Getting Inked in Bocas del Toro

By Finote Gisjman

           When I look back on my experience in Costa Rica, being a part of the Tropical Biology on a Changing Planet study abroad program, I hope that I have a handful of memories to reminisce upon. One of the places that definitely did do just that was Bocas del Toro, Panama.

            Our journey to Bocas del Toro was nothing short of exhausting. We started our trip to Bocas del Toro from La Selva Biological Station in northeastern Costa Rica. The group left at 6:00 am and traveled through the Caribbean coast down to the border between Costa Rica and Panama. Once there, we got out of the bus, exited Costa Rica, and crossed a bridge over to the Panamanian side of the border. From there we drove another two hours, until we reached a port with boats that were waiting to take us to Isla Colón, a large island in the Bocas del Toro archipelago. The boat ride took about an hour, but eventually we reached a small opening in the mangroves that led to a dock owned by the Institute of Tropical Ecology and Conservation, the place where we were staying for the next few days.

We started off our week in Panama with a short swimming test that was followed by a few hours of snorkeling. The next few days were spent working on a research project in the reef with Threespot Damselfish (Stegastes planifrons). These fish are herbivores that feed on seaweed and display intense territorial defense behavior. Adult Threespot Damselfish often maintain large territories and chase or peck intruders. Our experiment aimed to investigate the effect of this type of territorial defense behavior on herbivory of seagrass cuttings placed at different distances away from the fish’s territory (0 m, 0.5 m, 1m). We also observed each fish for periods of 10 minutes and noted the number of chases/attacks on intruders and the type of intruder (whether it was an herbivore or carnivore). Getting to work on a marine research project was a pretty interesting and challenging experience that I really enjoyed. Collecting data underwater, for instance, was not an easy task. Having to deal with the snorkels while also having to collect data on the fish’s behavior underwater was very difficult.

My favorite and most memorable moment of the trip, however, was on our last snorkeling day. As usual, we left the Institute at 8:00 am and got into the boat that would take us to our next snorkeling spot. We reached an open water area surrounded on one side by mangroves where we set the anchor down. My partner and I jumped into the water and made our way through the reef. Within the first few minutes of snorkeling, we came across a shoal of eight squids that were uniformly lined up and “hovering” in the water. The squids had pale pink torpedo-shaped bodies with bright blue dots on their sides, features characteristic to the Caribbean Reef Squid. We followed this shoal of squids for about 45 minutes through the seagrass and corals and observed their behavior. The squids, all of different sizes, seemed to continually change colors as they swam in their diagonal formation, maybe as a way to communicate with each other.

My partner and I were determined to document all of the things that we saw that day on her GoPro, so obviously getting the squids on camera was one of our main priorities. In attempts to do so, I dove down into the water slowly, trying not to make any sudden movements that would scare the squids off. This didn’t exactly work. I guess I got too close for their comfort at some point because the next thing I knew, I had been inked. Once one of them had released its ink, each squid in the diagonal line consecutively also released their ink. Soon enough, they were nowhere to be found. The only sign of their existence were the eight small pools of ink floating in the water and the footage on the GoPro.

            While in Bocas del Toro, we also came across a Three-toed Sloth that was crossing the Institute’s yard. As these animals only come down to the ground infrequently to urinate and defecate, finding a sloth right outside of our rooms was a pretty cool and unique experience. The group was extremely excited to see a sloth up-close so obviously we had to take a million pictures. When the sloth saw us approach, it sat up and spread its arms facing us. Although seemingly cute, this open-armed stance is a defensive stand against predators that shows off the sloth’s long claws, and serves as a warning.

Bocas del Toro was probably my favorite trip of the program so far. It was a very cool experience to not only travel to a different country in Central America but also get to experience what research in a marine ecosystem would be like. I hope to be able to go back some day and work at the Institute of Tropical Ecology and Conservation.