, and we had to be actively searching for everything, from small insects like grasshoppers and crickets to larger mammals like agoutis and howlers. The reefs, however, felt so much more open and out there. I noticed how prevalent fish truly were, and how they were literally everywhere. I also noticed how, especially in MPAs, fish were so much more comfortable with human presence as opposed to the wildlife at Las Cuevas, despite both being arguably equally isolated.

But still, both experiences were genuinely insane, in the best way possible. Honestly I don’t really know what I was expecting coming into the course, but I do know I was really only interested in the reef section. The rainforest half felt like a week in between me and a Belizean snorkel vacation, and unfortunately that thought was very prevalent in my mind at the start. What I didn’t expect, however, was how much I would end up enjoying LCRS and the Chiquibul.

By the end of my senior year, I had in some way fallen out of enjoyment with backpacking, and in part a lot with nature and the forests as well. The thought never occurred to me that LCRS could reinvigorate my love for the outdoors and relight the spark I had developed throughout my high school years.

Obviously, as such, I really enjoyed the hikes we had in the Chiquibul. I loved exploring the trails, hiking to the bird tower for both sunset AND sunrise, and our campfire we had before we left. Almost every experience, but these in particular reminded me just how much I missed being out in the middle of the woods, especially with friends.

Though I was most excited about the reefs, at some portions I did feel a bit, not necessarily sick of it, but ready for the reef portion to be over. I think the best way to explain it was during my time at LCRS, I was actively trying to ignore the day we were about to leave, and not looking forward for that day to come. However at GRRS, I found myself counting down the days and wanting to leave all the way up until I was in the boat and we started driving away from the island.

Beyond just what I’ve learned about Orthoptera and Groupers, like how grasshoppers, crickets, and katydids (which I lowkey never heard of before this trip) are actually pretty cool insects, and how groupers aren’t always these giant behemoths roaming around the reefs, I hope that in five years from now I’ll still be able to take away how much nature does in fact have to offer us, even beyond any surface level or economical value. I’ve realized that nature and the outdoors is truly my happy place, and I never want to give up on it ever again.

I also hope to remember just how beautiful nature is when it is completely untouched by humans, and how important it is to keep what little we have left. I hope to always remember the stark difference between parrotfish behavior in the untouched MPA, where they weren’t skittish nor afraid of our presence, versus the place Dr. Evans suspected had been fished, where all the parrotfish were constantly on high alert and would dart away at even a shadow. This in particular really quantified just how much of an impact humans make even when we don’t believe we are affecting Mother Nature that much.

My last takeaway is hoping to remember that no matter how unimportant I feel an organism may be, they truly have a central and vital role to their ecosystem. I came in not knowing how important Orthoptera, groupers, or angelfish were to their respective habitats. They felt like animals that could be cool to observe, but I never realized how important they are to the cycling of nutrients and trophic levels, nor their roles in keeping their food sources in constant check. It fully opened my eyes to how rarely is there ever going to be a species that is truly and genuinely useless, and that, in some way, everything really is by design.

All in all, genuinely, this trip was the experience of a life time. I cannot put into words how fortunate I am to have been able to be a part of this adventure, and having the privilege to experience the pure rawness of the tropical rainforests and coral reefs. I don’t say this often, but I found myself saying this a bit too much for this trip: I will never forget any second of Belize. As they say, forever a TFB.

Here are some of my favorite moments:

It’s been a good one. TFB Ian, signing out.

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Belize Day 14: Fish are Friends, Not Food… Unless they’re invasive

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Armed with dull fabric scissors, we pressed into the scaly skin of a dead lionfish until we finally cut through. Then came round two; we sliced the stomach itself until tiny fish flopped out. It was a truly gutty process: full of fish guts and requiring real human guts to stomach it.

(Lionfish Dissection – 05/29/25)

Dr. Evans and Dr. Solomon had caught wild, invasive lionfish from the surrounding reefs for both science and cuisine. First, we performed dissections to better understand their anatomy, what adaptations make them such ruthless predators, and what native fish they’ve been stealing off our reefs. My group’s lionfish had four small guppy- or wrasse-looking fish in its belly. Sam’s had a wrasse too, which he took as a personal offense since wrasses were his study taxon.

One of the main issues with lionfish that make them unstoppable invasives is that they have no natural predators in the ecosystems they enter. That, and they reproduce rapidly, laying up to 2 million eggs per year. These spiny invaders are ecosystem wreckers. So, we turned them into both a science lesson and a meal.

After we dissected and weighed the lionfish, the professors separated the edible flesh from the guts and cooked the fillets for us, served with lime, tomato, and plantain chips. Dr. Evans used the guts for another demonstration. He threw them off the dock to attract hungry fish and create a frenzy. Bonefish swarmed the remains, and even a nurse shark came by to investigate, though most of the scraps were already gone by that point.

I was feeling a bit fished out when the island staff came to the rescue. They had just gathered a wheelbarrow of…you’ll never guess…COCONUTS! My dream, my only heart’s desire. They were sharing the refreshing treat together, and I sprinted over to see if there were any extras. Luckily, there were many to spare, enough for the rest of the class. The water was so tangy and refreshing from the sun. What a lovely last-day treat and full circle from my day one of coco pleading. 

(Coconuts = Happiness – 05/29/25)

Later in the day, we helped the ecosystem in a different, abiotic way. Earlier, we’d seen shorelines littered with microplastics, so we grabbed trash bags and began collecting stray plastic bottles, broken shoe soles, and even a strange little plastic lamb toy. We became frustrated when fragile plastic shards shattered in our hands but were glad to remove them from the beaches before they could break down into even tinier fragments. Even with full bags, we barely made a dent, and this is all fairly recent trash, as they do host beach cleanups. 

(Trash Pick-Up – 05/29/25)

As a final goodbye to the island, we jumped off the dock for one last swim/snorkel, appreciating the refreshing and inviting crystal-clear water. I cannonballed in, followed schools of guppies and bonefish, and accidentally inhaled a little saltwater as an unexpected souvenir. I stayed near the seagrass beds, so I didn’t spot any sponges, but I took mental snapshots of every organism I could. A salty, perfect sendoff.

Peace out,

Lily H. 🙂 2025

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Day 15: Home Bound…

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As I’m on my plane flying back to North Carolina, I’m truly just registering how surreal of an experience these past two weeks have been.

We hopped on our boat back to Belize City this morning at 6:15 AM, marking the end of our stay at Glover’s Reef Research Station and subsequently Belize as well.

I caught one final picture of the view right before I left, in hopes of letting it become ingrained in my memory.

Last night, I returned to the dock to enjoy the sunset one last time. This dock has been one of my favorite places this entire trip, even though it’s not as extravagant nor as exotic as the coral reefs.

The boat ride back was not as fun, and the choppier waters were a lot worse than I remembered. However, it was just as surreal as the way out. We managed to spot a sea turtle, the first and only of our trip, as well!

It felt a little different when we returned to Belize City. Though I had so desperately missed AC and flushing toilets, I did suddenly start to miss the complete isolation of both Las Cuevas and Glover’s Reef.

The flight back was bittersweet, at least when we were awake. I was sad to leave Belize, but the early morning exhaustion fell over our entire crew and everyone was out cold through the flight.

Claire C and I, both from NC, had a flight that was supposed to depart at 6:10 PM, with boarding beginning at 5:30 PM. However, our flight from Belize got delayed heavily, and we ended up landing at 4:50 PM. Fortunately, our flight out of IAH ended up getting delayed, so we made it with plenty of time to spare. Unfortunately, our flight got delayed by almost 3 hours. We ended up departing around the same time we were expected to land, but at least this is better than us missing our flight completely.

That brings me to where I am now, finally on our flight back home, wrapping up our two week stay in Belize.

I’m already missing that dock.

Ian C

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Final Reflection: Birds, Soft Corals, and the Wonders of Two Ecosystems

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The tropical rainforest and coral reef are two of the most biologically diverse ecosystems on Earth, and exploring both gave me a new appreciation for their complexity. Both ecosystems have intricate physical structures that create many different habitats—tall trees and layered canopies in the rainforest, and complex coral formations underwater. This structural diversity allows many species to find their own niches. In the rainforest, birds use different canopy layers to find food and shelter, while on the reef, soft corals create important habitat and shelter for small fish and invertebrates.

Soft corals are fascinating because, unlike hard corals, they don’t build massive calcium carbonate skeletons but still play a crucial role in reef ecosystems. They provide habitat complexity and contribute to reef resilience by offering shelter and breeding grounds for many organisms. Just like birds in the rainforest, soft corals are key species that influence the diversity and health of their environment. Both depend on delicate balances—birds rely on a steady supply of insects, fruits, and flowers, while soft corals depend on symbiotic relationships with algae that provide energy through photosynthesis.

One big difference is mobility: birds are active and move around quickly, influencing the ecosystem through seed dispersal and insect control, while soft corals are sessile but respond dynamically to currents and light, creating a vibrant, ever-moving underwater forest. Both, however, demonstrate how important biodiversity and interdependence are in maintaining ecosystem health.

Before this course, I expected fieldwork but didn’t realize how deeply connected I’d feel to these organisms. Watching birds flit through the rainforest canopy and snorkeling over waving soft corals were unforgettable experiences that showed me life at different scales and speeds. My least favorite moment was dealing with the bugs in the room at Las Cuevas—it was definitely a test of patience and made sleeping a challenge!

Three key lessons I’ll carry forward are:

  1. Lionfish invasions threaten soft corals indirectly by disrupting the reef’s food web, highlighting the complexity of ecosystem interactions.

  2. Soft corals are more sensitive to environmental stress than I thought, making their conservation crucial to reef health.

  3. Bird diversity in tropical rainforests depends on habitat complexity and availability, showing how changes to one part of the ecosystem ripple outward.

Overall, the course taught me that both birds and soft corals are vital to their ecosystems, and protecting biodiversity means understanding these connections across very different but equally amazing habitats.

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Blog Entry: May 30 Title: From Coral Reefs to Customs Lines

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We started our final day at Glover’s Reef way before sunrise—5 a.m. wake-up call, followed by a quick breakfast of plain bread and a lot of yawning. The boat ride back to the mainland was… rough. The water was choppy, and for the first time this week, I felt truly seasick. I did everything to distract myself: deep breathing, staring at the horizon, mentally listing every species of soft coral I could remember. It sort of worked.

Once we got to the marina, stepping onto solid ground felt like a small miracle. From there, we took an air-conditioned bus (best part of the day) to the airport. That’s when the travel stress really kicked in—I only had a little over an hour to catch my connecting flight. Cue a full-on airport power walk through customs and security. Luckily, I made it.

Now that I’m home in NYC, it’s strange to think that just this morning I was surrounded by turquoise water and coral reefs. It’s hard leaving a place where soft corals gently sway under the waves and lionfish lurk in rocky crevices. I already miss the reef—but I’m bringing back a suitcase full of memories (and probably some sand in my shoes).

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Blog Entry: May 29 Title: Trashy Science and Hungry Lionfish

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Today was a mix of data, discovery, and a little bit of fish guts. We started our morning putting together our research poster on trash distribution around Middle Caye. We compared three areas: the mangroves, the beach by the dorms, and the coral graveyard. The idea was to see where trash builds up the most and what types show up where—like plastic, metal, or fishing gear. Unfortunately, our results were inconclusive. The trash density varied so much, and our measurement method didn’t give us the consistency we hoped for. Still, we learned a lot about how unpredictable (and messy) real-world science can be.

In the afternoon, things got fishy—literally. We dissected a lionfish, one of the most invasive predators in the Caribbean. They’re originally from the Indo-Pacific but have spread rapidly in Atlantic and Caribbean waters. It was fascinating to see the anatomy up close—sharp spines, a big stomach, and lots of muscle. These fish can eat over 50 different species and have no natural predators here, which makes them a huge problem for reef ecosystems.

This dissection hit close to home for me because my lecture presentation is on lionfish, and more importantly, they directly threaten my assigned taxonomic group: soft corals. While lionfish don’t eat corals, they prey heavily on small fish that graze on algae. Without those grazers, algae overgrows and smothers soft corals, which are already sensitive to changes in light, water quality, and space competition. It’s a chain reaction that shows how a single invasive species can impact organisms it doesn’t even touch.

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Rainforest and Reef Reflections

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Hey y’all!

After a few days to unwind and reflect on the trip, it has been really cool to think about the rainforest and reef and why they’re both so rich in animal biodiversity. From what I saw, it looked like a big reason that both of these areas had so many different types of animals was of how focused each species was in its lifestyle. Because each animal species has such a specific, narrow place it lives and small range of food it eats, this allows for a lot of animal species to live in the same space.  Another thing that might affect the high number of animal species is the ability of plants and animals to spread across areas with their seeds or eggs/offspring. This lets younger animals and plants move to areas where they would not have to compete with older members of their species for food and living spaces.

I personally noted how, in each ecosystem, you almost never saw the top predators and larger animals of either area on a typical hike or snorkeling trip. Predators of both ecosystems were really good at hiding and tended to mostly if not only hunt at night when it would be even harder for them to be spotted as well as easier for them to catch prey. I also noted how both the reef and rainforests had so many different potential hiding places for the animals that lived there, whether prey or predator.

(Walking through the rainforest at night)

I think that the course exceeded my expectations in almost every way. The hikes were longer than I expected, the projects took more work than I expected, and the pre-trip work (the presentations and taxon ID sheets) required a much higher level of preparation than I ad expected when applying for the course. But I’m glad they were because it helped make the feeling of adventure was even more thrilling and wonderful than I had expected. (Oddly enough, there were not as many encounters with venomous snakes as I had expected based on Dr. Solomon’s stories–not sure if I’m relieved or sad about that…)

(Marking Tape is the new Pink!)

I think my favorite part of the course was getting to see the animals of the taxa I had researched standing, walking, and swimming right in front of me instead of just sitting on the page of a book. The Damselfish in particular were so amazing to see in person, and it was always a lot of fun watching them chase off trespassing fish from their territories!

(Yuca Red Rump Tarantula on top of Caana at Caracol)

(Threespot Damselfish-juvenile)

It’s hard to choose a least favorite part of the course, but if I had to–and I do thanks to the professors–I would say my least favorite part was trying to take photos underwater for blogs and project data! Don’t get me wrong, touch screens are awesome, but really finnicky underwater! I would set my phone to take pictures or videos, but when I went underwater, the phone would sense the motion of the currents and treat said motion like a swipe on the screen. It was often the case where I would go down to video a Damselfish or something else for another project and by the time I tried filming said fish, the video setting would be changed to ‘Blur’ (I still question why that’s even a video setting)!

While there were so many things that I learned from this trip, the following three things really stuck with me:

  1. Conservation work involves more than just one group: In many of the presentations that leaders in conservation groups such as Friends for Conservation and Development and the Wildlife Conservation Society, discussed the work required work with so many people, including patrol personnel such as the Belize Coast Guard and rangers to protect the reserves and enforce the rules.
  2. Threats to wildlife threaten the health of local communities economically (for tourism and the sustainable harvesting of natural resources for trade) and nutritionally (for preserving natural food sources of fish and fruit)
  3. I learned how to look at our projects from another perspective to consider the potential errors and how they could be improved upon in future studies.

(Mr. Kenneth’s Presentation about the Wildlife Conservation Society)

I hope you have enjoyed these blogs as much as I enjoyed writing them and remember: Adventure is out there!

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5/29- Leaving it better than we found it

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Like two days ago when we explored the coral graveyard, we noticed how polluted the shores of this island is. We all wanted to leave the island a little better than we found it, so today, we spent the morning cleaning up the beach. We had 7 huge trash bags and we filled them up so quickly. We could have spent days collecting all of that trash, because in just about an hour, we filled up all the trash bags we had. As we picked up trash, we collected data on where the trash tended to be most dense on the island. We found that on different sides of the island, the amount of trash was similar, but the distribution was different. On the edge of the atoll, the collected trash was more concentrated in one area, while on the iside of the atoll, the trash was much more spread out due to thte currents.

Then, in the afternoon,  we dissected some lionfish. Lionfish are invasive to this area, and a huge threat to coral reefs, so our professors have been spearing them throughout the week. My llionshidh was very small, so there was nothing in its stomach, and I couldn’t tell the sex. However, it was still interesting to examine the gills and anatomy.

In the evening, we had an optional last snorkel, so obviously, I had to go. Swimming and snorkelling has been my favorite thing to do on the island, and I loved being able to explore the beautiful reefs one last time. I saw so many maze corals, fire corals, and finger corals. I also saw a nurse shark, sting ray, and lion fish.