Aquarium coral biologist Randi Rotjan, PhD, is on an expedition to Belize for an ongoing study of changes in the reefs off Carrie Bow Cay along with diver Sarah Taylor and aquarist Pete Gawne, both also from the Aquarium. They are posting stories from the tropics, including lots of pictures from this familiar spot. Learn about previous expeditions in 2013, 2012, 2011 and 2010.

Today's post comes from Pete.

As I return for my seventh expedition to Carrie Bow Cay, I have come to know a bit of what to expect. The food will be delicious, thanks to our wonderful chef, Martha. The island will be home to a large population of hermit crabs; largely unseen during the day, but prowl every inch of the island after sunset. Our station managers, Greg and Joanne, will be extremely helpful and diligent. I know the dive sites, the fish, and the pace of the work.


Birds are a familiar sight on Carrie Bow. The cay is 10 miles from the mainland and makes a convenient shelter for birds that have exhausted their reserves so far from land. This trip did not disappoint, as a cormorant made Carrie Bow its home for the week.

 I also know certain aspects of the trip will be unexpected, and completely out of our control. The weather can be quite chaotic. Last June we weathered the brunt of Tropical Strom Barry, while this trip we had tranquil seas and sunny days.


It is always difficult to predict what I will see underwater. Performing the transect dives, I keep a record of the fish that I see during the dive. As an unexpected side effect of this project, these data have become a bit of a journal to me. Beyond pure scientific value, it’s a verifying mechanism for my own memory - a way for me to compare one trip to another. Having this information lets me take a look back in time, and see the fish population as it was.

It is interesting to see the changes in fish populations and how that deviates from my expectations. I see familiar faces; fish that I have recorded over a large number of transect dives. Sometimes there are more (or less) of the fish than I expect to see. Populations ebb and flow, not at a glacial pace, but from year to year. Sometimes the usual suspects are there, but not in an area or habitat that I am expecting to see them. Creatures usually associated with deep water creep up the reef, making homes where they were previously excluded. For me, it is exciting to observe on each dive what has changed, what is unusual, and doesn’t fit with my expectations.

Aquarium coral biologist Randi Rotjan, PhD, is in Belize studying changes in the reefs off Carrie Bow Cay along with diver Sarah Taylor and aquarist Pete Gawne, both also from the Aquarium. Over the next couple weeks, they'll be posting stories from the tropics, including lots of pictures from this familiar spot. Learn about previous expeditions in 2013, 2012, 2011 and 2010.

Today's post comes from Sarah.

Since I had to learn how the data for this particular research was being gathered, I thought I’d share the methods with our readers. First thing in the morning, we load up our dive gear in one of the Smithsonian’s boats:

And when I say first thing I mean after breakfast. It takes a lot of energy to lug all this stuff around – both above and under water – so we needed the energy. Basically we follow a pattern of eat, dive, eat, dive, repeat - which isn’t too difficult because the cook on the island, Martha, is amazing.

Here’s one of the picnic tables for meals

So after getting everything we need on one of the boats, we motor out to our dive site to find a particular transect. At the start of this project, 24 transects were laid in two different areas: 12 in a newly protected area (behind Carrie Bow Cay) and 12 in an area without protection (called South Reef). The GPS coordinates for each transect had been previously recorded. Even still, a few times the transects were a little difficult to find and it felt like we were searching for a needle in a haystack.

But we found them all! And after locating the one we were looking, we’d get right to work. One diver (the “fish person”) would run a measuring tape from the transect’s start to the transect’s end which was 30 meters away. Then the “coral person” would start identifying and measuring corals. The “fish person” would do the same for fish.

As a “coral person” I had to force myself to ignore all the fish. A few times I caught myself thinking, “Oh look at all that huge school of creole wrasses” or “that’s a whitespotted toadfish!*” and then “No time for these guys! Focus!” And go back to work.

A floating buoy marks the start of the transect line

And by work I mean: Measure one meter off the transect so you’re looking at a square meter, correctly identify each and every coral species in that space, count each coral, measure each one’s size, and record the data. Then move one meter down and repeat. Do this 29 more times per transect. Then do the whole thing again for the next transect, etcetera, etcetera…

One of the coral measuring sticks: a piece of PVC marked off in different size increments

And by work, again, I mean: I’m underwater counting corals. This is super fun. And totally awesome. Am I really getting paid to do this?

— Sarah

*Note: As I said, I had to ignore the fish while diving but I really did see a whitespotted toadfish! It was exciting because they are endemic to Belize and are rarely seen. Fortunately, the toadfish was hiding underneath an overhang that was encrusted with corals so I couldn’t really miss is. Unfortunately, I didn’t have my camera with me. But that's where the internet comes in!

Whitespotted toadfish | Photo: Ryan Photographic via

Aquarium coral biologist Randi Rotjan, PhD, is in Belize studying changes in the reefs off Carrie Bow Cay along with diver Sarah Taylor and aquarist Pete Gawne, both also from the Aquarium. Over the next couple weeks, they'll be posting stories from the tropics, including lots of pictures from this familiar spot. Learn about previous expeditions in 2013, 2012, 2011 and 2010.

Today's post comes from Sarah.

After spending many hours looking at field guides to learn coral species for this expedition, it was great to get in the water and see them in real life. Honestly, being more of a “fish person” I hadn’t given corals much consideration in the past. Now I realize what I’ve been missing! I brought my camera along for a dive so I could take pictures of some of my new favorite animals on the reef:

Here is a photo of Porites divaricata, a species of stony coral that forms finger-like branches. Isn’t it amazing that this is a colony of tiny animals growing together?

Porites divaricata, stony coral known for its finger-like branches

And here is Diploria labyrinthiformis, a brain coral that is easily distinguished from others in its family by its characteristic double valley form. See how it looks much different from the other brain coral (Diplora strigosa) on the left? The species name labyrinthiformis seems fitting for this coral…

A bright Diploria labyrinthiformis, known for its double valley

Here is Agaricia tenuifolia, a coral that forms thin leaves that reach upwards towards the sun. It almost looks like heads of fossilized lettuce. Some of the colonies are really big - more than one meter across – and are really beautiful.

Beautiful lettuce,  Agaricia tunifolia

And finally, here is Dendrogyra cylindrus which forms tall columns (hence the species name, cylindrus.) It looks soft and fuzzy because the polyps are extended:

Dendrogyra cylindrus with its polyps extended

These are just four of the 30+ stony corals that we are monitoring for this research. I’ll explain the methods we use to gather our data in another post (I just need to take my camera along for another dive!)

Aquarium coral biologist Randi Rotjan, PhD, is in Belize studying changes in the reefs off Carrie Bow Cay along with diver Sarah Taylor and aquarist Pete Gawne, both also from the Aquarium. Over the next couple weeks, she'll be posting from the tropics, sharing pictures and stories from this familiar spot. Learn about previous expeditions in 2013, 2012, 2011 and 2010.

Today's guest blogger is Zach Foltz, the Caribbean Coral Reef Ecosystems Station Manager. Zach keeps the island running, keeps the scientists sane and keeps Randi coming back year after year. In addition, he is an integral part of the Smithsonian–New England Aquarium collaboration to monitor 24 transects to evaluate the state of the Southwater Caye Marine Reserve (SWCMR), and he measures fishes. Here's a glimpse into his world this week!

As the Station Manager for the CCRE Program, I get the opportunity to work with a lot of wonderful researchers on a variety of projects in the many different ecosystems that are found near Carrie Bow Cay (mangroves, sea grass, coral reef and open ocean). While I have the opportunity to work with many animals, the monitoring project is one of my favorites because it is the only one that I am regularly involved with that lets me focus on my primary interest: fish.

Sharpnosed puffer

I have been working on the monitoring project with the rest of the group since its implementation almost four years ago. My role has been to identify and count fish species along our 24 transects on the reef. My partner Pete and I have been recording what fish species are found in the various habitats on the reef and how communities have changed with the establishment of the reserve. Changes are definitely taking place! We have documented the explosion of the invasive lionfish, and a boom and bust population of sharpnose pufferfish. Pete and I also do a lot of the transect maintenance at each site. This involves securing a submerged float along with tags along the 30m transect so we can sample the exact same spot every time we go back.


It is the last day of our trip and I am up bright and early to squeeze in one more dive before our mandatory 24-hour, preflight surface interval. Scott, Clare and I have to go to one of our sites to replace a float and collect more of Clare’s samples. No matter how much we accomplish and how much work we get done on days where we dive 4 times per day, it seems there is always just a little more work to do. It comes as no surprise that after having a week of wonderful weather and ideal conditions, the seas look angry and the wind is howling when we have to squeeze in this early morning dive. In a half-awake state, the three of us struggle to get all of our gear into the boat to head out to our site. After a short, bumpy ride, we reach the site, check our gear, and make sure that we have not left anything topside and roll backwards off the rocking boat.
 

Once we get in the water, we drop down to the bottom where we find our transect and the float that needs to be replaced. Clare quickly gets to work sampling her corals and Scott works to retag our transect. As soon as I finish securing the float, I look up to check on the rest of the group and see a curious hawksbill turtle checking in on us. I follow him for a while as he poses for the camera until I see him eyeing something on the bottom. He swims right down to it and takes a bite. He quickly realizes it is not his flavor, spits the object out and rapidly swims away. I swim down to see what he was so offended by and it is a mask and snorkel! I pick it up so no other curious turtles make the same mistake and once we all get back to the surface and into the boat, I share the story. Turns out that the mask belonged to Clare who had dropped it from the boat on a previous trip to the island! What are the odds of that!?

Curious hawksbill turtle

We bounce our way back to the island and I think about how lucky I am to go on a dive and see so much that goes on below the seas surface all before breakfast. The feeling quickly goes away when I remember that we have to unload the boat, pack all of our gear, and clean up the island all before the boat comes to take us back to the real world… So much to do in so little time.

Aquarium coral biologist Randi Rotjan, PhD, is in Belize studying changes in the reefs off Carrie Bow Cay along with diver Sarah Taylor and aquarist Pete Gawne, both also from the Aquarium. Over the next couple weeks, she'll be posting from the tropics, sharing pictures and stories from this familiar spot. Learn about previous expeditions in 2013, 2012, 2011 and 2010.

Today's post come from Randi.

One of my favorite things to do in a New England summer is to swim in a lake or pond. I love the stillness of the water, and the quiet sounds of surrounding wildlife.

Glassy, flat-calm seas

Of course, at the beach, it's the opposite. The shore roars with sound—waves crashing, seagulls calling, wind rushing. Don't get me wrong—I love the seaside too (!!), but there's just something special and private and contemplative about a wooded lake (think Walden and Thoreau).

Yesterday, we had the perfect hybrid of both. :-) Flat calm glassy ocean waters reminiscent of a New England pond. No wind. Silent waves barely showing a crest of white as they rippled towards the shore. A white heron standing in the backreef, staring at an opaque surface mirrored with his own reflection.

Sea grasses and calm

Instead of bouncing around on the boats between dives, trying to keep your stomach calm while getting a requisite surface interval, our whole team got to have a peaceful break between dives at the surface. No rocking. No wave chop. No puking. No pitching. Just... calm.

An oasis of calm

Days like that are rare at the ocean, and so as we head off to work this morning, we'll hopefully retain a bit of yesterday's zen. Our commuter woes out here mostly consist of choppy seas, current, and the occasional frigate bird on our tail.... much better than a crowded T, or bumper-to-bumper highway traffic, or an aggressive bike-car war on the streets of Cambridge. We'll be back home in a week, fighting the typical morning commute along with you. But until then, it's frigate birds and waves for us. And maybe if we're lucky—really lucky—another day of flat calm glass. Wishing you all calm seas!


Randi

Aquarium coral biologist Randi Rotjan, PhD, is in Belize studying changes in the reefs off Carrie Bow Cay alongside diver Sarah Taylor and aquarist Pete Gawne, also from the Aquarium. Over the next couple weeks, she'll be posting from the tropics, sharing pictures and stories from this familiar spot. Learn about previous expeditions in 2013, 2012, 2011 and 2010.

Today's post comes from expedition rookie Sarah Taylor.

This is my first time joining the Caribbean Coral Reef Ecosystems project in Belize. I’m really excited to help out and have been learning about stony corals in preparation for the trip. The departure date has come up fast. I leave my house at 4:30 am to meet Randi and Pete, the two New England Aquarium staff who started the reef monitoring program, at Logan airport. We fly to Miami and meet up with two staff members from the Smithsonian Institution, Scott and Zach. My first impression is that they are both super nice. We’ll see how long that lasts with all of us living on a tiny island together for over a week. (Spoiler alert: Everyone on the island IS super nice. All the time.)

Photo via: Ambergristoday.com

All five of us fly to Belize City and land at the tiny airport. We clear customs and head out to the tarmac to meet our even tinier plane. It’s one of those small island hoppers. As we all pile in (and by “all” I mean the five of us plus two others), my fellow passengers encourage me to sit next to the pilot.

Really? I can do that?

So I climb in between the seats to the front of the plane and ask the Captain, “Do you need a co-pilot?” and he says, “Sure, climb in.” He then shows me how to fasten the seatbelt over my shoulders and around my waist (kind of like how my little boy’s highchair works) and he starts the plane. The propeller spins around and we begin moving towards the runway. The plane bumps along and all of sudden we’re speeding up and into the air. I feel a rush of adrenaline. I’ve been in small planes before but have always looked out the side. It somehow feels really different to be staring straight ahead. We start to head into a big, white cloud and it’s a crazy feeling to be slowly engulfed by complete whiteness. I want to grab the dashboard and scream “WEEEEE!” but I think I’d probably scare the pilot and that’s not the best idea. The thought makes me laugh though.

Photo: John Brown | BBC

Soon the plane tilts towards the small airstrip of Dangriga airport. We land and get all of our baggage off the plane (which is a lot for five people since we’re bringing a good deal of equipment and diving gear). We take a short walk to the dock where we board the “big” boat (which is probably the same size as the airplane we were just on). We motor for an hour and finally reach Carrie Bow Cay where the real adventures will begin.