Tag Archives: Final Blog Post

2022

Going to Miss This Place (Final Blog)

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Hi all, it’s Faith with some closing remarks…

Reflecting on this trip, I learned a lot about rainforests, coral reefs, and biodiversity. You may have heard the phrase that “coral reefs are the rainforests of the ocean” or the other way around, and now, I know why! I got to see first hand how both ecosystems are house so much biodiversity. Both ecosystems house a majority of the earth’s biodiversity and rely on complex interspecies relationships. They are homes to a variety of specialists, that have evolved to reduce competition with other species, and both are incredibly valuable.  I observed how tree density means nothing if the tree species present aren’t native to the environment, and how hard corals provide structures and homes for an immeasurable amount of species whereas soft corals were more “space-fillers.” From the deforestation line at the Belize-Guatemalan border to the veins of coral disease at Glover’s, I saw how  humans negatively impact our environments. I even learned that these two seemingly different environments are connected: long, long ago, the sea creatures with calcium carbonate skeletons laid the foundations for the rainforests soil. This lead to the forests having numerous soils types and massive cave systems beneath them. Furthermore, the rainforest is equally dependent on abiotic factors like nutrient availability, temperature, and  soil (or water) type as coral reefs! In my eyes, the largest difference between these two ecosystems are the dominating species, as trees are plants and most corals are cnidarians!

The most surprising fact I learned from this trip is how nutrient deficient the reefs and rainforests are. This seems contradictory because organisms need nutrients to live, and these two ecosystems house most of the words biodiversity. So, one would assume that they were plentiful in nutrients. However, these ecosystem’s nutrient scarcity allows them to be diverse. Organisms have evolved to maximize their ability to get nutrients, and this results and mega-specific symbiotic interactions like fig wasps with fig trees and corals with dinoflagellates. These specific interactions create specialized niches that reduce competition and allow many different species to coexist!

However, this system also makes the rainforests and reefs extremely fragile. On this trip, we got to listen to Dr. Alavero, and hear his research on scarlett macaws. He emphasized that the jungles are equally impacted by climate change as coral reefs. Humans tend to overlook climate change’s effects when they aren’t directly visible, but the environments current changes have made the weather unpredictable which disrupts the life cycles of land animals and marine animals. Scarlett macaws utilize different areas when mating and foraging, and they use the weather to help determine when to mate and migrate. Similarly, corals, trees, and insects (like termites), “coordinate” their reproductive cycles around the climate. The world’s changing climate, has cause reduced reproductive success in macaws and is harming other species as well. With global warming and ocean acidification, we actively see the weakening of coral skeletons and coral bleaching. The decline of these species then causes the decline of their symbionts, and because everything is interconnected, this can cause great losses of biodiversity. Just seeing the extreme differences between the health of an mpa reef and a non-mpa reef indicates how harmful we are to our planet. I will never forget the impact we have on the planet, and I now understand how difficult it is to save intricate ecosystems. Because of their complexity, There is no “one-size-fits-all” solution to restoring these ecosystems. However, we should all do our part to be eco-friendly, and reduce our impact.

When I look back, I imagine that I’ll remember how this trip “opened my eyes” per se. When you first enter the water or forest, everything looks the same. But after you look a little more closely and learn a little about taxonomic groups, you begin to realize that the biodiversity lies not in the major differences but the minor ones.  In only 2 days, I was just as excited to see a new species of grasshopper as I would have been to see a jaguar. Likewise, being able to differentiate between Diploria labyrinthiformis, Grooved brain coral, and  Diploria strigosa, Symmetrical brain coral, is extremely cool.  It’s hard to grasp the differences between similar species and their ecological niches without seeing them in person. Textbooks do a great job of summarizing these specific species’ interactions, yet being surrounded by them provides a true understanding about how dynamic our world is. And now, I feel like  I could identify these interactions in my own community.

Here are a few other facts (that are a little less sentimental) that I’ll never forget.

  • Ecosystems are entirely different at night due to temporal differentiation
  •  You have to be at least 5’2″ to enroll in the Belizean coast guard
  • The barrier reef GREATLY protects us from wave activity (you have no idea)
  • The different tree-top layers provide homes to unique animals, and some fauna will only live in specific tree species
  • If you order a fish in Belize, it will be served whole!

Overall, this course was way more fun than I expected, and now I can say that I’m proud to be an Ebio major! I really enjoyed excavating the leaf-cutter ant colony, posing with the queen, exploring the Belize Zoo, and touring Caracol. Honestly, the only activity I didn’t enjoy on this trip was having to pee in a vial and sort the arthropods that fell in, but, alas, sometimes you must pee in a cup in the name of science. I learned so much, and I definitely see both the rainforest and coral reefs in a new light. I even accomplished some of my goals and one of my life goals (seeing a wild mantis shrimp), so how could I not love this trip?!

Bye bye Chiquibil!!!
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
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5/29/19 TLDR: Feelings

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Hi!

Prepare yourself for a super long blog that I have been procrastinating posting because I’ve been thinking long and hard about this trip. I’ve written and re-written this so many times; the words just aren’t coming out right. There are things that I have to say, things that I want to say, and things that I can’t properly articulate for my life (don’t worry though, I’ll try). All that to say, good luck reading.

To start, I just spent two weeks in two of the most biologically diverse ecosystems on the planet and that was pretty damn awesome. Foremost, it was hard not to notice just how much life was everywhere, and how the strategies competing organisms used were similar in the reef and rainforest. There’s definitely not enough space and not enough resources, and in both ecosystems competitors grow up and over each other to get a leg (or leaf, if you will) up. In the rainforest this meant super tall trees with lots of open underbrush, but in the reef this meant structures piling on top of one another in super dense growths that all blended into one another. Definitely the way things were growing had to do with how biodiverse the ecosystems were and how the individuals had to fend for themselves in a nutrient-poor environment. Also, the shapes of animals and plants stood out to me. There was a precarious balance of broad palms/algae/sea fans to try and maximize surface area for photosynthesis, narrow vines and branching corals to shoot between gaps and crevices to the top for light, intricate structures to try and prevent self-shading, and animals with long/narrow bodies for navigating the brush or the coral.

My favorite part has to be exploring the ATM cave (I did title that day the “BEST DAY EVER” after all). Mostly because after the cave I felt like myself for the first time on the trip. I was sore and tired and hungry but didn’t feel any of those things because I was so overwhelmed with joy. Ask anyone, I was literally bouncing up and down. I don’t think it was the things we saw (although the bats, pottery, and skeletons were cool) but more of the rush of climbing around, the comforting sense of trust and communication amongst my team, and the feeling of being in the river.

Weirdly enough my worst day was also in water, this time saltwater. The worst day was the first day at Middle Caye. We’d done a lot of travelling in the morning and I was nauseous, then we ran through the Mangroves of Death (and you know how I feel about bugs), and then we tried to wade around a patch reef, which to be honest was absolutely miserable. I was trying to stand still and take pictures of the corals but also look for specific things but also kept getting pushed around by currents…and dropped basically everything I was clunkily holding, then had to find it in the churned up sediments while it was getting pulled by currents and I was getting pulled by currents…I was frustrated and I felt awful and I may have cursed loudly and explicitly at the ocean. It wasn’t necessarily what we did, it was just feeling so physically and mentally incompetent (luckily things got way better and my faith in the pursuit of marine science was restored).

I’ve been telling people that this course differed from what I was expecting in ways that I didn’t expect…so what exactly does that mean? Hint: I myself am not quite sure, but I’ll try my best to explain. You might remember that my pre-departure post back in Houston two weeks ago didn’t seem too thrilled about going. I had just finished probably my most exhausting semester ever, but really it wasn’t finished because I was still doing assignments for this class and picking up shifts at work and not sleeping…and I expected to be an anxious, exhausted grump on this trip (with maybe also the optimistic expectation that my expectations would turn out to be wrong). I was exhausted and nervous, but the things that stood out to me were the little things that I didn’t have opinions about while I was doing them. Wearing the same pair of pants for six days in a row, not waking up to immediately check my email, and not having electricity or hot water all seemed normal. Maybe I expected to either have strong negative or strong positive feelings about everything, not to just be…content.

I miss Belize. I miss everything that I got used to. I miss waking up at 5am and feeling like I was doing something meaningful. I miss the schedule (I know it sounds weird, but I accidentally stayed up ‘til 1am last night because we have electricity and it just never got dark…and I wasn’t doing anything really). I miss the noise. I miss the birds in the morning, the howler monkeys, the frogs and bugs at night, the rain, the wind, and the waves. I miss sharing every waking moment with twelve other people who brought so much joy and excitement into my life.

As I sit here, drinking my morning (not instant) coffee with (not powdered) milk, I can’t help but think about how truly awful it is to try and capture something like this in words. The most meaningful things that I learned aren’t in words, but in feelings.

I learned that doing things because I’ll never have the chance to again stopped being the reason after the first time I said it. I got up for birding every day, climbed the bird tower, and hiked and snorkeled at night not because I’d kick myself if I didn’t, but because I wanted to. I learned that I may be a nervous wreck but not-so deep inside I do have a craving for adventure.

I also learned that I’m capable of a lot more than I give myself credit for. I had a panic attack in the middle of a hike and kept going, willingly threw my body to the bugs for science, climbed up slippery cave rock-walls, and headed straight into adventure when I couldn’t see what was in front of me. Maybe I could be a field biologist one day, because the things I thought were going to stop me are challenges that I now know I’m ready to face.

Lastly, I learned what I’m excited about. I’m excited about reptiles. Frankly, I want to hold every single snake (they’re big, friendly noodles I swear). I’m excited about boats. Yeah, I get motion sick and being nauseous for the first day or so sucks, but I love the rush of the wind and the ocean spray and being the first person to jump in the water. I’m excited about biodiversity, about finding things and counting things and discovering the mystery that’s out there. I’m excited about making graphs and figures and being able to tell the world what I’ve found. I’m excited about the little things being important. I’m excited…for a future that looks a lot like this.

So, in summation, every day I was sunburnt, exhausted, bug-bitten, nauseous, dirty, sore, anxious, and everything else I was worried about before leaving…but I’d do it all again in a heartbeat because this trip was the affirming, exciting, more-than-I-could-have-imagined, once in a lifetime experience that I hoped it would be when I applied. There aren’t words to express the genuine gratitude and appreciation I have for Dr. Solomon and Dr. Shore, all of the wonderful people who welcomed us to Belize, and all of my classmates for making this trip something I will never forget.

I love all of these wonderful people

-Kelsey

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I’m Not Going To Make a Belize/Believe Pun

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Going to miss this class and these people!

Wow! This was an amazing experience! I am so grateful I was fortunate enough to take this class and am so happy I chose to! To anyone considering taking it, do it! I learned more in this class than in a semester-long one because this is experiential learning, which at least for me, helps me learn and enjoy it so much more.

I learned a lot about rainforest and coral reef ecosystems.  They are both so diverse and can host such a large range of creatures.  Before, I may have only thought about rainforests as trees or coral reefs as hard corals.  Now, I think of them as the entire flora and fauna body that thrives from its structures.  A lot of their similarities in hosting many trophic webs stems from the fact that they are so diverse.  I think it was easier to notice how diverse the coral reefs were because you could see better all the different creatures.  The rainforest is more dense and larger animals can hide easier, so it was harder to notice this.  Also, both ecosystems are threatened by global warming, pollution, human interactions, or other interferences.  This was more noticeable in the coral reefs as well because you could see all the dead corals and compare to the non-protected site, while you could not see that as easily in the rainforest.

This course was so much better than my expectation.  I was nervous that I may not fully understand everything since I have not taken any other EBIO courses, but it easily laid out how to conduct field research and taught me so much about the ecosystems in play. My favorite part of the course was the comparison of the marine protected area site and the not marine protected area site because it was interesting to see the differences.  I also loved looking for crustaceans and identifying them because they are easier to see up close than birds. OH AND SHARKS. My least favorite part was just how exhausted I was at the end of the day and probably all the bugs, but that is to be expected and is outweighed by all the positives.

The three most important things I learned in this course are how to design my own question and analyze my data, different methods of research (quadrant/transact, camera traps, pitfall traps), and how to make meaningful observations.  I’ve taken labs before (biochemistry labs) but this class really helped me design a significant question and learn how to follow through on it all the way to a poster.  I also had no idea how to do any EBIO methods until this class and it was an interesting contrast to all my normal lab work.  Finally, using my field notebook and taxon cards helped me learn to keep my eyes open and observe what is around me because even small details matter.

The most surprising part of this class for me was how close I became with everyone else on the trip and how much fun we could all have while still learning! TAKE THIS CLASS!!!!

Acknowledgments: Dory, SFS, Turez