Tag Archives: 2016

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Day 5: Cave Mysteries

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Today was a bit low on cockroaches, mostly because our group was out busily setting up our pitfall traps. We wanted to analyze differences in nitrogen limitations (AKA organisms desire for nitrogen compounds) between creatures that live high in the forest canopy and those that live on the ground since distribution of nutrients is different in those locations. These traps held nitrogen bait (human urine!) and served to trap insects within. One trap was set onto a tree and another on the ground. Maybe this will be a good chance to see a few roaches!

Most of the roaches that I have found in Belize were often under a pile of leaves, feeding on decaying matter. The advantages of such a bottom-dweller lifestyle is double edged. Dead materials are not usually heavily competed for due to abundance of microbes and leaf litter provides excellent protection from predators and aspiring entomologists like myself. Perhaps in light of this, I can predict that if the traps can fit roaches, then I should find more roaches in the ground traps than in the tree traps. But whether their contribution to our question on differences in nitrogen limitations of the canopy and the ground will matter is up in the air until tomorrow when we retrieve our traps. Before then, I can only guess.

A roach was sighted during a noon leisure excursion to one of the Las Cuevas trails. It was tiny, wingless and fast moving. I tried to snap a photo, but it managed to hide a part of its body behind one of the spines of a give and take palm. Better than nothing I guess! I could improve my roach findings by perhaps searching during one of our night hikes!

Other than trap setups, our team visited a cave near where we lived, learning about the caves history and use by the ancient Mayan societies as a ceremonial ritual between their chief and the nine realms of the underworld that each section of the cave represented. In spite of the uneven terrain and low oxygen levels, I was captured by the mystery surrounding the cave structures and biological life! We spotted bats, tiny insects like diplurans, isopods, crickets, and even large millipedes, and learned how these creatures were sustained by cave nutrition. This may come in the form of droppings by bats or by nutrients entering the cave. No roaches, so bummer for me, but exciting nevertheless to explore one of the mysterious habitats of the earth!

Into the cave we go!
Into the cave we go!

P.S: speaking of mysteries, we found a peccary skeleton in a tiny chamber of a cave. I wonder how it got there? Did it wander through the pitch-black cave and get lost, or was it brought in as sacrifice by an ancient tribe.

 

2016, Uncategorized

Day 5: MAMMALS!!

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Today was the best day at Las Cuevas thus far. In comparison to most other days, I saw many mammals today of various new species. The most exciting viewing occurred at the very beginning of the day, during an early morning walk in the forest. As I neared the entrance to the research station clearing, a tayra (type of weasel) walked across the path about 15 to 20 meters ahead. The tayra looked very typical, with a dark brown body, paler head, and yellowish chest patch. Upon seeing me, the animal raised its tail and began to growl softly. After taking a few steps forward, it calmly decided that I was not worth its time and walked off into the forest. Amazing!

Tayra captured as it walks back into the forest cover
Tayra captured as it walks back into the forest cover

We had a few other mammal encounters today. As has occurred the last few days, we heard Mexican black howler monkeys from the research station. Today, the howling was more frequent and louder. I’m hoping that this means that we can actually find them in the forest soon.

Additionally, we saw two species of bats when we visited the Las Cuevas caves. The nine-chamber system used to be an ancient Mayan ritual site, as can be seen by the built structures and pottery sherds (sherds for pottery, shards for glass, as I learned today). While crawling through the caves, we came across a small group of wrinkle-faced bats roosting in the cave ceiling. In another chamber, we saw a larger group of what were likely gray fruit bats hanging upside down from the ceiling. The high-pitched sounds made by these animals was really cool to experience.

Gray fruit bats with distinctive noseleaves
Gray fruit bats with distinctive noseleaves

We also started another project today that we will conclude tomorrow. We set up vials of urine (produced locally) and water (as a control) as pit-fall traps for insects and other arthropods. We put half of these in trees and half in the ground to test whether tree species are more attracted to the nitrogen-rich urine due to nitrogen limitation in the canopy. Hopefully we’ll catch some cool creatures overnight!

Finally, one of tonight’s lectures was given by Boris Arevalo, a biologist for Friends for Conservation and Development. He discussed the various challenges and opportunities associated with the Chiquibul forest, and how conservation involves an understanding of social, political, and ecological issues. I found this very fascinating, especially as he discussed the delicate situation between Guatemala and Belize at the border. I look forward to hearing more from other researchers here at the station tomorrow!

2016

All About Ants

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Today was all about ants! The day started with the developing and testing of hypotheses regarding the Cecropia tree and the Azteca ants. Azteca ants live in Cecropia trees, providing protection for the tree against herbivory. However, young Cecropia trees do not yet have these ant symbionts, so we looked at how these juveniles might avoid herbivory without their ant defenders. In the afternoon, we learned about leafcutter ants by digging up three ant nests at different stages. The first was about a year old colony, the second about 5 years, and the third at least 10 years of age. Learning about these ant societies was really interesting, as they effectively function as one super-organism.

Evidence of two species of mammals was definitely observed today. On our way back from the final leafcutter ant nest, we heard Mexican black howler monkeys from afar. However, the howling got significantly louder over the next half hour. We guess that the primates were likely about 100 meters from us at their closest proximity. I loved standing in the forest when some others had moved ahead, just listening to the roars of the howlers. We also saw a wrinkle-faced bat after dinner that had been caught in a mist net by another group at the station. The bat was much smaller than would be expected, and had a pug-like face. Some other animal sightings included army ants and a tree frog (on my clothing that was hanging to dry!).

Wrinkle-faced bat
Wrinkle-faced bat

I also gave my first presentation today on cave life. I’m very excited to put this knowledge to practice tomorrow in the caves! Hopefully we will see many more bats and other specialized cave species.

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Day 5: Null Hypotheses and Spelunking Adventures

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Today we started off by summarizing the results from our experiments yesterday about Cecropia and ant interactions. My group ended up with negative results. We didn’t find any evidence of young Cecropia mimicking other plants. We did notice some differences between juvenile and adult trees, such as red petioles (the stems of leaves) and slightly longer trichomes (the tiny hairs on plants). However, we weren’t able to conclusively determine that those differences had an adaptive role. One group tested the toughness of juvenile and adult leaves and found that juvenile leaves were tougher. This could be adaptive because it would make it more difficult for herbivores to eat the leaves. If the project was continued, it would be beneficial to see if herbivores preferred younger or older leaves.

We also were able to visit the cave at Las Cuevas. The cave was a part of Mayan ceremonies, and there is still evidence of their presence. There are pottery shards throughout the cave system and the cave is built up in some areas. Platforms were built near the entrance and some spaces between chambers were made to be narrower. The whole history behind the cave is extremely interesting. The caves also had some wildlife. We saw at least two species of bats, millipedes, and a species of scorpion with long legs and no tail. One of the best aspects about the cave was how undeveloped it was. I’m not used to visiting preserved caves that haven’t been commercialized. It was cool to feel like I was one of the first to visit the cave, even though many, many people have visited it before me.

Entering the cave
Entering (taking pictures of) the cave

My favorite trees today were the big trees that we commonly see around the Chiquibul. The cedar (Cedrela odorata) can be 20-30m tall. Right now it doesn’t have leaves, but it has some wooden seed pods that are still attached to the branches. The seed pods look like 5-petaled flowers – they’re very pretty. Another big tree is the ceiba (Ceiba pentandra). When it is mature, its bark is very smooth and it can reach 60-70m. It has been difficult for me to identify ceiba from their leaves because the trunks reach so high into the canopy.

Ceiba
Cedar seed pod

We only have two more full days at LCRS, so we’ll have to make them count!

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Beetles, Beetles Everywhere + Pitfall Traps + Cave Explorations

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Hi everyone! First things first, today was a great day for beetle spotting! We went on a small hike before lunch down the Monkey Tail Trail and found some great beetles. The first was a patent leather beetle (of the species Odontotaenius disjunctus) of about 3.5 cm long among the leaf litter, the second was a small chestnut brown colored scarab beetle (identified by its segmented antennae and fairly round body among other things) of the family Scarabaeidae. We also found a 3 cm long grub of a beetle on a log on the side of the Monkey Tail Trail and an empty black elytra abandoned in the middle of the trail. The elytra was a little difficult to identify, but it was about 3.5 cm long, had one flat edge and gently curved to the middle. Perhaps it could have come from something similar to a flower beetle or another firefly (family Lampyridae).

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A scarab beetle, family Scarabaeidae

On our second trek along the Maya trail we also found a black beetle with reddish spots on its elytra about 1 cm that could possibly be of the genus Mycetina. Last, but definitely not least, I just identified another black ground beetle that appeared to be of the same species as yesterday’s (family Carabidae) crawling along the floor below my chair.

A look back at the cave entrance before we ventured further into the dark zones
A look back at the cave entrance before we ventured further into the twilight and dark zones

Other exciting things we did today was explore the Las Cuevas Cave. We went down into the different zones of the cave (entrance zone, twilight zone, and dark zone) and explored the creatures and geological structures of the cave. Some interesting things we observed there were a peccary skeleton, some wrinkle-nosed bats, and pieces of ancient Mayan pottery. Afterward we set up some pitfall traps of urine and water along the Maya trail to investigate if canopy dwelling species (particularly arthropods) were more limited to nitrogen than forest floor dwelling species and looked at what might have been some Mayan plazas. We then climbed to the top of what appears to be a hill but is suspected to be an ancient Mayan ceremonial temple. That’s all for now everybody! Thanks for reading! 🙂

The pecory skeleton inside the cave
The pecory skeleton inside the cave
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Ants All Day + Cecropia Trees + Nest Excavation

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Hello everyone! As today’s title implies, today’s activities focused on a few different species of ants. This morning we split into a few different groups and performed experiments to test how Cecropia trees, which usually rely on a symbiosis with Aztec ants to fend off herbivores, survive before they are old enough to provide for ants. My group in particular focused on if there is a physical difference between the young and old Cecropia trees that resulted in this deterrence. One way we did this was using a penetrometer to test the toughness of the leaves.

During the day, we also found a trail of Army ants along the road and the cone-shaped holes of the ant lion under the classroom building. In the afternoon, we excavated three leaf-cutter ant nests to find the fungi that they cultivate. It was really cool to see all of the different castes of these ants as they swarmed out of the nests and not nearly as scary as I thought it would be.

A peek into the leaf-cutter ants' fungi garden
A peek into the leaf-cutter ants’ fungi garden

In terms of beetle spottings, one small narrow bodied black beetle (I believe it was of a similar species to the Brentus anchorago beetle based on its body shape, similar abdomen and thorax size, and very narrow snout) was found near the 10 year ant nest. There was also a 2-3 cm black and brown beetle (I think it might also have been a ground beetle, similar to the Lebia genus) with a narrow body in the classroom. A tiny black beetle of around 1 cm was also found on a leaf of a small tree around a juvenile Cecropia tree. This beetle I think was of the Cysteodemus genus based on its highly rounded abdomen covered with punctate marks. There were also more fireflies of the same species as yesterday (Ellychnia within the Lampyridae family). Finally, there was a black ground beetle (family Carabidae, species similar to Calosoma calidum or a species in the genus Harpalus) of about 4 cm crawling around in the girls’ bathroom sink late tonight. Thanks for reading everyone! 🙂

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A black ground beetle, family Carabidae

 

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The Art of Spelunking (Day 5)

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I never truly appreciated the feeling of being clean until today. There’s one thing about coming back hot and sweaty after a hike, but it’s quite a different feeling returning from an afternoon of spelunking covered in a fine mixture of mud and bat guano.

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View from inside Las Cuevas cave.
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Wrinkle-faced bat inside Las Cuevas cave.

But let’s backtrack. Today’s tasks began relatively lightly by wrapping up our (inconclusive) cecropia experiments. The day’s primary activity was the exploration of the cave from which Las Cuevas gets its name (and water). The 9-chambered cave is the center of an ancient Mayan ceremonial site, with each of the rooms representing one of the nine layers of the Mayan underworld. The cave holds numerous Mayan structures and pottery, and even what appeared to be a human femur. I doubt I’ll be picking up spelunking for recreation anytime soon, but our exploration gave me a newfound appreciation for cave biology. We found two species of bats within the cave system, as we crawled on hands and knees through narrow passageways that opened into large caverns. I thought I was clean until the cave’s final test: a tiny chamber with low oxygen content, housing a peccary skeleton. Let’s just say I was in great need of a hot bath after that adventure.

Finally, we set up an experiment to test nitrogen deficiency in arthropods of the rainforest canopy. Once again, we utilized extremely sophisticated technologies to create pitfall traps for arthropods in the canopy and forest floor, taking advantage of our most accessible nitrogen source: urine. I was thankfully spared from urine collection, but the afternoon was dedicated to setting up pitfall traps along the Maya trail (not named after yours truly). Though there were no sightings today, the leaf-litter our traps were set in are a prime habitat for venomous snakes; the forest floor was thoroughly checked for species like the yellow-jawed tommygoff (Bothrops asper) before setting traps. I did however spot several anole species along the Maya trail, all of which moved too quickly to be identified.

All in all, day 5 of EBIO 319 is best summed up by the following statement by Dr. Scott Solomon, “We’re exploring the mammalian excretory system!”

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An Ant’s Life (Day 4)

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We began our first real experiments bright and early this morning on the cecropia, or trumpet tree, which is known for its mutualistic relationship with Azteca ants. The hollow tree tunk provides shelter for the ants, and, in exchange, the ants defend against herbivores vying for the cecropia’s lobe-shaped leaves. Though cecropia’s mutalism with ants is incredibly effective, young cecropia trees are not yet colonized. How, then, do these juvenile trees protect themselves from herbivory?

We hypothesized that young cecropia use chemical defenses (like toxins or pheromones) to deter herbivores. Our pilot experiment involved collecting generalist herbivores, such as grasshoppers, and offering them both adult and juvenile cecropia leaves. We may not have the technology for chemical analysis here, but we do have sophisticated pieces of equipment like Tupperware and a butterfly net. We’ll see tomorrow if the insects opt to consume one leaf over the other, or even die after ingesting a toxic leaf.

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A mature leaf-cutter ant nest.

The day’s ant theme continued with an afternoon dedicated to the fascinating life history of leaf-cutter ants. We looked at three leaf-cutter ant nests ranging from 1 to 10+ years old, observing their intricate tunnel systems and foraging trails. I was most amazed by the anthropomorphic qualities of leaf-cutter ants; they essentially act as farmers by cultivating fungus for food. The afternoon’s primary goal was uncovering these fungus gardens, which can sustain colonies of millions of ants.

Our focus today made reptile sightings difficult, as snakes and lizards are unlikely to be found in the vicinity of a large ant’s nest. Though we walked many of the same trails as yesterday, I wasn’t able to spot any of the Sumichrast’s skinks found yesterday in the leaf litter. I actually found better luck indoors today, spotting another common house gecko (Hemidactylus frenatus) running along the walls of our classroom.

2016

Day 5: Look, a hole in the ground. Let’s go inside it.

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Today we hung vials of our urine on trees and went to the Las Cuevas Cave. It was so sublime. Get it? Sub-lime… stone. Sub limestone. Like going under the limestone, you know? Into a cave and stuff. Doing cave stuff like crawling through mud and bat poop.

I discovered an interesting biological phenomenon. There is a very blatant negative correlation between my fatigue level and my mental capacity. I sincerely apologise for the poor English and abysmal humour I’m subjecting you to. Although who am I kidding. Is anyone even reading this? Hi Scott and Adrienne, thanks for reading.

-Randy

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Cave… More Like Rave

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Today we went into Las Cuevas Cave, which is Spanish means “The Caves Cave.” Cool, but not exactly creative.

Here’s the whole TFB squad with our snazzy headlamps on. This is around when the electronic music began and we all started raving.

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This was the first totally dark cave system I have ever explored. The sights and sounds were foreign to say the least.

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The entrance to the cave was the only place all day where there was any penetration of natural light. Here cave swifts (birds) hunted for insects in what looked like the most fun method of hunting I have seen here in Belize. They flapped their wings vigorously for a few seconds and then dove down only to catch themselves midair when they ate a bug and repeat the cycle. Fun.

In the cave, life takes on strange forms. With little to no light the organisms here have evolved to survive without seeing much, instead feeling around with their long, slender limbs. For example, we have the cave cricket (pictured here) from the family Raphidophoridae is a bizarre take on the classic cricket. It has a humped back and long antenna for searching the cave in low light conditions. Creepy.

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