Environment TO BAGO new slett er
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n vi r on m e n t TOBAGO (ET) is a nongovernment, non-profit, volunteer organisation , not subsidized by any one group, corporation or government body. Founded in 1995, ET is a proactive advocacy group that campaigns against negative environmental activities throughout Tobago. We achieve this through a variety of community and environmental outreach programmes. Environment TOBAGO is funded mainly through grants and membership fees. These funds go back into implementing our projects. We are grateful to all our sponsors over the years and thank them for their continued support
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hat’s inside
ET’s achievements
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Ecology Notes
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Articles
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Book Review
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What’s Happening @ ET
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Notes to contributors
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Volume 5 Issue 4
December 2010
Our Reefs are Bleaching Marie Smedley- Project Scientist Coral Cay Conservation & Environment Tobago
Mass coral bleaching as a result of unusually warm sea surface water threatens the coral reefs of Tobago. The health and very survival of coral reefs around Tobago is currently under threat from wide-spread devastation in what is now appearing to be the worst mass coral bleaching event the Island has ever witnessed. Coral bleaching is a phenomenonthat corals display in particularly stressful conditions, such as unusually high sea-water temperatures.The algae that provide the coral with food and live within itstissue are expelled from the living coral animal. A snapshot of the bleaching situaAs a result, the coral tissue loses its colouration tion in Speyside, Tobago. Scenes and appears white; commonly referred to as such as these can be seen coral bleaching. The algae provide up to 90% of throughout the Speyside region. the food to the coral and if they are not regained in a matter of weeks, the coral is likely to die from starvation. In 2005,unusually high sea surface temperatures caused wide-spread mortality of reef animals and a reduction of hard coral cover on many reefs around the island including Buccoo Reef, one of Tobago's main tourist attractions, renowned for its vibrant and colourful reefs. A mass-bleaching event is currently unfolding in the Caribbean with island nations in the Lesser Antilles including Tobago experiencing the high-
Degree Heating Week (DHW) maps provided by NOAA for the end of October 2005 (left) and 2010 (right). DHW >4 (green) indicate a bleaching threat. Alarmingly, these maps show that sea surface temperature conditions are much more stressful in 2010 than in 2005. http://www.osdpd.noaa.gov/ml/ocean/cb/dhw.html
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December 2010 Editor: Jo-Anne Nina Sewlal Assistant Editor: Christopher K. Starr Design & Layout: Jo-Anne Nina Sewlal Technical Support: Jerome Ramsoondar Enid Nobbee Contributors: Jo-Anne Nina Sewlal Christopher K. Starr Bertrand Bhikkary Zoë Charlotte Mason William A. Trim Marie Smedley Environment TOBAGO Photographs: Marie Smedley Zoë Charlotte Mason Environment TOBAGO
Board of Directors 2010-2012 President:: Patricia Turpin Vice-President: Bertrand Bhikkary Secretary: Wendy Austin Treasurer: Shirley Mc Kenna Committee members: Kamau Akili William Trim Fitzherbert Phillips Geoffrey Lewis Rupert McKenna Claudette Allard David Antoine Gervais Alkins Darren Henry Zoë Charlotte Mason
Environment TOBAGO newsletter
est sea surface temperatures. Many of the popular reefs in Tobago now resemble winter snow scenery. The Caribbean has been warmer than average since January and temperatures in Speyside have been high enough to initiate bleaching (29.5˚C for the southern Caribbean) for nearly 2 months according to temperature logger data. Conditions are considered even more stressful than 2005 in terms of sustained higher temperatures. During the 2005 mass-bleaching event, Speyside remained relatively unaffected. It is likely that the strong local currents carried away the warmer temperatures and sediment from the Orinoco River. Unfortunately, Speyside has not been so lucky this year as it has suffered extensive bleaching which researchers believe may be related to the high temperatures combined with the seasonal pulse of freshwater from the Orinoco River in Venezuela. The reefs around Tobago have been monitored since the last mass-bleaching event in 2005. Coral Cay Conservation, a UK-based not for profit organisation, has been mapping the reefs of Tobago since 2007. They are currently working with the Speyside Eco-Marine Park rangers to monitor the extent, recovery and mortality of reefs in the areas of Speyside and Charlotteville. In addition to the high water temperatures, Tobago has A volunteer from Coral also been impacted by Hurricane Thomas. The resulting Cay Conservation monitoring the extent of the storm caused numerous landslides and muddy waters which bleaching event. have remained in Charlotteville bay for over three weeks. If coral reefs recover they still remain vulnerable to disease and other environmental stressors, such as these storms. After the last bleaching event in 2005, many coral became infected with yellow blotch disease and white plague. We are now already beginning to see a number of coral diseases. Being a small tropical island, it is no secret that Tobago heavily relies on tourism as one of its main sources of income and coral reef related activities make up a big part of this income. If reefs fail to recover from this bleaching event, we are looking at a replacement of thriving coral reefs with abundant life to barren seascapes dominated by seaweed. Fishermen can expect to be spending more hours at sea to catch fewer fish if the correct action is not taken now. In the event that the island’s reefs should disappear, it will have severe implications for the economic benefits derived from these natural Severe landslides (left) and muddyresources, estimated to constitute nearly half of waters (right) in Charlotteville folTobago's GDP according to an economic valualowing Hurricane Thomas. tion conducted by the World Resource Institute in 20061. Successful recovery of the coral reefs of Tobago depends on a number of factors including: The presence of other healthy reefs where new coral larvae can be sourced and generated, replenishing damaged reefs. Effective sewage treatment so that chemicals that promote algae overgrowth and coral diseases do not wash onto the reefs.
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Stopping upland deforestation and poorly planned coastal construction projects that result in a lot of mud washing onto the reefs. 4) Healthy populations of reef fish and sea urchins to inhibit the growth of algae on rock and dead corals so that new corals may settle and recolonise. This can be achieved by designating healthy reef sites as no-take marine reserves. Prompt action and response is required at all levels, governmental and local. Steps need to be taken to protect fish populations and manage the water quality whilst these reefs are recovering. Fishermen are advised to use more selective fishing techniques and follow guidelines as to which fish they should be removing. Waste-water removal needs to be controlled, reduced and monitored correctly. Of course members of the public have the biggest collective impact. Climate change is an ongoing threat: living, promoting and supportBleached coral suffering from black band dising greener lifestyles will increase the ease ( left) and white plague disease (right) in chance of survival and recovery of ToSpeyside bago's reefs. "Reefs can recover from a crisis such as temperature induced mass-bleaching provided that other human impacts are minimised." "Climate change is a global phenomenon which means actions elsewhere in the world may be transferred to very localised areas such as Tobago in this instance. Coral Cay Conservation is using resources to assist development of sustainable management strategies which will minimise these impacts and improve prospects for sustaining environmental resources."
The Conflict Between Tourism and Biodiversity Conservation Patricia Turpin Environment Tobago President
The Tourism Industry in Trinidad and Tobago according to the World Travel and Tourism Organization report for 2010, provides 10.9% of our National GDP (gross domestic product) and in Tobago 51-56% of that islands GDP. That is, 1 in every 6.6 jobs in T&T is connected to the Tourism industry. All economic indicators expect tourism to become increasingly important in the future. This contribution is vital to the economy of Tobago. It is at the same time, an industry where marketing success has been based on the environment and biodiversity. Tobago is sold as “clean, green and serene� by the Tobago House of Assembly in its tourism thrust. Remembering that this year, 2010, has been dedicated worldwide by the United Nations to Biodiversity Conservation. Governments of the Caribbean, including ours have signed numerous treatises that oblige us to conserve, report on and demonstrate responsibility towards the stewardship of our natural resources. Our natural assets on which tourism depends e.g. The main Ridge Forest Reserve- the oldest protected rainforest in the western hemisphere and the Buccoo Reef , Bon Accord Lagoon complex, are two such areas protected by law and encom-
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pass both marine and terrestrial biodiversity. These major marketing tools have been and continue to be subjected to enormous stress and conflict by the very industry which depends on them. The Tourism product normally relies on a range of usages and drawing cards to bring visitors to our shores and to make the visitor experience a memorable one. These usages can be summed up as follows;
Placement of hotels and guest houses along our coasts, close to forested areas and in our wetlands
Use of our natural resources, reefs, forests, beaches, wetlands and offshore islands for scuba diving, water sports, deep sea fishing, nature based tours, bird sanctuary tours, boat racing, sailing, golfing , sporting and other connected activities. These usages require the development of infrastructure to support them, which in turn requires the use of our natural resources; airports, roads, bridges, trails, marinas, water resources, electricity plants, fuel depots, sewage plants, building maConference poster terials(sand , gravel and timber), agriculture, fishing, entrepreneurship in service industries, restaurants, souvenir industries etc. All of which use up our land space or habitats and displace or destroy some form of biodiversity. At the same time too, the general population relies on the natural environment for livelihoods and enjoyment, which puts an added burden on the conflicts that arise between tourism and our environment. Agriculture, building materials from beaches and rivers, animal husbandry, coral and seashell sales to visitors, capture and sale of wildlife, small local zoos and wildlife farms, timber and bamboo felling for the construction industry and fishing. All of the previous usages and activities illustrated have created over the last two decades enormous conflicts between the Tourism sector, users of biodiversity and those who require its conservation. Two thirds of the island of Tobago is mountainous, this geological makeup indicates that our coastal areas will obviously be the most heavily used. A lack of proper planning and law enforcement and monitoring has created situations where all evidence points to a destruction of and stress on our biodiversity and in turn the industry which relies on it. The results of these conflicts and stresses can be witnessed in the marine sector, in rising sea levels, increased temperatures in sea water, the presence of sewage, the presence of grey domestic and hotel waste water, unchallenged coastal constructioneven inside mangrove forests to the extent that reefs are currently bleaching, and coral diseases and bacteria such as cyanobacteria proliferate and fish nurseries in wetlands are declining. Our forests and watersheds are experiencing similar stressors from the burning of hillsides, removal by logging of timber, and habitat destruction. This has resulted in the displacement and loss of wildlife and avian fauna unparalleled in a decade or more. This situation does not auger well for the tourism industry and requires immediate attention to end the conflicts. Visitors to Trinidad and Tobago are more discerning than ever. Potential tour-
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ists/ visitors participate and spend money in locations that show a high degree of standards and responsibility in sustainable usage and biodiversity conservation. They will check websites before visiting a country and hotel or guesthouse, and will choose a location where this is demonstrated. We are required more than ever to be proactive rather than reactive in “greening” the industry. It is seen as our duty, to engage the moral imperative of sustainable use; as we acceded to in the signing of Agenda 21 for the tourism industry at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro in 1972. In other words, fulfill what we promised to reduce the conflicts that arise between the Tourism Industry and Biodiversity Conservation.
NEW PARTNERSHIPS This year has been a great year for Environment TOBAGO as we have made many new partnerships with regional and international NGOs and institutes. “ To many people t hes e t all pe aks mak e for a challe ngi ng but sce nic hike. B ut t hey are not j ust anot her t all mount ai n to clim b. ”
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Coral Cay Conservation Garifuna Ltd Earthwater Resources Alt tv Tobago Beekeepers Association Bhp Billiton ParCa- The Canada-Caribbean Community Climate Change Adaptation Group My Island My Community
Environment TOBAGO newsletter
Channel Alt T.V& Environment TOBAGO—Networking Opportunity Zoë Charlotte Mason Environment TOBAGO On Friday 29th October Mr Glenroy Waldron (also a WASA employee) visited the office to discuss with me a potential networking opportunity for ET. For the past year he has been working on a new online-networking outlet called ‘ Channel alt Tv’ (information for which I have inserted below); and what he is proposing is… • ET to have a FREE blog/ video space • For ET to submit articles/ commentaries • For ET to advertise the ET Youth Forum and activities • For ET to participate in interviews (pertaining to environmental awareness and current island- issues) for streaming online As a passionate environmentalist, he wishes to disclose this offer to us before any other environmental group. No strings attached, no payment required from ET – simply support for support. He will link our website and if we wish to do the same then that would be appreciated. I urge you to check out the website: http://www.channelalt.tv/ Who is Channel Alt? Channel Alt represents a new era of television, streaming directly out of Tobago; the smaller of the twin island Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. We strive to be “the alternative choice” to ordinary television. Our promise is to provide our viewers with an endless variety of local programming with the main objective of highlighting the diversity of Trinidad and Tobago and its’ people. What is our mission? Our mission is to keep viewers informed of all the activities throughout the region and paint true images of life in paradise; No flags, raw and uncut. This former is important to us since in reality, the majority of programmes aired on television stations, particularly in Trinidad and Tobago are internationally based and as such, local talent is often neglected. What do we provide? Channel Alt believes that culture is limited but creativity is diverse. Our plan is to package and sell to the world a collage of Trinidad and Tobago and the Caribbean by extension. Channel Alt’s team contributes diverse skill sets, providing services in the following: • Photography • Video Production • Event Coverage • Advertising and Promotions • Websites • Social Marketing
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Our proprietary programming has proven to be quite successful and has fostered a different kind of entertainment experience; where viewers are given the opportunity to interact with live shows while enjoying pre-recorded features. Our plan is to create ties and maintain relationships with every aspect of the region, as we believe that we are set apart from the rest. I personally feel that this is an invaluable opportunity – for diversifying and increasing ET exposure and as another means to submit written work/ideas. I look forward to hearing from you!
TOBAGO TACKLES CLIMATE CHANGE THROUGH INNOVATIVE PROJECT Hyacinth Armstrong Project Mentor – My Island My Community Tobago
“ To many people t hes e t all pe aks mak e for a challe ngi ng but sce nic hike. B ut t hey are not j ust anot her t all mount ai n to clim b. ”
(Scarborough, Tobago) Islands are leading the way in addressing climate change. Small islands, especially, are vulnerable to its impacts on ecosystems, protected areas, economies, tourism and local communities. While global attention has been brought to bear on this issue, there remains a critical communication challenge: how to effectively engage the public, ensuring they have access to sound and timely information and a clear vision of what they can do to help mitigate the challenges posed by climate change. My Island-My Community (MIMC) is a 12-country three-pronged communications initiative – regional radio soap opera, national radio call-in programme, and national My Community Campaign – to build public awareness and encourage widespread behavior change with regard to small island community preparedness and adaptation to climate change. The program will broadcast across Jamaica, the British Virgin Islands, and Eastern Caribbean countries, including Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, Montserrat, St. Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Tobago and The Bahamas. In Tobago, this regional project is managed by the Speyside Eco-Marine Park Rangers (SEMPR), a community-based organization (CBO) that operates in the north east village of Speyside, Tobago. SEMPR, along with the Buccoo Reef Trust, the Tobago House of Assembly, Environment TOBAGO, Save Our Seaturtles, Radio Tambrin, and the Belle Garden Wetland Association and the Caribbean Youth Environment Network and other key agencies and groups engaged in a two day workshop on Wednesday 6 and Thursday 7 October at the Half Moon Blue Hotel, Bacolet, Tobago in order to coordinate, finalise and formalize the Tobago My Community Campaign. The main facilitators at this workshop included a team from PCI-Media Impact, a nonprofit organization based in New York, USA and St. Lucia, and representatives of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Media Impact is the implementing organisation for the regional MIMC initiative and has 25 years of experience using creative media, the power of storytelling and the reach of broadcast media to mobilize individual, community and political action to address a wide range of social and environmental issues. MIMC-Tobago was officially launched with a press conference on Friday 8 October from 10 am at the Blue Haven Hotel Conference Room at Bacolet, Tobago.
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MIMC-Tobago has been generously funded by the UNDP Global Environment Facility Small Grants Programme, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the U.S. Agency for International Development, The Nature Conservancy and GLISPA.fi
Climate change, biodiversity, and the new government Bertrand Bhikarry Environment TOBAGO In May, emulating other groups worldwide, our NGO hosted a display of recently completed environmental projects at the Lowlands mall. Normally our participation in this kind of event assures that we achieve a measurable impact, even if it's a tiny one. It generates a warm glow that motivates our little community to persevere between infrequent opportunities to meet the public via education and advocacy drives. However Environment Tobago's commemoration of this year's International Year of Biodiversity was overshadowed by the drama atChildren visiting our booth at Low- tending the unexpected general election among the wider population. Our volunteers spent three lands Mall days harassing the mall walkers - even a few shoppers, but in the end we had to call it quits, surrendering to the prevailing mood. Concerns for the environment had lost ground to the election madness. Almost a week has elapsed since the election, and a mood of hiatus persists. There are many aspects of island life to mull over now that the euphoria of the campaign has subsided. Yet it is care for our environment that must take precedence, even as knee jerk reactions to more visible issues like poverty or disease claim the headlines at times. Climate change. The term is an abstraction for Tobagonians. To some its negligible, maybe best handled by academics and the first world. At this time it’s comparable to an insects’ hum, as the tidal wave of accommodating governance roars into our lives. The reality is climate change will be a sting to our lifestyle, a catastrophe impacting on us long before the social issues we voted to address can be fixed by the new government. How will climate change affect us as individuals here? It's a question we had put repeatedly to people passing by our kiosk at the Mall. Further, we also asked them what did it have to do with snakes, insects, birds or rats. After confirming our sanity, a few admitted to not giving the matter much thought. With the exception of the birds, almost everyone engaged in conversation at the display shuddered when we mentioned the life-forms above, revealing to a point their need to understand how it all fits into place. Further, in denial, there remains un-
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“ Climate Change will affect your lifestyle because it can bring pests “
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willingness among many to accept that man alone cannot mold nature to his whim and fancy. As our listeners contemplated the specter of climate change, none could identify any clear negative impact from it on their lives. If anything they were 'just not into that sort of thinking'. Interestingly, as a group they quickly commiserated that global warming is a clear and present danger when the following scenario was related. This is what we told them. As the Earth gets progressively warmer, local climate patterns shift, and higher temperatures become evident. It's a condition to endanger plant life, that common lifeform which has evolved selectively to suit narrow conditions for propagation. Historically, using skills accrued by agriculture, Man may have had a bit of success keeping plants not really suited for where he wants them. The effort is justified by its ability to bring in wealth. However wild plants are deemed to possess little value, are usually not cared for to any great extent. In the adverse climatic situations of the future many wild trees, shrubs and grasses of our wider environment will perish when their comfort zones disappear as a consequence of a hotter planet. Over the ages, it may be expected that certain plant species may adapt to the hotter and dryer conditions, but in the short-term, the vast majority of individual plants will not survive, and the animal life that lives in and around them will, by virtue of having more mobility, go further, higher, to the next available belt of greenery. As it's accepted that cooler conditions prevail at greater altitudes, the plants will seek optimum ground, as will the animals living with them. Generally that means birds, frogs, some insects, and even snakes will move uphill with the plant belt. The dryer flatter spaces will be no doubt remain populated by Man, a species who can control temperature within his immediate environment by mechanical means. It will not be a joyous time. There will be no triumph for humankind as they expect to inherit potentially bug-free, pristine communities. In nature’s scheme of things, the population of certain species is regulated by predators as part of the ecological balance. When the plants go away, removing the habitat of unloved but key predators - like snakes, then will the numbers of some unwanted alien species spread rampantly. Rats are one of the species who will thrive in the absence of snakes. Climate Change will affect your lifestyle because it can bring pests in a future largely focused on popularly projected hazards. However it's disconcertingly obvious which is the more irksome issue. Tsunamis warnings may pretty much be the big topic on television, but it's the hordes of pesky rats that will concern the responsible housekeeper on a daily basis. The prognosis is not a foregone one. Humans can take climate change in stride. The key remedy has always been advocated by environmentalists and others who understand the place of Homo sapiens on the planet. We need to keep suitable spaces of adequate size to support all life-forms within the zones we carve out for our habitat. Unfortunately, according to the families who spoke to our volunteers at the mall, planning green spaces takes place at governmental levels. Looking back, our national ethos for development centers on everything but conservation. There have been few identifiable champions for the cause of true, practical sustainable development. One week ago, it was with things like that weighing heavily on our minds that we packed up our bags, and closed the display. What difference does a few days make? Maybe this new generation of government will find it politically expedient to pay heed to environmental matters, because at the risk of sounding repetitive; It is care for our surroundings that must take precedence. Knee jerk reactions to more visible issues like poverty, disease, or even flood-
Environment TOBAGO newsletter
ing is commendable, but the sure fix, the silver bullet, is the sustainable alternative. Going 'green' will take care of many of society's self-inflicted ills - even global warming. It wouldn't hurt the new government's position either.
ET Youth Forum Zoë C. Mason Environment Tobago In my role as Acting Education Officer I began to realise that in corresponding with the public realm with regards to ‘the children of tomorrow’ and making positive changes, we (society as a whole and ET) tend to bypass the teenage bracket: Too much focus is placed upon the primary-aged youth but not enough attention is paid to the positive and impressionable impact that the young adults can make on society. With the firm belief that it is the duty of ET is to branch our Environment Education programme out to encompass this bracket, and with the help from BOD Mr. Gervais Alkins, the Environment TOBAGO Youth Forum (ETYF) was formed. At present we have nine paid members and the numbers are rising – with potential of joining forces with the Charlotteville Youth Group. Our Aim for the ETYF is as follows: To provide the stage for young adults in Tobago to voice their environmental concerns; and also to provide assistance in implementing projects/ activities to promote positive changes What does it mean to be a member? All one has to do is to want to participate: become an ET member (we have a student discount joining fee) and then volunteer your passion. There is a whole variety of activities to get involved with also: MALL EVENT – team building and renewable energy promotion: - DECEMBER CHANNEL ALT BLOGGING – ET Youth Forum Blog spot & articles St Nicholas Primary Environment Club – Monday’s 3-4pm Assist with the re- organization of ET Library Community awareness drives (in conjunction with Red Cross) – Dates To be confirmed (TBC) Article submission – anytime (Tobago News deadline is 10am every Monday) Beach Clean-ups School lectures Whilst we are still in our embryonic stage, and achievements are yet to be added to the repertoire, we do have passionate members on board and high hopes for the coming year. Most definitely watch this space! For anyone that is interested in joining, please contact me directly at Environment TOBAGO.
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ECOLOGY NOTES What is Biocomplexity? Jo-Anne Nina Sewlal Dept of Life Sciences, University of the West Indies
“ To many people t hes e t all pe aks mak e for a challe ngi ng but sce nic hike. B ut t hey are not j ust anot her t all mount ai n to clim b. ”
According to the University of Indiana in the United States of America, biocomplexity can be defined as “the study of the emergence of self-organized, complex behaviours from the interaction of many simple agents”. But, simply put seeks to study the intricate relationships between the living and non-living components of ecosystems. However, since so many different types of components are involved, the reasonable solution is to find the how these components work from the different disciplines that study them. The interactions between living organisms and their environment is quite complex and involves such relationships as mutualism (where both organisms benefit), commensalism (where one organism benefit but the other is unharmed) and parasitism (where one organism benefits but the other dies or is damaged). Other interactions include parental care which does not occur in some species or for varying lengths of time in others. Competition is another interaction which can take place between organisms of the same or different species, for resources such as, food, water, habitat and mates. Therefore, we see that organisms also interact with the non-living components of their environment as well. An example of living organisms dependence on non-living components would be the spot on a sandy beach where a leatherback turtle chooses to lay her eggs, not only will this prevent them from getting washed away when the tide comes in, but the temperature of the nest is important as it determines the sex of the offspring. Some characteristics of this type of study include that it is relevant to all organisms from single cell organisms to human beings. Ti also looks at all components as a whole and not individually. Biocomplexity also looks at non-linear behaviour, that is, behaviour that is chaotic in nature. It also looks at interactions that span multiple levels of time and space and finally, it can be applied to a wide range of habitats. Now more than ever, the study of biocomplexity is important especially as the stability of the planet’s ecosystems is uncertain and some are on the brink of extinction in some countries.
Biocomplexity spiral. From Wikipedia.com
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ARTICLES Gondolas not Ponds Bertrand Bhikarry Environment TOBAGO No. No! Mr. Secretary, a gondola not a pond is the answer to the flooding. It's well known that to a carpenter, all problems are nails. It seems that Mr. Hilton Sandy suffers a bit of the same predilection and is looking now for the next available riverbed to dig up with his excavator. This revelation, in fact it's my epiphany for this month, stood out from last week's copy of the Tobago News when the Secretary for the Division of Natural Resources and the Environment made a little joke about putting ponds upstream of the Roxborough Housing Development. Now I'm a fan of the guy as much as anyone is, but I can forward some reasons this may not be his brightest suggestion. In fact I'll go one further and even make a few suggestions of my own - since its silly season. However I'll ask that someone somewhere to agree that it's plain wrong to place houses in a floodplain. Assuming the heads are now nodding vigorously, I'll suggest we stop building, remove low lying coastal housing, and plant some sea-grape and mangrove where nature intended. It will be cheaper; in the cost of lives, and less of a burden to the hapless taxpayer. Now since I know nature intended almost thirtythree wetlands for this island, of which close to half are almost a memory, I grieve already for the rest, because the Mr. Sandy's of this generation are not going to heed me, or anyone for that One method of transport to deal matter, who doesn't want a low-level house in a with the flooding flood-prone zone. I guess I would have taken that position too if I lived on a high promontory somewhere; like Bacolet Point. But seriously, how can we make the flood problems go away for Roxborough? We could dig the roads in La Renaisance so low that when it rains the streets could be safely inundated under a meter or two of water, and for that short time each day, of each year, of each wet season, we just use gondolas instead of our Nissan Almeras. The craft could come in handy too, when the odd fifty year flood or the expected and predicted hurricane surge does hit. Maybe. Then again sturdy stilts for all coastal housing might be an answer, but I only got that from TV and it might not work here. The Secretary also mentioned something about bamboo blocking the streams flow, at least that was my understanding of the paragraph in Adamson Charles's piece. It brought my focus toward the vast amounts of bamboo on all our beaches this week the bulk of it was courtesy Hurricane Tomas, of course, but so too a lot of it looks like cutoffs that were left lying along the river beds by workers in the construction trade. Something ought to be done, and it might not be as simple as waging war on bamboo stools on a rivers edge. Gondola poles for La Renaissance? No silly, I mean get to know who's cutting trees and leaving the lopped of branches willy-nilly in their haste to depart with the lumber. Bamboo crews are at work every day, cutting down stands of it
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for cement work shoring, get to know them. Maybe we might get around to using a new-fangled “ting”I saw on TV - Geographic Information Systems. But “wha dis GIS ting?” Imagine tracking the bulldozers now in Tobago to see if they are in fact working where the developers Certificate of Environmental Clearance holds good. So I'm jumping on the construction industry again. Yet it’s the underlying culprit if looked at closely. While La Renaissance is the subject on which I'm harping, the real expense to Tobago in life and property damage will be from landslides and not flooding of the plains. Adamson Charles article mentioned over 100 slides along the Windward Road, and that's from a single rainy (cloudless) day. Mr Sandy, maybe while we are dredging and removing our stools we could utilize some of that GIS technology I saw on TV. Seems we could predict where to leave the bamboo rafts and gondolas. I'm serious. If the Roxborough Fire Crew had gotten their allocation of gondolas they could have rescued those washing machines. Firetrucks just don’t work well in flood. However forget the hi-tech thing. Let's work with Mr. Sandy and the DNRE. And let's work with Global Warming, Climate Change and Natural Disasters. One of these things is a threat to the people living in flood prone areas of Tobago - Wish I was sure which one.
Integrating Ecological Issues Into Social-ecological Natural Resources Management William A. Trim Laumonier et al. (2008) synthesis is part of a special feature on whether new management paradigms are needed to achieve sustainable natural resources management (NRM) in tropical countries. Some lessons learnt are given and three challenges are identified. One of the challenges is the development of an enabler organization close to local communities. Two agencies in Tobago are presented here as examples. In Tobago (as well as Trinidad), each major development is required by law to formally plan. A land developer prepares a development plan for the site to be developed and submits the plan to an enabling organization, the Environmental Management Agency (EMA) for approval. The plan is expected to include an environmental impact assessment (EIA) along with mitigating measures and a social impact assessment (SIA) based on a terms of reference (TOR). Each development proposal is expected to have scientific evaluation on potentially affected endemic species of flora and fauna, state environmental setbacks and provide social data such as human demographics. Next, a developer submits the proposal to the EMA for approval. After scrutiny and deliberations, the EMA then sends the document for public comment by mail to government agencies and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), and the placement of the proposed development document at libraries and other public offices. The proposal is also placed in several daily newspapers and aired on television and radio stations to obtain stakeholders’ comments. Usually, the responders are mainly members of a community that may be affected. Agriculture and forestry extension officers, NGOs, researchers, environmentalists, health officers, land-use planners and the public may criticize or commend the proposed development before EMA’s approval or disapproval. An approved proposed development must be monitored during the implementation of the planned project. At this juncture, the second enabler organization, Environment Tobago (ET) plays an important role in socio-ecological matters. ET and other NGOs, staff members of government agencies, and the public can monitor and
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inform the EMA about any environmental or social disruptions during the project implementation. For example, Coco Reef Hotel developers were required by the EMA to revisit and make adjustment to a project for mitigation against social and environmental problems. If the EMA objects to a development, the land developer can then seek redress through the office of the appropriate Minister of Parliament (MP). In some instances, MPs would have overturned some EMA’s objections and allowed projects, for example, the Hilton Hotel construction on a wetland. During the last four years, a new precedent has emerged. Members of an affected local community through a local spoke person and a local NGO have been seeking the help of international NGOs and powerful international institutions, for example, The World Bank to overturn MPs permission when stakeholders object to destructive developments. An example of this is the case of Pigeon Point Beach front expansion and the debarring of locals’ free entrance to this beach. Recently, our parliament passed a Bill allowing our citizens freedom of access to public information and an amendment to the EMA Act requiring all major developers to provide details on the flora and fauna of the area to be developed. There are legislative plans to have more researchers make public, their researches, and to set up an agency other than the court, to deal with some stakeholders’ conflicts. CONCLUSIONS In Tobago’s case, the enabler organizations EMA and ET played useful roles for change in NRM but there were more players and factors that influenced such change. REFERENCE Laumonier, Y., Bourgeois, R., and Pfund, J-L. 2008. Accounting for the ecological dimension in participatory research and development: lessons learned from Indonesia and Madagascar. Ecology and Society 13 (1):15. [Online] URL: http:// www.ecologyandsociety.org/vol13/iss1/art15 /
Tobago groundwater or desalinization? Bertrand Bhikkary Environment TOBAGO The Water and Sewerage Authority owns all the rain-derived water in Tobago, whether it occurs on state lands or on privately held parcels. Passing strange however is that WASA has found it expedient to seek a contractor to win fresh water from the sea. They will do this at the Cove Industrial Estate sometime soon. No doubt it will be a costly exercise, one which the coming generation may not be able to carry indefinitely. WASA's management, in commissioning the desalination unit, takes the position that the recent drought brought into focus the tenuous nature of our water supply. They cite the dramatic role played by the Point Lisas based Desalcott in meeting the sister islands needs over the last extended dry season. A good argument, but it holds no water for the Tobago situation. The Tobago Main Ridge watershed feeds huge proven reserves of ground wa-
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ter that can be accessed via wells and pumps. Wells drawing off that source have the ability to replenish themselves through a process of natural recharge even if WASA takes up to 66 million cubic meters per year. In perspective, the figure represents possibly close to a hundred times more than what the utility currently produces. Some figures may be shown by WASA, examples may be drawn that the water shortage of Distribution of Earth’s Water the last few months was a reality. The alternative view of course is that a shortage occurred because water was drawn from shallow open reservoirs dependent on rain and runoff, instead of from deep wells properly placed along the Tobago mega watershed. The logic is simple. Necessity dictates that the Utility expands its product output. If water exists underground and proven technologies can access what's needed, then why leave all that to embark on the expensive path taken by countries who had no soft option? The reason for doing so may well lie in the age- old truism that bigger (more expensive) projects win more support by all concerned in the process. So what's a mega watershed anyway, and why does Tobago have one? The feature is actually many basins comprised of fractured bedrock aquifers and aquifer systems that has extensive rainfall catchment ability. The definition is credited to Messrs. Bisson, Widger, Hofman, Long and El-Baz who discovered and reported on it from the African Rift around 1980. Mr. Bisson was later responsible for proving the existence of this feature here in Tobago. The idea that Tobago could have all the water it needs, but it's yet to be commercially tapped is mind-boggling. Robert Bisson, during the course of his explorative work under a WASA sanctioned arrangement (Earthwater Technology International Inc. 1999-2000), used an innovative combination of technologies for that period. Working together with Trinidadian Mr. Utam Maharaj, the team tracked the complex fault lines of Tobago using an eclectic mix of satellite imagery, aerial magnetic surveys, 3D imagery, flexible computer models, and geophysical surveys.; In effect they were depending on the same techniques oil and gas exploration teams used to track down elusive fuel fields, and it worked. They were able to locate potential water-bearing formations in new areas. In the year 2000 it was not the typical approach taken by the average WASA contractor looking for well water. It is now a decade since that pilot project was done, but at the risk of repetition, the Water Authority will pursue the desalination option. The cost of winning potable water by that expedient leaves many things to be desired. The shortlist is; the prohibitive cost of fuel for running a desal plant, the potential for damage to the environment by the dumping of solids extracted from the seawater, and the real possibility of the plant facing lengthy shut-downs due to adverse weather events. There are other considerations that the mega watershed can attend. Water for agriculture will not emanate from a desalination unit, as it's too sterile, too costly. Indeed with that in mind the average user may take up the harvesting of rainwater just to be able to wash a vehicle or flush a toilet. In Tobago WASA may want to do the same and focus exclusively on something they already own, but have not used well - the mega watershed.
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Heartbreaking news: It’s Christmas, It’s Christmas! Bertrand Bhikkary Environment TOBAGO I was at the Petit Trou beach just before Lambeau on a Saturday before Christmas. Found time to play with a discarded lonely little mutt who was still at puppy stage. You know the period. He still trusts humans, since not enough of us have yet found him despicable enough to pelt rocks at, or to poison. The little sufferer had on the most beautiful nylon collar. The type that never deteriorates, the kind that's certain to choke him to death should he make it past cute. However I will not bother to comment on the abandoned dog's unpromising outlook - since its Christmas, and no cur was in that manger back then in Bethlehem. Not too long before, my little group of peers were seriously into planning The Party, it being Christmas and all. One cheerful Christian soul caught up in the moment, offered to cater wild meat dishes for an event already potentially overloaded with flesh. My throat tightened around emerging criticism as I realized with the wisdom of age (and many a Christmas past) that this is what will occur all over my beloved land this season. I let it slip with a silent prayer that God might give 'gouti' wings. He might not though, considering that there was no agouti or other wildlife in that manger long time ago in Bethlehem. This week, in what must surely be a sign from heaven, an email was delivered to my Inbox by the trusted god of the Internet. It had already survived the rigors of spam selection and my own less charitable filter keywords (trash all mails with 'donate'). This was an initiative by a group of discount house shoppers (brands withheld) who would donate hampers to the needy families of Trinidad and Tobago. Could I send a list of names, limited to four from Tobago? I do know of a few destitute families aside from mine, but I cannot say I do Know them - Who wants to know the poor, except on Christmas? So I'm stuck with making a decision to send names and needs of people I barely acknowledge, who to my mind Stray dog at Petit Trou may (or may not) want things. The criteria I'm to follow indicates the qualified recipients must not only be poor, but also must be enterprising types, not slothful. Really! If the poor souls are beaten to the point of despair, no basket for dey? I guess charity was not present in the manger at Bethlehem either, only kings bent on paying homage to one of their kind. At the end of the season, when the time comes to pack away my Christmas tree, I will cash in all the gift vouchers enlightened (and guilt-ridden ) readers would have sent me. I think I'll buy a posh widescreen TV so I can lie back and participate in the social fabric. After all Christmas is past and I can afford to be a little selfish for a while. I'll deserve it after all that 'guana', 'gouti' and charity ________________________________________________________________ [ At Christmas, Bertrand Bhikarry intends to exercise his dominion over all living things. The Bible told him he can totally eat out this world. Paradise after all, is in another place.]
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Spiders and St. Lucia Jo-Anne Nina Sewlal Dept of Life Sciences, University of the West Indies For two weeks in August I was most fortunate to visit the island of St. Lucia to conduct a survey of the spider fauna of the island. Located in the southern Leeward Islands in the Eastern Caribbean (13o53’N 60o58’W) between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, north of Trinidad and Tobago. St. Lucia has an area of 616 km2 and 43.5 km long and its widest part is 22.5 km across. It is volcanic in origin with a central point and the highest elevation on the island of approximately over 950 m. I stayed in the town of Soufriere which was recognised in 1746 as the first town of St. Lucia. It also served as the first capital city of the island until around 1803, when Castries was appointed the new capital. To many people, Soufriere may not be a “happening” place, compared to the bustling towns of Castries and Rodney Bay on the North, but to a naturalist this part of the island is paradise, as a majority of the forests could be accessed on the South and up along the East coast. Soufriere is also home to the Pitons, Grand Piton and Petit Piton which have been declared a World Heritage Site by the United Nations. Both of these mountains are steep and are quite demanding to climb to the top, however, Petit Piton is steeper than Grand Piton. Although St. Lucia is known for the Pitons, Mount Gimie (pronounced Mount Jimmy) is the highest point on the island reaching a height of 950m. Actually, the Pitons are volcanic plugs where over the years, the more brittle rock has fallen away leaving the hard magma plug in the centre. Being the home to an active volcano, St. Lucia has sulphur springs known for its cleansing and healing properties? So it is popular for with persons seeking a perfect complexion. As a results of the intense heat and sulphur, the hillside facThe Pitons with Soufriere in the ing the springs only have short vegetation while forground the rest of the hills are covered in lush green forests. This gives one an idea of how extreme the conditions are near the volcano. Most of the North has been taken over by urbanisation and farming. Unfortunately this has resulted in the reduction of some natural habitats, like herbaceous swamps and mangrove woodlands which form important barriers protecting the coastline from storms and hurricanes. I also visited one of the remaining sites of mangrove in the district of Vieux Fort in the South of the island. This mangrove woodland spans approximately 100 acres. At the beginning of the last century, mangrove was used to fuel sugar factories in both St. Lucia and Barbados, but now it is used primarily to make charcoal for cooking. It may not sound like it is good for the environment, but the Aupicon Charcoal Producers Group has made it their goal to show that mangrove can be used in a sustainable way for this purpose. St. Lucia depends heavily on tourism so unfortunately to visit many natural attractions one has to pay an admission fee, such as waterfalls. In Trinidad and To-
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bago we are lucky that we can enjoy such natural wonders free of charge. Cocoa as a crop is also trying to make a comeback on the island, and there are a few estates where you can see how cocoa is processed, for instance, at the Fond Doux Estate. However, again you have to pay an admission fee. Despite this, I found many examples of people being environmentally conscious, for instance, during my sampling of farmland habitat, I Pit for making charcoal was treated to some coconut water, and afterwards my host insisted on bursting the shells into quarters to prevent them from collecting water and acting as a breeding site for mosquitoes. Even the use of wildlife for tourism is closely monitored. During my visit, I met a fellow who keeps a boa constrictor as a pet. He is usually found at the side of the road between Soufriere and Castries. Here tourists usually stop and take out photos holding the snake. I also visited Pigeon Island, located on the north-western part of the island. It got its name as it was once a tiny offshore island but the space between it and the main island of St. Lucia has since been filled in and it is now how to the St. Lucia National Trust. In the past, Pigeon Island was a site for whaling when humpbacks would pass by on their southern migration to mate in the warmer waters of the Southern Hemisphere. This ended in 1926 after legislation was passed banning the practise. The sampling effort for my project produced a total of 40 species from 22 families, none of which posed any threats to human health. Overall, natural habitats yielded more species than disturbed habitats this may be due to the fact that most of the localities of natural habitats sampled are not heavily populated or cultivated, therefore the conditions in these ecosystems can be considered close to pristine. This could account for their relatively high level of species richness and diversity. Near the end of my visit I also gave a presentation to the Forestry Department on the biodiversity of West Indian spiders focusing on the spider fauna of St. Lucia where I gave preliminary results from my survey. This presentation was also attended by the media which interviewed me and allowed me to explain the importance of spiders in to ecosystems and humans. This interview was shown on the two local television channels. I also left a small synoptic collection of the common species found on the island with the Forestry Department. Acknowledgments This project was partially funded by a grant from the British Arachnological Society and a Percy Sladen Memorial Fund Grant from The Linnean Society of London. Thanks go out to the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry Department in St. Lucia for all of their assistance. The following persons and organisations assisted in facilitation, transport, and assistance in the field; Alwin Dornelly, Anthony Donald, Nereus Mitchell, Julius Georges, Carl Augustine, George Antoine, Peter Jn. Baptiste, Onellmus Charleroy, Greg Pereira, Veronica Simon, Sally Erdle, John Kessell.
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“I found many examples of people being environmentally conscious“
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Environment TOBAGO newsletter
Noise pollution rules Bertrand Bhikkary Environment TOBAGO
“[Bertrand Bhikarry traces roots to a mountain domiciled hermit taking aural stimulation from the cacophony of the plain dwellers. These days no complementary title exists for that type of maccoman.] “
So what if the discordant boom of soca and rap music disturbs me to the point of distraction every weekend. It's pain for the support of culture, Right? Hardly. After spending a few hours more than I'd like without sleep, I figured out all the noise is just someone in the chase of money. The problem with that, it is at my expense; loss of sleep not contributing to my quality of life. I understand in the old days the neighbor with a radio or a gramophone would turn up the volume for all within earshot, but I think those days are now gone. Or have they? To my mind the idea to make someone else suffer my taste in music is an aggressive act ranking right up there with shouting in their faces - minus the halitosis. Then again I might just be living in a place where my neighbor thinks I don't have my own entertainment system. I've heard some talk that the law protects me from loud noises, especially after 10 at night, but I think that’s unlikely, given my protectors from the EMA stop work at 4pm, and the police who are on the noisy compounds are actually in the pay of the organizers - ostensibly to protect law and order, but more so to prevent acts of malice against the noisemaker/entrepreneur. What a mess. Noise pollution does indeed rule. Before despair sets in, and bands of silent (operative word) black-clad hit men begin to attend the public functions with a sole purpose of taking out sound systems, something's got to be done. I mean, how much of those things are there? There must be growing band of support for a quieter Tobago, considering the number of events and holidays this serene little chunk of rock hosts year round. The thing is, do the detractors in turn make noise about noisemaking? Things are so bad here that the churches make the same amount of noise as the fetes, or are they same thing? Make a joyful noise indeed. The village harvests are no longer sacred events venerating bounty from fields blessed by The Almighty. Instead to my eyes the community church is where the masses depart in droves to seek spiritous fortitude and a weekend of noisy distraction. Every month of every year mind you. The sticking point to making this an issue is getting people involved. Obviously nobody wants to be The One to raise their voice in protest against what is the cultural norm. But there may be friends in other places. For instance do the literacy groups have an opinion of the impacts of noise on the population? The myriad events spread over Tobago must surely impact some school children. Even the few adults bent on self improvement via books and similar devices must cherish a quiet environment. Another stakeholder with potential for recruitment on the march to silence the boomboxes are the anti-crime groups. Any culture which denies an enabling environment to aspiring youth is actually nurturing young criminals. Just words, but consider the following lines I heard earlier tonight; " I'd do it if I have to bustin caps with this a heat and load it clip up after clip I'm packin my gauge, if I feel it The glock, the gat, the nine, the heaters See I be bustin caps like my amp be bustin speakers " That's the sort of double barreled lyrics which keep me up and angry. I fear for now it's just the sounds which invade my home. Soon it might be followed by a tone deaf young thug in search of funds to buy himself some caps. My point is people, let's keep it quiet. Quiet is good, quiet is nice. Quiet is what I need to make me stop writing foolishness like this.
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Environment TOBAGO newsletter
I LOOKED OVER JORDAN, AND WHAT DID I SEE? Victor Howells 1957. A Naturalist in Palestine. New York: Philosophical Library 180 pp. [Twenty-second in a series on "naturalist-in" books.] Christopher K. Starr Dept of Life Sciences, University of the West Indies ckstarr@gmail.com
Naturalist-in books are a peculiar type with fuzzy boundaries at the interface between four dimensions: place (including the native people), biota, personal experience, and events (often adventures). Any account that focuses so strongly on one of these as to relegate the others to a supporting role places itself outside the naturalist-in genre. This probably explains in large part why naturalist-in books are almost entirely the product of English speakers, as such a balancing act grows out of a particular tradition. This is illustrated by two books in other languages. The title of Paulian's (1949) book plainly suggests that it is naturalist-in, yet it is about the biota only. And Guenther's (1931) book is similarly one-dimensional (not, in itself, a criticism). The original title, Das Antlitz Brasiliens, simply means The Face of Brazil, and the english title was evidently adapted to fit the naturalist-in niche market. Alcock's book, contrast, sits nicely in the middle of what is naturalist-in. The expression "the seven seas" is baffling to many. We are taught in school to recognize just four oceans, and you probably know at least a dozen bodies of water called seas, so what are these seven seas? The term has been used in several senses, but the most usual refers to regions of the Indian Ocean, each with its own distinctive character. This was where real seafaring first began, in a complex, changeable ocean whose trickiness revolves around the monsoons. Here, survival depends upon a superior knowledge of space, time and weather. The Mediterranean, by comparison, is a placid puddle. All of this is implicit in A Naturalist in Indian Seas. Alfred Alcock (1859-1933) spent four years on board the british survey ship Investigator in the Indian Ocean. His book deals with three of the traditional seven seas: the Andaman Sea, Bay of Bengal and part of the Arabian Sea. It was composed during two monsoons, while the ship was in harbour and he was engaged in analysing specimens. The Marine Survey of India was established in 1874, and its early findings opened a new world to the public imagination. The Investigator, launched in 1881, continued earlier studies in the coastal zone. Part of this was in fringing reefs and atolls, but many sites were less alluring. Alcock says of one particular part of India that it is "not to be commended for its scenery, which consists chiefly of slimy creeks and screw-pine swamps alternating with long stretches of drifting sand washed by a muddy sea." At the same time, the Investigator initiated the first serious focus on the depths of the Indian Ocean. This is the core of the book, occupying about one-third of the chapters. The ocean depths are a zone of constant darkness, cold and great pressure. In strong contrast to the surface zone, it is very stable, with little water movement or temperature change. In Alcock's time, before the era of deep diving, our scant knowledge of abyssal creatures was based on dredging the sea floor (benthos). This is a laborious business, and he spent a great deal of time sorting and processing specimens. Because the grab is made virtually blind, many samples are mainly just mud. Even so, the time spent at sea was very productive, as Alcock had little to do except collect and process samples according to a fixed routine. This gave rise to a wealth of newly-described species. They
“The expression "the seven seas" is baffling to many. We are taught in school to recognize just four oceans, and you probably know at least a dozen bodies of water called seas, so what are these seven seas? “
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were surpassingly strange and plainly came from an alien world, but by the time they reached the surface they were already dead or dying. Until the age of deep diving some decades later, we knew nothing of how they lived. Aside from his main work, Alcock made many direct observations of living animals at the surface and in coastal areas from the deck of the ship and during many short visits on shore. He presents these in a number of engaging vignettes of particular animals. He showed much less interest in plant life. I very much regret that there is only passing mention of my beloved mudskipper fishes (Periophthalmus spp.), which I think he must have encountered often. Although he did not say so directly, Alcock interpreted his observations according to the theory of evolution by natural selection. This is worth noting, as he wrote at time when natural selection was still controversial, not nearly the accepted mechanism that it is today. Coupled with this, he showed an interest in large biological questions, such as warning colouration in animals, the mating patterns of birds, and bioluminescence in benthic animals. Another attractive feature is his attention to particular open questions. As an example, there is a small, shallow lake on Little Coco Island. It is only slightly brackish and appears to have formed when a mangrove swamp became cut off from the sea. Because it is the only body of fresh water on the islet, and because it is evidently quite young, it furnishes "a perfectly clear sheet on which to record the manner of colonisation of a freshwater territory newly won from the sea." That's good thinking. The author's attitude toward the local people -- after all, he was an Englishman -was distinctly colonialist. He regarded them much as one would peculiar and occasionally wayward children, benignly but in no way to be considered as equals. This is not to say that he took no notice of the locals. On the contrary, Alcock showed much interest in their customs and economy. Still, he rarely mentions any Indian by name, while many of the Englishmen in the book have names. If one reads enough of the old naturalist-in books, one gets used to this sort of thing. References Konrad Guenther 1931. A Naturalist in Brazil. Boston: Houghton-Mifflin 399 pp. Renaud Paulian 1949. Un Naturaliste en C么te d'Ivoire. 3rd ed. Paris: Stock, Delamain & Boutelleau 216 pp.
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READERS’ FORUM Dear ET Newsletter Readers, Office:
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