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Day 12: More Parrotfish and Hat Misfortunes

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Hi Blog,

After breakfast, we met in the wet lab in order to finish analyzing our parrotfish data from yesterday and to compile it all into a poster. Emily took on the visual illustrations for the four kinds of parrotfish surveyed in this project which looked amazing. We actually got the poster finished in under 2 hours which was a new record time. I think our poster devising and presenting skills have definitely leveled up during our time here in Belize.

Working on poster!

During the poster presentation out on the dock though, Elise’s hat got blown into the ocean, which then she immediately dived in to save. Little did I know, she would not be the only one jumping in the ocean to save her cap…

 

Can you spot Elise in the water?

After the poster, we went to the mangroves and seagrass to catch any organisms we could find. We found grass, some crustaceans, arthropods, small anchovy-like fish, and a snail. We had tools such as two small nets, two trays (one of them had two trays stuck together), and some tongs to aid us in our harvest, but the process was very difficult regardless. At one point though, Claire D caught four of the small fish back to back to back which was so impressive! I tried to catch them with my hands, but they were too fast for me… After our harvest was over, we went back to the wet lab to take a closer look at the samples. I was especially intrigued to look at the snail (that Lily caught) under the microscope, as I could see it moving within the shell.

After this, we had sandwiches for lunch which was absolutely delicious. Then, at 1:30 PM, the class took a trip to the coral graveyards. We got to see countless fossilized/calcified corals, such as brain corals, staghorn corals, seafan, and even a conch. It was incredibly powerful to see the contrast between the vibrantly colored human plastic pollution and the black/white fossilized corals. It truly reminded me of the consequences of anthropogenic actions on the environment, and it was eye-opening to see that with my very own eyes.

Fossilized conch

Around 3 PM, we began presentations starting off with Claire C’s taxon presentation about sharks and rays. But the power shut off towards the end of her lecture, so the rest of the presentations were postponed until 5 PM. In the meantime, some of us went to the dock to lay down and sunbath, and my hat got blown off by the wind into the ocean. I, left with no other choice, jumped in and swam to retrive my poor hat.

At 5 PM, we resumed with the rest of the presentations, such as Emily’s piscivorous fish presentation and Ian’s topic lecture about the evolution and ecology of angelfish.

We then had dinner, which was chicken soup with rice. I added some hot sauce in it to add a little kick, and it was perfect.

After, at 7:30 PM, the class met up for an optional night fishing, since night snorkeling had gotten canceled due to the strong winds making the snorkeling conditions rather unsafe. I didn’t have much expectations for it since our tools were a hanging dive light and two tiny nets, but to my surprise, our class did a spectacular job! Not only did we catch several shrimp and small fish, but we also caught a glass eel and a squid!! The glass eel was very silly to look at as it looked like a clear noodle with cartoon eyes. The highlight though, was the squid caught by Claire D. We put it in a bucket for observation, and we actually watched it squirt ink, which turned the entire bucket black! Also, when we were playing around with it with the net, the squid actually changed colors to camouflage with its own ink speckles!

Since today was mainly land-based, there was no surgeonfish spotting, but maybe I will be able to see one again tomorrow!

I’m not quite sure what the day will look like tomorrow, but I will keep you guys updated! 🙂

 

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In Pursuit of Parrotfish (5/26)

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Hey y’all!

Up bright and early today for a nice head start along with all of the resident hermit crabs and Spiny Iguanas!

We planned our first project after breakfast: following different kinds of Parrotfish (fish that actually do have beaks to eat algae and coral) and keeping track of what they eat.

We headed out in the morning to the patch reef closest to us for the first study site. I saw a whole bunch of the Striped Parrotfish swimming in groups while eating at the coral algae and the seagrass. I have to say, filming and taking pictures underwater is a bit trickier than I thought, so I apologize for the videos and pictures to come, but I think I am getting a bit better at it.

(Striped Parrotfish: Black and white stripes with yellow mouth; Beaugregory: Yellow body with purple top)

We continued this study into the afternoon in two more locations off of Glover’s Reef. While I did see a lot of Striped Parrotfish, I was finding so many Damselfish of different kinds! I think I saw mostly adult Threespot Damselfish (brown with a yellow eyebrow above either eye), Bicolor Damselfish (which are actually three colors–black, white, and yellow–in Belize), and young Threespot Damselfish (yellow with big black spots on their back and tail). I’ll work on getting more pictures of them.

(Threespot Damselfish)

After dinner, we got special presentations from Mr. Kenneth–the manager of Glover’s Reef station– about the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), as well as the marine biologist of the team from the Fisheries Department for Belize, and the Belize Coast Guard. It was really cool to learn how they all work together to protect and learn about the wildlife in the islands around Glover’s Reef!

(Left to right: Mr. Kenneth, Dr. Kory Evans, and Dr. Scott Solomon)

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Day 11: Parrotfish Diet Exploration

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Today we did our first experiment out on the reef. After breakfast, we got together and designed the experiment. First, we formulated our question by brainstorming the things we had been curious about from our previous day out on the reef. We settled on parrotfish partially because we had been seeing a lot of them and partially because they seem particularly interesting. We decided to do fish follow surveys in which we pick an individual and observe them for a period of time, recording what they do in that interval. We were looking at their eating habits in particular, which are a bit hard to pin down. We ended up deciding to watch the fish for a total of 45 minutes, following individuals for five minutes at a time. Our first location in the morning was the patch reef and sea grass beds just off the docks, and in the afternoon we looked at patch reefs further out.

With our experimental designed, we had to pick our subjects to narrow down our focus. We opted to look at four species in particular and divided them up among the different groups. My group was looking at their redtail parrotfish, which we understood predominantly ate sea grass. We set out, staked out the sea grass beds by the dock, and started our time. We had trouble finding parrotfish close to the dock, so we kept swimming further out. As we got further from the dock (and closer to the reef), we started seeing more parrotfish, but not the ones we were looking for. We primarily saw striped parrotfish

In order to have replicates, in the afternoon, we went on the boat to a new patch reef. As an aside, we learned today that Glover’s has over 900 patch reefs, so I ill be saying ‘we visited a new patch reef’ quite a lot. We visited two patch reefs and they both seemed even more vibrant than the reef by the dock at Glover’s. We saw plenty more striped parrotfish in decently sized schools and were also able to see some of the redtail parrotfish as well. They seemed more concentrated on the margin of the reef, but they definitely were eating the sea grass. We also saw a fair number predatory fish, including a handful of barracudas. I think we started to see more species once we figured out not to swim so aggressively and instead to sort fo drift. We weren’t seeing the redtail parrotfish before because they were so skittish, but once we started drifting we saw all kinds of fish. I was also fairly impressed by the massive conchs.

In the evening, we were treated to presentations by representatives from the Wildlife Conservation Society, the Belizean fisheries service, and the coast guard, all of which operate out of this island. We learned about what each group does on the island and how the protected area is maintained. It was a nice compliment to the similar presentation we had at Las Cuevas. That might be one of the most valuable aspects of this trip, to me—learning all about how research stations operate and what researchers do there.

Overall, a hugely successful day! We’ll start tomorrow with data analysis and poster making from our fish follow surveys, and then move on to more activities. Apparently we’re not doing as much snorkeling tomorrow, but I’m excited to see what activities are in store on land.

Parrotfish swimming along coral and sea grass
Initial-stage parrotfish! Can you spot them?
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Day 10: Snorkeling

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Hi! Today was our first full day at Glover’s reef! We started the morning by doing some test snorkeling to a nearby patch reef off the dock to make sure everyone’s gear was working. Around the reef we saw so many species of fish and so many other types of organisms. We saw parrotfish, angelfish, surgeonfish, damselfish, and many more. We also saw a southern stingray hanging around the dock. The nurse sharks love to hang around the dock too!

In the afternoon we took a boat out to a spot called the aquarium to look for our taxa. We saw many more fish, a nurse shark, pufferfish, and many more. However we didn’t see any eels. We needed the night watching the sunset as a group and hanging out on the dock by the water!

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5/25 on the hunt for coral

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Today we had our first snorkel!! Our morning snorkel was pretty chill. We swam out to the reef patch and just explored and practiced snorkeling. I saw a lizard fish and parrotfish and LOTS of hard corals! After lunch, we took a boat out to this other reef patch called the aquarium for how big and clear the water is. Here I saw a nurse shark, a yellow sting ray, a sea cucumber, hard corals and so many damsel fish. I also saw a large terminal male stoplight parrotfish, which I followed around for a bit. A lot of fish change gender as they age to balance the population, and when they do they can change their appearance to look completely different. Because of this, there are so many variations of what different fish can look like, so it’s hard to ID them. This parrotfish appeared to be eating the coral or scraping algae off if the coral to eat. Parrotfish are known to have very strange diets. They appear to eat anything from coral to algae to rocks. They frequently poop all of this out which actually create most of the “sand” that we see. In the next few days, I definitely want to follow some more parrotfish around to see them eat and poop. Then we went over to another site, where I saw even more hard corals and fish! I think this location by far had the most hard corals. All the locations seemed to have mustard hill coral, branch fire coral, blade fire coral grooved brain coral, finger coral,  possibly massive starlet coral. The last location also had symmetrical brian coral and smooth star coral, although these are difficult to identify for me, so it’s just my best guess.

DSCF1657.jpeg

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Snorkeling with Parrotfish and Soft Corals

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This morning we snorkeled near the patch reefs by Glover’s Reef, kicking off a project on parrotfish diets. Our group split into pairs, with each pair tracking a different parrotfish species. My partner and I were assigned the stoplight parrotfish—easily one of the most colorful fish on the reef.

We visited both a close reef and one further out. At the closer site, we spotted two female stoplight parrotfish grazing on the reef. After lunch, we explored the Aquarium site, where we saw even more parrotfish doing their thing—chomping algae off the rocks like little underwater lawnmowers.

From our observations and video recordings, we noticed that the parrotfish weren’t too picky—they seemed to feed on just about everything in sight. While they’re known for grazing on algae, the ones we watched were also biting at corals and even seagrass. It was surprising to see how actively they scraped at different surfaces, showing just how big of an impact these fish have on shaping the reef environment.

As part of my own focus on soft corals, I kept an eye out for interesting species. I saw purple sea fans swaying with the current, some corky sea fingers, and a few black sea rods—all soft, flexible, and fascinating. It’s wild how different each one looks, even though they’re all in the same group.

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Day CoastNINE (Coastline): We Made it to Glover’s Reef!

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A great day for another bus ride, stock up, and move to Glover’s Reef! We got a ferry ride to the atoll, which was so beautiful for the parts I was awake for. Ablaze skies, intense wind, and cool sea mist. And three whole hours of it too! Ian did get a little sunburned though, and Elise and Noelle got great watch tans.

Featuring my hair getting everywhere

As soon as we landed, it was so beach. After a nice tour around the area, a meeting with Clivus, the compost toilet, and dodging the hermit crabs that littered the beach, it was time for dinner! But first, as we unloaded, all of us tried to crack open this old coconut on the beach floor. After a lot of hitting, we finally got some water from it, which was really salty and scrumptious. On top of that, dinner was super yummy, consisting of rice, beans, and vegetables. We then sat on the dock for hours and hours, talking, basking in the setting sun, and taking pictures. 

hermit crab haul!

Finally, it was time for my taxon presentation on parrotfish, as well as two really interesting talks by Zoe and Claire C. on soft coral and parrotfish evolution respectively. Can’t wait to see what we find in the reef tomorrow!

(No parrotfish yet, but definitely tomorrow)

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Day Ate (Eight): Yawning Caves and Hungry Cats

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A day for the road. We said goodbye to LCRS at 7 am, loading our luggage into the back of our van. On the road for four hours, we drove past the expansive rainforest and the pale pine ridges. And then, it was time to go to Actun Tunkul Macal, one of the most iconic caverns in Belize. 

This was by far one of the most interesting experiences I have ever had. After walking through different rivers (couldn’t part them, unfortunately), we finally made it to what seemed to be a nondescript hole. Yet, characteristic of many caves, the inside was humongous, magnitudes larger than what the entrance showed. We walked through channels upon channels, glittering with alluvial deposits in the form of stalagmites, stalactites, and travertines. Walking around columns and into underground rivers, it was like watching all my research on my topic lecture (Life in Caves) come to life. The limestone caves still dripped mineral, and curtains upon curtains of formations adorned the chambers. Gradients of limestone, from gray to brown, showcased the timeline of formation, and striations marked the water table from seasons before. From flowstone formations and bellholes, to cave windows and precarious rock structures, the caves in and off themselves had much to uncover. Interestingly, iron is highly concentrated in the caves as well, giving areas of rock a distinct red-pink marbling. Researchers are slowly attempting to measure out these iron concentrations, though imaging may take a while given the magnetic methods these techniques utilize. (Spoiler: iron is super magnetic.)

With the various crevices and cracks, life was pretty hard, and pretty fun, to find. Bellholes were surrounded by bat guano, and roosting bats hid across various curtains. We also saw various cave insects and arachnids like spiders and crickets, alongside minnows at the entrance. Some people even saw a cave crab and some catfish–so jealous! And plant saplings grew from bat guano, although given the intense darkness of the caves, who knows how long they will grow for? My favorite evidence of life had to be the ancient Maya pottery and remains though, indicative of a history of rituals. What do people do when they’re desperate? They pray. And as droughts occurred, the Maya retreated further and further into the caves, mapping out areas to perform rituals as evidenced by the remains left over. Seeing these artifacts in their last-used environment definitely added so much more context and depth. Across our tour, Dr. Rafael, our guide, explained so much about the theories that are being used to explain findings around the cave. Having such a knowledgeable guide, who’d worked so much in the cave system really made the experience so much better.

And lastly, another few hours later, we drove to the Belizean Tropical Education Center. We got to see a variety of nocturnal wildlife, including jaguars, tiger cats, pacas, and more. As we went along, we got to see so many interesting things. We even got to feed some of the animals like the Beird’s Tapir, which was really really cute. All animals from the zoo are rescued or unable to return to the wild, making it important that they are taken care of well. It was a testament to the wildlife that remains in Belize, and a reminder of what could be lost if we don’t feed our hungry animals.

Some interesting zoo sites–guess the animal!

Fungi–none today, but we’re transitioning to parrotfish, so stay tuned!

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Pre-Departure Prepping: Fulfilling my Planet Earth Aspirations

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Hey y’all, my name is Sadhana! I’m a rising junior from Lovett College studying Bioengineering. Our trip to Belize is literally one day away (eek!) and I’m so so excited. We had an information meeting around the end of the spring semester, and since then I’ve been getting my snorkeling gear in check, and am about to start packing. Which… considering the state of my room, may take a while. Not to fret, a whole 24 hours await 🫡

Alongside gear, we’ve had a ton of pre-work to get ourselves familiarized with flora and fauna around Belize’s Las Cuevas Research Station and Glover’s Reef (representing portions of the rainforest and coral reefs respectively). I’ll be the first to say–I massively underestimated the time it’s taken me to get through it. But it’s been so, so worthwhile. In the rainforest, I’ll be scavenging for fungi and lichen, and in the reefs, I’ll be grazing for parrotfish (puns intended if you find them). 

Learning about the taxonomy and sheer variety of species has been insane. I am absolutely in love with fungi and I could barely fit all the species I wanted into my taxon ID sheet. As a tropical habitat, Belize has so many niches that the fungi occupy. And don’t even get me started on the cool cellular adaptations lichen have, merging algae and fungi into one superbody. On the other hand, I didn’t know much about parrotfish before starting on my reef taxonomy presentation. I’ve come to internalize how important parrotfish are as a keystone species, not to mention their interesting jaws. They serve the purpose of maintaining reefs, but they’re also so flamboyant, I love it. 

I think it would be amazing to find any of the species I have on my ID sheet, but I’m even more excited to find ones I haven’t seen yet. However, I have absolutely no experience doing fieldwork, so figuring out what to look for, what to remember, and how to maintain field notes will all be challenging, and I’m a bit nervous about that. But I did live in the tropics of India, so I’m used to similar climates. This is my idea of all the David Attenborough Planet Earth documentaries I’ve grown up watching, so I can’t wait to put in the work, no matter how intense it might get. We’ve got a lot planned, and I just know it’ll be a trip to remember.

p.s. The state of my packing at 11 pm the night before we leave (this was the better part…)
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Herbivorous Fish Everywhere!

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May 24th, 2019

 

Today we embarked on a lengthier project, measuring percent live coral cover in marine protected area reefs vs. reefs outside of them. After breakfast and a boat safety talk, we climbed into a whaler and travelled to our protected area reef. The weather was perfect for snorkeling, barely any wind and cloudy due to approaching rain.

Jumping into the water and swimming to the sandy center of the reef (where our groups met up), I already saw so many colorful corals with different little wrasses darting amongst them. I reeled out my groups transect line, swimming though different sea fans (a soft coral) and over top of the coral heads (careful to avoid the stinging fire coral). Swimming over the corals was just an amazing and surreal experience, seeing all the different colors in the crystal clear was breathtaking. After finishing our quadrats, we got a chance to swim around the reef and explore.

 

The reef was full of herbivorous fish. There were Blue Tang Surgeonfish, what species Dory is from Finding Nemo with their characteristic blue bodies and yellow caudal spines, munching on some algae that was in the coral. There were also a lot parrotfish swimming in and under the coral heads. A very prevalent species was the colorful Stoplight Parrotfish. Parrotfish are special in that they have two “phases” of coloring and can be hermaphroditic (can change sexes). The initial phase of the stoplight parrotfish has a red orange underbelly and speckled body scale. There were also terminal phase Stoplight Parrotfish, which have a green head and body with yellow scales at the base of the tail and have orange/red scales on their tail. They also have a pink strip near their pectoral fin. In both phases, Stoplight Parrotfish are quite spectacular, and often feed in groups so they are easy to see. I also saw more Ocean Surgeonfish and Three-spotted damselfish. I also saw an adult Dusky Damselfish swimming through the coral, with its brown/black coloration and its rounded, continuous dorsal fin.

A Stoplight Parrotfish
Stoplight Parrotfish (initial coloring)

After around fifteen minutes of swimming, we loaded onto the boat and went to the unprotected reef and performed the same task. Per usual, we ended the day with lectures.