Tag Archives: Hermit Crab

De-bris-ing Glovers (Day 6)

Hi all, it’s Faith with Day 6 updates from the 2022 Belize trip!!!

We woke up to gloomy, grey skies with fierce winds, but that did not stop us from conquering the fore reef! Diving the fore reef was incredibly unique, it was unlike any of the shallow patch reefs we usually see. The water was a dark, royal blue, similar to the color of pen ink, and the waves were intense. Usually, the reefs are only a few feet below us, but the fore reef was around 40-50 ft below. Because of the depth, there was no color discrimination unless you swam really close to the reef. I saw lots of new sponge types, but the most interesting was the Giant Barrel Sponge. I saw it close to the “deep drop” towards the edge of the reef; it was on the much deeper side. Because the reef was so far below us, I didn’t see any echinoderms; however, I saw a sea turtle! It was too far away to identify, but from the shape of its bill and fins, I believe it was a loggerhead sea turtle (Caretta caretta). It lacked the hawksbill pattern. The turtle was chilling under/ next to some coral, and it didn’t move even as we all approached it. I assume he was in the area because of the jellyfish swarm above us. Because the waves were so rough, we only stayed out four 20 minutes, and we swam through the jellyfish on our way back to the boat.

When we got back to glovers, I got to see some brown anoles (A. sangrei) because Dr. Correa’s son was catching them and letting us hold them. You can tell they are brown anoles because they are brown and have bright orange dewlaps (throat fans) that lack dots. I don’t know where he was catching them, but I assume they were crawling around the station.

After our much needed break, we made a research question to answer. We asked “How much of the trash that washes up on Glover’s reef can be disposed of on island, where is it located, and which area is the most efficient to clean?”

Our “trash” hypothesis was that the most debris would be located at the coral graveyard and that 50% would need to be taken off-island to dispose of. Our hypothesis really was trash because WE WERE COMPLETELY INCORRECT!!! After garbage collection and sorting, we found that 88% of trash could be disposed of on-island via burning, and we found that the mangroves behind the kitchen collect the most garbage by mass. Therefore, if we are going to do more beach cleanups at glovers, we should have volunteers focus on the areas near those mangroves.

While we were collecting the trash, Nate made an interesting find– an almost intact cow fish skeleton?!  I got to carry it back because everyone else thought it was gross. I mean, it is, but that wasn’t going to stop me! (Pictured below)

After listening to talks of Annelids, hydroids, ocean debris, and anemones, our group got to watch a hermit crab change shells! (Nate also found the shell while gathering trash, and he kindly gave it to the hermit crab). We all got very emotional, and it was the perfect way to end this reef day.

Till Tomorrow! P.s. I’m not sure why this blog didn’t get published on the day I wrote it, but it’s up now that we have better wifi, sorry!!!

QOTD: “I can’t explain it but our group gets really emotional over hermit crabs”

“Ugh, I lost my brainblast”

The Turtle we saw on the reef; as you can see, it is very far away. Potentially a Caretta caretta (Loggerhead)
The land hermit crab we saw change shells. The shell it is wearing is the one that Nate picked out!
The Cowfish skeleton Nate found!
Our Poster!!!
The 64kg of trash we collected from 3 different sites on Middle Key

I feel cool

Today I feel very accomplished. We did a coastal trash survey and cleanup to find the most efficient cleanup location and figure out what portion of the trash could and couldn’t be burned on the island, and I found this!

We think it was a box fish or cow fish. Either way the skeletal structure exoskeleton thing is amazingly cool.

Also, on that trip I picked up some shells I thought some hermit crabs  might enjoy, and when we got back I got one to move in! We were all standing there with our breath held as it inspected the whole shell inside and out, and we let out a cheer when it pulled itself out of its old shell and into mine!

The other major even for the day was that we went to the edge of the atoll, known as the reef crest to snorkel. The waves were massive and rather scary, but it was also really cool to see such deep water with massive coral structures on the bottom.  There was also a massive drop-off at the edge of the reef crest that felt like looking down a cliff to nothingness. Some highlights included seeing walnut comb jellies and a sea turtle sitting on the bottom! There was also a large school of what looked like possibly parrotfish swirling around us! Unfortunately it was too deep for me to be able to decipher the green algae on the bottom, but tomorrow we should snorkel in shallow water so hopefully I will see some there!

D-6 Fossils, trash, & a naked crab?

Hi everyone!

Much like other days today was great! Early in the morning we got to go to the fore reef which was a little intimidating at first but also super cool! There we got to see a green turtle at the bottom and many, many sea walnuts (which were beyond adorable.) I am so glad we visited although we were only able to stay for a short while due to the weather conditions of the atoll at this time of the year. Even though I loved the experience I will say one thing: I am so grateful I decided to take Dramamine during breakfast. I think I would have felt seasick if I had decided to tough it out!

After we got back to Glover’s we all did a group clean-up of the beach. Together we picked up around 65kg of trash; I’m pretty proud of us! In the process, we also collected data on how much of the trash could be disposed of here at Glover’s and how much would have to be shipped to the mainland to be disposed of. Yet, perhaps the coolest part of our findings is that different areas of the island allow for different efficiency in collecting said trash, therefore if there is limited man power, we found that there are certain areas were effort should be a priority! While cleaning the coast, one member of our team found something that kind of shocked us all:

We are still unsure of how this level of preservation happened but it is so pristine that we were able to identify it as a type of box fish. During this trip I had heard about box fish, yet I didn’t know too much about them as they are omnivores and therefore not part of my taxa, piscivorous fish. Yet, seeing this little guy prompted me to learn a lot more about these fish, and honestly they are really cool!

Making today even better, before dinner we saw a hermit crab switch shells; I thought I would never get to see this, but this trip truly is full of surprises at every turn!