Tag Archives: Striped Parrotfish

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Day 11: Parrotfish

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Today we set off to observe some parrotfish in the reef! We decided to highlight 4 species: striped, red tail, stoplight, and red band. Our research methods involve recording and following the fish around for 5 minutes and noting their behavioral patterns in the reef. We split into pairs and designated different portions of the reef to each group as to minimize the potential overlap there may be. Generally, we are asking what the parrotfish eat and which species are eating what. Tomorrow morning we are going to come back and analyze all of these findings.

(Striped parrotfish would occasionally venture in smaller numbers into the reef, but would spend most of their time in larger groups near the edge, constantly eating algae)

While we were out on the reef, I also saw a few piscivorous fish. On the surface of the water, I saw a few needlefish darting by. Near the reef edges, I observed a few groups of Spanish mackerel swimming together. I also saw several yellow jacks while observing the parrotfish. So far, I have not seen any of my piscivorous fish preying or attacking other fish, but I’m sure if I watch them for any extended period of time that’s bound to happen.

(donkey dung sea cucumber found)

I sat out of the afternoon snorkel for some personal reasons, which was definitely the right call for me, and I got to rest up a bit, which felt really good.

This afternoon, we heard some presentations from the people who work here at Glover’s Reef. It was cool to hear about the goals and mission of the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), which is the parent organization that runs this station and several others. They aim to conserve and protect both the lands and waters of Belize, connecting the two. Also, they are making a special effort to manage the natural resources in a sustainable way.

The marine biologist here told us a bit about the fishing practices allowed that prevent damage to the marine ecosystems. There is a strict limit on the amount of fishing that cane be done, and there are guidlines in place for the popular conch and lobster seasons. There are also coast guards stationed here on the island who carry weapons and scare off any illegal activities.

The taxon presentations highlighted surgeonfish and wrasses, which actually both participate in some unique practices on the reef in which they clean other fish that would often be their natural predators.

-Emily

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Day inTENse: Rocky Starts and Oceanic Comebacks

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Our first day snorkeling! The ocean looked super pristine and calm above water. Jumping in, however, was a whole different story. As soon as I hit the water at 10 am though, I panicked. Mask flooded and fogged, legs weakly kicking back against strong surges of waves, I opted to be on a life raft instead. Tugged around by lifeguards Domenique and Adrian, I followed along, and ended up spotting a  nurse shark, varieties of angelfish, parrotfish, and damselfish, and a plethora of colorful coral. By the end of the session, I was ready to be back in the ocean.

But first, I needed a quick (2 hour) nap on our wet lab’s hammock. Sleeping in the hammock amidst the hot, humid climate was a life altering experience. After that and lunch, it was time for another snorkel at a series of patch reefs at Glover’s Reef Research Station (GRRS) known as the Aquarium. Testing out my phone camera and video, I was able to spot so many parrotfish, as well as a barracuda, some really pretty sea urchin, and beautiful coral. From the fire and maze corals to the purple sea fan, the diversity within singular patches was amazing to see. It really made me realize the reason Belize’s coast is called the largest “living” reef. 

hammocking!

After snorkeling, we analyzed all the images we got. Sam and I spent an especially long time looking at the parrotfish and wrasses around the area. Interestingly, we both saw an initial phase female striped parrotfish transitioning into a male, or terminal phase parrotfish! These are distinct in that the female typically exhibits duller, red-warm colors, while the male is more vibrant, exhibiting blues and greens. Seeing this transition was super cool and definitely a highlight. We also identified a bunch of striped parrotfish and stoplight parrotfish, both in their initial phases. What was most interesting though, was the behavior we saw, from chasing females across territorial boundaries, to grazing and excretion. Fun fact–parrotfish excrete sand!

The transitioning parrotfish!

An exciting, but tiring day for sure. More to come soon!

 

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Day 11: Big Toadfish, Bigger Reef

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We finally began our first research project here on the reef! This one focuses on parrotfish behavior, particularly their feeding habits. We decided to focus on four species of parrotfish, stoplight, redband, redtail, and striped parrotfish.

We returned back to the two patch reefs off the dock of Middle Caye. I paired up with Elise and we began our search for striped parrotfish! We found four groups that kept darting around between the reefs and seagrass, constantly being chased way by damselfish.

While roaming around the closer of the two patch reefs, we spotted a white spotted toadfish hiding in the reef, which was super cool.

I think I saw the tail of a red hind hiding in a small cave, but the cave was too dark to tell. However, we did stumble across a huge trumpetfish hiding in some branch corals!

We returned to two further patch reefs after lunch to look for more striped parrotfish. During that process we saw a cave with huge French and queen angelfish and a couple of blue tangs. We also saw this weirdly shaped fish with a huge body and a tiny caudal fin rush by. We tried to chase it but it was a bit too fast 😔.

As we continued to swim along the edge of the reef, we kept seeing more and more huge angelfish and blue tangs. Apparently two barracudas were spotted in the area but we never saw them. Our underwater camera also broke almost as soon as we got into the water in the afternoon, so we were unable to take any pictures of these fish.

Right before dinner, Dr. Evans and Dr. Solomon went back to the close patch reefs to spear a couple lionfish. They were successful and managed to catch two!

We ended our day with a couple of extra presentations from the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), the organization that owns Middle Caye, the Belizean Fisheries Department, and the Coast Guard, which were all super interesting and insightful. I never realized the full reach of WCS, and the same organization that owns the Bronx Zoo also does work out in Glover’s Reef/Atoll.

All in all, today was a really fun and eventful day. Hoping to see more of what these reefs and this atoll has to offer!

Ian C