2019

22/05/19 I’m not popular with boys, but I’m popular with mosquitoes!

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After 6:00am breakfast at the Tropical Education Center, the class drove an hour and half to the marina, then three hours (in a boat) to Middle Caye in Glover’s Reef. The three-hour boat ride was quite exciting because of the high winds and choppy waves—it felt like a roller coaster. Every time the boat ascended a wave, my body would fly out of my seat; then, when the boat crashed back down into the water, my body would smack against the seat. Arriving at the research station was exciting! The view is beautiful up above and all around, and on the ground there are adorable hermit crabs scuttling about everywhere. One of the more interesting hermit crabs that I observed had a snake-like pattern on its shell with banding and scale-like coloration.

Hermit crab with snake-like shell

We tried our gear out in the ocean for the first time. While circling the patch reef, I saw several yellowtail snappers (piscivorous fish!) I also saw an upside down jellyfish and a sting ray hidden in the sea grass. The class migrated to the leeward side of the island in the hopes that the wind and currents wouldn’t be as overwhelming. To reach the leeward side, we had to run through the ‘mangroves of death’. Today, we truly experienced what the ‘mangroves of death’ mean. As soon as we reached the area, Scott took off running with little warning. We were confused, then we started feeling the bites. At one point, I had 7 mosquitoes attached to my body. These pests were swarming all over and biting through the dive skin. I have bumps all over my legs, arms, and face, and my skin feels like Braille. I don’t know Braille very well, but I believe that my right arm spells O U C H. My skin is red, blotchy, and very, very angry at the mangroves of death. We made it to the other side of the island though, and I saw fire coral, Christmas tree worms, what I believe are young grunts, and a slippery dick (Halichoeres bivittatus).

Unfortunately the only path back to the research station was through the mangroves of death. We were aware of the danger this time, but it turns out that not even speed, mad flailing, and slapping can save us from the mosquitoes. Back in my room, I saw a common house gecko crawling on the ceiling above my bed. He was unusually large—at least 15cm in length and 3cm in width (very, very fat). I spooked him and he fell from above the top bunk to the floor with a thud.
The class ended the night with lectures on corals, sponges, and reef microbes.

2019

Macawing Me Crazy! – Day 3

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View from LCRS

Today I was able to catch up on some much-needed sleep, but we still woke up relatively early. Our day was centered around setting up camera traps in order for us to attain data which will later help us with our research question. We set them up along two paths which branch out from the research station and we set up seven cameras in total. Our first hike was difficult, but it was nice knowing that we won’t have to make it again for quite some time.

While in the jungle, I was surprised by the fact that we saw virtually no birds. This may partly be due to my looking at the ground for the majority of the hike in order to ensure I wouldn’t face plant. I definitely heard calls, but I was unable to spot the birds making them.

Soon after we got back to the station, guess what we saw… If you said THREE SCARLET MACAWS then you’d be right. We initially saw two of them perched on a tree on the edge of the clearing surrounding the research station. They were rubbing against each other at first, but they soon began to engage in what appeared to be fighting. The two flew off and were joined by a third. The trio continuously circled the station and it felt like they were showing off for us. The whole display was amazing and I can’t believe that we were lucky enough to see it. We also saw a Montezuma Oropendola soon after and I heard their distinctive call a couple times today.

Two Scarlet Macaws

 

We’re not 100% sure what we’ll be up to tomorrow, but we will definitely start another research project. We also might get to venture into a cave close to the research station, so hopefully, that works out. I’m planning on waking up for birding early tomorrow morning and I’m hoping to see a lot of interesting species. Wish me luck!

2019

TFB’s: A Rainforest Story – Day 2

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Rio on Pools

We had a very long day today, and we were able to see and do some pretty incredible things. We started out by going to Rio on the Pools where we cooled off for a while, and then we headed to Caracol, an abandoned Mayan ruin which once held a prominent position in Mayan society. There we climbed Mayan ruins and learned a lot about Mayan history and culture. After Caracol, we headed to Las Cuevas and we’re now in the Chiquibul Forest!

Caracol

 

We saw some incredibly interesting birds today such as the Montezuma Oropendola and even a Scarlet Macaw!! (Except I didn’t actually see the Scarlet Macaw as I may have been trying to take a nap so now I know that sleep is for the weak) We spotted the Montezuma Oropendola at Caracol. The Oropendola create woven nests which hang from the branches of trees like pendulums, hence the name. They also have an especially unique call which I won’t soon forget. The Oropendolas seemed to be trying to ward off blackbirds which were getting too close to their nests, and our guide Leo told us that the blackbirds will eat the Oropendolas’ eggs.

Montezuma Oropendola nests

 

While at Caracol we also spotted a few Howler Monkeys, which was incredibly cool. Our guide Leo told us not to get too close or they would “bless” us and luckily no one did.

Once we arrived at Las Cuevas and after we were settled in, we began to discuss what our first research question/project would be. We decided that we would explore how species diversity and richness changes as the distance from the field station increases, and our hypothesis is that as distance increases, diversity and richness should increase as well. Tomorrow we are going to put up camera traps in numerous places to facilitate our project. Hopefully, everything goes well!

 

2019

May 22nd – First Day in Glover’s Reef

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This morning when I woke up I found a tree frog hiding in the bathroom- funny how they were so well hidden in the rainforest and then here this guy was when I wasn’t even looking. He was an incredible jumper and managed to land on my shirt from the toilet even though he was less than an inch long. After we left the hotel, we drove into Belize City where we boarded the boat taking us to Glover’s Reef. It was a 3 hour boat ride which got quite turbulent after crossing over the barrier reef, but I enjoyed the sensation which was quite like a pirate ship amusement park ride.
When we got to the island, we got an orientation tour of the facilties. This place is amazing. It’s right on the beach by all the reefs, is a UNESCO world heritage site, and we have the place all to ourselves (well, along with the Belizean Coast Guard members stationed on the island to prevent illegal fishing). We went for our first two snorkels, which was quite chaotic with the wind and our lack of experience. My underwater paper fell off my clipboard, I kept almost being swept into the reef, and at one point me and my snorkel partner found ourselves accidentally several hundred meters from the group. We also had to trek/ run as fast as we could through the “mangroves of death” so called because of the horrifying amounts of mosquitos in there.
The good news is, I think my taxon group will be much easier to spot than amphibians were in the rainforest. Already, the crustaceans are coming on strong. The shoreline is covered in blue land hermit crabs and crabs. I’ve yet to see a crustacean in the ocean as we only really got a short amount of time in the water and most of it was spent learning how to take notes underwater, but the conditions are right for crustaceans so you can expect a lot more crab enthusiasm on my part!

Blue Land Crab
2019

21/05/19 Close Encounters of the Animal kind

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Bye Las Cuevas Research Station! Thank you for your hospitality—I will miss you and the food dearly!

Class imitating our favorite animals—mine is a butterfly, not an owl.

We took the morning and afternoon to explore the ATM (Another Tourist Missing) cave, where we were able to see the remains of human Mayan sacrifices, Mayan pottery, and stunning rock formations while swimming with fish in the caves. To reach the cave, we crossed three rivers/streams in gear. The entrance to the cave was a pool which we also had to swim through. Water within the cave was cool and refreshing in contrast to the heat outside. The cave constricted at certain points, and we were forced to crouch or turn sideways. We also climbed rock formations to reach certain chambers. Throughout the tour, the guide told us about the history of the caves and the Mayan culture associated with the caves. Mayans sacrificed blood (from the Mayan king) and—in times of desperation—human males of all ages in a bid to ensure rain and good harvest. I participated in the blood-letting ritual when I scraped my shin on a rock. If it rains tomorrow, that means that the Mayan gods must enjoy my blood. The tour of the cave took in total about 4 hours, and, by the time we were out, I was famished.

We drove another hour and a half to the Tropical Education Center (where we are staying the night), then had a nighttime tour of the Belize Zoo.

Some cool things that I observed/experienced during the tour:

-was ‘hugged’ by a boa constrictor

-fed and pet a tapir

-stood less than two feet away from a jaguar and a puma

– pet a kinkajou

 

Me holding a boa constrictor

Today was full of amazing experiences and I am excited for tomorrow—the reef!

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20/05/19 Goodbye Las Cuevas!

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Today is sadly our last day in the rainforest, but I am excited for the reef!

This morning the class again made the strenuous 8-mile journey down the trail along the right side of the 50-hectare plot, then the Monkey Tail Trail. We retrieved the 7 camera traps that we had set up along that path on our first day in the rainforest.  The class completed the whole trek before lunch while on the first day we took the whole morning (then lunch) and part of the afternoon. We definitely hiked at a faster pace, which made the journey a little harder. Along the Monkey Tail Trail, the class hiked faster in part because we did not want to give the ticks (hidden in the tall brush) the time to fall onto us and suck our blood.

I observed 3 blue morphos, but felt less compelled to catch them since my task had already been completed. I am at peace now. Out of the 3 blue morphos, 2 were spotted together and 1 alone. It seems strange to me that we have observed the blue morphos in pairs (At least 3 times over the course of our time in the rainforest) as they are supposedly solitary creatures. Either way, I appreciate every opportunity I get to see these iconic rainforest beauties.

That afternoon, the class went out to observe leafcutter ant/fungus obligate mutualism firsthand. First, Scott tried to excavate a younger nest in the clearing and find the fungus chamber, but was unsuccessful. Then, we found a HUMONGOUS ant colony along the Monkey Tail Trail—so large that it was almost the equivalent of a small hill that the entire class could stand upon. Scott managed to find the fungus chamber fairly quickly and grabbed a portion of the fungus for us to examine up close. Soldier ants came pouring out (as to be expected), and they were huge and aggressive. Amanda was bitten by one of these soldier ants and, in the process, it tore a small chunk out of her pants. Scott said that, given enough time, these ants could chew through our rubber boots. I am not going to test this claim out.

 

Excavation of small leafcutter ant colony

The class ended the night with lectures on the geographical and biogeographic history of Central American and the Caribbean and mammals. After the lectures came the exciting part—looking through camera trap pictures. In total, we captured 2 curssows, 2 unknown birds, 1 possum, 1 skunk, 1 tapir!, and 1 unknown earred animal. The camera that I adopted (its name is Rice 2) caught  a picture of a male curssow and a stunning picture of a tapir (I am so proud!). The picture is so clear that you can see the enormous size of its whole body as it walks along the trail. Probably the best photo of the lot! Another interesting capture was a photo of an unknown earred animal. The animal had gotten too close to the camera, and the flash saturated the facial features of the animal, but we were able to distinguish the shape of the ears and some fur, leading us to believe that the animal was a puma. It is frustrating that we cannot confirm this. Either way, a great and successful ending to an exciting week full of new experiences. Thank you Las Cuevas Research Station!

Tapir caught on Rice 2 camera trap!

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19/05/19 I finally caught a blue Morpho.

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6:00am breakfast as usual. In the morning, the class hiked up the Maya Trail to examine an area disturbed by a hurricane a few years ago. The damage was apparent in the tree fall, but also in the difference in species composition between the disturbed and undisturbed areas of the rainforest—most notably, cecropia trees inhabited the disturbed areas abundantly, but not the undisturbed areas. The class surveyed plant species in both disturbed and undisturbed areas of the rainforest along the Maya Trail.

On an exciting note, I finally caught a blue Morpho! The butterfly made the mistake of settling on a leaf too close to me and not darting away while it had the chance, thinking that its leaf-like underside camouflage would save it. This bad boy was rather large at a wingspan of around 13 cm (blue morphos can reach a wingspan of 20cm). These iconic rainforest species have an easily recognizable iridescent blue topside, but with wings closed (as butterflies have the tendency to perch), the brown underside with eyespots blends into the butterfly’s surroundings. Blue morphos are also incredibly adept flyers, making them difficult to catch both in flight and not.

Blue Morpho, Morpho peleides

That afternoon, the class returned to the hurricane-disturbed area along the Maya Trail to examine firsthand the ant-plant mutualism between cecropia trees and the Azteca Ants that inhabit and defend them.

That night, the class hiked up the PAINfully steep bird tower trail to the bird tower. Although the hike was hard and the sky was cloudy, the stunningly beautiful view from the bird tower was unparalleled. The class spent over an hour at the bird tower until the sun began to set. I sat with my feet dangling off of the edge of the bird tower and enjoyed the breeze. We returned to the research station in the dark, and the downhill hike back was much easier. We saw a cave, and nearly stepped on a jumping pit viper, and at one point we all turned off our headlamps and (surrounded by darkness) just listened to the rainforest sounds.

(From left to right) Keegan, Cassia, Michael, Me on top of the bird tower

The class ended the day with lectures on fungus, reptiles, beetles, and a lecture from yours truly on tropical parasites, diseases, and medicinal plants.

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18/05/19 Introducing Sunshine the Moth

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I rolled out of bed for 5:00am birding + a cup of coffee. Disclaimer: I am not a coffee-drinker, but early mornings have made it a necessity. The low, breath-like calls of the howler monkey were eerie in the pre-dawn darkness.

After breakfast, we hiked along the Maya Trail to pick up the pit fall traps that had been set up yesterday and left out for 24 hours. Along the way, I caught a butterfly with my hands (swallowtail, same coloration as those at Caracol) granted it was dead.

Swallowtail Butterfly (dead)

Some cool things observed on the hike:

– flock of green parrots that made noises like stormtrooper bullets

-toucan

-THE endangered Morelet’s tree frog! It was adorable!

Morelet’s Tree Frog, endangered species!

I managed to catch a good number of bugs in my pit fall traps—1 beetle, 6 ants total. It’s strange to think that these animals drowned to death in my urine.

We ended the day with lectures on ants, amphibians, and visual and auditory communication in rainforest animals.

Later that night, I was in bed when I was called to the restroom. A moth had fallen onto Bella’s head while she was on the toilet. It was rather large with a wingspan of around 13cm and had the coloration of a speckled yellow leaf. I removed the moth from the restroom and let it crawl around my shoulder. Although moth coloration is limited in vibrancy in comparison to butterfly coloration, I still found the yellow moth incredibly stunning. I have named it Sunshine. Sunshine kept falling off my hand and onto the wooden floor. Moths are hilariously clumsy creatures, falling off surfaces and bumping into them constantly. This may be attributed to their thick bodies. I can empathize with them as a fellow less-than-graceful creature.

Imperial Moth, Eacles imperialis

2019

17/05/19 Pit Fall Trapping

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I had a rough night of sleep between rainforest bug sounds and some intermittent whooping, but I got breakfast at 7:00am as usual. The class discussed an experiment testing nitrogen limitation in the forest canopy versus nitrogen limitation on the forest floor using arthropods and pit fall traps, then we set up pit fall traps along the Maya Trail using water and our own urine.

Some cool, miscellaneous things observed on the hike:

-Blue Morphos spotted: 7

-I found a beehive. They are aggressive.

-We saw a cave entrance in the rainforest trail and summoned bats by kissing the back of our hands!

-zombie ants

-I caught a tiger longwing (Heliconius hecale)! (Mid-flight! I jumped to catch it!)

Tiger Longwing, Heliconius hecale

After lunch, the class visited the entrance to a nearby cave and saw the cenote from which Las Cuevas Research Station draws its water. While in the cave, I gave a lecture on the taxon Lepidoptera while the rest of the class listened and sat in bat guano. Then, Anna presented on Orthoptera and Pierce presented on Life in the Dark.

Class descending into cave near Las Cuevas Research Station

During the night hike, the class observed a different set of species from the set that we normally see during the day. I observed many moth species (such as the sphinx moth) instead of butterflies—however, the most exciting moth to see was the black witch moth (Ascalapha odorata). This bat-shaped beauty I found had a wingspan of about 15 centimeters (the black witch moth can grow up to about 17cm in terms of wingspan). While moths usually lack in vibrant coloration, the black witch moth had characteristic hints of iridescent purple and pink in the bands along the margin of the wings. Additionally, I observed that the moth had the characteristic 9 or comma shaped markings along the top middle of the forewings with an orange outline. I also held a stick bug, and a cockroach with a glue butt (his name is Elmer). Elmer was an astounding 6cm in length and hissed when touched, but overall a very friendly cockroach that crawled up my arm, my neck, my head, and left some of his butt glue in my hair.  I am excited to see what animal friends I can make tomorrow!

Black Witch Moth, Ascalapha odorata

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16/05/19 So. Much. Hiking.

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I got a good amount of sleep, but awoke for 7:00am breakfast exhausted, which was unfortunate because we completed 8.6 miles of hiking today. We hiked down two trails—the first trail (it was very hilly) ran along the right side of the 50 hectare plot near Las Cuevas Research Station, the second trail was the Monkey Tail Trail.

Some cool miscellaneous things observed/experienced on the hike:

-Butterfly net doubles as a good hiking stick.

-I held an anole!

-I caught my first four butterflies with the net! One was a predominantly tan/brown swallowtail with iridescent purple spots on the forewing. What a beauty! The other three were pale green sulphurs.

Sulphur!

Swallowtail with iridescent purple spots

-Blue Morpho spottings: 5

-Closest distance I’ve gotten to a blue Morpho: ~1m

-Number of Blue Morphos caught: still none 🙁

-I made friends with a bee that sat on my shoulder for a portion of the trek.

-I wore a cicada shell like a badge.

-I ate a live termite and it tasted alright.

-I saw a large dragonfly (estimate about 15 cm)

-acacia ants

-spider monkeys

-I sat in a pile of ants.

-I adopted camera trap ‘Rice 2’. It is currently sitting along the Monkey Tail Trail about a 45 minute hike from the research station.

I observed that the most abundant species of butterflies in the area seem to be sulphurs (of white, pale green, and bright yellow colorations) and swallowtails (dominant black color with vibrant patches). Blue Morpho sightings were more frequent than I expected considering how well their undersides camouflage with their surroundings, but they were mostly spotted in flight. I am hopeful that I will succeed in catching a blue Morpho in the remaining days that the class will spend in the rainforest.

After a dinner of spaghet, the class ended the night with lectures on arachnids, epiphytes, and life in the rainforest canopy. Overall, a tiring and successful first day in the rainforest.

Rice University