Environmental Research Institute (University of Belize)

05/10/2026

The 2026 Belize BioBlitz, organized by UB-ERI and hosted at Elijio Panti National Park, took place last weekend. It brought together nature enthusiasts, researchers, youths, and community members to explore and document Belize’s incredible biodiversity. 🐸🦋🌱

So far, our BioBlitz has recorded:

📸 625 observations
🌿 290 species
🔎 1,023 identifications of which 37% are Research Grade!

And we’re not done yet! All observations are being uploaded to the iNaturalist project (link below), where they can continue to be identified, verified, and contribute to biodiversity research.

A huge thank you to everyone who participated and contributed their observations! Every photo and identification helps build a better picture of the biodiversity found in this important protected area.

A special thank you goes out to all the experts who have contributed and continue to contribute to get observations to Research Grade!

Take a look at the iNaturalist project following the link below:
https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/2026-belize-bioblitz

•
•
•
•
📷 Black-eyed Tree Frog, jen13164, iNat
📷 Orange Huntsman Spider, henery1, iNat
📷 Lavender Cortunia, luis1154, iNat
📷 Giant Red-winged Grasshopper, Abdon Tzib
📷 Abidas Ash, Abdon Tzib

01/10/2026

01/10/2026

01/10/2026

28/09/2026

Our iNaturalist tutorial is now available on YouTube!

⭐ Learn about getting started with iNaturalist and making quality contributions to the platform.
⭐ Hear from experienced users on their tips and tricks for observing wildlife

🎥 Watch the full tutorial on our YouTube channel!
🔗 https://youtu.be/lD9pRF0sf70?si=qno_-JVAsfiFLMpA

•
•
•
•
•
Thank you to everyone who contributed their expertise, photos, and video footage to help us put this tutorial together!

-Louis Peña (plants)
-Jake Snaddon and Jess Boles (terrestrial arthropods)
-Elsy Perez (fungi)
-Donald McKnight (fish and turtles)
-Ed Boles (aquatic macroinvertebrates)
-Abidas Ash (birds)
-Bianca Blanco (herps)
-Angeneal Hamilton and Edgar Cruz (iNaturalist use modeling)
-Ian Guerra (photos and video footage)
-Jess Boles (video editing, voice over, and compilation)

18/09/2026

We at UB-ERI have been monitoring Coral Communities in Turneffe Atoll for the past 15 years. We’ve seen coral bleaching, disease, recovery, and death from our surveys.

This year we welcomed Dr. Stephen Levas from the University of Wisconsin Whitewater (UWW) as a resident Fulbright Scholar. He brought his knowledge and skills a coral biologist to the Marine Biology Program here at the University, teaching students how to collect tissue samples (Belize Fisheries Department Scientific Research Permit 0039-26) for in-lab Physiological analyses.

This summer, before Dr. Levas returned to his appointment at UWW, he trained our UB-ERI staff, our colleagues in the Faculty of Science and Technology, and UB students in lab techniques to assess different physiological characteristics of coral across different habitats in preparation for the team to lead their own studies.

•
•
•
•
•

10/09/2026

Something is in the works! 📸🌿

We’re getting ready for an upcoming webinar on how to use iNaturalist and take research-grade photos to make your observations more useful for research and conservation.

Here's a little behind-the-scenes look as we prepare!

👀 Stay tuned—our webinar is coming soon!

•
•
•
•
•
📷: Ian Guerra

02/09/2026

🌿 Join us for the launch of Belize’s Nature-based Solutions Inventory!

The University of Belize Environmental Research Institute (UB-ERI) invites organizations, communities, government agencies and others working on Nature-based Solutions (NbS) across Belize to join our upcoming online webinar.

📅 Tuesday, 8 September 2026
🕙 10:00–10:40 AM
💻 Online via Zoom

During the webinar, we will introduce the Nature-based Solutions Inventory, a new platform for documenting and sharing NbS projects and initiatives across Belize.

We’ll take you through:
• What we mean by Nature-based Solutions
• The purpose of the NbS inventory
• How to explore and use the online inventory
• How to submit your own project or initiative for inclusion

If your organization or community is implementing a Nature-based Solution in Belize, we would particularly like to hear from you and help make your work visible through the Inventory.

🔗 Register for the webinar:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScsLEOvg3hyNGA8raDoa6jOnc5NQknZGnmraHpCRZZl0SBDqA/viewform?usp=publish-editor

Please share with colleagues and organizations working on Nature-based Solutions across Belize.