FoN's work in Placencia Lagoon

Placencia Lagoon provides critical ecosystem services to human populations and habitat to a diverse community of plants and animals. Development has taken a toll on this unique ecosystem and has threatened to impair many of these populations and functions. Friends of Nature (FoN) works independently and in conjunction with stakeholders, the Belizean Government, universities, and non-governmental organizations to monitor, protect and restore the biological treasures of Placencia Lagoon (photo by T.B. Smith) .



FoN monitors the distribution, ecology and diversity of seagrass species in and around Placencia Lagoon. Food web studies supported by FoN have shown that seagrass support the food web of fisheries in Placencia Lagoon as both a carbon source and habitat. Unique seagrass species, including Halophilla baillonii (pictured here) have been found in the lagoon and shown to be a major diet item of West Indian Manatee (photo by T.B. Smith).



Originally described as a low-nutrient lagoon, water quality in Placencia Lagoon has recently declined as construction, dredging, aquaculture and population density have increased. Sights such as the algae mats pictured here were once unthinkable but now have become real problems in some areas. FoN biologists and community researchers monitor water quality and work with local stakeholders to identify and mitigate such problems when they arise (photo by E. Fernandez).




Placencia Lagoon provides a sheltered environment where adult marine mammals animals like bottlenosed dolphins and West Indian Manatee can care for their young. Recent losses of seagrass forage and increased boating traffic are issues of concern for these animals. FoN facilitates the work of international NGOs and universities to help monitor and study the distribution, behavior and ecology of marine mammals such as West Indian Manatee (photo by T.B. Smith).




Red mangroves dominate the shores, creeks and estuaries of Placencia Lagoon. Mangroves provide critical nursery habitat for coastal and reef fish species, reduce pollution entering sensitive marine environments and stabilize shorelines against erosion and hurricane damage. Effective measures are needed to restore lost mangrove, and protect and manage the remaining mangrove habitat (photo by B. Collier).




The universal popularity of the Caribbean seafront has resulted in rapidly increasing prices for coastal properties and widespread clearing of mangroves. The loss of mangrove habitats represents a critical issue for ecosystems such as Placencia Lagoon (photo by T.B. Smith).





Traditional and recreational sport fishing mingle in Placencia Lagoon. Tarpon, snook, goliath grouper, a variety of snapper and other species are targeted with gill nets and hook and line. Fisheries options will be needed that keep the quality of the resource high and sustainable for all stakeholders (photo by T.B. Smith).

Terrestrial habitats around Placencia Lagoon support a dazzling array of unique plants and animals. Dozens of unique species of wild orchids grow in and around the mangrove forests of Placencia Lagoon. This orchid, Myrmecophila tibicinis, is locally known as cow-horn orchid. It shelters symbiotic populations of ants that protect it from grazers. Untold species and unique biological interactions in Placencia Lagoon remain unknown and undocumented (photo by B. Collier).

The American crocodile and Morelet’s crocodile both live in Placencia Lagoon. Here, a juvenile American crocodile waits for a meal in a boat canal near Maya Beach. Increasing human population density makes interaction between humans and crocodiles more likely and raises a host of concerns for both species. FoN stands committed to balancing the needs of the environment with those of human populations and preserving the species and ecosystem functions of Placencia Lagoon (photo by T.B. Smith).

Twenty years

Two pictures. Same spot. Placenica, Belize.

One was taken in 1988. One was taken in 2008.

Where have the mollusks gone?

Part of the research I do in Placencia Lagoon involves monitoring seagrass distributions. One of the ways we do that is to photograph the substrate in the lagoon. The other is to drop an anchor onto the substrate and pull it up to see if bits of seagrass leaf or root are stuck to it. During that process, we also look for other animals that might come up in the muck stuck to the anchor. Those often include bivalve and gastropod mollusks.









This February, we surveyed the lower lagoon, south of Seine Bight and north of Placenia between the airstrip and Mango Creek. Two photographs of the types of mollusks we found. The top photo is of types of dead mollusks we found. The other is of live mollusks.


Two species vs twenty.


To be sure, it is easier to find dead mollusks than live ones. The shells of dead mollusks can stay in the substrate for thousands of years and barely change appearance. But if the live mollusks are still there, where are they??? After 160 anchor drops, you begin to realize that they're not living there anymore. Over the past four years, we've only found about 5 species of mollusks alive in this area.


It's this kind of pattern that leads you to realize how much Placencia Lagoon has changed in recent times. Conditions that allowed for a wide diversity of mollusks have been altered to the point that only a few can live there now.


What else has been lost? What else will we lose?

A view from the lagoon

A Lagoon Blog

The mangrove forests, marine, estuarine and freshwater aquatic habitats of Placencia Lagoon, Belize provide habitat and ecosystem services to literally thousands of species of plants and animals. Pressure from development has taken a toll on this unique ecosystem and has threatened to impair many of these populations and functions. Yet development has also brought economic prosperity for some and many Belizeans clearly feel it is necessary.


This blog will be a discussion of projects currently ongoing in Belize working within and around Placencia Lagoon to understand and conserve the natural systems there, and to find ways to balance the needs of those systems against the rising tide of effluents, resorts and other human activities.


I hope you enjoy the journey.