Tag Archives: patch reef

2022

Fire Coral – What Doesn’t Kill You Makes You Stronger (Reef Day 4)

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Today is the day that my hand, neck, and snorkel mask tans are so defined that they are becoming obvious. We started the day fast and strong TFB-style by hopping into a boat to collect more data for our coral/urchin experiment in two different MPA patch reefs.

The first MPA reef we went to had the best conditions for data collection by far for me and Liliana. The depth (5-6 ft) was perfect, the current was light, and the non-outrageous amount of sea fans helped tremendously with the quadrats. However, I did encounter a challenge at this location. When I was floating and writing on my clipboard, I drifted into a !!*FIRE CORAL*!! It brushed against my elbows and forearms and caused a burning sting. It wasn’t unbearable and went away after 30 minutes, but I have learned to always be on the watch for these vengeful creatures.

^ This is the culprit coral šŸ™

The second MPA location was a little more shallow, so this made data collection harder, but the urchin collection led to so many cool finds. One of which was a new taxa discovery! When turning river pieces of coral rubble in search of urchins, I found a red beaded anemone! I was so excited to find a new anemone, and I got a picture of it (the urchin next to it was shortly collected).

I also got to hold a West Indian sea egg! This hedgehog of the sea was named Sally, and she was very adorable and spiny.

Later in the day, we went on a swim just for fun on the lagoon side of the reef crest. This was anemone haven! I saw so many Giant Caribbean anemones; sadly, some of them were bleached. On a happier note, I also got a new taxa sighting here! Encrusted on the side of a mound coral, I found a mat zoanthid colony! The tiny polyps (<1cm) were blue/green and curled up into domes when disturbed. Yay zoanthids!

After dinner, we listened to two guest lectures from the Belize Fisheries Department and Belize Coast Guard. I have so much respect for all that is being done to protect and conserve the ocean and its resources.

Today was extremely productive to the point where I am struggling to finish writing this blog. I look forward to going to bed and having my recurring dream (only started a few days ago for some reason) of going snorkeling and turning into a mermaid. Maybe my dream behind-the-scenes is super inspired by mermaid Ruth!

– McKenna

2022

Research? More like reef-search!!! (Day 4)

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Hi all, itā€™s Faith with Day 4 updates from the 2022 Belize trip!!!

Today we started our attempt to answer our new research questions: ā€œ What is the correlation between percent live coral and the sea urchin population?” and “How does that correlation change between mpa and non mpa reefs?”

Our hypothesis are as follows:Ā  we think that areas with moderate amounts of sea urchins will have the highest percentage of live reefs. Additionally, we think that the unprotected reefsĀ  will have an abundance of sea urchins and therefore have less live coral. We think this because unprotected reefs are susceptible to overfishing, which reduces the amount of creatures that prey on sea urchins.

Our methods were to lay out 50ft of transect tape in random, radial direction s from one central point. Then, at every 5 meters we would count the squares of live coral and dead coral using a quadrat. Our final part, would be collecting as many sea urchins as possible in 10 minutes, which we would identify later.

This method sounds easy in practice, but let me tell you. Counting. The. Corals. Was. Hellish. Don’t try to tell me,Ā  “Corals are delicate, don’t touch them because they’ll get hurt.” * I now know the truth. They will cut you, burn you, and make you lose your quadrat to the current. If I wasn’t wearing a wetsuit, I would be covered in the wrath of a fire coral right now. So, yeah, getting the data from the West patch reef was very difficult, but collecting the sea urchins wasn’t easy either. Most of the time, the sea urchins were 1cm-2inches burrowed in the remains of hard corals (specifically the ones with a little algae overgrowth). They were hard to see at first, but after awhile they were easy to find. I saw many types, and as the echinoderms expert, I knew exactly what they were (mostly). The most common find was a Common reef urchin, Echinometra viridis, identifiable by the dark body, orange spikes, and small white rings on their spines. We saw a few reef burrowing urchins, Echinometra lucunter, and 2 pencil slate urchins, Eucidaris tribuloides.Ā We found so many urchins that I could hardly count the ones in the wild, but we brought back 20 to classify.Ā  My three favorite finds of this trip were a Flamingo tongue snail, a lobster trio(featured picture), and the donkey dung sea cucumber (Holothuria mexicana). I found the sea cucumber under a coral, and I got to hold him, he was very squishy and started molding to the shape of my hands. I couldn’t identify any particular behavior that he was doing, but maybe he just needed a nap.

Our other daily activity was making a taxa showcase! We gathered lots of creatures from the seagrass beds behind the kitchen. We found one Spiny Sea Urchin, Diadema antillarum,Ā and Kaiu graciously scooped it up for me to talk about. He hardly stole the show though because we found so many types of green algae, a lobster, and two mantis shrimp!

Oh, and did I mention that Prof. Solomon speared a lionfish? Looks like we might have ceviche tomorrow!

Till then!

QOTD: “You made the *dumb* graph, this is on you”

The first mantis shrimp I’ve ever seen. Everytime I go to an aquarium they don’t have them, and they are supposed to be really hard to find. I finally accomplished my life goal (twice in one day!!!)
Me and the Donkey Dung Sea Cucumber, Holothuria mexicana
Black long-spined sea urchin, Diadema antillarum, somehow being carried in a tiny net
Some of the guides we used to identify the sea urchins. I made the one on the left!!!
My teacher speared a lionfish in front of me … I LOVE BIOLOGY

* please do not intentionally touch corals its a) illegal and b) bad for corals

2022

First Reef Day <3

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The McKenna that is writing this post is a completely different person than the McKenna that wrote the previous blogs. Today, I saw coral reefs with my very own eyes, and it was such a life-changing experience!

The day started early with breakfast at 7:00 am. We wasted no time getting into the water, and we swam to path reefs close by the Glover’s dock. I was surprised by how much sediments can make snorkeling an issue; one kick downward with your fin and all of the scenery around you is made barely visible. Needless to say, I quickly learned to stay on my stomach. At the patch reefs, I saw so many amazing things, notably a baby lionfish and a pufferfish. On the way back, I saw a Great Caribbean anemone in a bed of seagrass! (Please forgive that this is a photo taken of a digital picture)

After getting back, we made reef supplies for future endeavors, including an expertly-woven quadrant and a top-of-the-line snorkel clipboard with waterproof paper!

After lunch, we suited back up and sprinted (I’m not kidding, we actually sprinted there to avoid the swarm of mosquitos) to explore the mangrove of death (oooo aaahh). We brought our clipboards with us to do a scavenger hunt! Liliana and I were buddies, and we found lots of cool things, like a sea cucumber and a Christmas tree worm. We decided to swim back because the mosquitos were that bad, and that is when I spotted a warty corallimorph! This is usually a solitary organism, so it was all by itself. (Again, photo of a photo)

The mangrove snorkel was amazing! Afterward, we ate dinner and gave presentations.

Today was incredible. I am so excited for the upcoming reef days to explore more! Another night of needed rest awaits me. A TFB always needs their beauty sleep šŸ™‚

– McKenna

2022

Beware the Mangroves of Death

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Today was the first snorkeling day!

We started out by snorkeling in the area by the dock, to make sure everyone was comfortable. We then moved to a patch reef further out, and we saw a lot of cool organisms, including some Christmas tree worms, huge brain coral, a corallimorph, some lionfish, and some lobsters. And even more exciting than that-lots of white scroll algae (padina jamaicensis) and sargassum (I did not identify it, but it sure was floating)!Ā  Afterwards we came back to the wet lab and constructed quadrats- 3×3 foot pvc pipe frames with strings woven across to form crosshairs. We will be using the quadrats to measure stuff in the field, starting tomorrow.

After lunch we had a vote-either to return to the patch reefs we had gone to this morning, or go to a new area, through the Mangroves of Death (MOD). The professor’s kids (who are along for the ride, I don’t know if I mentioned that) provided a very convincing argument, including the threat of crabs in our rooms if we did not choose the new area. So a landslide vote was probably expected, even considering the risks. We suited up in our snorkeling gear, including our masks, and then ran through the mangrove forest to the reef. At first it was fine, but then we began to feel the pinches of the mosquitoes biting through the dive skin. We had been descended upon by the mosquitoes of the MOD! We ran faster until we finally made it into the water. Not one person was left unbitten.

We then had an enjoyable experience in the patch reef, looking for the organisms or interactions listed on our scavenger hunt pages. Some notable things we saw were a sea urchin and many species of colorful fish.

When we were done, we were presented with the option of either running back through the MOD, or snorkeling. The choice was obvious. While snorkeling back, we saw many orange sponges, some anemones, a yellow ray, and a shark among the sea grass! All around, snorkeling back was the right choice.

We then listened to our classmates present their topics and taxa, and then we split for the night.

Overall, the patch reefs had so much to offer, and I’m looking forward to exploring them more! Also tune in tomorrow, I heard we’re going somewhere deemed “Un-Belizeable!”

-Elena

ps. happy birthday Hugh!!

pps. sorry for the bad photo quality-I can’t easily download the pictures from the digital camera to my computer :'(

picture one is part of the group, picture two is the shark, picture three is y-branched algae (dictyota cyliolata), picture four is white scroll algae (padina jamaicensis) and an unidentified brown algae, and picture five is the kids and their hermit crab empire (under each coconut shell is a hermit crab)!

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Day 11: Itā€™s a sponge type of day!

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todayā€™s general agenda: morning dive ā€”> debrief ā€”> seagrass exploration ā€”> presentationsĀ 

Out first research project at Gloverā€™s Reef involves us using transects to address a question about Marine Protected Areas and the reef. Marine Protected Areas (MPA) are designated areas where fishing is restricted or prohibited. We wanted to use this opportunity look at the amount of live coral in MPA and non-MPA reefs. The beauty of fieldwork is that you never know what to expect. This morning, since waves were generally calm, we quickly got geared up and went out to two different patch reefs. We got our clipboards, transect tape, and quadrats and started our data collection.Ā 

Surprisingly, Anna and I were a lot faster today. In comparison to the first two days, we managed to stay afloat and communicate effectively with hand signals. As we were collecting, we were also trying to avoid getting stung by fire corals. I also came to terms that wounds are almost inevitable. I would swim around and another finger would randomly start feeling some sharp pain. Was it the crab, fire corals, or urchin? who knows!Ā 

Anna signaling “corals” to me

While exploring the different patch reefs, we came across so many sponges! We saw Azure vase sponge, Ailochroria crassa, branching vase sponge, and red boring sponges! I want to highlight red boring sponges because they are literally embedded within corals. They compete with corals and cause a ring of dead corals where the corals and sponges meet.Ā 

In the afternoon, we went to explore seagrass patches near the research station. Seagrass patches are good nurseries for animals, and it was shallow enough for us to swim around without fins. I was able to find a diadema skeleton and some chicken liver sponge. These sponges were scattered all over the seafloor, with some firmly attached onto seagrass. When we went back to the station, someone found what might be Aiolochrorio crassa, which is a lobe shaped sponge.Ā 

me explaining types of sponges we found to the group PC: Dr. Shore

Of course, after weā€™ve examined them all, we scattered them back to the seagrass and called it a day!Ā 

Brendan Wong

Gloverā€™s Reef Marine Reserve, Belize

5/24/2019

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First Day at my Atoll (Day 2)

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As neat as the Belize City Airport and the Tropical Education Center were, today is when the real fun stuff started. We woke up at the crack of dawn to meet our boat in Belize City and were on our way by 8. The boat trip was idyllic because the skies were completely clear and the ride was very smooth. The water was a mosaic of different shades of blue, and we could see Mayan Mountains on the horizon. In terms of wildlife, we first saw flying fish and a green turtle. The green turtle sighting was especially special, and he was huge!

The scenery of the boat ride out to Glover’s.

Actually being at Gloverā€™s Reef is pretty wild because Iā€™ve been wanting to come here for so long. Actually diving here is equally wild because itā€™s the first time Iā€™ve been on a reef with any grain of legitimate knowledge whatsoever with regards to reef life.

After touring the island, eating, and getting settled in the cabins, we did a little ā€œscavenger huntā€ on a patch reef to make sure everyone was comfortable in the water. That was quite refreshing after 22 hours of feeling sticky. I saw a lot of stony corals, gorgonians, vase sponges, seagrass, and herbivorous fish all over the patch. Some of the highlights of things that I saw were an Angelfish, a Barracuda, a Manta Ray, and a Feather Duster Polychaete.

A massive coral, with a feather duster worm on it’s surface.

While all these things were quite neat, they could not compare with the Green Algae that I saw!! (I am obligated to be excited about green algae for the duration of this trip but they actually are kind of exciting). Since they were in the sand, rather than on the reef itself, I could get really close to the algae to examine them without worrying about kicking and harming any organisms.

I saw a few species that I know were types of Penicillus. I immediately recognized some Rhipocephalus phoenix when I swam up to it because it really did look like a pinecone! I think I also saw some Penicillus pyriformis. Then I saw an Udotea algae that I think was Udotea flabellum, but it didnā€™t quite match what I was expecting for either of the Udotea species I had on my card.

Udotea flabellum in the foreground, and Penicullus pyriformis in the background.

Later on, I saw some Halimeda that I guessed may have been Halimeda discoidea. I know for sure that it was Halimeda because I found calcium carbonate Halimeda chips around it.

Halimeda algae. If you look closely in the sand, you can see some Halimeda chips as well.

After the snorkeling, Adrienne took us back to a big heap of coral skeletons on the other side of the island. Apparently itā€™s super rare for there to be so many skeletons so well preserved and so easily accessible, so that was neat. I donā€™t think Iā€™ve seen anyone as excited in a graveyard before as Adrienne was. Ā It was a good way to practice identifying stony corals and to clarify the differences between species with similar morphologies by comparing them side by side.

Two of the coral skeletons we saw in the skeleton pile. I think the right one is Pseudodiploria labarinthaformis.

In the evening, Jordan lectured us on the Stony Coral taxon group which bettered our familiarity a bit more. Mikey lectured on Echinoderms which was a lot of new information. I didnā€™t see any Echinoderms today, but now that I know what to look for I think Iā€™ll be able to spot some tomorrow.

The last thing we did for tonight was make the quadrats we are going to use tomorrow. That was not particularly noteworthy except for the fact that I got my very first wound of the class by stabbing my thumb with a pair of scissors. The trauma was minimal and Iā€™m expecting to survive but Iā€™m sporting a nice little Bandaid for now.

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Patch reef

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This morning we all improved our skills clearing our mask and snorkel without surfacing while on a reef scavenger hunt. There were many annelids around but you have to be looking for them because of their small size, and sometimes they were under corals or in crevices. I saw the same star horseshoe worms, but also a light orange-ish christmas tree worm and a brown and white social feather duster. They are beautiful little creatures. I also spotted some fire coral around the patch reef. Aside from the annelids and hydrozoans I saw corals, sponges, sea fans, fish, urchins, barracuda, and a nurse shark today.

This afternoon we practiced using a transect and quadrants to survey things on the reef or ocean floor. Itā€™s tricky but Iā€™m getting the hang of it. We also got the chance to walk to a part of the island covered with thousands of fragments of old, fossilized corals. This was really helpful in practicing identifying them based on their corallitesĀ and overall shape. I am ready for what tomorrow has to bring!

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Sophia Streeter

5/26