Tag Archives: Epiphytes

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Belize Day 3: Jungle Explorers or Fruit Ninjas?

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Now that we’re all situated in our jungle abode, we are really able to maximize the rainforest surrounding us to do field work. After a peaceful wake-up, sipping coffee and watching birds on our cabin porch (we saw scarlet macaws and yellow-bellied flycatchers!), we spent the first half of our morning cooking up a research project in the lab for our week at Las Cuevas Research Station. 

Dr. Solomon gave us these guidelines: We were given 14 motion-sensor cameras (one for each student) to place around the jungle to measure something. We decided to look at the impacts of human disturbance on biodiversity in the area, asking how the presence of man-made trails (hiking trails and roads) affects vertebrate diversity (mammals, birds, anything with a backbone). We would look at the number of species and the number of each individual within that species recorded by camera shots. 

(Motion Sensor Cam – 05/18/25)

 

In our comfortably shaded cabin, our class gathered together around a giant map and pointed to ideal camera locations, totally underestimating the amount of steps and sweat that would go into actually setting these cams up. We decided to pair each “human disturbed” camera location on the trail with another “undisturbed” camera off-trail nearby, keeping both cameras within the same general vicinity for consistency. So we had 7 different general locations to hike to in order to install our 14 cameras. With project methodology in our heads and recorded in our little field notebooks, we slid on our boots and set out for the trails.

While hiking to placement locations, we turned over quite a few logs to reveal pretty cool (and tasty) treats. Did you know that termites taste like carrots? Genuinely just like carrots; if you ever have an infestation, just cook them up for a little protein snack…that tastes like carrots. It’s because they contain some carotenoid compounds like carrots, giving them a sweet, earthy flavor. Ooh, also! I need to add a few more pages to my epiphyte identification card. Vascular epiphytes (the ones with stems) are estimated to make up to 25% of all vascular plants in tropical rainforests (https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-94-017-3606-0_5), and we saw a few more epiphytes than the 20 listed on my sheet today. We spotted this tiny bromeliad I need to run through Inaturalist to identify. (Update: I think it’s a Tillandsia schiedeana). 

(Tiny Mystery Endophyte – 05/18/25)

(My Epiphyte ID Sheet – 05/17/2025)

 

We were out all day scouting for ideal camera placement locations. This involved cutting through vegetation off the main trails to put cameras in “undisturbed” areas, 50 paces into the forest from each trail camera location. We recorded GPS coordinates for all camera locations and marked them with neon yellow tape for easy retrieval. 

Because Dr. Solomon had a “professor-only” policy for using the machete, he was the only one slashing through the forest. By camera #11, we began to imagine Dr. Solomon as a video game character, from either a fruit-ninja/jungle-explorer game. We called out point values based on the satisfying-ness of his chops. A clean chop of a thick stem earned him 20 points, but a thin, easy chop would be something like +5. 

There was one site off the trail that had particularly dense, unpassable vegetation, and as soon as my friend Sahana saw the thick green barrier in front of us, she exclaimed, “Wow, it’s giving undistributed.” We laughed and cheered Dr. Solomon on by shouting out points as he cut through. 

This day was super tiring (we got our steps IN) but super funny. We found ways to joke about our work while stopping along the way to learn about species and their interactions. With a tan and new inside jokes, I feel content and excited to get back to the field tomorrow. 

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(Our Hikey Day – 05/18/25)

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Belize Day 2: Epiphytes and Flights of Stairs

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Hi guys! Today felt like 3 crazy, wonderful days in one. Beginning with a nice 5:30 am shower, the day was filled with bird and critter identification and a stair-master tour of the Mayan mounds dotting the rainforest. 

(Caracol Ruins – 05/17/25)

After breakfast, we hopped aboard our iconic bus and took cat naps as we chugged up the mountains to the Caracol Maya Ruins. On our route, we passed through an area of the mountains known as Mountain Pine Ridge, featuring pine evergreen trees that were not very rainforesty. Our guide explained to us that this seemingly out-of-place pine vegetation was due to the fact that the soils in this region were different, composed of reddish (from the iron within) granite soils. We drove right through a ghost town that once flourished with the logging industry but has since been abandoned due to Belizean regulations shutting down the export of timber (though the export of timber products like furniture is legal). In the same area, baby pines had been planted as part of reforestation efforts. Human abandonment of the area allowed for pine restoration. It really makes you think about human/natural ecosystem competition. In this case, it was either the humans or the pines, not both. Is there a way they can coexist sustainably without edging each other out? 

Later down the road, we passed a beautiful, but squashed bright green vine snake in the middle of the road :(. Everyone disembarked to marvel at the pretty but gutty creature. Right when we got back on the bus, Sam coincidentally pulled out a green gummy worm and started munching on it. 

(Sam’s snake – 05/17/25)

A little while later, we arrived at Caracol, a site of Mayan ruins. We learned that the Maya built their houses and buildings on mounds of soil that contained previously used buildings – sometimes with deceased loved ones inside. They hopped on the “build up, not out” concept way early on. In fact, their tallest mound had 11 other layers of structures buried underneath. Boy, was that a climb. We climbed the stairs on this massive mound to reach the top, and by the end, we were on our hands and knees crawling up. From the top, we could see Guatemala in the horizon. Also, there were stray pieces of ancient pottery dotting the ruins, and we can all now say that we touched pieces of ancient Mayan pottery – pretty neat I think. 

(TALL Mounds – 05/17/25)

Throughout the day, I’ve seen so many of my glorious epiphytes (my taxa group, the dudes that live on trees without parasitizing them) and have been to successfully identify quite a few of them with the help my handy dandy taxon ID sheet and INaturalist (in the rare case that we have internet). We also saw a strangler fig, which is super neat because it begins its life cycle as a harmless epiphyte high up in a host tree, benefitting from the direct sunlight, but then, it grows down and around its host tree to establish its roots in the soil and strangle its host to death, taking over the space. I also was able to identify beautiful arrowhead plants with bright red fruits and winged peperomia from the pepper family, both quirky, unique epiphytes. 

(Epiphyte Friend – 05/17/25)

Amongst the epiphytes in the tree canopy (the highest part of the tree), we spotted quite a few beautifully patterned birds with some interesting behaviors. In the morning, we saw a social flycatcher with a long, bright-yellow tail, and at the ruins, we admired the hanging, bag-like nests of the Montezuma oropendola. These guys create hanging nests that serve as extra protection for their young and from nest parasitism by cowbirds. Nest parasitism happens when unrelated birds lay their eggs in the nests of different birds, forcing the nest owners to raise and nourish young that are not their own. On our way out of the ruins, we watched a toucan hop from leaf to leaf and a turkey vulture scouting the area for fresh meat. 

We are now established in our final rainforest site, the Las Cuevas Research Station, which is also built upon Mayan ruins and a cave system. Also, there are epiphytes of all shapes and colors EVERYWHERE that I’m dying to identify over the course of these next few days. I have a few more bucket list items for these next few days: (1) go birdwatching, (2) explore the underground cave system, (3) see a Scarlet Macaw (the beautiful, iconic red parrot).

Today I’ve learned SO MUCH about Belize’s history, geology, and some of the plant and critter behaviors that make up ecology. 

I’m ending my Blog today with these lovely and super true quotes from Dr. Evans: “The more you know, the more you notice” and “the longer you stare at it, the more things you see.”

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Belize Day 1: From the Runway to the Rainforest

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(Inside Crystal Lodge! – 05/16/25)

 

Here we are, winding down and typing up our day 1 recaps, appreciating the night’s breeze and tuning in to the chirps of insects all around us. After a long and hectic day of travel, it feels fulfilling to finally be writing from our destination in Belize. But even though today featured extra security lines and bus trips, we were able to experience Belize’s ecology, learning about (and seeing!) neat species and trying delicious foods. 

As we hopped off the plane and entered the Belize airport, we were surrounded by wall ads featuring casinos, birdwatching, liquor, and river tubing. As we filled out our immigration form, we had to choose between “student,”  “tourism,” “honeymoon,” and some other options as our purpose for travel. Yes, honeymoon was an option, and considering all of the couples surrounding us, I bet it was checked off by the majority. The wide variety of activities to do in Belize, from lying on the beach to researching in the rainforest, reflects its diversity of habitats and just how vital ecotourism is to the country. 

(Da Bus – 05/16/25)

Our class’s focus is on learning about Belize’s species and ecosystems. When we hopped on the bus, Dr. Solomon reminded us to keep on the lookout during the ride for the species we were each assigned to study and later present to the class. My topics are rainforest soil, epiphytes, and sponges. Sam had extra trouble spotting ants (his assigned topic) out of the bus window, but I was able to observe the soil pretty well from my seat. It looked like there had been some landslides that revealed the natural layers of the soil, and I saw that the layers looked pretty rundown and weathered. While nutrient-rich soil has clear layers, the soil here looked chalky and blended. This makes sense because this soil has been here for a while with plenty of time to naturally break down, and the heavy precipitation has leached it of its nutrients, so its layers are extra scrambled and indistinguishable. 

(Nutrient-sufficient, layered soil horizon – edukemy.com)

About 45 minutes into our drive, we stopped at a local restaurant called Cheers. While we were waiting for our food, we took a lap around the outside to explore the wildlife, and I saw more signs of the poor soil. I tripped over a root sticking out of the soil and realized that all of the trees in the area had shallow roots. This wasn’t a coincidence; often, trees in nutrient-poor soils have adapted near-surface roots to more effectively capture nutrients from the atmosphere, like those that fall down with the rain. Sam was also successful in finding his topic in real life. He tracked down some lines of ants! Now, whenever anyone spots an insect that looks the slightest bit like an ant, we shout Sam’s name to ask him to identify the species. We also watched lizards dive from high up in tree crowns (the leafy parts of the trees) to a little pond underneath. This is likely because they needed a way to cool their bodies off in the hot Belize sun. As cold-blooded animals, they rely on the environment to regulate their body temperatures.

(Shallow root system – 05/16/25)

We came back to our tables to enjoy the most delicious, freshly squeezed soursop fruit juice and some giant tamales and burritos. With full bellies and ready to nap, we reboarded and rode to our lodge for the night. 

(Yum Burrito – 05/16/25)

 

The Crystal Lodge was an absolute tropical paradise. Stepping off the bus, we saw such an array of tree species with tons of epiphytes (nonparasitic species without root systems that live on trees). I was most excited to identify the nitrogen-fixing epiphytes on some trees’ leaves. They look like little splotches of white, blue, and green and inhabit plant leaves, converting nitrogen gas from the atmosphere to a form usable to the plant.

(Nitrogen Fixing Epiphytes – 05/16/25)

Today was filled with car naps and seeing ecological concepts in real life. Tomorrow, we are heading deeper into the Maya Rainforest, and I can’t wait to tell you about the intriguing, wonky creatures we see. Peace out!

  • Lily, 2025
2022

Thank You for an Unbelizeable Time (Very Original I know)

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Wow. Two weeks done. And I am so grateful to gave been able to experience this trip with such a fabulous group of TFBs.
Throughout these two weeks I have learned so much about the environment that we live in and the roles that we play it. Even though one is in water and one is on land, these two ecosystems share immense similarity. They both are home to large, biodiverse populations that are key for the health and success of our planet. Both have expansive amounts of organisms that reside within them, having perfected a balance of life and death for millions of years. There are processes that have been in plays since the beginning alongside these organisms ability to adapt and evolve quickly to ensure a world that is full of colorful life. Whether it was swimming in the coral reefs alongside the parrotfish and coral or hiking in the rainforest alongside the howler monkeys and scarlet macaws, it was eye opening to see how lively the natural world is without the touch of humans.
Even though we were given this amazing opportunity to see the beauty that still exists in untouched and protected areas, we were also shown the reality of the impact we have on these areas in our everyday habits. From throwing out trash without a second thought to driving to work everyday, we contribute to this negative impact everyday. Even though we were able to see some beautiful and healthy coral in the MPAs, we also were shown the reality of coral bleaching and disease. Whole areas of reef that were once plentiful with diverse corals and schools of fish are now drowned and choked by sargassum and other macro algae. We should not be able to clean up for an hour and collect more than 60kg of trash that included everyday items such as toothbrushes and flip-flops. Scarlet Macaw, Morelet’s Tree Frogs, and hundreds of other species are critically endangered because of our contribution of climate change and a need to make a profit off of their rarity. Deforestation is still a prominent problem that forests are facing and it’s not seeming like it’s going to slow down anytime soon. This trip opened my eyes to what these ecosystems were like before us and what they might become if we don’t step in and continue to fight for lives that don’t have the ability to fight for themselves. Despite the tragic truth of what humans are doing to this planet, we also got to hear from people who are trying to save it and reverse or at least slow down our affects. Hearing talks from Borris Avelaro and organizations like the Belize Fisheries Department have sparked a want to help in a direct and purposeful way in my mind and I am sure in the other TFBs minds as well. There are good people out there that are trying to help our planet as much as possible and are able to have a positive and lasting impact within peoples minds to inspire them to do the same.
This course exceeded my expectations in the best way possible. Coming into it, I knew it was going to be a fun and educating experience but I loved it even more than I thought I would. It was amazing being able to share these experiences with people who are interested in the similar studies and with whom everyone can totally geek out about what they’ve learned and share an excitement for learning new things and helping each other along the way. Being able to apply the processes of experiments and research outside of the classroom and have the ability to apply it in the field was awesome. I loved every minute but my favorite part was being able to be active (like snorkeling and hiking) while also being able to collect data and learn new things about our planet. In terms of what my least favorite parts of the course were, I have none. I guess the only thing that wasn’t great was waking up at 6:30am every morning, but I quickly realized that it was worth it so we could have more time to see even more cool things out in the field. To sum up the things that I have learned in this course that I will remember five, even ten, years from now is
1) As a TFB, you become very resourceful with the materials that you have in order to conduct experiments (aka peeing in a test tube in the name of science).
2) It is super cool to be able to learn and identify different taxa and the roles they play in their ecosystems as you are out in the field. It is also awesome when everyone collectively freak out about see leaf cutter ants going about their daily lives, minding their own business while we get to observe them and understand why they do what they do.
3) The tropical rainforests and coral reefs are insanely biodiverse ecosystems that play key roles in the planet and our own everyday success (in case I haven’t already mentioned that..), more than I believed prior to this trip. There are also so many different people who are trying to protect it and work together to save it, and I would love to join them in the near future to help continue their efforts.
Thank you Dr. Correa and Dr. Solomon for such a great opportunity to learn more about the natural world around us and experience what it’s like to be a true TFB. As I mentioned in my pre-departure blog, despite it being super cheesy, I love the Belize Babes and the new friends that I have made! Can’t wait for our reunion and I hope to hear about new taxa sightings that people see even outside of Belize 😉
– Sophia
2022

Day 12: Speedy TFBs

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Today we started off our last day in Las Cuevas by collecting our arthropod pitfall traps and sorting through the data in the morning. We found that there were more insects on the forest floor than in the canopy but the we were wrong about the canopy arthropods would be more attracted to the nitrogen rich trap. Afterwards, some people started our poster while  me, Dr. Correa, and a few others sped hiked through the motion camera trap trails to collect them and get the data. It was super fun to speed hike through and see the same plants and areas of trail in a completely different way. Now that we didn’t have to worry about biasing data placement, etc., I was able to hike and just enjoy it as a hike itself. What’s even better is that it started to rain pretty hard once we finished the steep uphill of Bird Tower Trail so we were nice and refreshed by the time we returned to the station. The rain was also beautiful to watch and listen to, the ponds slowly filling up and preparing themselves for the many frogs that will soon inhibit them.

After we finished up packing and were waiting for the vans, one of the station managers Darrio pointed out that you could hear what sounded like hundreds of Mexican Burrowing Toads croaking from the wallows/frog pond area. A few of us decided to check it out and it was so cool. Once you step into the pond area, it was a 360º surrounding of the frogs croaking. Sadly we didn’t see any as they are burrowed in the ground but it was still really cool to hear them as the wet season kicks in.

Once we left Las Cuevas and made our way to the hotel, I was able to still spot lots of epiphytes. Since settling in our new rooms, I have identified lots of Tillandsia spp. and Philodendron hederaceum. It’s pretty cool to see that they still thrive outside of the forest – and who knows, maybe I’ll be able to spot some back in Houston (in the wild or as house plants) 😉

– Sophia

TFBs in action
So much rain!!
Rusty embracing his amphibian calling
2022

Day 11: Lucky Charm TFBs (Sorry for Jinxing It)

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Two true TFB experiences today: I woke up at 5am to join some of the group for some bird watching and peed in a test tube. Waking up was a little rough at first but it was worth it. It was super cool to see the morning mist around the fog and drink coffee while watching the Black Vultures hang out on their canopy spot. The dawn chorus was also super pretty (where all of the birds sing in the morning) and looking out into the trees while waking up was pretty peaceful. I also got some people to start throwing around a frisbee !! But I promise ultimate ishn’t my main personality trait… After breakfast, we started our next experiment – seeing the differences of arthropod abundance in the canopy versus the forest floor. One way to test this is by placing a pitfall trap with nitrogen in it and a water in the other one. How do you get the nitrogen source into the pitfall? Our pee.

For the rest of the morning before lunch we set up our 64 pitfall traps on the tree and in the forest floor. I spotted some Mistletoe Cactus (an epiphyte) too! And of course lots of Tillandsia spp., Monstera spp., and Philodendron radiatum and hederacum. As soon as we got on the trail to set up, we came across a Jumping Pit Viper and an Eyelash Viper. Apparently the manager of the station hasn’t seen on in the wild in the past 12 years and it’s insane that we were able to find one. Then after lunch, we got to excavate some Leaf Cutter Ant nests to try to find their fungal garden looking at young ones first and then old ones. While searching for the nests and prepping for the excavation we saw a Tarantula Hawk, scorpions, a Orb-Weaver Spider, and Ant Lion holes. When we looked through the young one, we were able to find the queen which was absolutely giant – she can live up to 25 years and has a bunch of eggs that she lays over time after only mating once. Two kinds of worker ants that work as a defense layer are called Majors and Soldiers. These have huge heads that have really sharp mandibles and do not hesitate to bite you and draw blood. While looking at the first of the two bigger nests, we found a rare (to find) Mexican Burrowing Toad which was SO cute and funny looking. A big highlight of the day was seeing a super happy and excited Rusty. Looking at the second of the larger nests, there was many more major and soldier ants, and a much larger fungal garden and we got to see the architecture of the nest more.

After dinner, as we got to go on an optional night hike which was definitely 100% 12/10 worth doing, I almost stopped on a Red-Rump Tarantula. I really think my clumsiness has amplified 10 fold over the past week and a half. As we walked through the trail, it really felt like we were on the set of a movie with the way our headlamp moved across the towering palms. We encountered two (!!) Morelet’s Tree Frogs which is a critically endangered species which is tragic as these guys are super cute. They even jumped on some people and we had a fun tree frog photoshoot. As we made it to the same wallow as yesterday, we saw that the same Red-Eyed Tree Frog (possibly Morelet’s as well) eggs where being preyed upon by a Northern Cat Eye snake. We actually got to watch the snake’s process of stalking the eggs slowly and taking multiple trips to get as many eggs as possible. It was super cool to be able to observe behaviors of the more nocturnal organisms and basically unlock another world.

-Sophia

Zombie Moth!!
Leaf Cutter Ant Major
Mexican Burrowing Toad!
A Critically Endangered Morelet’s Tree Frog
Planet Earth worthy moment
2022

Day 10: New Heights

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This morning after breakfast, we created our camera trap experiment in which we are going to use fifteen motion cameras that will take photos over the next few days. We are going to try to identify the different predators and prey and see where they might be most abundant in the different areas of the foot trails, untouched forest, and the “paved” roads. We set out for a couple of hours before lunch to begin our camera set up, mainly putting up our five cameras for the road areas. After lunch, we then set out for the true hiking experience to put up the other 10 or so cameras. I was impressed with the amount of elevation that we gained throughout the hike, rubber boots adding to some of the difficulty when we had to go down hill (they are super important for protection against snakes and also great for the rain and puddles) but I think this is because mine could do with some extra traction but I still very much enjoyed the hike. The vegetation within the forest was unbelievable. I just feel like everything is magnified by 10x, it’s gorgeous. I saw huge Give and Take Palms, plenty of fish tail palms, huge Tillandsia utriculata (the same genus as the small airplants but this one can grow up to 60cm) in many of the tree canopies, and a lot of house plants that were obviously thriving more out here in the jungle than someone’s plant room: Philodendron radiatum, Philodendron hederaceum and a lot of Monstera spp. I also saw a lot of air-plants that were both on the tree at around eye level but also a few that had fallen to the ground because the branch that they were connected to had broken off. These were Tillandsia spp. but they all are so similar that I’m learning that deciphering the exact species is going to be more difficult than I expected. Along the way, we saw so many different butterflies, a huge cockroach, lots of cicada shells, leaf cutter ants, and even got to eat some termites. Since they were so small, it wasn’t scary to eat them – they mostly had a woody aftertaste to them but I don’t know if I’d go out of my way to find and eat them.

Tillandsia schiedeana (This grows on all of the large tree branches)
Gigantic Leaf Cutter Ant nest
Red-Eyed (maybe also Morelet’s) Tree Frog eggs!
A wide angle selfie (of course) at the Bird Tower!
Philodendron radiatum

After we finished the elevation climb, we made it to the Bird Tower where we went up this questionably stable structure that had the most amazing outlook I have ever seen. You could see so much of the forest yet only understand that it is only a part of the whole thing, it was gorgeous. On the hike down from the top, we stopped at the smaller Mayan cave were we found some Mayan clay pottery shards and got to explore the room that had been built by building a wall into the natural constrictions of the cave. The stalactites were so impressive and I could have stared at them all day, but I’m excited for the cave we get to explore in a few days. As we were trying to pass the time, I have also learned so many riddles and I can’t wait to stump everyone one at home. On the way back down Dr. Solomon also pointed out some orchids but I couldn’t identify them because there were no flowers. However, pseudobulbs led us to believe that they were orchids. Our final stop was a ginormous leaf cutter ant mound that was about 6ft wide (at least). It is so cool to watch the Leaf Cutter ants all line up and create their foraging trails as they cut down the vegetation to bring into their home to cultivate the fungus that they eat the byproduct of. I’m starting to understand why Dr. Solomon loves ants so much. We also stopped by a wallows (in the dry season)/frog pond (in the wet season) and found a bunch of Red-eyed Tree Frog eggs on a hanging tree branch – super cool!

-Sophia

2022

Day 9: Epiphytes Galore

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Even though today was another travel day, we managed to spend a large part of it at the Mayan Ruins of Caracol!! It was super cool because we actually got to climb on top of them and go through the rooms and tombs. We first started out learning a bit of Mayan history from Leo, our tour guide. He explained how there was a two class system: the elites and the middle class that worked for the elites. The builds of their houses were different (completely stone vs. thatched) as well as their burial methods like how intricate the tombs were and what was put inside. My favorite stop that we made was at the large pyramidal temple that a Mayan king had actually built his palace on top of, securing his status as a god or at least that it was he was divinely chosen. We got to climb onto the temple to the very top where the stairs were surprisingly tall and steep – the Mayans must have had some serious quads not gonna lie. Within Caracol, there were about 200,000 people living in 35,000 homes at one point, but Leo told us of possible reasons why the Mayan civilization fell: 1) War – self explanatory, 2) Degradation of the environment – using too many of the resources around them and a butterfly effect of affecting the organisms and habitats around them, 3) Revolt – archaeologists have found evidence from purposefully destroyed statues to finding skeletons found in mass graves/unusual spots by the palace (around which they were trying to construct a wall for protection against their own people). It was mind blowing to see these ruins in such an up-close perspective and understand how they went about daily lives. The view from on top was beautiful as you could see so much of the Chiquibul forest and its inhabitants and listen to the beautiful cacophony that is created within.

The cicadas here sounds so different than the one’s at home (they kind of sound like a constant drone flying overhead) and the Melodious Blackbirds have a super distinct call that I am sure we will hear plenty of over the next week. During lunch, we even hear the loud croak/groans of the Howler Monkeys! In terms of some of my taxa sightings (epiphytes!!), I saw plenty. I saw lots of Arrowhead Plants, Tillandsia utriculata, Philodendron hederaceum, and Monstera spp. Lots of these were growing on these super cool 200+ year old Ceiba trees that had plenty of epiphytes growing on them and here at least 100ft tall – so amazing. We also saw a Gumbo limbo tree which is funnily also known as the Tourist Tree as it has a red colored bark that peels off, just like the American tourists that come and visit.

Afterwards we headed to Las Cuevas Research Station where in the car we saw a toucan, scarlet macaw, and lots of turtles that were crossing the road. The station is super nice and we were able to get in yesterday’s taxon briefings in as well as those scheduled for today so I presented about epiphytes! I’m actually really excited to get into trying to ID them and also teaching the group about them as they are definitely very present in the forest.

-Sophia

Ceiba tree canopy
Ceiba tree butress  roots! They were amazing to see
Group photo on top of the Caana
Fish tail palms – many people try to illegally bring these across borders
Tillandsia spp. AND Philodendron hederaceum
2022

Day 8: Night at the Zoo (get it..?)

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A great start to another exciting adventure on our trip. Today we left Glover’s and took the 4 hour boat ride back, which I slept all the way through thanks to the anti-nausea medicine everyone took. We stopped for a pretty long lunch as there was only one cook at the restaurant, but I took the opportunity to have my last super fresh snapper along with a refreshing virgin piña colada. We then headed out in our vans to make a quick stop at the market before heading to where we’re staying for the night, the Tropical Education Center.
The Tropical Education center is a part of the Belize Zoo and has really nice facilities with cabanas that everyone is staying in for the night. Once we settled in and put our stuff down, we had a great presentation by Borris Avelaro about his research about the Scarlet Macaw, conservation, and why it is important to ignore the toxicity of publishing within academia and sharing your data as soon as possible with others so the species you are studying has a chance at surviving. As soon as we left the classroom, Ava pointed out the first epiphyte of the trip! A Vase Bromeliad. There are actually a lot of these popping up around the site we’re staying at and I’m excited to see what I’ll find at Las Cuevas.

After dinner, we headed out to our late night zoo excursion. Here, we were given a guided tour around the Belize Zoo that only hosts Belize’s native species. Another cool thing about the zoo is that all of the animals are rescued from being pets, confiscations, and other injuries. The zoo is also trying to show Belizeans the animals that they live beside and disprove the myths and superstitions that may surround the animals. We saw jaguars, pumas (both incredibly smart cats), and Quashes (who are related to raccoons) and got to hear the funny noises of the ocelot eating – as everyone pointed out, it sounded very happy yet very angry about eating its food. My favorite animal we got to see was Archie the anteater. He was super active in the trees – I didn’t realize that some anteaters could climb around trees like he did but it was so freaking cute. He also had a huge termites nest that he created his own nest in so he basically has a food source at all times when he’s awake and asleep. Genius. Lastly, we got to feed Indy the tapir who was also very cute. She loved carrots and we even got to pet her when she was distracted by her snacks. She’s also related to horses and rhinos and you can tell this because… Every time we left an animal, the keeper would say “Thank you, [insert animal’s name]” and it was the most precious thing I’ve heard because you can see their connection with the animals that they take care of.

– Sophia

Ocelot
Indy the Tapir
Puma
Quash
Tapir Skeleton
Vase Bromeliad
2022

The Pre-Departure Anticipation!!

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Hello there! My name is Sophia Figueroa and welcome to our Belize Blog!!

The day is finally here! Tomorrow we are officially leaving for Belize and I absolutely cannot wait. It’s so crazy to me that it’s already time for the trip as summer feels like it has moved so quickly. The build up to the actual trip is always the most nerve wracking, with lots of questions filling in my brain about all of the different possibilities of what I might come across. In all honesty, I think this is the worst part about trips but I know that as soon as I meet up with everyone on Wednesday, it’ll all go away.

I’ve been packing for the last week or so, and after putting the last few items in my bag, I realized that this is really happening! I’ve been working on my taxonomic lectures and topic lecture for the past month, reading lots of different journal articles and researching for hours on end about Red Algae, Tunicates, and biodiversity in cave systems. I expect this trip to be pretty intense with lots of lectures and presentations that everyone has been working hard on; but I’m also excited to see and learn about everyone else’s research. I expect to gain many different skills while on this trip, both from the lectures and also from the on-hands experience of being out in the field. I believe that there’s no better way to solidify what you learn in the classroom than going out and applying it in real life. I’m really excited to go to a new country and environment and be able to understand more about what being a field biologist looks like with people who share the same excitement of EEB as I do. While I’m obviously excited for the hands-on work we are going to be doing, I’m also really excited to get to know everyone and make new friends (cheesy I know, I’m sorry).

I think the main thing I’m nervous about is that I may not be able to identify many things from my taxonomic groups. I know that after a while, I’ll be able to recognize more species, and I recognize that it’s impossible to put all of the common species on my taxa cards; but it’s still a little nerve-racking to see if I put enough information on them and to see how many on my card actually appear in the field. I don’t have any experience in doing fieldwork really, I’ve only really worked in a lab setting so I’m very ready to go outside and apply what I know and gain even more knowledge. I’m also trying to mentally prepare myself for the humidity we might face, telling myself it can only be as bad as Houston humidity, but we’ll see… I’m definitely ready to start getting into the swing of things with work, assignments, and getting to know people so that these pre-trip nerves go away!

See you in Belize!

– Sophia