The following post is a reflection on a field trip I took to Belize as part of my tropical ecological class.

In the marine environments, there were three main ecosystems that we explored; seagrass and sand flats, coral reefs, and mangrove forests. Of all of these, the coral reefs had the highest species richness due to their high primary productivity. This is due to the dual nature of coral, that of a producer and a predator. Coral itself is a tiny animal that hunts plankton with tiny barbs. Most coral tissue also contains an algae called zooxanthellae which provides energy to the coral via photosynthesis. This creates available energy for others, like parrotfish that eat corals. It also allows the coral to create a structurally complex area. The mangroves have the next highest level of primary production and are almost as structurally complex as the coral reefs. On the other hand, the sandy and grassy flats have little structure to them. When snorkeling there very few species besides 3 species of ray were seen.

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