Marine Ecology: Salty Turquoise Sheets

Belize--

It was time for part 3 of the Tropical Ecosystems course… oh what to do? Hmm... Oh! How about head out to Glover’s Atoll, a small Caribbean island surrounded by sheets of turquoise and coral reefs! With the boat ride out to the island as our introduction to the ocean, we were ready for Marine Ecology with a fresh taste of salt on our lips.

Good morning ocean!

So we took a deeper look at what many consider to be merely a vacation getaway. The reef; a gem it may be, is far from a romanticized isolated attraction. Our class started with the sea grass bed. Often overlooked, the sea grass is home to a variety of juvenile fish, invertebrates, and shellfish like conch. What’s more, is our next trip to the mangroves. Here we found another key structural necessity of the reef. With trees bearing prop roots, the sediments from land find nooks and crannies to settle far from the reef. Without the sea grasses and mangroves, the reef would be a pile of sediment deserted of its wide array of life.

Stephanie Miller (Messiah, '13) takes an up close look at a Sea Hare

And of course, we have the coral reef to explore and discover (at least it felt like discovering for the first time). Parrot, Damsel, Squirrel, Trigger, Trunk, Angel, and Butterfly fish galore! Rays, Nurse Sharks and Nudibranch! There was so much to see we just had to snorkel both day and night. The small taste of salt on our lips from earlier in the week was now fully submerged into every pore of our bodies, and the ocean never tasted so good!

Hannah Montzingo (Westmont, '12), wrapping up a snorkel session with all smiles

Weathered from water, wind and sun, the waves of the ocean lingered in our inner-ears along our van ride back to Nabitunich. We were wiser, stronger. Intrepid explorers. We were castaways, we were marine ecologists, we were CCSP.

Leah Mabee (Northwestern, '12) kayaks along the reef crest rubble

A big 'ol Nurse Shark (harmless to humans) comes up to shore to scout out the night scene for crustaceans

Local leaders and international issues

BELIZE-

Sustainable Community Development 2 brought us deeper into the ideas and practices of development as we approached the end of the semester. Robert Pelant led our course, which included a field trip to Northern Belize to the village of Patchakan.
Amid the fields of sugar cane, small farmers struggle to make a profit with the fluctuation of the market, and with the high cost of fertilizer there is need to produce a decent yield.

Learning in Patchakan

We spent our time learning from a local sugar cane farmer and local leader who is always working to improve the fertility of his land, and reducing dependency on buying fertilizers. He inspired us with his dedication to teach the farmers in his community the techniques he is testing on his own 20 acres.

Sugar cane fields

Later in the week we visited a hydroelectric dam, and wrestled with issues of foreign investment in Belize, connected to the building of the dams and ownership of electric companies. Disturbed by the ‘come in, take, and leave’ attitude of foreign companies in Belize’s past and current development, we were challenged to evaluate our current economic model in light of sustainable development.

All in all, the week brought unique experiences from sleeping under thatched roofs, to putting on hard hats to view the inner workings of a hydroelectric dam. It was quite a journey and left us with lots to consider.