Home of the Manatee
From
a remote mangrove island off the coast of Belize, AquaNews
correspondent Marie-Lys Bacchus reports on her experiences
as a field researcher with the Earthwatch
'Manatees in Belize' Research Project.
Marie-Lys
is a Master's student at Loma Linda University, California.
Her studies have brought her to Belize for ten weeks, where
she will conduct field research on manatees under the leadership
of marine scientist Caryn Self-Sullivan (Texas A&M University).
Homeward Bound
September 22 , 2005
By
Marie-Lys C. Bacchus
 |
One of the many beautiful sunsets on Spanish Lookout Caye.
Photo: Marie-lys Bacchus
|
My summer in Belize has come to an end, and while I am excited to return to my home and family in California, I am also reluctant to leave this beautiful place. I have become attached to the blue ocean waters and warm Caribbean nights, and I am now more fascinated by manatees than ever. What a moment of mixed emotions!
As I pack my bags, my mind has been sifting through this summer’s experiences and perusing through all the skills and facts I have acquired here. I learned so much about manatees from my field observations, but perhaps the most useful knowledge that I acquired was an appreciation for the trials and rewards of field research.
I can summarize this new-found respect for field research in one simple statement: No matter how well you design your methods in preparation for your research trip, you will adjust those methods (and adjust and adjust some more!) once you get into the field.
I read many existing studies on manatees before coming to Belize, and I certainly benefited from the knowledge of other researchers as I outlined my methodology and organized my resources. I soon discovered, however, that every research project is unique: no matter how carefully you follow in the footsteps of prior researchers, there is no guarantee that you will have access to the supplies you need, or that your tools will work the way you intended for them to work, or that the weather will cooperate… well, you get the idea!
As I mentioned frequently in these updates, I spent a tremendous amount of my research time simply refining my methodology - definitely more time than I expected. This constant adjusting and refining was often frustrating for me, but it also gave me the opportunity to learn a valuable skill: how to ask for help! I learned that there is no room for pride in the field: the insights of fellow researchers often helped me to reframe difficult situations and find new approaches. Thankfully, I was surrounded by friendly and skilled researchers at our research station, and our late-night discussions motivated and encouraged my research efforts more than I can express.
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| A manatee uses its flippers to "walk" along the substrate at the Belize barrier reef.
Photo: Alan Stevens
|
Marie-Lys with two summer interns, Shauna King and Leigh Bird.
Photo: Marie-lys Bacchus |
While I'm on the topic of gratitude, I want to thank Gilroy Robinson, Caryn Self-Sullivan, Katie LaCommare, the interns, and all the Earthwatch volunteers who made this summer such an interesting, exciting, and fulfilling research experience! And I cannot forget to mention the hard-working ancillary staff who kept the research station "up and running." There is a host of logistical details to be managed behind every big research project, and this summer I saw how important it is to have capable and trustworthy people handling those details.
Well, my bags are packed, my camera is full of pictures, and my hard-earned data is sitting safely in my backpack, waiting for me to begin my analysis. Tonight I will watch one final gorgeous Belizean sunset, then try to get a few hours of sleep before my flight leaves for California tomorrow. As sleep approaches, I know I will be eagerly anticipating tomorrow’s reunion with my family, but my mind will also be making plans to return to Belize next year and continue my research in the home of the manatee.
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Sightings
By Day and By Night
August 31, 2005
By
Marie-Lys C. Bacchus
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| A
manatee swims along the barrier reef.
Photo: Alan Stevens
|
The
past few days have been packed with some of the most exciting
animal sightings of the summer.
My
night scans are finally starting to pay off, thanks to a key
improvement: two additional spotlights that Gilroy (our Belizean
boat driver) recently repaired. Now, armed with three spotlights
instead of one, we can cover much more surface area during
our nightly excursions. We aim one spotlight over the resting
hole, sweeping back and forth above it, while the other two
lights survey the rest of the scan site.
And
it works! This past Tuesday night, the volunteers and I were
able to finally see a manatee at night. Our spotlight caught
it as it came up for a breath, and we could see and hear it
very clearly. We followed it with the spotlights while it
took several more breaths. The lights did not appear to disturb
it at all; in fact, it eventually swam right underneath our
boat before leaving. The manatee appeared to be small, possibly
a two or three year-old juvenile. It didn’t have any
scars on its back, but there was a good mat of algae growing
there instead.
Flurry
of Sightings
This
sighting thrilled us all, but the week had more in store.
On Friday, we went out to visit a scan point along the barrier
reef. After an uneventful scan, we decided to go snorkeling.
We had been in the water for less than ten minutes when one
of the volunteers suddenly grabbed my arm and pointed behind
me.
I
turned around to see two manatees floating quietly in the
clear water. They watched us for a few moments, occasionally
nuzzling each other gently. Then one of them swam right underneath
us; we could clearly see an old propeller scar running down
its back. The pair stayed nearby for several minutes, long
enough for another of the volunteers to take some pictures
of them before they swam off.
Our
encounter wasn’t over: only a few minutes after the
pair of manatees swam away, another manatee swam by us and
disappeared into the distance. As we began to gather together
to swim back to the boat, we spotted yet another manatee in
the distance. This one did not approach us as the others had.
Based
on their various sizes and markings of algae and scars, we
could determine that we had seen four different manatees within
15 minutes. The volunteers were thrilled with the encounter,
and after the manatees disappeared, they began shouting excitedly
to each other. The commotion was so loud that the boat driver
motored over to us to see if someone was drowning!
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| Marie-Lys
dives down to examine coral along the barrier reef.
Photo:
Alan Stevens
|
Last
night, I had yet another animal encounter. A couple of the
interns and I went night snorkeling, which I have wanted to
try all summer. Even though we confined ourselves to the shallow
waters under the boardwalk that supports our cabanas, we still
saw many beautiful creatures including several shrimps, hermit
crabs, and long fire worms. Our most exciting discovery, however,
was two octopuses that seemed to glow green in the light of
our dive lights. They easily eluded our attempts to get closer
to them, but we watched them for a little while before they
gracefully glided away.
This
last group of volunteers will only be here for another week,
and I will be leaving soon afterward. But, I’m excited
to see what else the waters of Belize will show me before
my research time here is over!
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A
Spouse's Perspective
August 24, 2005
By
Austin Bacchus, Special Correspondent
(Hi
all, Marie-Lys here! My husband, Austin, came to visit me
this week at the research station in Belize. We had a terrific
time doing some manatee scans together, and I asked him to
tell you about it in his own words. Enjoy!)
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| A
curious manatee surfaced repeatedly near the boat and
followed the researchers for a while.
Photo: Marie-Lys Bacchus
|
I
have just spent a too-short week in Belize, visiting Marie-Lys
and getting a first-hand look at the life of a marine biologist
in the field. After following her adventures, challenges,
and experiences in AquaNews, I was excited to get out there
and see what it was really like.
On
my first full day in Belize, I joined Marie-Lys and two other
researchers on a boat-tour of some scan-sites, but after a
few 30-minute scans we still hadn't sighted any manatees.
The sun was high and hot and the water was inviting, so we
donned our snorkel equipment and splashed in.
We
swam around, looking at underwater patches of manatee-grass
and finding some spots that had been grazed shorter than the
surrounding grasses. But so far, that was the only evidence
of manatees we had seen.
We
snorkeled past the mangroves until we came to a narrow, shallow
channel that led into a mangrove island. Here, the surface
water became noticeably warmer and I frequently had to dive
down to the cooler layer below. As we made our way into the
channel, we began to notice regular divots in the sand below
us. The markings appeared to be spots where a manatee had
placed its front flippers into the sand as it maneuvered through
the shallow channel.
As
we approached the 'dead end' of the 200 metre-long channel,
Marie-Lys suddenly reached out and grabbed my ankle. I turned
toward her and took my face out of the water to ask what was
going on, but she pointed rapidly downwards. I plunged my
head back into the water—just in time to see a manatee
swimming underneath me!
It
cruised by, only a metre or so below us, its tail gently moving
up and down. From our view above, it looked like a three metre-long,
gray submarine. But I hadn't seen the entire animal, just
a quick glimpse of its hindquarters.
The
manatee reached the dead end a few metres ahead of us, then
turned around and retraced its own path, passing right underneath
us again. This time, I had a head-on view of the manatee as
it came straight at me! My mind froze, and all I could do
was curl my legs up under me, hoping that it would spot me
in time to perform an evasive maneuver.
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| Austin
and Marie-Lys aboard the boat during a manatee scan.
Photo: Marie-Lys Bacchus
|
Although
Marie-Lys has told me that manatees have poor eyesight, this
one's senses worked well enough to steer clear of me. The
manatee whooshed underneath me, heading back out to the open
ocean and leaving a trail of stirred-up sand in its wake.
I watched it as long as I could, then surfaced to join the
other researchers in a babble of excitement.
Phrases
like "totally awesome" and "unlike anything
I've ever seen" were bandied about, and everyone kept
telling me how lucky I was to see a manatee that closely on
my very first day. Marie-Lys was also excited: she had been
in Belize for seven weeks and had never before seen a manatee
while snorkeling.
The
rest of our week went by too fast and was full of other adventures.
Yet, even while scuba diving, or hiking through the jungle,
or laying out on the beach, the memory of that little gray
'submarine' stayed in my mind. I can now understand why people
like Marie-Lys want to spend so much time, money and effort
to study and conserve these amazing creatures.
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Adjustments
& Excursions
August 18, 2005
By
Marie-Lys C. Bacchus
 |
| A
bottlenose dolphin swims alongside the dive boat.
Photo:
Marie-Lys Bacchus |
Midway
through 'Team 3,' the summer's third volunteer cohort, Caryn
left Belize to present a paper on the status of the Antillean
manatee in the Wider Caribbean Region at the IUCN
Red List Symposium in Japan. Taking her place as our lead
Principal Investigator (PI) for three weeks is Katie LaCommare,
who has been working with Caryn on this project since 1998.
During
the last day on the water with the volunteers from Team 3,
we took them snorkeling at the nearby Belize Barrier Reef.
On our way to the reef, we had a special treat: a mother bottlenose
dolphin and her young calf came right up to our boat and swam
alongside us! You can imagine our excitement at seeing them
at such close range.
After
being away from the island during Hurricane Emily, it's great
to get back to research with Team 4, a new group of 12 volunteers
that arrived on Saturday. They're eager to pitch in! Every
day they gather excitedly on the dock and wait to get "pon
da boat," as the Creole-speaking Belizeans say.
The extra eyes definitely help during our 30-minute scans
for manatees, but I particularly appreciate their assistance
in collecting habitat data at each scan-site. We collect a
surface-water sample to measure water temperature and salinity
(salt concentration); we also measure the ambient air temperature
and wind speed and direction. It may not sound like a lot
of work, but when the sun is beating down on our little boat
at more than 32ºC, it helps to have plenty to people
to get the work done quickly!
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| A
'footprint,' a circle of calm water that occurs when a
manatee submerges. Photo:
Marie-Lys Bacchus |
I
have once again refined my research methods, as I continue to
"roll with the punches" of conducting fieldwork. Some
of my former scan-sites were providing adequate manatee sightings
during the day but were too broad to properly scan at night.
To help maximize my boat-time, I have decided to focus on four
'resting holes,' which have natural boundaries formed by mangrove
trees. I'm hoping this will make it easier to spot a manatee
at night with our spotlight.
Despite
this adjustment in the location of my scan-sites, I continue
to wonder about the true effectiveness of the night scans.
Since I only have one hand-held spotlight with which to search
for telltale signs of manatees (such as the 'footprint,' a
circle of calm water caused by a manatee submerging), I feel
that it might be possible to miss a nearby manatee entirely
during a 30-minute scan. So, the process of refining my methods
continues!
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Dodging
Hurricane Emily
August 4, 2005
By
Marie-Lys C. Bacchus
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| A
mother howler monkey eats a mango while her baby looks
on. Photo:
Marie-Lys Bacchus |
The
new group of volunteers due to arrive this weekend are not
the only "visitor" headed toward Belize: an unwelcome
guest named Emily may also be coming our way! Ever since Hurricane
Emily first began to form in the Eastern Caribbean, we have
anxiously monitored its westward march toward Central America.
For a few days, the weather networks were predicting it would
pass just north of the Drowned Cayes, which would have been
very bad news for us! But Emily has drifted further
north and appears instead to be heading toward the Yucatan
Peninsula.
Despite
the apparent shift in Emily's path, several of the Hugh Parkey
Foundation workers arrived to help us board up all the windows
and secure all loose objects on the island. Even if the hurricane
passes well north of us, our island home will probably receive
some heavy wind and big swells; and of course, if Emily changes
course again at the last minute and starts heading toward
us, we would not have time to make all the necessary preparations.
Better to be safe than sorry!
With
lousy weather in store over the next couple of days, we finished
securing the camp and retreated to Belize City to pick up
the next batch of volunteers. This group of 12 people is the
biggest group that has ever come to help Caryn Self-Sullivan
on her manatee project. With the volunteers in tow, we headed
to Bermuda Landing, which is located further inland and would
be more protected from the impending weather.
Waiting
out the Storm
We
settled at the aptly named "Howler Monkey Lodge,"
a group of little cabanas snuggled up to the edge of the jungle.
We awakened after a quiet first night to the deep, resonating
cries of a troupe of howler monkeys in the trees around our
cabins. With a free day ahead of us, most of the volunteers
decided to try cave-tubing in one of the many local cave systems,
while I joined a few others headed to the Community
Baboon Sanctuary down the road. The Sanctuary is totally
comprised of private land; the landowners have voluntarily
agreed to certain restrictions on their property in order
to provide safe jungle land for the black howler monkeys.
Camille,
our tour guide at Baboon Sanctuary, led us on a hike along
a jungle path, pointing out various medicinal plants that
the Mayans have used for centuries. During the tour, two volunteers
attracted mosquitoes by the dozen, despite lavishly applied
insect repellent. Camille used the opportunity to demonstrate
the anti-itching and anti-swelling properties of one plant;
after applying the juice squeezed out of the plant's broad
leaves, the bug-bothered volunteers were soon feeling much
better!
We
came upon a small group of howler monkeys called the "School
Troupe." Camille offered some mango to a mother monkey
with a baby clinging tenaciously to her back. The mother deftly
snatched the piece of mango but then had to fend off the rest
of the monkeys, who were trying to get the mango for themselves!
It was fascinating to watch these limber creatures tumble
and leap through the trees, using their prehensile tails as
a fifth hand.
We
have now just left the monkeys behind and returned to our
camp by taxi boat. The boat driver told us that during the
storm, the wave swell had been high and the winds had blown
hard, but thankfully everything at our camp was intact. The
increased swell had damaged some of the plumbing system, and
a lot of debris had washed up on the small beach near our
dock, but nothing was too difficult to remedy. It's very nice
to be "home" again, and I'm eager to get back out
on the boat and plunge into my research. I just hope that
Hurricane Emily didn't invite any of her "pals"
to swing by Belize this summer!
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The
Perils of Field Research
July 26, 2005
By
Marie-Lys C. Bacchus
 |
| Dorian
(left), a research assistant, and Marie-Lys use a VHF
antenna to track two tagged manatees. Photo:
Marie-Lys Bacchus |
Three
weeks have passed since I arrived in Belize, and I have finally
started field research for my Master's project. My original
plan was to track two tagged manatees and record their behavior
over several weeks. After days of searching and scanning,
however, we cannot find the two VHF-tagged manatees. With
my research time in Belize limited to 10 weeks, I have been
forced to rethink the goals of my project. I am quickly learning
that field research requires one very important skill: flexibility!
After
a few evenings of contemplation and some strategizing with
Caryn, I have decided on a new approach. I will pick four
scan-spots located around our little island, Spanish Lookout
Caye. I will observe and record manatee behaviour at each
scan-spot twice a day, once in the morning and once after
dark. I will then compare the daytime (diurnal) and nighttime
(nocturnal) activities.
The
first daytime scan on this project went great: we saw manatees
at three of the four locations. Some were feeding on turtle
grass, while others were resting on the ocean floor in one
of their "resting holes" and surfacing every few
minutes to breathe.
The
first night scans, however, did not go as smoothly. The wind
died down after dark, and the mosquitoes came out in droves
to feed! We lathered ourselves in repellent and covered up
with clothing as much as possible, but the insects would not
be deterred. The constant scratching and swatting distracted
us from trying to listen for manatees in the darkness. After
visiting just one scan-point, we retreated to the shelter
of our camp.
The
second night was better, thanks to a vigorous wind. But while
the breeze solved the bug problem, it also created a new difficulty:
we could not hear the manatees surfacing and breathing because
the wind made too much noise in our ears. Back to the drawing
board!
The
third night seemed much more promising. The winds continued
to keep the bugs away, but this time we took along a spotlight
to scan the surface of the water. Now we could use our eyes
as well as our ears to detect the manatees. While we did not
spot any manatees that night, we did spot a manatee "footprint,"
which is the smooth circle left on the ocean’s surface
by a manatee when it submerges. We were getting closer!
Last
night, on our fourth night of scanning, I finally heard and
spotted a manatee. That was definitely encouraging, but our
track record over the past few nights indicates that I need
to refine my project even further if I plan to see enough
nocturnal manatee behaviors. Since most of our scan-spots
are quite wide and exposed, I am thinking of focusing my scans
on "resting holes," which are usually in a smaller
area enclosed by mangrove trees. This would make it easier
to hear the manatees taking a breath since the wind activity
is less. It would also reduce the amount of surface to scan
with the spotlight.
As
I've been typing this update, our first group of Earthwatch
volunteers is busy packing for the trip home tomorrow. I can't
believe how quickly our time with them has flown by! They
have all been great researchers. Our next group arrives next
week, and I am glad that my project is starting to take shape
so that I can get the volunteers involved. I'll keep you informed
as we continue our research…
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In
Search of Manatees
July 18, 2005
By
Marie-Lys C. Bacchus
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| Marie-Lys
practices recording manatee sightings and behaviours.
Photo:
Marie-Lys Bacchus |
Our
first group of volunteers arrived Saturday night, and what
a diverse group they are! The nine volunteers this week include
schoolteachers, dentists, and high-school students from as
far away as Australia. The group is full of curiosity and
good humor, and I am looking forward to getting to know all
these people—fellow scientists who share my curiosity
about manatees.
On
Sunday, Caryn and her team taught us how to collect data about
the manatees and their environment. After the general orientation
speeches, we were given our assigned duties for the day. I
was to be in charge of recording our data on the 'sightings
and scan' sheets. There is so much information to keep track
of! Everything is a little overwhelming at first, but I think
we will all catch on quickly.
Next,
we piled into the boat to practice filling in the data forms
at sea. Each day, we have to collect weather information and
data about the water, including temperature, visibility, and
salinity. Caryn and our skipper, a Belizean named Gilroy,
select the day's study site from among the 54 Drowned Cayes
scan points that Caryn has spent the past few years surveying.
Once our destination was chosen, we motored across the clear
blue waters. Gilroy expertly wove the boat in and out of mangrove
channels while the rest of us were fixed on the water, hoping
to be the first to spot a manatee. We watched, we waited,
and we watched some more…
Sunday's
expedition ended with no manatee sightings. But research is
a job for patient people, and Monday's scans more than made
up for the long hours of sitting and waiting on Sunday. We
spotted two manatees at one scan point, and I had my hands
full trying to keep the data sheets updated! I had to write
down the behaviors each time the manatee breathed or did a
rolling dive, along with the time of each action.
I
quickly became comfortable with working my data sheet. Over
the next few days, I have also started to learn to use the
VHF transmitter, as we continue to try to find the two VHF-tagged
manatees that haven't been spotted for a long time. So far,
we haven’t had any luck finding them.
Most
days, after the long hours of sailing and sweating, we rush
through our cleanup and then hit the water again—this
time in swimsuits! There are so many wonderful sites for snorkeling
on the barrier reef. The water is crystal clear, and we are
constantly spotting colorful fish, eels, hermit crabs and
many more sea creatures.
When
we have had our fill of underwater beauty for the day, we
make our way back to camp, where supper is soon followed by
the joy of falling asleep to the sounds of the ocean outside
our windows.
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A
'Tiny' Adventure
July 12, 2005
By
Marie-Lys C. Bacchus
 |
| Marie-Lys
and 'Tiny,' an orphaned manatee. Photo:
Marie-Lys Bacchus |
What
an exciting first day in Belize! After an uneventful flight
from Los Angeles to Belize City, I took a bus to the dock
where Caryn Self-Sullivan had arranged to pick me up and take
me by boat to Spanish Lookout Caye.
Caryn
arrived at the dock and was talking animatedly with a group
of people on another boat. Since I don't speak Spanish fluently,
I did not understand most of what was being said until someone
said the word manatee.
Glancing
over at the beach area by the dock, I noticed a group of people
in the water, gathered around a little floating cylindrical
container that I recognized as a VHF tracking tag. On closer
examination, I realized the tag was attached to a small manatee
appropriately named 'Tiny.'
I
later discovered that Tiny had been orphaned and raised in
captivity before being released in April 2005, at about 18
months of age, into nearby Southern Lagoon. Scientists working
with Wildlife
Trust, an international conservation organization, had
been tracking her movements until a couple days ago, when
they lost her signal. It seems Tiny had made her way to the
marina, which is located near the area where she was first
found as a baby.
The
marina was clearly not a safe place for the little manatee,
and she needed to be relocated to a quieter area. The Belize
Marine Mammal Stranding Network had assembled a rescue team
that included volunteers from Wildlife Trust, Gales Point
Manatee Village, Coastal Zone, Earthwatch, Hugh Parkey's Belize
Dive Connection and the Hugh Parkey Foundation.
After
several hours of gathering equipment and preparing for transport,
the experienced capture team surrounded Tiny with a net. They
then carefully transferred her to a large sheet of canvas
that would not chafe her skin during the move. Finally, they
placed her on top of a big piece of wet foam in the back of
a boat, motored to Southern Lagoon and released Tiny far from
the busy marina.
It
was dark by the time we had finished, and I still hadn't even
made it to our camp since arriving in Belize! We still had
to make our way back to Belize City to find gas for the boat,
then motor on out to Spanish Lookout Cay. The boat ride was
bumpy and wet, but fortunately I had stowed my computer and
camera in a dry-bag. We finally arrived at our base of operations,
and I gratefully collapsed into the bed of my ocean-side cabin,
worn out after the excitement of my first day in Belize.
 |
| Tiny's
sudden appearance in a busy marina concerned researchers,
who acted quickly to relocate the little manatee to a
quieter area.
Photo:
Marie-Lys Bacchus
|
|
