Tag Archives: 2016

Uncategorized

The Trouble With Vans + Belize Zoo Night Tour

Leave a comment

Hello everyone! This was an interesting day schedule wise. Though we were originally supposed to leave Las Cuevas at 7 am and head to the ATM cave, our van did not show up until around 11 am. Unfortunately, this meant that we would have to skip the cave tour, but we did get to hear a really neat talk by one of the workers at Las Cuevas and spend a little extra time being at one with the rainforest.

An agouti from the Belize zoo
An agouti from the Belize zoo

Once the van finally arrived, we ended up heading to a souvenir shop, small café, and supermarket to pass some time before traveling to the Tropical Education Center where we’re staying for the night. After a quick dinner, we got to go on a Night Tour of the Belize Zoo (!!!!) where we saw and interacted with some amazing animals. We got to touch a black jaguar’s paw, watch a spotted jaguar do somersaults and climb a platform, see ocelots, margays, a puma, and feed carrots to a tapir (the national animal of Belize) among other things.

Lucky Boy, the black jaguar at the Belize Zoo
Lucky Boy, the black jaguar at the Belize Zoo

While we were roaming the zoo near the margay cage, I did spy a beetle that had landed on one of my classmates. It was a couple of centimeters long and brown, but other than that I did not get too close of a look at it because it quickly flew away so I am not sure what it was (probably a darkling beetle of some sort). Despite all of the travel adjustments that had to be made today, I would still call today a great day because of the wonderful zoo tour. After all, when else am I going to be able to touch a black jaguar’s paw and feed carrots to a tapir? 🙂

Feeding carrots to the national animal of Belize, the tapir
Feeding carrots to the national animal of Belize, the tapir
Uncategorized

Camera Trap Pickup + Another Long Hike

1 Comment

Hi everyone! I have some cool news to share about our camera trap results (from the camera traps that we placed our first day here at Las Cuevas)! Captured on film were a couple brown jays, a curassow, a tapir, an agouti, and an ocelot! Though we weren’t able to find a definitive answer to our question of whether there was a difference in species’ composition and richness between man-made or natural sites in the Chiquibul, the fact that we got to see these fascinating species wandering in the same places where we spend our days is amazing.

DSCN0893

Speaking of neat species, I did get to see a couple new beetles today! During the afternoon portion of our trek, I spied a small chestnut brown beetle similar to a june bug (Phyllophaga spp). A large black/brown stag beetle (Lucanus capreolus) was also found flying around seemingly in a slightly distressed manner in the classroom tonight.

The Chiquibul Rainforest: a fascinating place full of undiscovered mysteries
The Chiquibul Rainforest: a fascinating place full of undiscovered mysteries

Sitting here after another 13 mile hike during our last day at Las Cuevas Research Station, it’s hard to believe that our five days here are already at an end. However, I am excited for tomorrow because we are heading to another neat cave as well as to the Belize Zoo! 🙂

Uncategorized

Day 7: Collecting Camera Traps

1 Comment

Today we spent the day collecting the 12 camera traps that we placed on day 3. We got a much earlier start than we got when we were putting the traps up, which meant that we were able to collect them all before it got dark. We were done at 3:30pm and made it back before dark, unlike last time.

After we got back, we looked through all of the pictures that our cameras had gathered. Unfortunately one of our camera’s battery died soon after we placed it, and seven of our cameras didn’t get any pictures of wildlife (unless you count very tired and dirty humans). As we scrolled through picture after picture of leaves moving and humans crossing the camera, our hopes dwindled. Luckily we were able to catch some animals. Two of our cameras caught what seemed to be the same bird species, and maybe even the same individual. Another camera caught a curassow, which is a very large black bird. But by far our most exciting sights were a tapir, ocelot, and agouti. Knowing that these animals were so close to where we had walked and spent time is almost unreal. It is strange to think about how many animals are roaming the area right by where we are but always just out of sight.

Tree species that I noticed today were the bayleaf palm (Sabal mauritiiformis) and the bay cedar (Guazuma ulmifolia). I also noticed a branch and a seedpod on the ground that were covered in dense brown spines. Each spine was about half an inch long. Based on the resources that I have, my best guess is that the species was Bactris major, but I am not sure that my analysis of the species is correct.

Uncategorized

Day 6: Insects Galore

1 Comment

Day 6 began by collecting pitfall traps that we set out yesterday. The traps consisted of either water or urine and we’re placed in trees and on the ground. Insects either are attracted to the traps or fall into them and then are stuck. I was pleasantly surprised to see how many of our traps had caught insects in the 16-ish hours that they had been set up. We spent the morning analyzing the number of insects we caught. We looked at where they were caught and what morphospecies they were in order to determine the species richness and abundance of the samples. We then spent some time going over our data. It was difficult to determine exactly how we should summarize the data. We ended up coming up with one conclusion but completely reversing it after we talked to Adrienne and Scott. In the end, we found that insects in the canopy had a greater need for nitrogen and were more attracted to the urine traps.

In the evening we went on our first official night hike. Near the beginning of the hike we found an Acacia tree right on the trail that had two stick insects hanging off of it. The green stick insect was around a foot long and was hanging upside down with its front two legs extended above its head. The other stick insect was smaller and brown. Soon after we began observing them, the brown insect started climbing pretty quickly up the tree and away from our light.

Can you find the green stick insect?
Can you find the green stick insect? What about the long brown spines of the Acacia?

Acacias are special because they have a mutualism with ants, like Cecropia. The ant species is different and more aggressive. The tree that we observed didn’t appear to have an active ant colony, but we didn’t look very hard for it.

We also saw a lot of spiders and roaches.  We saw two tarantulas on a huge tree, which was different because all of the other tarantulas that we’ve seen have been on the ground. There were a lot of other large spiders and roaches that we would be much less likely to see during the day. It was good to be able to experience the forest at night, when so many new creatures can be seen.

Uncategorized

Day 8: what we have here is a classic example of a lack of communication

1 Comment

So we were supposed to drive to a cave this morning at 7 am. Then the bus didn’t arrive until noon. In our extra time though I got a better chance to stand still and see the blue morphos instead of chasing after them. I saw one pretty close and it just flew right by me.

I also saw a big cat walking in the forest. I think it might have been a puma, but I’m not sure. Maybe I’ll be able to tell from seeing the animals in the zoo tonight. We’ll be taking a night tour and seeing some of the animals we haven’t had a chance to in the wild.

Right now though we are pit stopped at a resteraunt. Tomorrow we go the rest of the way to the reef. FOLLOW UP: We are staying basically at the zoo tonight. We got to feed a tapir and got to see a jaguar, ocelot, puma, margay be fed. Each of the cats (except the margay) made their own very weird sounds. Also we saw crocodiles, owls, pacas, and snakes.

image

Uncategorized

Ocelots, Orchid bees, Curassows, oh my! Day 7

1 Comment

Finally I saw a green orchid bee today while we were out collecting all twelve of our traps. We decided to hike the route backwards today, climbing the hardest hills first, which I found was significantly easier today. We also had an early start and it was cool in the morning, so I didn’t think hiking the same 13 miles was as bad as the first time. As we were retrieving our first camera trap, Sam pointed out this beautiful iridescent green bee to me. It was definitely an orchid bee and I can tell you, they are as beautiful as the photos they appear in.

After we collected all the traps, we headed to the classroom after dinner to search through all the photos. Most of the photos were of us and the other group staying at Las Cuevas. We felt pretty sad, until we saw a tapir in one of our photos! We screamed with excitement, and then discovered that we also had a photo of an agouti, curassow, and an ocelot. I had originally just wanted to capture a cat, and so I am happy with the result of our 26 mile hike.

DSCN3453
View from the Bird Tower
Uncategorized

Stumbling through the dark, Day 6

Leave a comment

Today we retrieved our vials and performed our largest experiment yet, which involved sorting through specimens and separating them into morphospecies. After presenting our findings to Adrienne and Scott, we realized that there are a ton of ways to analyze data and that we definitely didn’t use the best methods to present our findings. Another day, another learning experience.

After that, we had quite a few lectures lasting into the afternoon. We heard from Lauren, a graduate student that has been living at Las Cuevas since January. She is here trying to answer the question of why carnivores are present in the Chiquibul and thinks that human made trails and roads act as corridors for these species. She’s also one of those people that you instantly admire.

After our lectures, we went out on a night hike. It was quite entertaining. We were seeing insects and arachnids left and right. I could hear Adrienne and Michael screaming and yelling in the dark. We saw a lot of monkey hoppers, a few tarantulas, the largest spider I have ever seen, leaf cutter ants, massive walking sticks, a green caterpillar, and a coral snake (venomous!). Overall it was an exciting hike.

No bees again today, most likely because we were in the classroom all day. But I did set out some scents in a little cup near the forest edge. Maybe I’ll see something tomorrow.

 

Uncategorized

Day 7: Last Day at Las Cuevas

Leave a comment

It’s strange to think that our first half of the class is already over. We’ve wrapped our camera trap project by seeing some spectacular mammals of the Belize forest like the strange tapir. I think as a team, we’ve come out of these projects as something like buddies, always watching out for each other and informing anyone if an interesting species was ever encountered.

In terms of cockroaches, not many were encountered, due to the fast paced nature of the final wrap up day. However, I must say that being in Belize for this past week and photographing, witnessing, and teaching on the cockroaches of Belize has taught me the importance of studying these misunderstood insects. Belizean roaches are very understudied, and studying these guys has given me novel information on the variety of roach species in the area as well as some insights into their behavior, from nymph behaviors to escape/defense mechanisms. While I doubt that I will be able to contribute something significant to the scientific roach community with my pictures and notes, I do hope that through these posts pique the interests of the readers into realizing the unappreciated beauty of roaches.

It’s certainly been an unforgettable experience, from doing night hikes, walking 13.275 miles, collecting roaches, doing experiments, giving lectures, and just being aspiring TFBs (tropical field biologists). I wonder if things will change as we transition to the ocean portion of this course! Stay tuned for more to come!

Black orchid. Belize's national flower
Black orchid. Belize’s national flower
Uncategorized

Day 6: Not Everything is as it Seems

Leave a comment

What an exciting evening! After collecting our traps, gathering data, and finding seven species of roaches in those traps, we finally had our night-hike through the Maya Trail where we could see the forest activity in the nighttime. So many cockroaches were active at the time, nymphs and adults, large and small, colorful and drab! Most cockroaches that we see in the wild are drab in color, which helps facilitate their ability to hide on trees and in leaf litter. However, today’s hike has shown me BY FAR the strangest roach I had ever seen!

This roach was huge, probably a maximum of 10 cm, and had no wings, giant legs, and 6 orange dots towards the edge of its abdomen. However, it’s last two segments, which would supposedly be covered by exoskeleton was strangely white, soft, and exposed. I thought it was in the process of molting, since molted roaches are indeed white in color, but roaches molt from the head to tail, not the other way around. My only thoughts were that this big buddy had unfortunately been attacked and lost some of its exoskeleton. As I found ants all over the forest floor, I figured this magnificent creature was doomed to be ant food.

A few moments later, I heard a call from my colleagues. A roach of the exact same appearance had been spotted, complete with the strange white butt. It was then, I thought, two roaches, with the exact same body as each other, therefore the white end cannot be an accident. In excitement, I decided to capture a specimen for a closer look. Then the unexpected happened.

The white end exudes a sticky, dry fasting glue when the roach is distressed. Not only that, but when I had gotten the roach into my container, it suddenly hissed. This hiss is not your ordinary cat hiss or your ordinary roach hiss, which is short and sudden. This was a long, loud, sustained, and violent hissing (for a few seconds) on the roach’s part. It was almost as if it were a scream. It definitely scared most of the people with me, and it almost gave me a heart attack! Not only was this specimen not documented in my research, but this behavior of glue defenses and sustained hissing was unheard of, even to my instructors. Perhaps it was this reason, that the roach could sit openly in the field surrounded by ants. It has many defenses up its sleeve for protection.

Afterwards, I released the roach back into the wild, where it slowly waddled away, seemingly exhausted from the stressful ordeal. Definitely one of the coolest specimens I have ever come across and I hope to read more about it when I go back!

DSCN2706

Other than that roach, I found many nymphs as well as a giant black roach spanning 6 or more inches or about the size of my hand!

2016

Joys of the Jungle

Leave a comment

I’m sitting at the back of the dorm building in the perfect temperature, listening to the sounds of scarlet macaws and watching everything turn a misty gold as evening rolls in. I love fieldwork.
DSCN2733
Day 6 proved another successful day for mammal spotting. During another early morning walk, we spotted coatimundis just off the trail. At least two individuals were climbing and jumping through the trees, sometimes at spectacular heights. After some careful observation, we also noticed some Central American spider monkeys in a tree a bit further away. The monkeys seemed to be foraging, and their somewhat trill calls could be heard if we listened closely. We also heard Mexican black howler monkeys very close by, but did not see them. I swear that they’re taunting me.

While we spent a lot of time indoors today, we also learned a lot about scientific practice. After collecting the urine and water pit fall traps that had been set up yesterday, we sorted through the arthropods collected in them. I found many species of ants, a spider, a cricket, and a roach. We then calculated the numbers of species and individuals in urine versus water traps in both the canopy and on the forest floor. Depending on the statistical tests used, we got different results as to which community sought out the nitrogen-rich urine more. This demonstrates the importance of choosing the correct statistical metrics when analyzing data.

We are also doing a lot of lectures today in order to open up time when we head to the Belize Zoo in two days. Tonight, we will have a presentation by one of the researchers stationed here at Las Cuevas who is studying jaguars. I am really excited to meet her and hear about her work! We are also going to take a night hike later in the night. I’m hoping to see some mammals on this trek (or at least some eye shines), as many species are nocturnal.

I’m definitely in my element here.