2019, Uncategorized

May 15th – Waterfalls, Mayan Ruins, and Scarlet Macaws

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Today we had another early start as we had a lot planned and far to travel. We ate breakfast at the lodge we stayed and I got to try a Belizean specialty called Fried Jacks, which are kind of like a less sweet beignet, along with others staples like refried black beans, watermelon juice, and some sort of cheese. We all loaded back into the van and headed further along the gravel road until we reached a waterfall with pools formed in the granite rocks called Rio en Pools. While there we got to swim and play in the waterfalls, as well as observe the mountain pine region close up. While walking to the falls, our group found a super tiny toad which I identified as a Gulf Coast Toad, a pretty common species in the area. We also found a basilisk lizard, which is noteworthy for the funny way it runs and the fact that it can run across water (though sadly, we did not witness this feat). 

After our swim, we drove about an hour to the Caracol Mayan ruins. I was amazed by the huge size of the buildings, as well as the fact that you are allowed to climb up the stairs of the exposed buildings and the fact that ancient pottery was just littered about. Also, we climbed the tallest ruin which is actually the tallest building in Belize and was built in 650 AD! We could even see the border of Guatemala from up there because of the deforestation line. My favorite parts of our tour included seeing Montezuma’s Oropendola birds (which make these interesting hanging sack-like nests to protect their eggs from snakes) and getting to see a whole bunch of black howler monkeys above us in the rainforest (including a baby!). 

After we finished at Caracol, we rode to our final destination- Las Cuevas Research Station and arrived right as it started to pour. Perhaps the dry season won’t be as dry as we thought. After the rain stopped, we got to see a Scarlet Macaw up in the canopy (except Keegan who didn’t believe us until it was too late). I didn’t see any amphibians after the rain, but I’m excited to see some tomorrow when we head out into the Chiquibul for the first time since it is (hopefully) an early start to the wet season!

Caracol
2019, Uncategorized

May 18th – Morelet’s Tree Frog!

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It was a great day to be a herpetologist today! This morning while we were out collecting the pit traps we set to collect arthropods, we spotted a green tree frog asleep on a fishtail palm. When he opened his eyes he revealed his orange underside and large black eyes- it was a Morelet’s Tree Frog! The holy grail of frog hunting because it’s a critically endangered species. He remained very zen as we all took his pictures and even went back to sleep. I was surprised how big and flat he was and how sort of fleshy his legs were. I’d only seen pictures, which really don’t do them justice. What great luck! 

When we got back to the lab we spent the afternoon sorting our specimens and analyzing arthropod diversity on the ground and canopy as well as looking at species attraction to nitrogen in our urine. We found a huge amount of diversity on the forest floor, but not quite as much in the canopy. We also found out that canopy species were more attracted to the urine, showing that the canopy is more nitrogen bare, which makes sense given the relative lack of decaying matter in the branches of trees. After presenting our findings and eating dinner, I gave my taxon ID talk about amphibians. 

The darkness brought another opportunity for tarantula hunting, but this time not only did I find a bunch of big fuzzy spiders, but also some whistling birds with eyes that reflect purple in the light of my headlamp. Under the dorms I also found a fairly large sized toad with gold around its eyes. At first I thought it was a cane toad because of the eyes, but upon further inspection, it’s back markings proved it to be a Campbell’s Rainforest Toad. 

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Day 15: I cannot Belize it’s over!

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My final walk, might I say jump, down the Middle Caye dock.

5/28/19: Our two-week journey has finally come to an end. Is it possible that it some ways it feels like it happened in a blink of an eye and it was a whole month? Regardless, I am going to miss Belize: the beautiful natural habitats, kind people, and of course, the delicious hot sauce.

It was a super long day for me. I started my morning at 4:45am and took a three-hour boat ride to Belize City. Then, boarded a flight that lasted two hours which put us in Houston around 5pm. Next, we drove through rush hour traffic back to Rice where I then got into my car and drove another 4 hours back to my home in Corpus Christi, Texas. So, it is safe to say I am pretty worn out.

However, on the car ride home, I could not help but reminisce on all the good times in Belize. The animals we saw, the crystal blue water, and our interesting tour guides. I think I want to go back to Belize one day as a tourist and even as a researcher. What will I be researching? Hopefully, I can figure that out soon.

Tonight, I plan to tend to shower (maybe even shower twice?) I will also tend to my bug bites with a concoction of Neosporin and anti-itch cream. Above all, I plan to sleep for at least 12 hours.

Wish me luck in Dreamland!

-Bella

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Day 14: Sea you soon Glover’s Reef

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5/27/19: Today was our final day on the island. Above all, I think I am going to miss waking up to the beautiful views every day. With waking up early, I tend to be a little more grumpy, but I found it hard to be upset sitting at the breakfast table with such an incredible view. However, let it be noted, I am definitely not going to miss the bug bites.

Today, we looked at marine debris on Glover’s reef Middle Caye. As a UNESCO world heritage site, Glover’s reef Middle Caye is absolutely beautiful. The island is essentially paradise with a purpose, but it is not immune to damaging effects of pollution. Around the reef, I was shocked that we found over 3659 pieces of trash while collecting for merely 30 minutes. I am going to be honest with you it makes me so sad that even an island as remote as this still struggles to combat pollution. We even saw a hermit crab with a plastic cap as its shell.

Pile of marine debris found on Middle Caye

On a less sad note, we also dissected a lionfish today. Lionfish are an invasive species in the Caribbean, so by catching these fish, we learned something new and help preserve the natural ecosystem. We decided to name our fish Hungry because it had an empty stomach. We made lionfish ceviche after the dissection and it was delicious.

Kaela and I dissecting our lionfish, Hungry.

Today, there were no water activities, so I was not able to see my taxon. Honestly, I was kind of sad not to see my taxon today. I think I am going to miss seeing my little algae buddies around every corner. Tomorrow, we have a long day of travel ahead of us.

Wish me luck!

-Bella

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Day 13: Searchin’ for Urchins

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5/26/19: Have you ever held a ball of sticks that moves in your bare hand? Well if you have, stick around because I think you can bond with me. But if you haven’t, do not fret because I am sure I am descriptive enough for both of us. Today, we were searching for sea urchins for our next research project. When I say searching, I mean searching! I was doing handstands trying to see underneath rocks and used spaghetti tongs to fetch them out of tight crevices. (No urchins were harmed in this event; all returned safely to the water)

Slate Pencil Urchin found under a rock while searching for the urchins during research project

We were looking at the sea urchins to use as a proxy to help understand herbivory and overall reef health. I had never felt a sea urchin before this, but let me tell you, I would do it again if I could. It is so interesting to watch them move their seemingly stiff legs to walk around in your hand. I also saw quite a few brittle stars as I was lifting up coral rubble in search of urchins.

We had our night dive today, and it was really cool. We were able to see a couple stingrays, lobster, and even a pufferfish. The current was pretty strong, so it was short lived. However, it was really eerie and cool to be in the water at night.

Throughout the day, I saw various patches of Halimeda opuntia (Watercress algae) and Halimeda incrassata (Three finger leaf algae) in cracks between hard corals or in the sandy patches. Looking for urchins, I even saw some Flat Twig red algae or Amphiora tribulus that grew in sporadic clumps in the shady areas of rock crevices. Tomorrow is our last full day at Glover’s reef Middle Caye, so let’s finish with a bang!

I even saw some Flat Twig red algae or Amphiora tribulus that grew in sporadic clumps in the shady areas of rock crevices.

Wish me luck!

-Bella

 

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27/05/19 I’m not lion…I had fun.

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Today is our last full day of class since tomorrow is just traveling! We began the morning with a fun activity—cleaning up the island! We took trash bags out, geared up with long pants tucked in socks, shirts tucked in pants, jackets tucked in rubber gloves, and picked up garbage at four different sites around Middle Caye—the mangroves of death, the coral graveyard,  the Glover’s Reef dock, and the touch tank. I, along with Pierce and Keegan, picked up trash at the coral graveyard for 30 minutes. My hands pruned up with sweat, but the coverage was worth the mosquito protection.

 

Some interesting garbage found:

-lots of plastic bottles, lots of plastic bottle caps

-plastic utensils

-many sole-mate less sandals (ha!)

-Crocs

-baby doll leg

-stuffed animal

-LEGO

-toothbrushes

-rope

-2 hyperdermic needles

-a crab using a round bottle as a shell! Trash Crab!

Then, we had some coconut water, coconut meat, and lionfish ceviche—just doing our part to remove invasive species. The lionfish that I dissected was a 79.1g virgin male, and we found a whole, un-digested juvenile slippery dick wrasse in his stomach! The wrasse itself was at least 3 centimeters, maybe even 4. What a cool find!

Lionfish of genus Pterois beside the slippery dick wrasse (Halichoeres bivittatus) found in its stomach

We had our last lectures for the course on annelids and the history and culture of Belize given by our wonderful guides Herby and Javier—they were excellent and they will be missed so much!

Thank you Glover’s Reef Research Station for a fantastic week! Now, I’m prepared to head on home.

2019

26/05/19 Urchin Searchin’

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We began the morning with a survey of sea urchins in patch reefs (in and out of marine-protected areas). We collected urchins in a bucket, then identified them by species and determined the diameters of their tests (in centimeters). We found long-spined urchins (Diadema antillarum) (don’t touch!), slate-pencil urchins (Eucidaris tribuloides), reef urchins (Echinometra viridis), and a few West Indian sea eggs (Tripneustes ventricosus). Although I was hesitant to jam my hand into small crevices in the coral to retrieve these spiny creatures, I had fun catching the urchins while simultaneously discovering how stubborn they can be. Some of those sea urchins were really wedged into their crevices and would not budge.

Bucket o’ urchins!

We collated our data into a poster, then transitioned into lectures on  crustaceans, hydrozoa, cubozoa, scyphozoa, ctenophores, and climate change and its effect on coral reefs.

We ended the night with a night snorkeling session from the dock to a patch reef nearby (which we got lost on the way to). It was a surreal experience. In the brief time that we were out in the water, I did not get to see much, but the creatures that I saw —including some tasty-looking lobsters—were vastly different from the ones that I normally see during the day. Our limited field of vision under water made for an invigorating experience, like when sting rays appeared and disappeared from darkness.

2019

25/05/19 The Chummiest of Friends

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This morning we completed (you guessed it) more transects! Again, we went out to two patch reefs, one in an MPA, one not. The first patch reef (within an MPA, nicknamed ‘the Aquarium’) contained lots of fire coral hidden in the coral we were attempting to survey. Weaving the transect tape and manipulating the quadrad was especially hard with the stinging fire coral around, especially since the water was so shallow—there was a limited amount of space above the reef through which we could float. At one point, I was floating directly on top of fire coral—a precarious situation. At (what was intended to be) the second site, there were moon jellies floating around, so we decided not to complete our transects there and opted to move to a different non-MPA site for our final transects. The final area that we decided on to be our non-MPA site was full of lionfish (yum! that’s my taxon!) and squid! After completing my transects, I watched Herby spear a lionfish that was hiding deep within the coral. I am excited to eat these lionfish at a later time.

In the afternoon, the class took the boat out to the fore reef, where we saw the reef drop off, sponges, and bigger animals in general, however, many of us (myself included) fell ill and could not properly appreciate the majesty of the reef in our conditions.

Seasickness

We ended the night with lectures on Anthozoa (non-reef building zoanthids, corallimorphs, and anemones), marine mollusks, and threats to coral reefs (of which there are a lot).

2019

24/05/19 Piscivorous fish are more metal than herbivorous fish. Periodt.

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We took the boat out for the first time to survey two patch reefs. The first one, Marisol, was within a marine-protected area (MPA). The second was not within a marine-protected area (non-MPA). There were some grey clouds in the sky as we drove out to the first patch reef, but I did not feel the sprinkling as I was snorkeling in the cold water. I saw snappers as usual, and what I thought to be a foot-long grouper that quickly swam away before I could fully process its presence.

In the afternoon, the class geared up to wade into sea-grass off of the island. We were looking for creatures to capture and keep in a ‘touch tank’ briefly for our observation. As a class, we caught many queen conchs (and one conch shell occupied by a crab), two donkey-dung sea cucumbers, a sea egg urchin, a pencil slate urchin, a red heart urchin, an octopus!, two fire worms, a damselfish, several brittle stars, two sun anemones, several types of coral and algae, and many hermit crabs—no piscivorous fish though! The water is too shallow for these big boys. It was interesting to feel and observe the organisms from other taxons though. The donkey dung sea cucumber was particularly interesting as it molded into your hand as you squeezed it.

Me touching a West Indian Sea Egg (Tripneustes ventricosus), a type of urchin

We ended the night with lectures on herbivorous fish, piscivorous fish (given by yours truly), and how competition, predation, and environment shape coral reefs.

2019

23/05/19 Urine the Sea Now

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(Never thought I’d say this but…) it was nice to sleep in today now that breakfast is at 7:00am! Today is our first day working on the reef!  The class went out to the coral graveyard to practice the point-intercept and quadrad methods of conducting surveys, then examined coral skeletons taken from the coral graveyard. We attempted to identify the coral skeletons species or at least genus; we identified a range of corals including Pseudodiploria, Colpophyllia nattans, Agaricia, Pendrogyra cylindris, Acropora palmata, Gorgonia ventalina, Siderastrea, and Fabullata. There is so much variety in corals and coral structure on the macro and micro levels, yet corals are deceptively hard to tell apart, especially when it comes down to specific species. 

Later in the day, we utilized the quadrad method on sea-grass and algae. Cassia and I developed a set of hand-signals to communicate data under water that enabled us to complete the transects relatively quickly. Using tools under water was a surreal experience! First, we had to swim over to the sand bar within the sea-grass/algae area carrying our bulky PVC quadrads, transect tapes, and clipboards for recording data. Writing under the water with water-proof paper and pencil was a novel experience for me, and its a technique that we will be utilizing a lot in the coming days. At the patch reef, I saw several yellowtail snappers, and a nurse shark (the couch potato of the ocean)! Hopefully, we will see more piscivorous fish in the coming days.

We ended the night with lectures on echinoderms (go sea cucumbers!), green and red algae, and mangroves and seagrass beds (their relevance and importance to coral reefs).

Rice University