Hi everyone! I’m coming to you one last time from the AC back in Austin, Texas. It’s been quite a ride these past 2 weeks. I swam with sharks, took on an army of leaf cutter ants, climbed 11 flights of stairs in one go, caught a box jellyfish, saw a squid ink, met 15 scarlet macaws in one evening, went spelunking to see 1,000 year-old Maya artifacts, and drank water from a coconut. Overall, I’d call it an exciting trip.
I first learned about the tropical field biology course last summer when reading through course offerings. After discovering that the class involved living in a jungle for a week and then moving to a reef to snorkel, I knew I had to take it. After all, when would I ever have another opportunity to explore two of the most beautiful and conserved ecosystems in the world (and get course credit for it : )?
I expected that the course would be both intellectually stimulating and physically challenging. I was right. There is so much to learn from the complex biological interactions of the organisms in the rainforest and the reef. And even though I’ve been observing the plants and animals for the past two weeks, I left Belize with many more questions about how these ecosystems function. However, here’s some of what I learned about the Chibiqual rainforest and Glover’s reef:
Both the rainforest and the reef are incredibly biodiverse ecosystems and I think a large reason why comes back to their locations. The tropics offer almost year-round warmth and intense rainy seasons, which can support a large array of producers and lengthy food chains. There is a large amount of energy that cycles through both of these ecosystems and, because of quick decomposition and conversion rates, it cycles quickly.
Personally, I’ve observed that predation tends to occur frequently in both ecosystems. In the rainforest, I noticed that most ants we found were carrying some sort of plant matter or larvae of other ants. On the reef, minnows swimming near the Glover’s Station dock were constantly being fed on by bonefish and other large predators. Additionally, the striped parrotfish that I focused on for our fish-follow project ate algae off coral and seagrass almost constantly.
Further, organisms in the rainforest and the reef tended to form highly specialized interspecies relationships. The class focused on a few such relationships while in the rainforest such as those between Cecropia ants and Cecropia trees (ants protect the tree in exchange for food and shelter) and leaf cutter ants and fungal gardens (ants cultivate gardens to eat off of). On the reef, we observed another interaction daily: that between photosynthetic algae and coral.
One key difference between the two ecosystems that I observed was their sensitivity to disturbance. On the reef, we were advised to give coral a wide berth. Even brushing up against the coral would kill it as the algae would die off. We also visited the “coral graveyard” at Glover’s, where thousands of bleached coral fragments of many species littered the sand.
The rainforest seemed, at least to me, to be more accepting of changes in conditions and human intervention. In particular, we learned that many species (called “opportunist” species) will thrive in the open space created when a tree falls.
Overall, I believe that there is a lot to be learned from the interdependent flora and fauna of these ecosystems. And one of my favorite parts of the course was going out into the field with a very loose objective and seeing what evidence of cool interactions we could find. In particular, I enjoyed venturing into the rainforest with a shovel and digging into a leaf cutter ant colony the size of a small car to observe how soldier ants defend the nest.
Another highlight of the course for me was the ATM cave. It was by far the most “Indiana Jones-like” adventure I’ve ever had. I am incredibly grateful to have done it with the class, as it made for a great shared experience (and it felt safer to not be going through some of the small squeezes first).
Overall, I’m so grateful for the opportunity to take this course and to learn from some of the most outstanding biologists in their fields and alongside the future most outstanding biologists in their fields. Fifty years from now, I will still remember the view of endless trees and mountains from the birding tower, the light hitting the waves as the sun set from Glover’s dock, and the smell of my clothes after two weeks of no laundry.
BIOS 319 has taught me a lot about the rainforests and reefs of Belize, but I think the main lesson from this course is the importance of going out into new environments and experiencing what’s around you. I’ve learned just how connected the components of ecosystems are and to look for the interactions between organisms that support biodiversity.
If you’re reading this blog post as a prospective student, then I would highly encourage you to take this course. If not, that’s cool too, and thank you for following along on this journey with me. Either way, I’ll leave you with this: everyone needs some adventure in their life. Whether that’s living in a jungle with no AC, warm water, electricity (for some parts of the day), or WiFi, or just going on a hike at a nearby park, there’s so much to learn from the environments around us. So, go get out there and experience it!
That’s all for now!
– Elise
Tropical Field Biologist
