We arrived in Caye Caulker
today! The bus ride took about 4 hours and then we had a one-hour ferry ride. We are all so excited to explore the Caye and jump into the saltwater. The motto here is "Go Slow". I am really looking forward to the marine activities planned for us this week!
The internet connection at LCRS was really unreliable, so I
was unable to post my daily blogs. Below are the blogs I have written over the
last week.
May 1, 2013
We arrived
in Belize today! I was shocked at how hot it was in Belize City. We landed at
around 2 pm and were picked up by Alberto and Mr. Mesh on a big yellow school
bus. Mr. Mesh told us we were headed to the rainforest, “where you can breathe
the air”. The landscape changed drastically during our four-hour bus ride. Just
outside of Belize City I was surprised to see sandy soils along with brush and
palms similar to Florida’s landscape. There was fire and smoke everywhere. Dr.
Alegria told us that most people burn their garbage here. The smoke was thick
and smelled of plastic. The air became sweet and pure once we got closer to the
rainforest, which made up for how bumpy the bus ride became! The landscape
changed from flat to hilly and the vegetation became denser and more tropical.
At around 7:30 pm (9:30 pm back home) we arrived at Las Cuevas Research
Station. Angie, the staff cook, had an amazing diner of chicken, beans, and
homemade tortillas waiting for us. Boris Arevalo, a biologist working for
Friends for Conservation and Development and our Chiquibul guide, gave us a
presentation on future activities before we finally slumped off to bed!
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| The big yellow school bus- our ride for the week. |
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| A store on the way from Belize City to LCRS |
May 2, 2013
It was hard
to sleep last night. There are nocturnal birds here in the rainforest. Their
calls are beautiful, but for a light sleeper they can become a nuisance! The
rooms are simple, clean and cute. The bathroom is clean, but there is no hot
water. The first 30 seconds in the shower were rough, but then I got used to
the temperature. The cold water definitely keeps everyone’s showers short! It’s
7 am and we are heading out to the forest
Today we
ran 50 x 20 meter transects in the forest about a 10-minute walk from LCRS. The
plots ran 50 meters north and south and 20 meters east and west. Then we
measured the diameter at breast height of every tree with a diameter greater
than 10 cm. We also estimated the height of tress using a clinometer, which
proved to be very difficult! Then, we measured how much light penetrates
through the canopy using a densiometer. Finally, we looked at the soil pit and
discussed the soil profile of a broad leaf forest.
Boris led some interesting
discussions today. For example, we talked about the quamwood tree, which grows
really fast and was one of the taller trees in the area. Borris mentioned that
some trees are better than others at sequestering carbon, which is important
for climate change. The quamwood tree grows quick, so it’s not very dense and
also has a short life span. Therefore, the tree is composed of less carbon than
trees of the same size that are denser. Also, since the quamwood tree has a
short life span, the amount of time it holds sequestered carbon is short since
carbon is released back into the atmosphere as CO2 when the tree
decomposes. Boris also mentioned the importance of determining objectives
before you begin measurements like the ones we did today. If you are concerned
with climate change, you will be measuring different areas and variables than
you would if you are a logging company concerned with assigning a commercial
value to an area of forest.
After lunch
and a much-needed break, we headed to a different area of the forest where LCRS
has permanent plots. Borris explained that to measure carbon sequestration, you
must come to the same area of a forest and measure the death and decay of
biomass and subtract it from the measured growth in biomass. We also learned of
an international program called RED, which stands for Reduction of Emission Due
to Deforestation and Land Degradation. The min objective of the program is to
conserve forests in developing countries for carbon sequestration. Developed
countries pay landowners in developed countries on a yearly basis to conserve
their forests. This program sounds sexy, but there are a lot of technical and
ethical issues. For example, developed countries want to regulate what the
private land owners spend their money on, while the private landowners believe
it is their right to spend their money any way they please. RED only
compensates for carbon sequestration, not carbon storage. Also, the money
landowners receive per hectare to conserve their forests is very low.
The Chiquibul forest sequesters 9
metric tons of CO2 per hectare per year, but it is not part of the
RED program. Three forests in the area are the Rio Bravo, Mountain Pine Ridge,
and Pine Creek. I learned that although intentions may be good, environmental
problems are very complex and therefore difficult to solve. It is impossible to
please everyone. There just simply isn’t cure all for any problems we face. Our
task as future environmental scientists is to objectively evaluate data so that
policy experts can (hopefully) devise the most suitable solution for a problem.
The first day was fun, informative,
and exhausting. I’m looking forward to dinner and a better nights sleep!
Tomorrow we head to Caracol to see ancient Mayan ruins.
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| A view of the forest canopy |
May 3, 2013
The Mayan
ruins were breathtaking. It baffles me how the Mayans built such a complex and
beautiful city in the middle of the rainforest! I wish I could have seen it in
its former glory, filled with people and animals. The Mayans are thought to
have colonized the area in 3000 BC and were a war-oriented society. It is
estimated that around 100,000 people lived in Caracol. Archeologists still have
a lot to learn about the ancient Mayas that lived here. The climb to the top of
the ruin was hard, but well worth it. My thighs will be sore tomorrow for sure!
After we
explored the ruins, Borris lead a discussion about the importance of culture.
He explained that culture stems from a society’s connection to nature. As
different cultures merge, whether by force or globalization, people begin to
lose their culture. When a society loses their culture, they lose their
connection with nature along with their identity. We learned that Mr. Mesh is
of Mayan descent, and even speaks Mayan! We were able to hear him say a few
words in Mayan. It was unlike any other language I have ever heard. It was
beautiful.
We also
learned about the importance of adaptive management. It is important to conduct
research in the area you are trying to conserve in order to devise the best
management strategy. What works for Yellowstone National Park won’t necessarily
work in Caracol. It is important to conserve nature and make local people
happy. In Caracol, nature is able to exist along with tourism of the Mayan
ruins. In this situation, nature wins and people win. Tomorrow we have to wake
up at 4:30 am to do mist netting for small birds, so I’m off to bed!
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| Bird nests |
May 4, 2013
Mist netting for birds was
awesome! It’s important for learning about migration routes and the population
dynamics of birds in an area. We caught four birds in our net, but one got away
so we couldn’t examine it. The first bird we caught was an adorable
yellow-green tyrannulet. We determined that it was a hatching year bird because
its feathers were very soft and in good condition. The next bird we caught was
a wood thrush. The last bird was a white-breasted wood wren. It was so amazing
to watch Borris get the birds out of the nets. It would make me really nervous,
but I would love to learn how to do it. I find myself a bit uninterested in the
plants and trees, but everything animal related is so intriguing. We saw a
bunch of Toucans, Belize’s national bird. We also saw the howler monkeys that
have been keeping us up all night!
After lunch
we went back to the forest to set Sherman traps for small rodents. We baited
them with peanut butter, which was surprising to me! Small mammals are a good
indicator of predatory species like the Jaguar. We also set up a camera trap to
(hopefully) capture pictures some bigger animals in the jungle. Hopefully we
will get some pictures. We are leaving the camera up until Tuesday evening.
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| Our group setting up the Sherman traps |
May 5, 2013
Today we
are heading to Mountain Pine Ridge, a homogenous forest system about 1.5 hours
from LCRS by yellow bus. It is also my little sister’s 21st
birthday. I am really starting to miss my family. There hasn’t been much
internet access since we arrived. It’s hard not being able to talk to anyone.
I’m looking forward to having better internet connection in Caye Caulker so I
can talk to my family and boyfriend for a few minutes each day!
The ride to
Mountain Pine Ridge was beautiful. MPR is a 300 sq mile area that consists mostly
of Caribbean pines. The area was devastated a few years back by bark beetles
and a series of extreme fire events. Most of the pine trees are young and there
were a lot of invasive tiger ferns, but the area seems to be recovering. In
2001 to 2005 the areas was replanted with a bunch of Australian pines.
Apparently the pines had been imported to Australia from Belize. Since the
pines were imported to the area, MPR is no longer considered a pure gene bank
for pine trees. Our group headed East from the trail and stopped every 10
meters. The point where we stopped was used to create four quadrats: northeast,
northwest, southeast, and southwest. We measured the dbh and height of the
closest tree greater than 5cm in the four quadrants.
We were supposed to do 30 points,
so 120 trees. On the fifth point, Borris stopped us and told us to be quiet.
There was a huge swarm of Africanized bees buzzing above our heads. Apparently
they are attracted to noise. We had to stand still and stay quiet for about 5
minutes until they passed. They were heading east, so we had to stop early and
head back to the bus to avoid another bee run-in. Luckily no one was stung.
Angie and Mr. Mesh and Angie delivered us an amazing paella lunch. Then started
heading back to LCRS after we stopped at a peak overlooking a dam that was
built. I guess Boris and Alberto, the bus driver, noticed we were all hot and
sweaty, so we stopped at a river. It was so hot that most of us ended up
jumping in with all of our clothes on. I lost my sunglasses to the river
currents, but it was worth it!
On the way back to camp the bus
stopped again. There were a bunch of scarlet macaws sitting in the trees. They
are really beautiful birds. I couldn’t believe how big they were. We’ve seen so
many birds that are really colorful, but from farther away they look black. But
you could see the coloring of the macaws without binoculars. It was so awesome.
Tomorrow we go the cave by LCRS!
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| Us sticking our feet into the refreshing water |
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| Kara and Sam happy at the river |
May 06, 2013
We caught a
common house rat in one of our Sherman traps this morning! It looked so scared.
We released it in the same spot we caught it in after identifying it. Now it’s
off to the cave!
The cave
was really cool. I thought I was going to freak out a little because I’m
claustrophobic, but I stayed pretty calm. There were about 5 points where we
had to crawl through a little opening one at a time. On the second one I got
really nervous and thought I was going to want to turn around. But then I just
took some deep breaths and I was fine. It was really beautiful.
We saw some
pottery remains from the ancient Mayans. They think the cave was used for
important ceremonies, but it has been heavily looted, so they aren’t quite sure
what the Mayans used it for. The most prominent theory is that the Mayans
viewed it as a connection to the underworld. They believed you had to pass
through several layers of the underworld to prove that you were worthy enough
to get to their equivalent of heaven. They constructed steps and walls in the
cave. It was really cool to see. The cave made a loop and we got to the end
(also the beginning) but we had to turn around and go back the way we came
because there was a huge drop to get back out of the cave. The cave is also the
source of all the water for LCRS.
The cave
tour was the last official activity we had scheduled. Tomorrow we have to climb
the bird tower at 4:30 am though because we skipped it a few days ago since we
were all so tired. The group that did it a few days ago said it was a really
steep hike, but I’m excited for it! My thighs are still soar from hiking the
Mayan ruins, but it’s nice to be so active. We also found out this morning that
the instant “coffee” we have been drinking has no caffeine! It’s nice getting
up so early. It’s tough at first, but it’s awesome having so much time in one
day.
I’m really
glad that I brought apple cider vinegar on the trip. Almost everyone here has
had a tick so far. (I’ve been lucky and haven’t had one, yet…) Vinegar helps
get them out, so I’ve been the unofficial tick remover. Gives me something to
do! Tomorrow is our day off, after the hike.
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| The entrance to the Cave |
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| Inside the cave |
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| Looking out from inside the cave entrance |
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| The group inside the cave |
May 7, 2013
The hike to
the bird tower was pretty tough, just like the other group said. I didn’t feel
well this morning- I had a really bad headache and I was nauseous. The view
from the top of the bird tower was worth the strenuous hike though. From the
top you can see the rolling hills and the forest ranger station that is a
couple of miles from LCRS. I didn’t see any birds until the hike down.
After
breakfast I did some laundry- old school style. We used some buckets and filled
them with laundry detergent. Then we threw our clothes into a rinse bucket.
After wringing them out, we hung them up to line dry. It was pretty simple and
most of the mud stains came out of my clothes. Then, I took a much needed 2
hour nap. It’s odd to wake up from a nap at 9:30 am!
Tomorrow
morning we head to Caye Caulker. Everyone is excited for a change of scenery
and a cold beer, but I think most people are also sad to say goodbye to the
lovely Las Cuevas staff. Everyone is so friendly, knowledgeable, and
accommodating. Angie even baked an upside down pineapple cake for Kara’s
birthday on Sunday!! We organized a money pool to leave a tip for the staff and
Abbey and Sam made a nice thank you card out of leaves that we all signed. I
have learned so much on this trip so far. I really enjoyed my time here at
LCRS. I am looking forward to some reliable internet access so I can talk to my
family and boyfriend though!
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| Our room at LCRS |
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| An elephant beetle |
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| Collected specimens at LCRS |
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