Tag Archives: 2019

2019, Uncategorized

May 25th – I am a Landlubber

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This morning we finally got our procedures streamlined (well as streamlined as you can get taking data under water) for the last 2 locations we were studying, plus Bella and I finished early and so had time to look at the reefs more. From my taxon grouping we found another spiny lobster, and this time I actually could see his full body. We also found a moray eel swimming around the corals.
After lunch we went back out to take advantage of flat water and went to the fore reef (the side closest to the ocean drop off). At first it was cool because we were looking into the abyss but quickly the large waves and the pressure from diving down without properly decompressing got to me and I started feeling sick. I managed to hold it together while we were out there, which was good because we saw a large nurse shark, 2 squids, and a flounder, but by the time we got back on the boat and into shore I felt terrible.

If you look carefully you can see a shark

I threw up 4 times since getting off the boat and I still feel dizzy and nauseous so I’m going to bed early in the hopes that I won’t feel so dead tomorrow when we go out again. I’m starting to realize how much I do not want to be a marine biologist on this trip, but hey, that narrows it down slightly.

2019, Uncategorized

May 28th – Travel Purgatory

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This morning we woke up, ate breakfast at 5am, and got onto the boat taking us back to civilization. To get back to Rice it was a 3 hour boat ride, then an hour wait, a 30 minute van ride, a 2.5 hour wait, a 3 hour flight, and a 45 minute bus ride. On the plane ride, the movie Aquaman was playing, and I kept finding myself judging the producers for their inaccurate display of the wildlife. That was the moment I realized tropical field biology had finally pushed me over the edge into academic lunacy.

By the time I finally got home, I didn’t even take my long awaited shower, but instead ate some chips and salsa and then crashed in bed. It was a great experience, but I’m pretty sure I’m going to need to hibernate to make up for all the lost sleep from the past couple weeks.

2019, Uncategorized

May 27th – Human Sacrifices to the Mosquitoes

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Our last day at Glover’s was spent entirely on land (thankfully). This morning we collected trash to determine the composition of trash on the island and where the majority of it collects. My group were the designated human sacrifices to the mosquitoes in the “mangroves of death” so our 30 minute collection time was spent doing some complex gymnastics around tree roots and while drenched in deet based products. It was kind of sad how much trash we took and still barely made a dent in the stuff accumulated there. The 12 of us collected over 3500 pieces of trash in 30 minutes and of those the vast majority were plastics such as bottles, plastic cutlery, toothbrushes, and flip flops that had washed ashore from the ocean currents in the Caribbean. Another sad finding was a hermit crab that was using some kind of plastic cap as a shell and crabs that had built plastic into the walls of their burrows.
After our collections and sorting, we opened up a few coconuts and ate their meat as a reward for our sweaty efforts.
After lunch we dissected the 5 lion fish that Scott, Javier, and Herbie had speared as they are invasive in the Atlantic. We then took that meat and turned it into a seviche while we were in lectures.  I one again determined that seafood in any form is not my jam, although I do concede it was well prepared.

Lionfish Ceviche

This evening we had a powwow on the dock and we were watching the shrimp darting around the dock light and looking for rrays and at one point I turned around and there was a huge nurse shark right next to the dock checking out the light. What a way to wrap up the day! Tomorrow we have an early start to a full day of travel back to the US, so off to bed I go.

2019, Uncategorized

May 24th – Happy Birthday to Me

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I celebrated my 21st birthday today on Glover’s Reef! Today, we went to two separate sites on the boat to do more work with the quadrats this morning and got to look around the patch reefs some more. The only crustacean I saw while out on the reef was a yellow line arrow crab, but I couldn’t get up close enough to take his picture because he was hiding under an overhang deep down. I did find a long -spined sea urchin while out though, and Bella and I swam right by a school of blue tang.

After lunch we did a wading activity in the seagrass nearby our laboratory where we all filled buckets with as much as we could find in an hour. I ended up finding 2 Donkey Dung Sea Cucumbers, a few different kinds of sponge, an anemone, 3 types of urchin, a conch, and unfortunately for my hands, a fireworm which I didn’t realize releases sharp barbs into your hand until it was too late. I also found what I thought was a sea anemone in a shell but when we took it back to the lab we determined it was a Pygmy Atlantic octopus instead! Our class also found a bunch of crustaceans for me to examine including what I ID’d as green gall climbing crabs, spider furcate crabs, an orange clawed hermit crab, and a mantis shrimp. There were also all of these tiny hermit crabs with blue tipped legs that I couldn’t determine since they weren’t anything I’d seen in my research and weren’t in the reef book, possibly because I focused my research on coral crab species not necessarily those we’d find in dense sea grass thickets.

At dinner I was surprised with a huge card the whole class had signed and a chocolate cake with white frosting… it was so nice and the cake was delicious (also as a side note the ladies in the kitchen made some delicious soul food tonight which I also really appreciated). Now off to bed because I’m so freaking tired.

Cake!
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Belize, you will be missed

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Now that I am home, I can say that I do not miss waking up to more bug bites, and just walking outside and not having bugs bite me is nice. I woke up today and had a bagel, so back to the normal meals, and no more Belize food *cries*.

Things I have learned on this trip:  Lots of different species in both the rainforest and coral reef ecosystems that are well hidden unless you take a good look at it (camouflage is next level here).  Ants have such complex nests, a great “highway” system, great communication, and a great protection of their nest. These ants depend on the fungus and the ants will do anything to protect it and the queen. Marine debris continue to push onto islands and many things can be done (avoid single use plastics, don’t litter, recycle, etc.) to prevent marine debris from entering our oceans. Save our planet was a big point emphasized on our last day at Glover’s.

Picture 1: Featuring the well hidden stick-bug (Phasmatodea) and Bella!

Picture 2: My face in amazement.

Similarities between Coral Reefs and Tropical Rain forests include: Tropic distribution, nutrient poor environment, year-round growing season, intense competition for space, high structural complexity, and many symbiotic relationships.  Both ecosystems also are nutrient poor, but they overcome this by finding nutrients in their own inhabitants. Nutrient cycling takes place by decomposers or in coral reefs, by corals and sponges. Both ecosystems are not only threatened by natural dangers such as the changing environment but also direct human threats. Whether we like it or not, we shape the environment and the environment shapes us. With all of these similarities, the similarities are present due to the pressure in which these many species have. These species are trying to survive and only the fittest survive, thus more evolutionary changes, which leads to more diversification.

Yet these two share similarities, they also share differences. I have noticed that the differences between the two ecosystems is likely to be due to differences in the the degree of past disturbances than to differences of the competitive displacement during the recovery from the disturbances.

Picture: Image showing many epiphytes and example of competition for space.

Since the tropical rain forest ecosystem has vast amounts of trees, most of the animal life here are highly evolved for life in trees, and so have many plants! I have observed this many time since my taxonomic group was epiphytes and they grow all along trees to get sunlight.

Picture: Coloration of fish makes them hard to find!

I have noticed that the reef contains many small nooks among the coral, many fish have adapted a body type to be able to fit in these small crevices. Instead of being built for speed (don’t get me wrong, these fish are still fast), reef fish seem to be flatter and more maneuverable. These fish are also brightly colored for both camouflage and mating (very very cool coloration!)

Picture: Image showing many corals and and example of competition for space.

This course exceeded my expectations in many ways. Before coming into the trip, I thought this little 3oz bottle of bug spray would last me the whole trip, and boy was I wrong. I thought snorkeling would be hard, and boy was i wrong. It is so much easier than swimming since you are constantly afloat (that is if you breathe). I did not know how much fun we would have throughout the day, yes we did do lots of work, but it was a great balance of fun and work!

It is so hard to just pick one thing that stood out to me throughout this course. I had many highlights of the course such as: Dr. Solomon showing us around a leaf cutter ant nest, Brendan and Keegan fighting, Amanda’s crazy quick identification of corals, and obviously the food. Least favorite parts would have to be just getting sunburnt and all the bug bites, but hey it’s nature, so I should not complain since I already miss is and I would in fact go back and do it all again (but this time MORE BUG SPRAY).

Things I will remember 5 years from now: Brendan’s mating call, all the bug bites I accumulated on day one at Glover’s, holding the boa constrictor, Keegan and Brendan constantly lying to me, Kaela’s pizza story, “Turn around” Brendan’s newest single, and HOW THE FOOD IS SO GOOD.

Picture: Brendan’s mating call (what a man).

Wow team epiphytes for the win. Will definitely miss all the times were we tried hand signaling under water, but hey we tried. On our last few data collections, we did use hand signals, but it was mostly, “Hey Pierce got get the quadrat” or “Are you okay” to even IM CHILLIN as in “I’m good”. Communication is key and under water communication is harder yet a great experience, or as Pierce would say “A good time”.

Most important section alert!! FOR FUTURE TFB’s: You guys are for a treat! This class as a whole was so much fun, and EVERYONE was so nice and welcoming. Things you should triple check before you leave: Passport, LOTS of: Bug spray, baby oil, and sunscreen, long sleeve shirts, and a hat. This will definitely help with all the ticks at Las Cuevas and the Death of the mangroves at Glover’s. Come ready to be tired 24/7, and ready to learn since you will definitely learn a lot!

Team Epiphyte

Thank you guys for all the great memories. Oh and thank you to the fans that read the blogs! You guys are the Best!!

Epiphytes

  • Black Orchid (Encyclia cochleate)
  • Strangler fig (ficus aurea)
  • Green sword (Werauhia gladioliflora)
  • Lianas
  • leaf like lichens (Flavoparmelia caperata)
  • Scoliosorus ensifmis
  • Cochlidium Serrulatum
  • Elaphoglossum latum
  • Radiovittaria stipitata
  • Vittaria
  • Trichomanes
  • Asplenium formosum
  • Alansmia sensilis
  • Ahaecistopteris

Annelids

  • Horned feather duster (Spirobranchus giganteus)
  • Bearded fireworm (Hermodice carunculate)
  • Spaghetti worm (Eupolymnia crassicornis)
  • Split crown feather duster (Anamobaea orstedii)
  • Social feather duster (Bispira brunnea)
  • Medusa worm (Loimia medusa)
  • Shy feather duster (Megalomma sabellida)
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Escaping the Sandflies

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May 28, 2019

Today was full of travel. We woke up bright and early at 4:45 am to begin our three hour boat ride back to the mainland. The ride was smoother this time because we were traveling with the current (see Keegan and Brendan enjoying the boat ride below). And we saw two dolphins as we were approaching the shore!

Once we made it to the airport, we had some free time to buy gifts and souvenirs, so I of course bought some Marie Sharp’s hot sauce for the hot sauce lovers in my family.

The flight went by pretty quickly, and it was so good to see my pets (three cats and one dog) when I finally got home even if it meant I had to walk the dog and clean the litterboxes before passing out in bed.

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Lionfish Guts

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May 27, 2019

Today, we cleaned up marine debris on the island. Part of the experiment was looking at the amount and composition of trash in different areas of the island, so three brave souls (Kaela, Amy, and Kelsey) volunteered to cover the Mangroves of Death.

After going through the collected marine debris, Scott brought out some coconuts, and we got to try fresh coconut water and coconut meat.

In the afternoon, we dissected the lionfish that Scott and Herbie speared a couple days ago. This involved estimating sex and reproductive maturity of the fish and then identifying its different organs. When Liz and I opened the stomach of our lionfish, we found a whole undigested fish in it! We identified it as a juvenile slippery dick.

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Passenger Fish

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May 26, 2019

Today we started and completed a whole new experiment. To look at sea urchin community structure (and the indications it may have for herbivory and reef health), we went out and collected sea urchins in a bucket and recorded the species and diameter of each urchin.

During the search, I noticed several new hydroids! I saw what I believe to be a lot of Box Fire Coral (Millipore squarrosa), which is the third and last species of fire coral that I found to be common in the Caribbean.

I also spotted some Kirchenpaueria halecioides, a small hydroid that gets up to about one inch tall (see photo below) in addition to a possible Feather Bush Hydroid (Dentitheca dendritica).

Much later in the day, we got back in the water for a night snorkel. It was fun, but my dive light went out, and we were all way too close to each other – I think we were all paranoid about losing the group. When I got back, I found a tiny little fish inside my swimsuit. It must have somehow made its way into my skintight dive skin and swimsuit, but nothing can surprise me at this point.

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Stuck on Comb Jellies

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May 25, 2019

Today was a big day for Scyphozoa and Ctenophores, otherwise known as true jellyfish and comb jellies respectively. When we unloaded at one of our experiment locations, we had to quickly get back into the boat when we realized Moon Jellies (Aurelia aurita) were everywhere (they can deliver a painful sting), but that doesn’t mean I didn’t take a picture first.

There were also a lot of comb jellies (unknown species). These jellies look similar to jellyfish but are actually from a completely different phylum and use sticky cells called colloblasts to catch prey rather than stinging cells like jellyfish. This is why Amanda was able to safely hold one in her hand.

Eventually, our marine safety officer Herbie found a reef that wasn’t infested with jellyfish. While he was checking the area, he said he saw lots of squid and lionfish. I didn’t end up finding any squid myself, but I did get to watch Herbie spear one of the lionfish – they’re invasive to the Caribbean and eat a lot of important herbivorous fish populations.

Later, we went to the forereef, which was much deeper than the patch reefs inside the atoll. I got to see some living elkhorn coral (Acropora palmata), a nurse shark, several southern sting rays, and a very linear group of small squid.

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Critter Collection

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May 24, 2019

Today, we spent the morning collecting data in two coral reef locations. Liz and I used a similar underwater language today to communicate. We were recording points with live coral or sediment, so cupping our hand into a “c” meant live coral and crossing our index and middle fingers meant sediment.

Exploring the reef after our data collection was incredible. I spotted many fire coral, mostly branching fire coral (Millepora alcicornis) but also some blade fire coral (Millipore complanate).

Later, we returned to the sea to scour an area of seagrass for critters that we could bring in to examine more closely – no hydrozoans or jellyfish were found, but we did gather some other amazing finds, including an octopus, two fire worms, a West Indian sea egg urchin, a sun anemone, and many more. My favorite are the conchs because they’re shells are beautiful, and they have strange little eyes on long eyestalks.