Superstar Sighting | BIOS 319: Tropical Field Biology

I’m up at 5:00 am. My bags are packed. I eat a PB&J, and we are on the road. The drive from the Tropical Education Center to the pier in Belize City isn’t too long – around 45 minutes. Our team transitions to the boat, and we are off on the two-and-a-half hour boat ride to Glover’s Atoll, our home for the next seven days.

Soon after our arrival to Glover’s, we went snorkeling – my first time ever. The colors of the reef seemed like they were from a centuries-old oil painting. I was anticipating a full color pallet of hues, but the corals’ tones were warm-colored and muted.

Snorkeling in the water seemed out of body – like I was an avatar in a video game. Still not fully used to the controls of this unfamiliar type of movement, I felt awkward in the water, despite swimming competitively in high school. Every movement was calculated, taking into full consideration each dimension of my unfamiliar setting – Who is behind me? Will I bump into any coral nearby? Is my snorkel still vertical?

The reef was teeming with busy creatures. During my brief hour-long escapade, I encountered many types of fish, including baby barracuda (Genus Sphyraena), a baby nurse shark (Ginglymostoma cirratum), and a large southern stingray (Dasyatis americana). The only echinoderm I found was the bleached skeleton of a large red heart urchin (Meoma ventricosa) on the seafloor. The skeleton was about 6 inches in diameter and partially covered in algae. I also held a conch shell with a fleshy body inside. His eyes stuck out of his head like the eyes of Mr. Krabs from Spongebob Squarepants. My superstar sighting was a porcupinefish (Family Diodontidae) hiding under a rocky ridge. The fish was difficult to photograph, but with its massive size and bright colors, it was easy to remember.

After the swim, we explored a coral graveyard, studying the skeletons of centuries-old corals. It was interesting to witness how corals vary in formational shape, as well as polyp size and arrangement pattern. After dinner, we closed the day with two taxon briefings (including my own on echinoderms).

My first time in the water was surreal. I am eager for the next wave of adventures tomorrow will bring.

Today was about movement. In the morning, I moved out of my apartment, and, in the afternoon, I moved into a new country – Belize!

Before my eyes even caught a glimpse of the wildlife, I became fixated on the sheer differences between the U.S. and our neighbor just a two-hour flight south. Everything seemed less commercialized, less polished, and less reliant on technology. The infrastructural and cultural differences between the U.S. and Belize was something I never thought about before stepping foot on Belizean soil.

The inside of a Belizean connivence store

Witnessing these differences adds an anthropological element to this trip, something unexpected but enriching.

About an hour after exiting the area surrounding the Belize Airport, we arrived at the Tropical Education Center. Rainforest surrounds the Center on all sides, providing us with an excellent first look into tropical rainforest life.

My most memorable tree sighting was a bullhorn acacia tree (Acacia cornigera) on the trail. The tree was about 15-feet tall, covered in paired black thorns and housed many small dark ants.

We took a tour of the Center’s campus. I felt like I was at camp again, except with a much higher humidity rate.

The Center had its own diverse array of wildlife. While I am unsure of their exact names, I noticed epiphytes with roots hanging down, a big black beetle, and a dark green frog with black spots. My superstar sighting was a green iguana (Iguana iguana) lounging on a tree branch, snacking of some leaves.

The first day has been extremely transitionary, but I feel energized for the adventures that lay ahead.

BIOS 319: Tropical Field Biology

Tag Archives: Superstar Sighting

Day 2: First Time Snorkeler (05/17/2017)

Day 1: Movement (05/16/2017)

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