Tag Archives: 2016

2016

First day fun day

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The first day was full of excitement but also a series of unfortunate events. Hobby was out of water so no one could get lunch. Scott lost his laptop, and had a toad pee on his hand. The projector didn’t work for the presentation. But even though all these unfortunate things happened, I still had a great time. No one has died yet so that’s good.

I discovered that Adrienne gets progressively funnier and less filtered as her blood glucose level falls. Mandy and Anna really like talking about food and meat lover’s pizza. Clare turned 21 today. I really enjoyed the way the presentations work, it’s like we are each other’s teachers. I say this now… maybe I’ll feel different tomorrow after I present.

Oh yeah. Saw some animals too, those are cool too. Actually I was interrupted whilst typing this because Scott found a Boa Constrictor in a tree. Super awesome, props to his 20 20 night vision.

Can’t wait till tomorrow. Hopefully I don’t get sunburnt.

-Randy

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Hungry and sad, Day 1

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Today I felt helpless as I stared into the eyes of the cashier at Subway, as she told me they weren’t making or selling sandwiches. I had skipped breakfast that morning thinking I would grab a large lunch at the airport but when we arrived at Hobby, we learned that the water had shut off. Consequently, all the restaurants could no longer serve food, as not washing hands was a health code violation. Alas, I settled on two bags of potato chips and entertained myself at Subway for half an hour watching hangry passengers walk up to the Subway cashier only to be told the horrifying news.

While I was hangry today in the airport, it largely didn’t bother me too much. I think over the years I have come to accept the not-so-great things that happen to me because there is no sense in working myself up over something I have no ability to change. Plus, I was about to board a plane to Belize! As I expected, it was quite humid and warm as we descended from the aircraft onto Belizean territory. Once we went through customs and left the airport, we all boarded ourselves into a van and made a two-hour trek to Crystal Paradise, a hotel outside of San Ignacio near the Guatemalan border.

Dinner tasted particularly wonderful and right afterword, Mandy, Sasha, and Sam gave their presentations. While I tried to stay interested, I must say that I was exhausted and it took a lot for me to keep my eyes open. We were released for bed at 11 pm. I ran back to my room but was stopped by Lucrecia and Ella. They had found a trail of leafcutter ants outside of our rooms!

I ran inside to grab my camera and headlamp and we all proceeded to follow the ant trail to find its nest. My friend Mandy loudly exclaimed that the ant trail looked like an actual trail, and indeed, the ants had been travelling back and forth so many times that there was a clear path cut through the understory. I was amazed at how everything was kept so orderly. A two-way direction of ants travelled back and forth from one place to another. We found the nest at the base of some small palm tree. After we found this, we wanted to find the “home tree” or the place the ants were collecting these leaves. We followed the trail backwards and found the tree. It was pretty far away as far as ants are concerned. Needless to say, the ants captured my attention tonight and were cool enough to keep a sleep-deprived person like myself from collapsing into bed.

Sadly, I saw no bees today but I am not worried since it is only our first day. Other creatures we saw today included a dog that Adrienne mistook for a deer, a few chickens, a large cicada that joined us for dinner, and a cockroach that scared the bejesus out of Adrienne. Photos of the ant parade are below!

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The Long Awaited/Dreaded Time has Come

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These past 2 weeks have been such a struggle. Not only have the scramble to find proper equipment and the preparation of our 2 taxa (Jellyfishes and Cockroaches)  and lecture topic (Rainforest canopy) been shaving away at my sleep, but the sheer excitement that a childhood dream will be met in a little over 12 hours has been keeping me on my toes. Or maybe it’ll be a nightmare, who knows!

I haven’t had direct experience with the tropics. I’ve only seen the forests and pristine reefs on BBC programs from the comfort of my couch. So, I anticipate this course to be quite grueling physically and enriching mentally. I expect long hours working out in the fields, with mosquitoes, cacophonic animal calls, buzzes, sweat, smells and what not overwhelming the senses. I expect, in the midst of the suffering, to be awed by the sheer diversity of shapes and forms of flora and fauna in the forest and reefs. And that would make the physical hardships totally worth it. But, I have a feeling there’s more to it. The in depth knowledge gained from the required readings, the primary literature, and other preparations has also enlightened me to the inner workings that drive and sustain the forests and seas.

I’m excited to witness in person the seemingly sci-fi mechanics of these diverse areas. At times in preparation and readings, I’ve felt a worrying tug that perhaps the trip will be underwhelming like the black and white print of the readings. But each break, when I close my laptop and look outside, I suddenly am reignited with passion to see the color of the world around and understand that behind the black text and white page is an attempt to find a new hue to color our world. Philosophical musings aside, I’m nervous about not being prepared enough for the trip, or not knowing enough about my topics and taxa than what was expected of me.

I hope to learn more in depth about the taxa and topics from my colleagues and friends on the trip. I hope to understand the life of a tropical biologist by learning methods of working in a forest, traversing canopies, diving to depths and witnessing first hand what it is that drives these biologists to ceaselessly investigate the these areas.

2016

It’s finally here!

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When I was a sophomore in high school, a friend told me about a summer course at Rice University. Students had the chance to spend two weeks in Belize, hiking, snorkeling, and learning about the tropics. I couldn’t imagine anything that sounded more amazing. At that moment, I knew I needed to go to Rice.

Tomorrow, we will be in Belize. I can’t believe it. This will be my first field research experience, and I am so excited to learn more about tropical ecology! I am doing research in a lab that studies tropical ecology, and my work is currently all data analysis on the computer. I’m looking forward to seeing the other side of my project learning about how all the data I’ve been working with was collected!

I have visited several tropical countries, and I drag my parents hiking wherever we go, so I’m not too nervous about the animals we’ll encounter. I do hope to avoid getting sick, and I’ve gotten quite a few immunizations in the last couple of months. In preparation for the trip, I’ve been doing lots of reading, and I have learned a lot about the incredible diversity of plants and animals that call Belize home. It will be awesome to put faces to all of the names I’ve been reading about. I recently realized how little I know about individual bird species, and on this trip I hope to learn more about the birds of Belize and be able to identify some of them. I know I will learn a lot about the ecology of Belize from this course. Even more than that, however, I hope to learn about ecology research and get a tiny glimpse into the life of a field ecologist.

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The Calm Before the Storm: <24 Hours Until Departure!

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Hi everyone! Welcome to my very first blog post (disclaimer: I’ve never written a blog before but I’ll do my best) about my soon-to-be tropical field biology adventures in Belize! I, along with thirteen other students and two professors from Rice University, fly out tomorrow (!!!), and I am both excited and nervous.

Oddly enough, a part of both of those emotions come from not quite knowing what to expect. Though I have been speaking with other students who went on the trip last year to try to prepare myself and gain insight on what might be useful to bring/do, I feel like there is no way to completely know what is going to happen these next couple of weeks.

That aside, most of my excitement stems from being able to explore new ecosystems and learning firsthand about a variety of organisms that live in those ecosystems. I hope to learn a lot about the different aspects of the rainforest and the coral reef and be able to identify some species that live in each of them. On the other hand, I am slightly nervous because some of those organisms are definitely not things I would normally prefer to interact with (i.e. spiders and snakes) and because I have no previous experience conducting research in the tropics.

In an attempt to prepare myself for such an adventure, I have been doing some research on my assigned topic (marine debris!) and taxa (echinoderms and beetles!) to prepare for the presentations we will be giving, but I am sure that the actual experience of finding and identifying these species will be quite the learning experience in itself. I have also purchased all of the required equipment (and lots of other things we may or may not need) and practiced with the snorkel gear. Still, I know that despite any and all preparations I could make, there will undoubtedly be surprises once we arrive and are actually immersed in both the rainforest and coral reef.

For right now, my bags are packed, my presentation PowerPoints are finished, and by the time I make my next post, I will be in Belize amongst the rainforest creatures! See you all on the other side! 🙂

~Stephanie

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^Everything is clean at the airport on day 1. 🙂
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16 Hours To Go…

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In just 16 more hours, I’ll be on my way to my first-ever experience as a tropical field biologist. Though I’m nervous about my foray into the world of TFBs, I’m extremely excited to have this opportunity during my college career.

I hope to come back in two weeks with a better grasp of what it means to be a field researcher, and hopefully an inkling of whether or not I’d like to pursue ecology research in the future. I know I’ll return with a wealth of knowledge of the tropical ecosystems in Belize; I’m probably most excited for the random animal facts I will undoubtedly accrue on this trip and can use to annoy my friends/family in the future. (Did you know some parrotfish make cocoons out of mucus??)

Though I’ve spent the past several weeks knee-deep in research on the venomous snake species of Central America, snakes are the least of my worries right now (I’ll have my trusty rain boots to protect against them). Instead, I’m a bit nervous about immersing myself into the world of EBIO. I’ve never experienced research in the field, and I hope to keep up with all the organisms and topics we discuss. I’ve never been a fan of insect biology, but I hope this course can help me overcome some (irrational) phobias and learn to appreciate the importance of insects in rainforest ecology.

Though I’ve traveled to both reef and rainforest ecosystems before, I’ve never gone into a trip with this much knowledge of the flora and fauna. As I searched journal articles for my presentations, I found numerous studies conducted in places like Costa Rica, in sites that I had actually visited! On past vacations, I may have encountered some incredible wildlife without even realizing it; one paper told me that I might’ve even heard the odd call of the Montezuma Oropendola while visiting the Arenal Volcano in Costa Rica! I’ve sincerely enjoyed uncovering facts like this in my preparations for this course. I’ve never been so knowledgeable about a country’s ecology before visiting, and this will help me make the most of my travels.

And finally, my greatest fear is that I’ll return to Houston without seeing any of the incredible species I’ve studied so far. Here’s hoping the next two weeks offer a tommygoff or even an ocelot sighting!

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Pumped for Belize

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Tomorrow I will be fulfilling the promise I made to myself a little less than two years ago by going back to Belize. After my first experience in Belize, I am more than excited to return solely for the purpose of studying the country’s biodiversity, especially its coral reefs.

Experience is the greatest teacher and I am prepared to go into this trip with an enthusiastic mindset in order to come away with a greater understanding of the tropics. This lab course is the result of a culmination of many months of preparation and reading. I purposefully chose to take EBIO 213 and Coral Reef Ecosystems this past spring semester, and also chose stony corals and bleaching as my topics for lectures, in order to glean as much as I could this semester.

I have several goals: attract an orchid bee, find an Acropora palmata or Acropora cervicornis, and identify at least seven different species of stony corals correctly. The only thing that makes me nervous is the bugs. I know they are there, just waiting to bite me. That is one of the reasons I love the ocean. No bugs. I am most excited to stay at Glover’s Reef.

My experience in the tropics is minimal I would say. I’ve been to Hawaii, Belize, and the Bahamas. In every location I have sustained numerous, if not catastrophic, amounts of bug bites. This time I am armed with hydrocortisone. The good news is that I love humidity and can adapt fairly easily to hot and muggy conditions.

I am so excited for this trip and I hope to soak up information like a sponge! Get it 😉

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Photo by moi. Jun 9, 2014.

Here is the sea turtle I met from my first visit!

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T minus 36 hours

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I don’t think that I’ve fully processed the fact that I’ll be in a completely different country and culture in less than 48 hours. Going into this course, I am extremely excited to have the opportunity to explore a region that I have never experienced before. The closest I’ve been to the tropics is Hawaii, which is different from continental tropics because it is so isolated and the land mass cannot support the same level of biodiversity.

I am expecting Belize to have an amazing amount of biodiversity, which makes preparing the taxon identification cards very difficult. All I can hope for is that we’ll spot most of the trees and green algae that I included on the cards! I can’t wait to see what all of my classmates have been learning about for their taxa. I feel like I’ve learned so much from A Natural History of Belize but I’m sure that I’ll learn much more during our stay at Las Cuevas Research Station. I also was able to take a course on coral reefs this spring with Adrienne Correa. I am looking forward to using what I learned during our stay at Glover’s Reef.

One of the things that I am most excited for is staying at the Belize Zoo. It will be interesting staying in the midst of so many animals – and knowing that they’re there! I wonder if I’ll feel more or less surrounded by animals in the zoo than at Las Cuevas…

I have to admit, I am a little nervous about insects and spiders that we aren’t looking for. I should be protected from biting creatures, what with my new field pants, rubber boots, long shirts, and bug spray. I’m still expecting to get bites, but not serious ones.

I can’t wait to be immersed in the forests and reefs of Belize!

2016

Pre-departure

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Only 3 more days till we leave for Belize. I am both nervous and excited, but that’s to be expected. Getting all the different pieces of equipment was a hassle but it’s finally done, although I still haven’t figured out how I’m going to fit the rubber boots that weigh a tonne and those flippers into my camping backpack.

I’m looking forward to walking around the rainforest looking for different plants and animals. Hopefully it’ll be the break I need from school even though this is technically a class. For those that don’t know I’m actually an electrical engineering student. So whilst this trip is a good change of pace I’m at the same time super nervous for all the presentations that I have to do. I’m mostly worry about not being able to meet the level of academic content expected. There’s no turning back now.

I hope going on this trip will be like hitting a reset button for me. Maybe I can finally stop worrying about school and internships and jobs for a minute and appreciate the life that I have and everything around me. At the same time maybe learn something about what Tarzan does for a living.

-Randy

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Leaving in 5 days already?!?

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As excited as I’ve been about this trip all semester, it has never seemed fully real until this week.

In preparation, I have procured all the appropriate equipment, including two different kinds of bugspray because I was concerned in the store that one might not work. I’ve spent the last few weeks finishing up the book: A Natural History of Belize: Inside the Maya Forest, and researching arachnids and molluscs.

There’s only so much a book or the internet can teach you, however, and I’m very excited about the opportunity to see first hand all the diversity I’ve read about. I’m especially excited to be able to see and learn about first hand how the medium level of disturbance that the Chiquibul (and all the forests of Belize) experience leads to more biodiversity and the growth of species that would normally be outcompeted.

I also want to understand first hand how the spiders who do not use webs hunt. The Wolf Spider and the Fishing Spider specifically seem really interesting, and I hope to get to see them in action.

I’m nervous about being on the constant look out for dangerous snakes or bugs. I’ve spent a fair amount of time in the tropics (in Belize itself and also in neighboring countries in Central and South America), and the one thing I’ve noticed the most is that you have to maintain a constant level of respect for the potential dangers around you in order to keep yourself alert and safe. The cryptic nature of the snakes and arthropods in the jungle make it extra important to stay alert in this environment.

Admittedly, though, the thing I’m most worried about is being eaten alive by mosquitos and other biting insects. Mosquitos seem to love me, so I’m hoping there’s other people on the trip who they also love and can distract them from me.

The jungle is one of my favorite places to be. As a kid my parents took me to some amazing places including Belize, and I loved the feeling that the jungle has. It feels like a completely separate world, so I’m very excited to be back in that world. The best thing about the jungle in my opinion is the respect it commands, and how small the trees and noise can make you feel.

I’m also really excited about the possibility of seeing some really cool fauna.

And I will be detailing all my exciting experiences here whenever we have internet.