Environment TO BAGO new slett er
E
nvironment 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 an 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
Coral Reefs and Reef Research In Tobago
1
They are not what they seem
3
Project L.E.A.P.—An Update
3
What is a Lek?
5
Environmental degradation in T&T (pt 3)
5
Book Review
7
Activities @ ET
8
What’s happening @ ET
9
Notes to contributors
10
Volume I Issue3
September 2007
Coral Reefs and Reef Research in Tobago Jennie Mallela, Dept Life Sciences, University of the West Indies
The Coral reefs of Tobago are incredibly complex habitats which are both ecologically and economically important to the island. The local reefs are home to hundreds of marine species which include colourful reef fish, corals, huge sponges, urchins, octopus, manta rays and sharks. Reefs act as a natural barrier, dissipating wave energy and protecting the shoreline from wave damage and coastal erosion. This protection is especially important during high energy events, for example during the hurricane season, where reefs and mangroves form the first level of defence for the shoreline protecting it against strong currents and waves. The reefs of Tobago are also important to the local economy of the island attracting thousands of local and international tourists and divers to the island. So what is a coral? Many people do not realise that a coral is a living animal, some hard coral species can live for hundreds of years. However, like all animals they can be damaged, catch diseases and die. The coral animal is called a polyp and secretes a hard outer skeleton (calcium carbonate rock) around itself, and it is this skeleton that forms the primary structure of the coral reef (known as the coral framework). Hundreds of coral animals (polyps) can occupy each coral colony. Coral polyps have small tentacles which are used to stun and capture prey, and polyps often feed on plankton (microscopic plants and animals in the water) which drifts past. However, up to 90% of a corals energy requirement actually comes from microscopic plant (algae) known as Zooxanthellae, which live in the coral tissue. The colour of a coral (e.g. green, brown) is also determined by the Zooxanthellae. Whilst providing the polyp with energy the Zooxanthellae also process waste products from the coral animal, but rely on sunlight to photosynthesise. We call this coral polyp – Zooxanthellae relationship ‘symbiosis’, both organisms (the animal and the plant) rely on each other to survive and have a mutually beneficial relationship. Corals grow very slowly, for example, brain corals like the giant brain (Colpophyllia natans) at Speyside grow at a linear rate of about 1 cm a year, whilst branching corals grow at a slightly faster rate, for example, Staghorn coral (Acropora cervicornis) can grow at a rate of about 12 cm a year. This slow growth makes coral very vulnerable to damage (e.g. from reef walking and boat anchors) as they can take a long time to recover and grow back. Whilst the reefs are clearly important to the continued ecological and economic well-being of Tobago they are also being threatened by a number of Anchor Damage to reefs local disturbances. These disturbances include: sediment Photo by: Jennie Mallela
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Environment TOBAGO newsletter
September 2007 Editor: Jo-Anne Nina Sewlal Assist Editor: Christopher Starr Design & Layout: Jo-Anne Nina Sewlal Technical Support: Nolan Craigwell, Jerome Ramsoondar Nigel Austin Enid Nobbee Contributors: Jo-Anne Nina Sewlal Christopher Starr A.B. Hilton Clark Jennie Mallela Jahson Alemu Photographs: Jennie Mallela Ryan Mannette
French Angelfish on Culloden Reef Photo by Jennie Mallela Reef
Cause
Sediment runoff from the land into the sea
Poor building tices, dredging, estation, road ing, mangrove ance.
University of the West Indies: http://sta.uwi.edu/fsa/ lifesciences/jmallela.htm and The Buccoo Reef Trust: http:// www.buccooreef.org/landsea.html Consequence
Solution
pracdeforbuildclear-
Sediment runs onto the reef, smothers coral and other organisms, prevents them from feeding, and in extreme conditions can kill and/ or bury the reef
Do not allow sediment to runoff the land into the sea. Build sediment catches/traps when building houses and roads etc.
Sewage and nutrient pollution
Sewage input from local dwellings and nutrients from fertilisers (e.g. on golf courses)
Sewage and nutrients result in algae and seagrass blooms on the reef. These plants can grow faster than the coral and may smother/ kill them.
Treat sewage properly. Do not put too much fertiliser on the ground. Do not allow it to runoff on to the reef. Make sure sewage outfalls are a suitable distance from the reef.
Reef walking
Tourists and locals walking on the reef
You can break and kill coral and other organisms you walk on. One footstep can kill years of coral growth.
Do not walk on the reef. Educate tourists and tour operators. If you see damaging practices happening speak out.
Anchor damage
Boats dropping anchors on the reef
Anchors break coral and damage/kill the organisms they land on
Use boat moorings and do not anchor on the reef.
Bleaching
When a coral is stressed (e.g. due to elevated water temperature or poor water quality) the Zooxanthellae leave
The corals become white because they have lost their colourful Zooxanthellae. If the Zooxanthellae do not return the coral dies.
Try to maintain good marine water quality conditions. If bleaching does occur corals recover quickly if water quality is good.
Board of Directors 2006-2008 President:: Patricia Turpin Vice-President: Kamau Akili Secretary: Fitzherbert Philips Assistant Secretary: Greta Akili Treasurer: Shirley Mc Kenna Directors: Bertrand Bhikarry Tanya Clovis Tramaine Charles Hyacinth Armstrong Claudette Allard Geoffrey Lewis
and nutrient runoff from Tobago, sewage pollution, poor development practices, reef walking, anchor damage and most recently bleaching (when the Zooxanthellae leave the coral). Further details of these disturbances are given in Table 1. Currently research at the University of the West Indies and the Buccoo Reef Trust is investigating how these disturbances influence reef health, reef growth, reef dwelling organisms and reef resilience/ survival. We are currently monitoring reef sites around Tobago to assess reef fish communities, coral health, coral growth, coral disease and bleaching. We also have a series of studies designed to investigate reef growth and reef destruction at reef sites in ‘good’ and ‘poor’ water quality. Findings so far indicate that good management practices are essential to the continued survival of local reefs. How can you help with improving management practices? Some simple solutions are given in Table 1. Further details of coral reef research can be found at the following websites:
Dr Jennie Mallela is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the University of the West Indies whose project focuses on coral reef ecology; including the influence of environmental disturbances, climate change, land-sea interactions, marine resource management and coral reef conservation and restoration.
Volume I Issue3
Page 3
They are not what they seem Jo-Anne Nina Sewlal Dept of Life Sciences, University of the West Indies It is human nature to classify things and one way of doing this is by giving it a common name. This would be based on the organism’s appearance, habitat, or lifestyle. However, some common names do not accurately reflect the organism it is being used to describe. This is true of insects, one such insect is the Velvet ant. Despite its common name, Velvet ants are not true ants. That is to say they do not belong to the same family Formicidae but rather to the wasp family Mutillidae. But the term “velvet ants” refer to the wingless females which have body constrictions similar to ants and a dense covering of hairs, which may be in a variety of patterns consisting of red, yellow, orange, silver or golden. Males have wings and resemble wasps therefore it is difficult to differentiate the male and female of the same species unless collected during the act of mating. They range in size from about 0.05 to 2.5 cm, with males being larger than females and possessing wings. Where they are found can also indicate their gender. For instance, males are usually found feeding on flowers while females are usually seen running across open ground or less often across vegeVelvet ant tation and up tree trunks. Their diet consists mostly of nectar but females © 2007 Encyclopedia would consume bees and wasps. Britannica, Inc. Despite their “fuzzy” appearance they can deliver a powerful sting. With a stinger almost as long as its body, only the females have a stinger as it is doubles as an ovipositor used to lay eggs on the larvae of wasp and bees so when the ant larvae hatch they consume the larvae of the other species. But why do they have such a dense pelt of hairs in the first place? The hairs trap air between them providing the insect with insulation during periods of cold and reduce water loss via evaporation during high temperatures. This coating of hairs also provides them protection from wasp and bees when they invade their nests to lay eggs. Both males and females produce a squeaking sound to warn potential predators by rubbing a stridulating organ on their metasoma. They can also be considered romantics as the males literally sweep the females off their feet holding her with his jaws. Another insect with a misleading common name is the Ant Lion, which is actually reserved for the larvae of the order Neuroptera. Antlions get this common name because the larvae feed chiefly on ants. They can reach up to 1½ cm in length, where the males are slightly smaller than females. The larvae of some species hide under debris or bits of wood and attack passing prey. But some dig shallow pits mostly in sandy soil which we are most accustomed to seeing. On finding a suitable site these rough, wedge-shaped larvae will construct a funnel-shaped pit Ant lion usually 1-4 cm in diameter. The diameter of the funnel closely matches © 2007 Wikipedia.com the side of its resident which can range from 10-12 mm. This is done using its flattened head and the posterior end of its abdomen which is tapered to push and lift sand during the excavation process. Their bodies have bristles in conjunction with forward-directing claws, both of which help the animal to move backward through soil or anchor itself against forward motion. These pits may be confused with the entrances to leaf-cutting ants. However, the entrances to these nests are raised while that to the pits are flat and the perimeter is lined with a ring of loose sand. When ants or other small arthropods fall into the pit they are seized by Pit built by Ant lions the large jaws of the waiting larvae, which sucks the body fluids from its © 2007 Wikipedia.com prey before discarding its exoskeleton out of the pit. These pits can stay around for a long time as the larvae often fast and hibernate for extended period of time, so that larvae can take up to three years to fully develop. So what do the adults look like? They resemble adult damselflies with a few exceptions, like a softer body, pointed wings and shorter clubbed antennae when compared to other members of that order. Adults are rarely seen as they are active during the evening. So please, do not judge an animal by its common name.
MISSION STATEMENT
E
nvironment TOBAGO
conserves Tobago’s natural and living resources and advances the knowledge and understanding of such resources, their wise and sustainable use and their essential relationship to human health and the quality of life
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Environment TOBAGO newsletter Project L.E.A.P. – An Update Jahson Alemu
Bloody Bay Poison Frog (Mannophryne olmonae) Photo: Ryan Mannette
“Some amphibian biologists consider Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis as a major cause of population declines of amphibian species confined to most montane rain forests worldwide”
It has been a year since Project L.E.A.P., began the Bloody Bay Poison Frog project began in Tobago. The objectives of the project sought to assess or re-assess the conservation status of the Bloody Bay Poison Frog, by assessing the population density, the range of distribution, habitat requirements/preferences and threats facing the frog and its habitat. Surveys were also conducted to determine the presence of the chytrid fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd), the pathogen responsible for the amphibian disease chytridiomycosis and possible decline and extinction of amphibian species worldwide (Berger et al 1998). The chytrid fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) is the pathogen responsible for the amphibian disease chytridiomycosis. In areas such as Australia and Central America, chytridiomycosis is thought to be causing the decline of anurans (Berger, et al. 1998; Lips 1999); and may also be responsible for the loss of otherwise healthy animals (Daszak and Cunningham 1999). Some amphibian biologists consider Bd as a major cause of population declines of amphibian species confined to most montane rain forests worldwide (Daszak and Cunningham 1999; Weldon et al. 2004). Bd has been found in most amphibian populations on every continent, except for Asia: Africa, Australasia-Pacific, North America, and South America (Lips et al. 2003a; Weldon et al. 2004). To date, there has been limited assessment of the spread of the pathogen thoroughly in the Caribbean, but has been detected in countries such as Puerto Rico (Burrowes et al.2004) and Dominica (Fa et al. 2004)). Worldwide, extensive research is being done to track the spread and attempts have been made to curb the spread of the pathogen. Amphibian species likely to decline from Bd are stream-associated (McDonald and Alford 1999), endemic, have a large body size and occur at high elevations (Lips et al. 2003b). Habitat requirements, presence and initial population surveys were conducted across six major river systems (Louis D’Or River, King’s Bay River, Doctor’s River, Roxborough River, Bloody Bay River and Argyle River) and twenty-one minor water courses along the north-eastern coast between Bloody Bay and Charlotteville. The distribution and habitat requirements have been assess and incorporated into a Global Information System (GIS) for further spatial analysis. The Bloody bay Poison Frog was positively detected at five out of six major river systems, and fifteen of the twenty-one minor water courses. The range of distribution has not changed significantly since Hardy’s survey in 2004. Relative population densities varied from none to very abundant at various type localities. Probably one of the most interesting and alarming discovery during the last year was the positive detection of Bd on Tobago using the DNA analysis, Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR). Follow-up studies are currently being considered to determine the extent of the spread across Trinidad and Tobago. Project L.E.A.P. has made conservation education a major aim of this project and continues to work with schools. A series of posters has also been produced about the Bloody Bay poison frog, local biodiversity in Trinidad and Tobago, threats facing biodiversity and how everyday citizens can assist in conservation of the natural environment. And most recently, at the “Vanishing Species Symposium” in Tobago, local leaders in conservation biology and the relevant authorities were made aware of status of the Bloody Bay Poison Frog and the significance of the detection of Bd for Tobago. References Berger, L., Speare, R., Daszak, P., Green, D.E., Cunnningham, A.A., Goggin, C.L., Slocombe, R., Ragan, M.A., Hyatt, A.D., McDonald, K.R., Hines, H.B., Lips, K.R., Marantelli, G. and Parkes, H. 1998. Chytridiomycosis causes amphibian mortality associated with population declines in the rainforests of Australia and Central America. Proceedings of the National Academy of Science USA. 95:9031-9036. Burrowes, P.A., Joglar, R., Green, D.E. 2004. Potential causes for amphibian declines in Puerto Rico. Herpetologica. 60(2):141-154. Daszak, P. and A. A. Cunningham. 1999. "Extinction by infection." Trends in Ecology and Evolution 14(7):279 Fa, J., Hedges, B., Ibéné, B., Breuil, M., Powell, R. and Magin, C. 2006. Leptodactylus fallax. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Lips, K. R.1999. Mass Mortality and Population Declines of Anurans at an Upland Site in Western Panama. Conservation Biology.13(1):117-125. Lips, K. R., Green, D. E. and Papendick, R. 2003a. Chytridiomycosis in wild frogs from southern Costa Rica. Journal of Herpetology. 37(1):215-218. Lips, K. R., Reeve, J. D. and Witters, L.R. 2003b. Ecological traits predicting amphibian population declines in Central America. Conservation Biology. 17(4):1078-1088. McDonald, K. and R. A. Alford. 1999. A review of declining frogs in northern Queensland. Declines and disappearances of Australian Frogs. A. Campbell. Canberra, Environment Australia. 14-22. Weldon, C., du Preez, L. H., Hyatt, A.D., Muller, R. and Speare, R. 2004. Origin of the amphibian chytrid fungus. Emerging Infectious Diseases. 10(12): 2100-2105.
Volume I Issue3
Page 5
What is a Lek? Jo-Anne Nina Sewlal Dept of Life Sciences, University of the West Indies A lek is formed when males of a species gather for the purposes of competitive mating displays, which may be visual or vocal. They are established on a daily basis before and during the breeding season. Each male occupies a territory called a court within the lek. The same males occupy the lek every day in their respective territories. The head male or alpha-male gets to occupy the centre court while the males of lesser ranks, B-males occupy the central surrounding areas in the lek, and the subordinate males are scattered around the lek or occupy the boundary. Leks are usually formed by birds, which in Trinidad and Tobago would be the the white-bearded manakins (Manacus manacus) and the golden-headed manakins (Pipra erythrocephala). The number of individuals in leks formed by birds is usually 25 to 30. Males prepare and maintain the leks by removing any leaves or twigs on the forest floor in the selected area. Displays are held on the ground, on low branches or twigs and sometimes in the canopy Bird species that utilize leks, the males are not needed in terms of taking care of the young. Such species exhibit extreme sexual dimorphism; this means that the males and females do not look alike. The females are usually cryptic while the males are colourful and showy. There is also unequal breeding success between the sexes, since the males can impregnate Diagram showing locations of males in lek more females and in turn have more offspring. There are two main types of leks; the classical lek according to their status where the males are within sight of each other and ex- © 2007 Wikipedia.com ploded leks where the competitors are very far apart so that vocal signals are used, for example, male Hammer-head bats. So, besides birds other animals form leks, such as wasps and fish. The latter of which construct mounds of sand, the male who builds the tallest mound wins the female. But no matter the species the goal is the same, to attract females for the purpose of reproduction.
“Leks are established on a daily basis before and during the breeding season”
Environmental Degradation in Tobago (and Trinidad) – Part 3 A.B. Hilton Clarke It is no surprise that the illusion or delusion exists that the environment does not appear to belong to anyone in particular and no one authority visibly assumes its responsibility. Very few step forward to identify themselves with its protection and thus everyone assumes the environment is fair game to be used and /or abused at will, knowing that those concerned will be swamped by the lethargy and the self destructive suicidal inheritance of our inherently immature protective services, legal bottlenecks inherent penchant for paperwork and rewards for unaccountability. Daily, the environment continues to be visibly abused by squatters, roadside vendors, illegal temporary structures, deforestation, destruction of wetlands, false advertising and hoodwinking by major developers, sand and gravel mining, incompetence by the Town and Country Planning Division, Road and Agriculture and Health divisions . There is illegal fishing and hunting, illegal dumping of industrial waste, poor garbage disposal, no recycling, air pollution, an ineffective Bureau of Standards and above all an unprofessional Human Resource pool. Tobago is the ideal laboratory to implement new methods and to act as a hallmark to observe their results. One suggestion is to have a separate and distinct environment ministry supported and financed by international associations and personnel from foreign governments. Experts should be contracted for ten to twenty years from China, U. S. A. Indonesia, Israel, Pakistan, U. K. and Canada. We should establish a department of conservation at the University of the West Indies (UWI) and simultaneously reduce the importation quota on all foods that can be grown here by a ¼ every year for the next three years, catapulting us after the hue and cry to produce and grow more locally over a three year period. Hopefully, most of the land lying fallow will be utilized and efforts
“It is no surprise that the illusion or delusion exists that the environment does not appear to belong to anyone in particular and no one authority visibly assumes its responsibility.”
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“Responsibility seems to be the gene that is missing in most of our DNA”
Environment TOBAGO newsletter made to conserve water for the dry season crops. The result will be more employment, greater land utilization and lower food imports through an expanded, more efficient Agricultural Development Bank. Meanwhile, the government should declare a state of emergency on all matters pertaining to the environment. Cabinet should appoint a tribunal to deal with its implementation and control and have an international staffed regiment enforce accountability. What is really needed is a benign dictatorship to get things done immediately. But as it appears to be happening in the Tobago House of Assembly, to whom is a benign dictatorship responsible? And who is going to bell the individual little petty dictators? Usually people who are not qualified or learned tend to become critics and appear to enjoy mental orgasms from the swing of their monotonous voices. The government must offer a multitude of scholarships to fill appropriate voids and the successful recipients and their guarantees be held responsible or suffer the consequences. Meanwhile in the long run it would be more profitable, as should already be to bring experts to Trinidad and Tobago than to have officials at government expense go to the far corners of the earth to seminars and return unable to impart what they heard. We cannot expect solutions or build responsibility when the infant human animal observes both teachers and parents disagreeing among themselves about under whose authority discipline, honesty, morals, responsibility, ethics and remorse begins and ends. The result is an irreversible unstable psychological mental environment. With very few psychologically stable identifiable role models in government and public life to emulate. It’s a miracle that some of us get through the educational system as it exists, apparently sane and sober. Psychologist and psychiatrists are discussing the topic with increasing alarm and I strongly suggest that child psychiatrists psychologists be permanently employed by the education ministry and permanently attached to schools from the primary level through college and that the civil services and industrial arenas all proven areas of human interaction. Psychiatrists in Trinidad and Tobago psyche. Our education system therefore, so far seems to qualify the majority of us for honest employment and the government has no choice but to employ people who are looking for jobs but not necessarily work. People who only portray ambition, enthusiasm, dedication and fortitude when on the picket line for better working conditions, longer lunch periods more rest periods, no time-clocking in and out, moiré overtime, earlier retirement, health care etc, but never suggest compulsory High School Diplomas as per requirement. These idiosyncrasies are a clarion cry showing that the physical and mental environment and education are cloned as well as Siamese twins and the glaring absence of ethics, conservation, 21st century food production which should be compulsory subjects on the school curriculum. The immediate major hurdle of course, is who we going to get to teach these subjects? Using educational T.V to reach the masses qualified foreigners on a contract basis using community centres, schools, churches and temporary pre-fabricated halls. Has any company in Trinidad and Tobago been ever held responsible and penalized for industrial waste or admitted to indiscretion? Is there any such government department studying the effects of Industrial waste on the health of the population or even a branch of U.W.I students doing a study? Responsibility seems to be the gene that is missing in most of our DNA and I suspect that it has been replaced by a dominant gene for dishonesty and corruption. However, let us hope that it will re-appear spontaneously or if we get struck by lightening within the next five or six generations. The degradation should therefore be addressed by all parties concerned with alacrity, alarm and aggressiveness in all the other chronic national problems such as white collar crimes, poverty, drug abuse, alcoholism, pandemic psychological disorders, inherited or acquired. Overall the nation loses because the retired professionals with all this wisdom and experience are shelved or overlooked and thereby refuse to step forward because they are aware of the bureaucratic bedlam and bumbling and prefer to keep their council and retain and preserve what is left of their sanity. Because environmental conservation involves a sane, sober, mental and psychological state of mind in individuals and since most of us are not learned enough to constructively and logically contribute, we tend to resign ourselves to an apparently hapless situation and become expert critics.
Volume I Issue3
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Book Review: UNDER THE SHADE OF A COOLIBAH TREE Barry P. Moore 1978. Life on Forty Acres. Faringdon: E. Classey 184 pp. [Ninth in a series on "naturalist-in" books.] Christopher K. Starr Dept of Life Sciences, University of the West Indies Barry Moore was born in England in 1925, where he did his university degrees. He emigrated to Australia in 1958, where he had a successful career as a research chemist. In 1968 he bought a badly overgrazed 40-acre (16-ha) plot in the country outside of Canberra, named it Calosoma after a genus of conspicuous ground beetles (Carabidae), and set out to restore it. This attractive book is the account of Moore's first eight years at Calosoma, his observations of plants and animals, and his experiences in restoration ecology. It is illustrated with many of the author's drawings of plants and especially animals. The prose is sometimes rather belaboured, but one easily overlooks this amid the righteous material. At about 35ES, the area around Canberra lies between those latitudes with pronounced summer rains and those with winter rains. Annual rainfall is within the normal range for Trinidad & Tobago, but with a great deal of yearly variation and no regular seasonality. Rainless weeks are uncommon, and it is rare to go as long as two or three weeks with no rain at all. Still, occasional severe droughts are an important environmental factor. Allied with this is the danger of wildfires, as we occasionally hear in news from Australia. In such circumstances, one would expect the native biota to show marked adaptations to the possibility of fire, and this is an important theme in the book. Eucalypts, in particular, burn readily but also regenerate well after fire. Some plants are even dependent on periodic burning of their habitat in order to reproduce. At the same time, human activities have increased the incidence and severity of fires, so that it is no longer entirely a natural phenomenon. There is more to restoration ecology than protecting the land from further degradation and letting it heal itself. Moore listed the native plants from the area and used this as a guide in replanting. CSIRO, Australia's national research administration, had a field station adjoining his property, so that he had the benefit of expert advice. In addition, he actively removed introduced weeds and struggled to keep the numbers of that great pest of Australia's farmlands, the european rabbit, in check. There is much in this book about native wildflowers and when they appear, with attention to scientific names. The core of Moore's botany, though, is the chapter on "The Noble Gum" devoted to eucalypts. This group of over 700 species of trees and shrubs -- most in the genus Eucalptus is almost entirely native to Australia. They form the dominant vegetation over most of the continent and in a wide range of climatic conditions. Eucalypts tend to monopolize sunlight and soil water, and they litter the soil surface with their leathery dead leaves and bark, which inhibit the growth of other plants. For these reasons, they account for most of the native forest. Even so, they are almost never found in pure stands but with several species intermingled. Moore found seven species on Calosoma, with another five close by. Aside from eucalypts, marsupials are the group that springs to mind as characteristic of Australia. The gray kangaroo, Macropus giganteus, was common in Calosoma and the surrounding area. When Moore first moved there, he had a considerable struggle against poaching. One night, though, a hunter was shot dead by another, which sort of dampened their enthusiasm. It puts one in mind of the marvelous scene in Crocodile Dundee in which a kangaroo shoots back at a group of hunters. There are engaging remarks on some of the other mammals, especially two species of marsupial mice, Antechinus flavipes and A. stuarti. And -- most wonderful of all -- the short-beaked echidna Tachyglossus aculeatus, one of just five living species of monotreme mammals in the world, was fairly common in the area. We also find chapters on birds, herptiles and insects. The latter is rather narrowly conceived. It starts out with several pages on butterflies, a rather obvious choice, before turning to the group that really interests Moore: beetles. Even these are treated in a rather mundane fashion, so that if there is anything extraordinary about the beetle fauna of Australia or the Calosoma area it is not revealed. Various other orders are passed over in rather perfunctory fashion, but what really annoyed me was the treatment of termites. Australia is remarkable for its moundbuilding termites, yet in two pages on this order no particular genera or species are mentioned, and next to nothing is said about their nests.
The last chapter is about the uncertain future of the environment in and around Calosoma.
“There is more to restoration ecology than protecting the land from further degradation and letting it heal itself.�
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Environment TOBAGO newsletter
ACTIVITIES @ ET •
Annual General Meeting ET held its annual general meeting on July 18th 2007. It was there that our members were updated on the year long activities and projects. A snapshot of our financial status was given. Out of this came the obvious need to ardently pursue funding to maintain our operational expenses as current funds were insufficient. Our members were very responsive and made several suggestions which we hope will come to fruition soon. The year ahead promises to be financially challenging but with the help of members who wish to support and contribute, we can maintain our stewardship of Tobago’s environment.
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Expanding Membership In an effort to expand our membership, ET is trying to forge partnerships with Tour companies in Trinidad and Tobago to use as an incentive to join. Also, we have added a new component to our membership category: Corporate Membership. Organisations can now show their support by joining their entire staff at highly discounted rates.
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Summer Eco-Camp
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Tobago Wastewater Disposal System Improvement Programme: Pilot Project, Collette River, Charlotteville ET has completed Phase 1 of this project, which comprised the Charlotteville Household Survey. Ninety-five households were interviewed. The results and findings along with recommendations were submitted to the Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO) and will be used to inform Phase II of the project which will involve the selection of the most appropriate methods to treat grey and black water from these households.
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Tobago Coral Reef Mapping Ecosystems Project TCEMP ReefCheck SCUBA Award This course provides training in: • scuba diving (to PADI Advanced Open Water Certification) • identification of target marine life forms • conducting internationally recognized Reef Check global reef monitoring surveys • interpretation of survey data ET’s Project/Education Coordinator has completed this training.
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Participation in the Certificate of Environmental Clearance Process The Council of Presidents of the Environment (COPE) hosted the last training session at La Romain and involved an exciting field trip up the Godineau River and swamp. Both Hema Singh and Giancarlo Lalsingh attended this training in an effort to learn more about project development and the need for Environmental Impact Assessments where development is planned in close proximity to valuable wetlands.
Volume I Issue3
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Environment TOBAGO—Environmental and Services Map of Tobago This was published and distributed in June. They are excellent and will be published every two years. Requests for the maps can be made to ET office.
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Environment TOBAGO—Environmental and Services Map of Trinidad To be published by January 2008.
Thanks from ET We would like to acknowledge the following for their contribution to ET and sincerely express our gratitude: • Andy Roberts for stationary supplies Thanks to all our sponsors who contributed to our T-shirt project::
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Blue Waters Inn Tobago Medical Lab Healthfoods Specialists Ltd. BP Trinidad and Tobago LLC BHP Billiton Trinidad and Tobago Hilton Tobago Golf and Spa Resort Tobago Plantations Gold and Beach Resort
WHAT’S HAPPENING @ ET New Members
Environment TOBAGO t-shirts now available!!!
With a membership of 354 worldwide, ET welcomes the following members:
Contact office for details of sizes, colours and prices.
Ria Sooknanan-Maharaj Martin Miesowicz Sandra Roberts Marina Roberts Richelle Roberts Errol Roberts Kyawana Shaw-Abraham David and Diana Thomas
Volunteers needed! Persons who are interested in helping with cataloguing and filing of ET’s educational, research and operational material and archiving.
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Office:
Mailing address:
Environment TOBAGO newsletter
11 Cuyler Street Scarborough, Tobago, W.I. P.O. Box 503, Scarborough, Tobago, W.I.
Phone: 1-868-660-7462 Fax: 1-868-660-7467 E-mail: envirtob@tstt.net.tt
GUIDELINES TO CONTRIBUTORS Articles on the natural history and environment are welcome especially those on Trinidad and Tobago. Articles should not exceed approximately 1200 words (2 pages) and the editors reserve the right to edit the length. Images should be submitted as separate files. Submit material to any of the following: 1) jo_annesewlal@yahoo.com 2) envirtob@tstt.net.tt Deadline for submission of material for the 4th Quarter 2007 issue of the Bulletin is December 31st, 2007. We are on the web http://www.Environmenttobago.net
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