2017

Final Thoughts – My three souvenirs from Belize: Knowledge, memories and friends

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Having been exposed firsthand to both the tropical rainforest and the coral reef in the past two weeks, I now have a much better understanding of both ecosystems and their similarities. They both have very complex structures. The rainforest has multiple layers from the forest floor to the canopy, with varying light exposure and nutrient availability. On the other hand, the reef structure created by the stony corals give rise to nooks and crannies with varying light exposure and nutrient availability as well. This creates a multitude of microhabitats where organisms with different adaptations can colonize and flourish in, which gives rise to high level of diversity.

Both ecosystems rely on a specific base organism as their foundation, which are trees for the rainforest and stony corals for the coral reef. Similarly, we’ve learned that both the trees and stony corals flourish in a relatively nutrient-poor environment, and when there is nutrient enrichment, they tend to be outcompeted by other organisms such as ferns and green algae respectively.

From observations, the two ecosystems are different in their possible height. Coral reefs seem to be unable to grow to too deep, possibility due to light being unable to penetrate deep waters. However, forest canopies are able to stretch up to 30 meters high. The two ecosystems seem to also differ in their floor diversity. I found many organisms roaming the forest floors when I was hiking. However, the sandy floor of the coral reef seems to not hold that much life. It might be because of the presence of leaf litter in the rainforest which is a source of nutrients for organisms.

I came into this course with a pretty high expectation already because I had talked to Randy from the previous class. However, there are certainly many things that words cannot describe and I definitely experienced a lot more than what I heard about. The favorite part of this course, besides gaining so much new knowledge about the two ecosystems and EBIO in general, was getting the opportunity to work with and learn from so many individuals who are passionate about their fields of study. I could listen to Adrienne talk for hours about the different aspects of the coral reef and the stories of her experience working out in the field. I was inspired by Scott’s digging of the ants nest and his careful explanation of the social hierarchy of leaf cutter ants. I marveled at Therese’s journey through Gabon and her overcoming of the obstacles she faced while doing research there. Besides them, there were so many experts who I have met and learned from, such as Aimee from Loyola University who taught me how to fish for tarantulas in their holes, and Javy who gave me a better understanding of Belize’s national history. Meeting and working with such passionate people have inspired me want to keep learning every day.

My least favorite part of the course gotta be those moths that kept divebombing me in the face in Las Cuevas but that’s just a small matter and hopefully I can become more zen in the future like Tian-Tian was.

Having been through this course, I have firstly gained a deeper understanding of the importance of coral reefs and rainforests both to nature and to humans. I have seen firsthand the beauty of both ecosystems and hope that future generations will get to see them too. The second important thing I have gained from the course is the ability to snorkel and dive. This is not to be taken literally as I came into the course as a complete novice with regards to snorkeling, and struggled badly in the first few days. I did not even attempt a dive into the seafloor until towards the end of the second day. However, I kept trying and kept pushing to overcome the psychological barriers I had and eventually became more comfortable in the sea and so I felt that this was one of my major achievements in this course. Last but not least, I came into the class not knowing anyone and I certainly was not expecting to get along so well with my course mates as I did. It is interesting to look back to the first day and remember how reserved everyone was. Over the two weeks, we started opening up to one another, playing pranks on each other, and making memories together that we’ll never forget. It was awesome how much we have bonded over the two weeks, and I certainly look forward to continue building these friendships that I have made.

Signing out,

Damien

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Day 15 (5/30): The Belize Splurge and Purge

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I don’t want to leave Belize. I really don’t. But Deepu, remember that in the late 1300s Geoffrey Chaucer said all good things must come to an end. So, this tropical field biology expedition must come to an end. It has to. Geoffrey Chaucer said so.

After our last 6:30AM breakfast, we left Las Cuevas at 8AM on a rugged country road that I’m not a fan of but will dearly miss. I passed out and woke up to the van stopping at Orange Gallery, a souvenir shop where I splurged on two Belize bookmarks.

Bye-bye LCRS. You will be dearly missed.

We went to the restaurant Cheers for lunch and were treated like royalty- each person’s meal budget was forty Belizean dollars ($20 USD). I stuffed my intestines, stomach, and esophagus to my heart’s content in tribute to the beautiful foodstuffs this country offers. Then, we trudged onwards to the Belize airport. Even the van did not want to take us there.

Security check took 2 minutes. Not colloquially- literally. And here I am, forcing my body to move back to a country where security checks are so long that female anacondas get jealous.

I’m writing this on the plane to Houston. It just hit that I’ll be at home in T-18 hours as the flight attendant handed me Wheat Thins and honey roasted peanuts (Southwest really stepped up its snack game). Taxon-wise, just found a tick on my neck. I made sure to decapitate it with my thumb and index finger nails- just like a true TFB would. This trip will be something I remember for years to come. Belize was fun and unbelievable. It was funbelizeable.

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Day 14 (5/29): The Final Trek

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Today we had one job and one job only: collect 14 camera traps spread all over trails and forested area near the Las Cuevas Research Station. We headed out to the 50 Hectare Plot Trail around 8AM and finished collecting the 6 camera traps by around 10:30AM- amazing timing. The group hustled through the steep hills and walked with the intention of finishing the trail. Taxon-wise, I did not see any arachnids, probably because I was too focused on maintaining my balance and not tripping over hidden roots. I felt a lot better about trekking this trail today than Friday.

After returning to the station, I saw another red-rump tarantula (Brachypelma vagans)! It was located under the research station building, about 2 inches in diameter. Afterwards, we did our final presentations for the course, ate lunch, and headed out on the Monkey Tail Trail to pick up the last 8 camera traps at 1:20PM. This trail took us about 5 hours; granted, we did have to walk a bit farther and stopped to see some special organisms. Two Western Lubber grasshoppers were spotted, along with some longhorn beetles and a Mexican burrowing toad. Despite the length of the trail, the walk was good bonding time for the group- guffaws, chuckles, and laughs were shared that won’t be forgotten for years to come.

Anotha one (Red Rump Tarantula)

We stepped into the Las Cuevas Research Station at 6:30PM, ate dinner, and went to the classroom to unearth the pictures from our camera traps. The results were insane. The cameras revealed two ocelots, six lowland pacas, a great curassow, and a group of peccaries. 2 OCELOTS AND 10 OTHER LARGE ORGANISMS?!?! Such sightings are a new record in this EBIO 319 course. We were all ecstatic for these results because we did spend a bit of time setting up/taking down these cameras and were told not too many animals usually show up on these camera traps. Granted, much of our animal activity came from one camera trap set in one specific location, but that doesn’t matter! Ocelots rule!

Today’s the last official field day of this trip. Tomorrow we leave for the Belize airport at 7:30AM. It’s been eye-opening for sure.

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Day 13 (5/28): Arachnid Paradise

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I finally made it to bird-watching today! I saw two scarlet macaws perching on a high tree branch. At 8AM, we went out to the rainforest to collect our urine tubes. Upon analysis of these urine tubes back in the lab, we found ants, beetles, crickets, flies, and arachnids!

After lunch, we headed to the Las Cuevas Cave, which is about a 5 minute walk from the station. The entrance of the cave was massive- we looked down from a Mayan built platform and there was a 50 foot drop to the bottom. This cave had 9 chambers, each assembled by the Maya for ritualistic purposes. Due to archaeological excavation, we were only able to see the entrance of the cave and the first chamber.

The first chamber of the cave was dark, chilly, and mystical- a perfect place to present on amphibian and reptile taxon groups! Afterwards, Damien presented on tropical diseases back at the station. Then, we headed out on a 45 minute hike to the Bird Tower, an observation deck 300 feet in the air that oversees all of the Chiquibul Rainforest. The view was breathtaking. Everywhere I looked there were mountains, rolling hills, and deep rock crevasses. The research station was also visible from the Bird Tower- it was a small speck of clearing and really put our isolation to the rest of the world in perspective. Turiez topped everything off with an amazing presentation on her defaunation research in Gabon and the Amazon.

Bottom half of the Bird Tower

The Chiquibul

On the way back to the station was the self-proclaimed night hike. I saw a wolf spider (Hogna spp.), a tailless whip scorpion (Paraphyrnus raptator), and 2 Florida bark scorpions (Centruoides gracilis)! The wolf spider was motionless on a leaf while both the tailless whip scorpion and 2 Florida bark scorpions were found after Scott chipped some bark away from a dead tree.

 

Wolf Spider

Tailless whip scorpion

Florida Bark Scorpion

All in all, today felt very productive and I’m glad we had the chance to see all of these sights because tomorrow is our last full day at Las Cuevas :(.

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Day 12 (5/27): Tarantula!!!

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Today was catch-up day. We’ve been falling behind on lecture presentations the past few days, so we decided to grind out 7 presentations. After a morning presentation, we started a new project: the nitrogen project. All 11 of us had to urinate into 22 tubes which we attach to trees and bury in the ground- hopefully, arthropods are attracted to the nitrogen in our urine and fall into our tubes. It’s a 24-hour ordeal, so we will go back to the rainforest tomorrow to collect our critters and analyze the species diversity in the tubes.

We had lunch after the nitrogen project and knocked out another 3 presentations. Then came an activity I know Scott has been waiting for since last year’s course: the ant colony investigation. 3 differently aged ant colonies were investigated for their fungal chunks and any queens, ranging from 1-20 years of age. The oldest colony was estimated to be 10-15 years old and was MASSIVE. I’m talking at least 100-150 square feet of area with multiple entrance areas and a depth of at least 15 feet. Scott and a guide named Apache spent 45 minutes digging but could not find any fungal chunks- to put this in context, we found a fungal chunk in the first colony (1-year-old) in the first 10 minutes of digging about 8-12 inches.

Fungus grown in leaf-cutter ant colonies

The soldier ants in the oldest colony were also straight savage- they were about 1-1.5 inches long with mandibles that can bite through rubber. Damien had a soldier ant biting his pant legs and when Apache pulled the ant off Damien’s pants, the body detached and the head stayed attached to his pants- it was freaky.

I presented on arachnids after dinner, 2 other people presented, and then a group of us went tarantula hunting! We did not have much luck at first, but we were soon joined by Dr. Aimee (a spider expert), who easily showed us 3 huge red-rump tarantulas (Brachypelma vagans) and one Livingston tarantula (C. livingstoni). As a bonus, we saw two pauraque birds!

Red Rump Tarantula we found

There are 2 full days left in Las Cuevas. It seemed like forever ago we landed in the Belize City airport, but suddenly forever does not seem too long ago.

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Last but not least

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This morning I pulled tick number 19 off my ear and boarded a plane to DC. It feels strange being back on the grid, sending texts and walking past Subway and McDonald’s.

This trip was an experience unlike any that I have had before. I’m so happy to have met all of the TFBs. The reef and rainforest ecosystems were both incredible, in ways that I expected and in ways that I totally didn’t expect.

Accomplished TFBs

Middle Caye was, at first glance, a tropical paradise, with tall palm trees and surrounded by Gatorade-blue water. From a boat, the reef is mostly invisible. Only the reef crest, where waves break incessantly, and dark patches in the bright blue of the lagoon betrayed the reef’s position under the surface of the ocean.

Upon arrival, the Chiquibul Rainforest looked like a whole lot of trees. The ground is covered in leaf litter and the twisted roots of trees growing up and out in competition for sunlight.

In both the reef ecosystem and the rainforest ecosystem, complexity is present but not immediately apparent.

In the coral reef ecosystem, topographical complexity allows organisms to hide in crevices and under consolidated reef framework. Sponges, soft corals, and algae provide habitat, in addition to stony corals. Only after many days snorkeling around did I start to see the full range of diversity present in the ecosystem. I didn’t see any urchins until we were told to look, and then I found them tucked under rocks and under corals. I began to notice anemones wiggling in the seagrasses and I became more alert to the quick movement of reef fishes.

In the rainforest ecosystem, the diversity of plant life also provides a wide range of habitat for animal life. I did not notice the overwhelming abundance of arthropods in the rainforest until our small sampling effort yielded a whole lot of little critters. Insects and arachnids (including my enemy, the tick) were “hidden” in the grasses, on palm fronds, on tree trunks and vines and on the forest floor. Trees in the rainforest also provide habitat for other plant life (shout out epiphytes). The rainforest is far from being composed of only trees, just like the reef is far from being composed only of stony corals.

A huge similarity between the reef and the rainforest is the nutrient recycling imperative. Both coral reefs and tropical rainforests are incredibly diverse ecosystems despite being nutrient poor.

Coral reefs survive best in nutrient-poor waters. The microbial loop, during which detritus and dissolved organic matter (DOM) are incorporated into microorganisms on the reef, is necessary for rapid turnover. Tiny microorganisms are eaten, and the nutrients they consumed move up through the trophic levels on the reef. In tropical rainforests, soils are old and depleted of their nutrients. Rapid decomposition and turnover on the forest floor is a quintessential element of the rainforest. In the case of some nutrients (calcium and phosphorous) 99% appears to be recycled by forest plants.

My favorite activity from the trip was the Actun Tunichil Muknal archaeological reserve. Wading through chilly water and scrambling over slick rock formations in the dark was super cool on its own, but seeing the pottery left by the Maya and remains of human sacrifice left untouched for thousands of years was awe-inspiring. Also, the hike back through the forest in the pouring rain was rejuvenating.

My least favorite activity was collecting data on Christmas tree worms on the back reef off Middle Caye. Collecting data was difficult on the shallow reefs; constantly being pushed around by the waves and crashing into rocks was an inconvenience. Honestly, it was still a good time and Adolfo found the huge dead sponge there, so it was worth crashing around and spluttering in the waves for a while.

This course was incredibly educational; I felt like I was constantly absorbing new information. It met my expectations and exceeded them. Being a tropical field biologist requires hard-work and flexibility for when things inevitably don’t go as planned. But the experience also showed me that tropical field biology requires and encourages creativity. Being at Glover’s and Las Cuevas, in relatively untouched ecosystems, made me appreciate the awesomeness of nature.

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Day 11 (5/26): We did not get lost in the Chiquibul Rainforest.

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Today was our first full day at Las Cuevas and my first day I ever thoroughly ventured into the rainforest. Let me tell you, it was not what I expected. We spent a solid 8-9 hours in the in the Mayan thickets, walking on and off trails to set up camera traps for our tropical field biology project.

In the morning, we travelled on a path called the 50 Hectare Plot- it was really steep with two large hills and really large Mayan structures we had to climb over. On that trail, I saw a black jumping spider (Paraphidippus aurantis) and a small wolf spider (Hogna spp.). Also, we saw a mammal! It was climbing up a tall strangler fig and I pulled my camera out too late to get a good picture of it- it was identified as either a common possum or a type of Mexican porcupine.

Black jumping spider on 50 Hectare Plot Trail

We travelled on the Monkey Tail Trail after lunch, which was mostly flat with a few felled trees we had to climb over. It took us about 5 hours to navigate the trail and come back to the field station. The walk was interesting- we saw a scorpion snake, possible deer bones, and a fer-de-lance! Also, after our last off-trail camera trap setup, we were walking back to trail and did not get lost. I repeat, we did not get lost at 6PM in the Chiquibul Rainforest. We simply took a 40ish minute detour off trail before we thankfully reached trail.

Overall, today was a good experience- there were a lot of smells, sights, and sounds that I have never witnessed before. The forest is an environment I am not used to, so I was on edge the first hour or so. But, it’s actually a pretty serene place to be- once you forget about the venomous snakes, insects, and large cats roaming around.

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Day 10 (5/25): Bye-bye Paradise.

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We left Crystal Paradise Resort today. The moment was sad yet sobering. Nobody wanted to leave that cushy eco-lodge with an attached bathroom and outdoor thatched dining area, but we all knew that it must be done in the name of science. Scott and Turiez took us to a beautiful nature-made water park called Rio-on Pool before lunch. The place was magical- one can have his/her back massaged underneath the 20-foot waterfall and sunbathe in the shallow freshwater pools.

Rio-on Pool

Afterwards, we reached Las Cuevas two hours after we left Rio-on Pool, ate lunch, got briefed by the field manager Pedro, and then set off for our first forested path: the Maya Trail. Forest biodiversity is fascinating- the first forest species I saw was the bird Oropendullum montezuma. It is black with a yellow tail. Taxon-wise, I saw a wolf spider (Hogna spp.) and a green jumping spider (M. penicillatus) on the trail. There were a lot of spider webs attached to tree branches, but none of them had spiders- only food materials like a baby flies.

Green Jumping spider on a leaf

As we were walking through the Maya Trail, Scott paused, shoved his hand into some brush, and just casually pulled out a lizard. All of our jaws hit the forest floor, but little did we know that him pulling random organisms out of the brush would become a common occurrence.

We saw three Mayan structures today: a pyramid, a low wall, and a ball court. The pyramid was 40-50 feet high and really steep, but we still managed to climb it. There was nothing at the top- for some reason I thought there would be a secret tunnel into the pyramid. Oh Deepu, you dreamer you. The low wall structure is suspected to be some sort of pathway to a cave, which Mayans regarded as sacred sites. The ball court was pretty cool- the walls to it rose up about 15-20 feet on two opposite sides and the game played in the court often ended in one team getting sacrificed.

Las Cuevas gives off a feeling of mystique and excitement which I’ve never experienced before. Tomorrow we set camera traps!

2017

Day 15 – The end of a two-week dream

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Hi friends,

Last day! We didn’t really do much other than travelling on the van so there isn’t much to write about. More will come on the final wrap-up post.

In the morning we all woke up early for birding. There wasn’t much activity really which made us feel pretty bummed out. However, after breakfast just when we were about to head out, a flock of scarlet macaws flew over us as if they were bidding us farewell. That was awesome!

We took the van to a souvenir shop and then to a restaurant for lunch. Ordered a steak as I like to try out steaks in different countries to see the difference. This steak had shrimp with some interesting orange sauce on it which was pretty cool. Had a jumbo sized watermelon juice with the steak and it was awesome!

After lunch we went to the airport and checked in. We then took the airplane back to Houston and some people left from the airport while Mikey, Jordan, Tian-Tian and I accompanied Turiez and Scott back to Rice. Got to meet Turiez’s boyfriend Nick which was cool after hearing so much about him over the past two weeks. Didn’t get to see any mammals by the way.

Well that’s it, the end of an amazing two weeks in Belize. I felt like I just stepped out of a dream when I got back to Houston. I’ve learned so so much and would definitely continue pursuing my interest in wildlife and conservation whenever I get the opportunity to do so.

Till next time,

Damien

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Day 9 (5/24): ATM AT ATM

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Today was a day of tourism. The destination was the Actun Tunichil Muknal (ATM) Cave in San Ignacio. Around 8AM, we left the Tropical Education Center for the last time, stopped at Benge’s Cost Less general store to drop off our luggage trailer, and reached the ATM Cave by 9:40AM. Our guide took us on an hour hike through the rainforest towards the cave, which was devastated from a hurricane last year- the guide told us that at least 15-foot water waves ripped through the trail we were hiking on, damaging a lot of the trees there.

The cave is a wet cave; when we reached the cave’s mouth, we swam through refreshingly frigid waters and continued to hike/swim through the wet part of the cave before we scaled a tall rock face on a sketch ladder to the cave’s dry part. On the way to the dry part, the guide pointed out stalactite and stalagmite formations that looked like curtains and dresses- all naturally created by water over millions of years.

The dry part was ridden with ancient Mayan ceramics and 14 human skeletons, of which we saw five. These remains are said to be from Mayan sacrifices done in conjunction with bloodletting ceremonies to appease the rain god Chaac and other deities in times of drought or hardship. Speaking of bloodletting, I scraped my knee on a rock and it was pouring rain once we exited the cave. Coincidence or did I just unintentionally appease the Mayan rain god Chaac with my type A negative blood?

I only saw one unidentified spider today in the cave- it was large, brown, and motionless on a rock. It very much looked like a wolf spider but the legs were more spindly and longer. After the ATM Cave, we drove to San Ignacio downtown and spent time strolling through shops and the fruit market before heading to our eco-lodge for the night, Crystal Paradise Resort. Everything about that resort was rustic and grandeur: thatched roof, huge rooms, and an attached bathroom! I was really excited for that attached bathroom. After dinner, I presented on the geologic and biogeographic history of Belize, strolled around the eco-lodge for a bit, and finally crashed in my bed at 10PM.

Crystal Paradise Resort Hut

Rice University