Planting a tree, going home

We planted two hibiscus plants to commemorate the semester together, a semester full of growing as a community. It’s strange to think none of us knew each other just four months ago. We have had an incredible time together and the memories will last forever. This week is Debrief Week and we are getting ready for home, while still trying to hold onto each last moment we have together. We made cookies for all of our friends that helped us throughout the semester, we went on an awesome canoe trip down the Caves Branch and Sibun River, we went horseback riding and birding, we had a graduation ceremony for Ashlie and Brent, we had a hilarious night of variety at the semiannual CCSP Talent Show, and we packed our bags, trying to cram in all those hammocks and drums and bottles of Marie Sharps we picked up to take home. CCSP Spring 2007, it’s been so much fun. We’ll really miss you guys.

Thanks for staying in touch with us through this blog. We hope you’ll come back and check us out next Fall.

The Life Aquatic with Ian Johnston

The week we’ve all been waiting for! After loading our gear on the catamaran, we hit the open water for the three-hour ride to Northeast Caye located in the Glover’s Reef Atoll. Stepping off the boat and onto the island it’s hard to believe that this is class! A mere 9-acre island with an authentic Robinson Crusoe feel, we spent the week studying the beautiful underwater world of Belize with the CCSP veteran marine biologist Ian Johnston. Glover’s reef remains one of the most remote and unexplored areas in Belize’s barrier reef, so we had plenty to explore at this World Heritage Site and Marine Reserve. We spent time looking at the entire marine ecosystem from coral reefs to sea grasses to mangroves and learned how important each is to a healthy marine environment. Unfortunately these three environments are being threatened at an alarming rate (even remote locations like Glover’s) – the removal of mangroves and sea grasses for commercial resorts, blast fishing, over fishing and other unsustainable fishing practices, coral bleaching (much associated with global warming), the international market for shells and coral for jewelry making, destructive and insensitive tourism, the list goes on. Getting into the water each day we thought through some of these issues as we got to experience the reef first hand. It’s hard not to be completely overwhelmed with this bustling marine community, all the colors and shapes and sizes of so many different fish, coral, and sponge. And then there was the night snorkel. Dropping backwards into the water at 9pm with only a flashlight is not the most comforting feeling in the world. But we all survived the week, being dazzled every time we stepped foot into the reef that we could reach from the shore. What a memorable week this was, we’re so blessed to have such a unique ecosystem at our fingertips.

Big Rock Falls

Stream ecology is over, and we're already back for more. Finishing up a great week with Dan we decided to celebrate with a trip to Big Rock Falls. It's easy to love Big Rock, the picturesque falls and the great swimming hole beneath. It's also the last fresh water we'll have to swim in for awhile...the reef awaits us.

Streams, rivers, and more streams

This semesters Tropical Stream Ecology course went well! Students, staff and faculty were excited to learn and get a little dirty as we investigated the health of five of Belize’s streams: Mopan, Barton Creek, Sibun, Caves Branch, and lastly the little stream with no name right outside of St. Margaret's Village. With ecoli gels, dissolved oxygen and turbidity tests, to name a few, in hand we set out to find what was swim able and what was off limits. The big interest was the health of our local river the Mopan which runs along the edge of Nabitunich. Unfortunately, the tests available to us were not extensive enough to determine the safety of the water so we remain merely spectators of Mopan. Chemical tests were not the only determining factor of health we looked at. Aqua Dan had extensive knowledge of our little aquatic invertebrate friends. At each stream a kick seine was used to catch aquatic inverts so we could classify and separate them into pollution tolerance groups. We found an abundance of stonefly nymphs, mayfly nymphs, damselfly nymphs and right handed snails which are all signs of a healthy stream system. Here is a sample of a typical aquatic invert collection.


By far the most exciting collection we made was of Belizean Fish!!! All of the sudden stream ecology starting looking more and more like Marine Ecology as we collected colorful cichlids, guppies and a wide range of mosquito fish species. Marine is not the only class snorkels are worn in anymore. We ended the week with presentations and a trip to Cayo Twist. Students, remember to continue to bring your smiles whenever you are sampling streams in Belize!

Caroline and Bethany on Blackbird Caye

Caroline:
My internship week was amazing! I worked as a research assistant for Sadie Waddington, a masters candidate from California. She is studying the mangroves and coral reefs off the coast of Belize on Turneffe Atoll. Mangroves are a natural way of protecting the coral reef because they act as a holding place for sediment. Unfortunately, mangroves are being cut down in order to make room for resorts and white sandy beaches. Sadie’s study consists of two parts: one on erosion in the cut and intact areas of mangroves and one on the amount of sediment on the coral reef near these areas. My job for the week included living on a beautiful island, snorkeling every day, and tromping through the mangroves! It was an incredible week. The mangrove roots are really strong so we easily walked on them; it felt like a jungle gym! My favorite part of the research was snorkeling on the coral reef. While snorkeling, I saw barracudas, a stingray, a shark, and the most beautiful fish imaginable! Bethany, the other student with whom I worked, and Sadie were scuba divers. My job was to snorkel on the surface and scout out the sediment traps. I then took compass readings so the traps could be easily found the next time. Bethany and Sadie retrieved the sediment-filled traps and replaced them. Later, we removed the sediment from the traps and put them in an oven to dry. I am so thankful for this week because it has definitely sparked an interest in me for a marine-based career!

Bethany:
As research assistants to Sadie Waddington, a Masters candidate from California, Caroline and I had a rather adventurous internship! Our work consisted of measuring erosion at sample sites in the mangroves of Turneffe Atoll, and measuring sedimentation on the reef of the Turneffe system. It was fascinating work, and exhausting-we fell asleep shortly after dinner each night! We spent the first half of the week in the mangroves, had a day off to snorkel, and then spent the last half of the internship on the reef study-a total of eight days. Working with researchers gave me a new respect for the work they do, and the frustrations they face, especially in marine environments-Sadie and I seemed to always have new jellyfish and fire coral stings, and the various other bumps and bruises that occur from working underwater. Using scuba to complete research was a new experience for me, as was climbing through the mangroves searching for the PVC pipes that marked our sites. I feel as if this internship was a real learning experience for me, and has helped me to understand how research works. I’m even hoping to go into marine research in the future. What a fantastic week!