1 May 2013
- Flight 1927 from Tampa to Miami 9:40 AM – 10:30 AM
- Flight 2167 from Miami to Belize City 1:30 PM – 3:00 PM
- Bus ride from Belize City to Las Cuevas Research Station 4:00 PM – 7:30 PM
I was
actually joking when I said that battered old school bus in the parking lot of
the Belizean airport was our ride into the jungle. Then it pulled up to our group, comprised of
thirteen students and two professors, eagerly waiting on the curb and our bags
were loaded in. I was in shock, and I
mean that in the best way possible.
Unlike my middle school days where sitting in the back of the bus was
“cool”, I opted for one of the seats in the front, hoping for a first-class
view of all the action. No one had any
idea what we were in for.
Alberto
was our driver and Raphael was his wingman; you could tell this wasn’t their
first rodeo. The four hour bus ride to
the Chiquibul Forest was twice as long as we had expected and took us speeding
through unpaved roads, up and down mountains, and over makeshift bridges that
were barely wide enough to accommodate the bus.
I discovered you have to fear for your life in order to really feel
alive.
2 May 2013
“Science!” So much important information was obtained
today, so many instruments were used, and many trees were measured. We began by setting a 50 m x 20 m plot
running in each cardinal direction with a flag at each corner (SE, NE, NW,
SW). Then we collected vegetation
measurement data using….
·
Diametric tape: measures the Diameter at Breast
Height (DBH) of a tree, 1.3 m from the base.
·
Clinometer: measures the height of a tree,
standard 20 m away.
·
Spherical Densiometer: measures the amount of available sunlight in
m2.
3 May 2013
I had
the greatest sleep last night. It gets
surprisingly cold here at night, especially when it rains. We had a relaxing morning, sat on the porch
in an Adirondack chair drinking coffee and bird watching. People slowly trickled out to the porch and
conversations ensued. Pretty much every
meal is homemade tortillas and beans but I’m not complaining. Angie, the woman who cooks our meals, makes
absolutely delicious food and I’m grateful that she makes me a special
vegetarian plate for every meal.
We all
packed into the school bus at about eight o’clock and headed to the Caracol
Archeological site. There are about a
dozen ancient Mayan structures on this site ranging from poor housing to elite
castles, celestial observation areas, tombs, a ball court, and ritual
areas. This Mayan community, which had a
population of about 100,000, had a large middle-class, showing that there was a
flow of money within the community.
The
conservation of culture was an idea that really stuck with me. Who are you without your cultural
identity? It provides a sense of
direction, a purpose, and allows you to hold your values tightly. Why do “we” feel that our culture is
superior? When we lose our cultural
identity, we lose our link to ourselves, and we lose our link to nature. Maybe this is a key to our problem? Cultures must be respected on all levels and
in all places.
Daily
advice from Boris: “Not everything that
is on a spoon is food.”
4 May 2013
Today
has been another day dedicated to the scientific method. Our group woke up before the crack of dawn to
set up mist nets which are used to catch small birds and insects. We had the success of capturing a
yellow-green tyrannulet, a white-breasted wood wren, and a wood thrush. The birds were very small and got very
tangles in the fragile mist net but Boris was careful not to accidently hurt
them. While untangling them he would
often blow in their heads to calm them down and so he could see them net
line. Ethics are a hot topic in mist
netting and bird banding and scientists take special care to release the animals
unharmed. All of our birds were released
at a level three, meaning they flew away safely and without difficulty.
As we
were mist netting, two troops of howler monkeys were fighting over territory,
nearly right about our heads. The howler
monkeys do not quarrel physically but intimidate each other by howling in hopes
that the other troop will retreat. The
troop that “wins” the territorials war gets the land and the females.
After
breakfast we headed into the bush to set Sherman traps which are used to catch
small mammals like rats and mice. We had
to make a 100 m x 40 m grid with transects running in cardinal directions and
flags at every 10 m where the traps will be set. Our traps were baited with peanut butter and
left out until about 4:30 PM. We had no
luck catching anything in our traps today but we will check them again in the
morning. Frustration was abound as we
encountered problems making straight transects, dealing with different opinions
of team mates and navigating through dense bush. I feel this field practice was essential for
future research and I know I will become more precise the more experience I
gain.
5 May 2013
We had
a change of scenery today but it ended up being the best day of my life to
date. It started out with a short bus
ride to Mountain Pine Ridge Forest Reserve.
The environment changed drastically and very quickly, all of the pine
trees were reminiscent of Florida landscape.
The forest was sparse because of a recent bark beetle epidemic and
intense forest fires. The lack of shade
was brutal and most of us ended up sunburned.
Our research was cut short by a swarm of Africanized bees flying
overhead.
On the
ride back to Las Cuevas, Alberto, our bus driver, stopped at the river crossing
so we could take pictures and what not.
Well one thing led to another and eventually we were all in the river in
our clothes. The water was very shallow
and the rocks were well-worn granite but the current was pretty strong. In one area we let the current pull us into
the rapids and dump us out on the other side of the bridge. It was breathtaking to sit on a polished
river rock in the middle of the river and look out at the layers of mountains
covered in lush, green rainforest topped by hazy clouds. I feel lucky to have experienced this with
all the people that were there.
After
our refreshing dip in the river we all piled back onto the bus soaking
wet. Just a few minutes later, Boris
tells Alberto to pull over so we could observe a tree full of about twenty
scarlet macaws. This was the second
breathtaking moment of the day, to see so many beautiful birds perched high in
a tree in the rainforest. Boris said
they are threatened because people catch them to be sold as pets, and during
the nesting season researchers will camp under the macaws nesting tree 24/7 in
order to protect them. That is true love
and respect for nature right there.
Upon
return to Las Cuevas we opened our Sherman traps for the night. When it got dark the guys started a fire for
us. It was a perfect end to the day.
6 May 2013
We got
to sleep in till six o’clock this morning so that was a good start to the
day. The cave in Chiquibul forest was
only a three minute hike from the station and is considered a relatively small
cave that was used by the Mayans as a ceremonial area. One of the most awesome sights I’ve ever
witnessed is walking from the jungle to an expansive cave opening that reveals
crystalline formations. The cave is 340
meters in distance but the end of the loop comes out about ten meters up so we
had to backtrack to get out, a total of 680 meters. At times the cave got very small and we had
to crouch through the holes in a single-file line. This was my first experience in a cave and it
was beautiful and unique. As we
traversed deeper the air got heavier and more humid, making it difficult to
breath. When we got back out to the
jungle we appreciated the fresh air much more.
Surprisingly, we only saw a couple bats, a few silk worms, millipeds,
and quite a large spider. It was also
amazing to see the remnants of the Mayans that were still visible such as
ceremonial platforms, constructed walls, and stairs that were still
useable.
After
lunch, I began working on my project along with Kara and with the help of
Mike. Our objective is to measure the
density of the Xate palm in the Chiquibul forest. Today we just set our four 20 m x 20 m plots
and we will begin counting tomorrow. We
were definitely more accurate with our measurements this time, being only about
two meters off per plot. This was
probably the most brutal work I had done all week, running transects through
the rainforest without a machete will leave you scratched up and covered in
bugs. Then about halfway through our
plotting we heard a loud swarm of Africanized bees very close to us and were
forced to relocate temporarily. This is
definitely experience you could not gain in a lab!
7 May 2013
I was
the first one up today, it’s four o’clock in the morning. It’s quite relaxing sitting on the porch,
listening to the Whoyou calling and writing by the light of my headlamp. I’ve been dreaming at night so I think that
means I have been sleeping well. Before
the sun rose, about five o’clock, we hiked up to the bird tower. The tower is eleven meters high, overlooking
the Chiquibul forest, and held together with zip-ties. We saw a pair of mealy parrots on the
treetops and quite a beautiful sunrise.
After
breakfast, Kara and I along with some very helpful classmates began counting
the Xate species in the plots we had set the day before. I was impressed by the level of cooperation
and teamwork that was displayed today. I
never realized how important leadership and team building skills would be in
field research.
Stay tuned for our adventures at the reef!
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