ET newsletter March-June 2016

E n viron men t TO BA GO n ewsl etter

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 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 News

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Articles

15

Ecology Notes

21

Book Review

23

What’s Happening @ ET

26

Notes to contributors

28

Environment TOBAGO

March/June 2016

Recognising our planet’s wetlands In recognition of World Wetland Day (WWD), February 2nd 2016, Environment TOBAGO (ET) teamed up with the Department of Natural Resources and the Environment (DNRE) in implementing an extended Wetlands Education Campaign spanning the entire month. Calls were sent out via radio and correspondence to schools, inviting the public (teachers in particular) to indicate their interest in participating in our educational wetlands tours. The responses from the targeted audiences far exceeded our expectations! The wetland tours for primary schools began on February 4th and continued until February 28th. Over this period, 16 school groups participated, directly benefitting a total of 845 students and 62 teachers (907 persons total).

The Wetland Tour included a guided educational exploration of four major wetland sites around Tobago, namely; Bon Accord/ Buccoo Wetland Complex, Kilgwyn, Petit Trou boardwalk and Lucy Vale wetland communities.

Each group of students were afforded the unique experience of walking through the mangrove forest/swamp via the Petit Trou boardwalk, while being treated to an engaging, illustrative presentation on mangrove ecology. Emphasis was placed on giving students a personal appreciation of the important role mangrove systems play in their lives, in that, they deliver valuable goods and services (food, recreation, water filtration etc.) which contribute to quality of life. To further enhance the learning experience, Barry Lovelace performed the song “Wetlands Work for Us”, in ex-tempo style (voice and guitar), to most groups. This song served aptly as a musical summary and ice breaker for the fun-filled learning experience.

We are grateful to the schools for responding so readily to our wetland campaign invitation, and to the professionals from DNRE and ET who happily

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March/June 2016 Editor: Jo-Anne Nina Sewlal Assistant Editor: Christopher K. Starr Design & Layout: Jo-Anne Nina Sewlal Technical Support: Jerome Ramsoondar Enid Nobbee Contributors: Barry Lovelace Bertrand Bhikarry Jo-Anne Nina Sewlal Christopher K. Starr Patricia Turpin Photographs: Environment TOBAGO Karl Phillips Stephen Broadbridge

Board of Directors 2012-2014 President:: Patricia Turpin Vice-President: Bertrand Bhikkary Secretary: Wendy Austin Treasurer: Shirley McKenna Other Directors: William Trim Hugh Baker Fitzherbert Phillips Renee Gift Andy Roberts Darren Henry Ken Biscombe Nathaniel Licorish

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came together to deliver this learning experience the students. Also, thanks to the various THA Departments, the Police Department and the Civilian Conservation Corps for willingly providing transportation to many of the groups, thus making this campaign possible.

The schedule for secondary school groups and the general public is still pending.

Some junior participants having fun

GEF CSO Network -ECW (Extended constituency workshop) Bertrand Bhikkary Environment TOBAGO

Environment Tobago is just back from the Global Environmental Fund’s Expanded Constituency Workshop for Civil Society Organisations which took place in Port of Spain during the week March 1st-4th. It provided a forum for members of the GEF-Civil Society Network to interact with counterparts, renew and form new ties with the various Political and Operational Focal Points (PFPs and OFPs) from Mesoamerica and the Caribbean Zones. Also and importantly, the ECW was intended to strengthen the Network’s relationship with GEF Secretariat itself.

The GEF-CSO Network is overseen by a Coordination Committee composed of focal points from different geographic regions and includes representative of Heads of Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) and Indigenous People’s Organizations (IPOs). The focal point position usually defaults to the incumbent Chairs or President though it could be any person who has capability to work on their organisation’s behalf. The Network came about as a result of a GEF Council decision to establish a formal dialogue and partnership between NGOs worldwide and the GEF Secretariat, the GEF Council, the GEF Assembly and its various partner agencies. The GEF-CSO Network comprises GEF- Workshop participants enjoy a fieldtrip to Asa Wright accredited organizations whose work Nature Centre

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in environment and sustainable development is aligned with the GEF mandate and was formalised in May 1995. GEF funded projects of the Network are supervised by a global Coordinating Committee led by an elected Chair and Vice Chair and supported by a Secretariat.

Was presence at this year’s Caribbean ECW worth it for civil society in general and for ET in particular? Indeed. As luck would have it, Environment Tobago currently occupies the post of Civil Society Liaison for the Mesoamerica Caribbean Network.

While the title is largely decorative, it provides formal access to the GEF Secretariat through the liaison construct for discussion matters relating to the region’s needs. This year Environment Tobago led the argument that GEF SGP aside from the usual, may want to consider project funding for NGO’s implementing a common project under a single disbursement to the group - as opposed to providing means solely for home-soil projects or only funding regional projects for those considered too big to fail (like the FAO). The underlying thinking to this suggestion was drawn from two considerations: A - Civil Society in the Caribbean and the wider region are notorious for their inability to communicate meaningfully on cross-cutting issues and B – they need to work together with a common and achievable short-term goal to solve same. CARICOM was used as the example of the region not getting its act together.

With that in mind the idea was discussed during the first morning of the ECW. At session’s end it was resolved that a small project be deployed regionally among the Meso Caribbean Network objectifying: One - collaboration on a common goal, Two – Solution, even in part, of a regional problem. The idea proved prescient when the 1st joint session of the CSOs, PFPs and OFPs convened later on as even the Secretariat conceded that uniting the region (zone) has always been problematic when addressing cross-boundary issues.

ET's Conservation efforts ET's Team-director Andy Roberts, VP Bertrand Bhikarry, Research Officer -Sabriyah Muhammad, Beekeeper Goodman Solomon on a beekeeping assessment to ET's conservation land at GreenhillMt. St. George) observe that Warners Quarry-Illegal operation is encroaching on our reserve. EMA action will be taken.

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Environment TOBAGO newsletter

Happy 240th Birthday Main Ridge Rainforest!

This year is the 240th anniversary since the Main Ridge Rainforest has been "legally protected" and four years since the International Day of Forests which was established by resolution of the United Nations General Assembly. ‘Forest Day’ is now recognized on March 21st each year. But as ET always asks; Are T&T’s forests or its reefs for that matter, any better off since Stephen Hale’s day, and despite the various International Days spawned by the global community? Given what we know the answer is ‘Certainly not’. That situation may change though in the next five years.

Here’s why.

Trinidad and Tobago has successfully secured funding from the Global Environment Fund to rollout a program that will deliver these objectives: • Development of national legislation for wildlife conservation, national parks and other protected areas • Development of a national protected areas system plan • Designation of five (5) areas in the new protected areas system • One hundred (100) members of staff for the new National Forest and Protected Areas Management Authority (NFPAMA) • The NFPAMA trained in current best practices in protected areas management and biodiversity conservation • Development of an ecological research and monitoring programme to guide protected areas management • Implementation of a public education and awareness programme • Development of Management Plans for the five (5) pilot protected areas site • Visitor facilities upgraded and maintained • Upgrade of equipment for protected activities • Identification and rehabilitation of degradation in the five (5) pilot protected areas • Establishment and development of operational modalities for the National Forest and Protected Areas Fund • Seventy (70) members of staff of the new NFPAMA trained in the operation of the new financial system • Twenty-five (25) senior staff and protected areas managers trained in budget planning, tourism revenue management and innovative financing techniques • Development of a strategic plan for sustainable financing of the system of protected areas • Development of a system of user fees which is to be piloted and operated in two (2) protected areas The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (UN/FAO) will oversee Improving Forest and Protected Areas Management (IFPAM) program along these lines. ET’s involvement is to essentially represent the Tobago stakeholder for fair and sustainable use of the designated resources, ensuring too that nature is not irreversibly disturbed. Read more at the Ministry’s blog.

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A panel on Future Role of the GEF in Convention Implementation was co-moderated by Patricia Turpin, RFP Caribbean, and Victor Kawanga, RFP Southern Africa. Turpin said GEF activities supportive of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), Stockholm. The Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs), Minamata Convention on Mercury and Montreal Protocol on Substances that deplete the Ozone Layer also focused on the 17 SDGs implementation.

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Patricia Turpin at the GEF 50 council meeting-Washington 3rd to 9th June, 2016.

“ To many p eopl e t hes e tall pea ks make fo r a c hallen ging b ut s cenic hike. B u t t hey a re not jus t a no the r t all m oun tain to climb . ”

Events attended by ET      

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Jan 21- Bhp Billiton consultation for EIA- block 23 NE Tobago attended by Wendy Austin Feb 12- data meeting- Meteorological Division attended by Sabriyah Muhammad Feb 23- Launch "Undersea Garden" for Tourism-Cropper Foundation Climate project attended by Wendy Austin Emergency Water meeting-WASA attended by Wendy Austin Mar 15- Consultation with Kairi Consultants- UNCCD-NAP renewal attended by Bertrand Bhikarry and Sabriyah Muhammad, Mar 16 and 17- Capacity training workshop  Climate change projects  Conservation International and Bhp Billiton attended by Bertrand Bhikarry, Sabriyah Muhammad, Andy Roberts, Barry Lovelace and Ryan Allard.

Mar 21-26—MEI-Monitoring and evaluation workshop on regional frame work for the achieving development resilient to Climate Change attended by Bertrand Bhikarry.

Mar—Meeting with EMA-CBD Unit for GEF reporting on T&T NBSAP.

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Environment TOBAGO newsletter

Tobago's Wildlife

Top row (left to right): Anhinga and Frigate bird (Photos by Karl Phillips) Middle row (left to right): Red-billed Tropic Bird and Green Iguana (Photos by Karl Phillips and Stephen Broadbridge Bottom row (left to right): Agouti and Great Black Hawk (Photos by Karl Phillips)

ET's Strategic Planning session as part of the Climate Change project with Canari/ Bhp Billiton and Conservation International

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ARTICLES Minding Trinidadian Business in Tobago Bertrand Bhikkary Environment TOBAGO In February 2013 the Tobago News published a letter penned by Ian Lambie offering reasons why Trinidadians living here should shut up when Tobagonians choose to do their thing against the environment. Today if Mr. Lambie had to do it again he’d probably want to reverse his stand – and instead ask Tobagonians to close their eyes to the transgressions Trinis make chasing their various ambitions here.

Indeed the clearing works down at beachfront of Petit Trou is a prime example of non-Tobagonian environmental abuse – which also and incidentally, flies in the face of a world totally accepting that wetlands are critically important to the survival of a whole range of plants and animals, elements of the matrix loosely acknowledged as nature’s services.

The rape of beachfront goes beyond the mere well-being of a few individuals, it absolutely affects the wider population. As climate change projections show, Tobago simply can not afford to play fast and loose with the shoreline, especially in the sensitive low -lying southern area. The Petit Trou coastal zone in particular provides several key functions for Tobago. It affords the Lowlands community protection from the big swells the storms of the future will. Its bolsters the Old Milford Road with ‘green’ character – important for tourism, and it provides an outlet for people just wanting to walk a Beachfront clearing - Petit Trou Beach, Southern long sandy beach after a hard day’s Tobago work. So to see the coastal fringe down at Lambeau/Lowlands disappear because of someone’s idea of ‘development’ is a sad situation, worsened by the knowledge that the first storm that hits will obliterate whatever they put there anyway.

However, Tobagonians are not totally devoid of blame for the Petit Trou situation (or others like it). They’ve always known how to avoid taking care of nature – despite being so close to it. In his complaint 3 years ago Mr. Lambie showed concern about the lack of regard for birds (and the other wildlife species) that fill up the traditional Tobago harvest and weekend pots. He didn’t come right out and say it, but his implications were clear – nature here is a very secondary consideration as far as local appetites go.

Not that Petit Trou doesn’t contribute to satisfying the Trini palate too. It does. Think crab and dumpling. At a conservative estimate Tobago sells about 2000 plates of curried crab a day during the months of July and August, and about the same

“ H o w e v e r , Tobagonians are not totally devoid of blame for the Petit Trou situation.”

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Environment TOBAGO newsletter

during the Easter holidays - that’s 4000 meals at $60 a plate. With just its crab potential therefore, Petit Trou can be a key contributor to an aspect of local economy worth well over $250,000 – adding the value of the catch sold for Sunday lunch and Harvest feasts. It’s a sum substantially more than the taxes collected by the Tobago House of Assembly each year. So, even if it’s just for strengthening our crab industry alone, Petit Trou should be valued as an asset.

Given all of the above, you’d think the guy presently cutting down the trees at Petit Trou would have the good sense (and public spirit) to leave the land there fallow, encourage the stock of crabs he inherited, sell some of the mature males after the breeding season and just lay back and enjoy on of Tobago’s most scenic beaches. Odds are he will not - Trinis in paradise will always destroy it in their quest to ‘make business’. Actually, if Ian Lambie was the one writing this, he’d definitely have more to say on conservation best and bad practice, poor Trini and Tobagonian stewardship – we aren’t all that different in our indifference. Then again judging by the lack of letters he’s off, gone from these shores. That probably, is the biggest statement of all.

Introducing the UN’s Adaptation Policy Framework: Because we need to think about survival in the days to come.

Bertrand Bhikkary Environment TOBAGO

“Some impacts of the change are already visible others can be felt.”

Global climate is undergoing a forced change, this is due in large part to people-induced carbon dioxide injection into the atmosphere. As such for the next 10,000 years or so, the average temperature will be at least 5° Celsius more than it was at the start of the industrial era – when steam revolutionised the way things were powered. And it may probably get even hotter if the promises made by the 195 countries last December (to cut back on their emissions) aren’t kept. Actually the UN convened Paris Agreement needs more than mere promises, it needs intense commitment at the country level – that’s all countries working together if climate change is to be kept at bay.

Some impacts of the change are already visible others can be felt. Rain is now more erratic, the icecaps and glaciers are melting, sea levels are rising and extreme weather events are almost accepted as normal. Accompanying this change are the droughts and floods, even the climatic zones are shifting. However these facts do not stand alone, they severely impact many sectors, especially challenge the livelihood and food security of the communities who get to meet them face-toface. In short, climate change will affect the path to sustainable development. It shall also impact on developing and poor communities more directly than it does the richer developed nations - who for now can boast of many and diverse income

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streams.

Standing as it does in the former group, Trinidad and Tobago will not escape unscathed. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in its 5th Assessment Report asserts “Latin America and the Caribbean are especially at risk - due in large part to the expected extreme weather events the higher temperatures will bring”. Tobago notably, lying as it does inside the Atlantic’s ‘Hurricane Alley’ stands to be affected directly, perhaps more so than bigger, more developed Trinidad. It stands to reason therefore that the Tobago House of Assembly, the body responsible for managing the prospects of the Tobagonian community, prepare a comprehensive adaptation response that takes into account the impact of climate change on property, natural environment and quality of life.

Adaptation is actually Tobago’s default position. Mitigation, though useful as a medium or far term response, hardly makes sense given the island’s small size, tiny emissions count – not to mention its dependence on nature-based sun sea and sand tourism. As concerns the national timetable - which the THA does not necessarily concern itself with in the day-to-day, what has evolved is a ‘sharing’ of the tasks to do with the sustainable development policy. In practice Trinidad does the lion’s share of mitigating, along with taking adaptive measures for its own ‘at risk’ communities – and Tobago focusses on adaptation, where and if.

This Tobago beach will protect our shores against climate change.

What are we doing to protect it?

This hardly addresses the core problem. Tobago is already exposed to climate change threats – which for now seem to be ‘mere’ variations in climate but are in fact linked to bigger events: To refer once more to the 5th IPCC Report, “risks associated with extreme weather events will further increase with rising temperatures”. The upshot is, its high time Tobago takes adaptation into its daily calendar. The strategy if it exists is not evident on the ground. Some aspects have been alluded to in the Comprehensive Economic Plan 2.0 (CEDP 2), but only as means to secure Tobago’s cash cow – tourism. This may be understandable to a degree, it is a focussed piece of work. What is needed now how-

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“Latin America and the Caribbean are especially at risk - due in large part to the expected extreme weather events the higher temperatures will bring.”

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“Some impacts of the change are already visible others can be felt Tobago notably, lying as it does inside the A t l a n t i c ’ s ‘Hurricane Alley’.”

Environment TOBAGO newsletter

ever is a more detailed approach if Tobago intends to keep its pledge to the Paris Agreement (the House of Assembly became committed by proxy when Port of Spain signed). And with Climate Change the devil is in the details. Adaptation will not be an ad-hoc measure or a series of same.

Adaptation is a process by which individuals, communities and countries seek to cope with the consequences of climate change, including variability. The process of adaptation is not new: Throughout history people have always been adapted to changing conditions, including the natural long-term changes in climate. What is innovative is the idea of incorporating future climate risk into policy-making – which then determines what residents of a place may or may not do. Although understanding of climate change and its potential impacts has become clearer, the availability of practical guidance on adaptation to climate change has not kept pace. This led to the creation of the UN's Adaptation Policy Framework (APF). The APF seeks a flexible approach through which communities can clarify their own priority issues and implement responsive adaptation strategies, policies and measures. Also, knowing the background helps to keep things in context. The United Nations Development Programme – Global Environment Facility (UNDP-GEF), with support from the Swiss, Canadian and Dutch governments, developed the APF as an innovative set of guidance for the development and implementation of adaptation strategies. The APF therefore aims to help countries as they integrate adaptation concerns into the broader goals of national development. Ultimately, its purpose is to support the adaptation processes, to protect and when possible enhance human well-being in the face of climate change.

A key component within the Framework is assessing current climate risk – one of the seven exercises. The others are; Assessing future risk, Assessing current and changing socio-economic conditions, Assessing vulnerability for climate adaptation, Formulating an adaptation strategy, Continuing the adaptation process, and Scoping and Designing an adaptation project.

In the Tobago’s case the THA cannot go wrong with starting the local Climate Change Adaptation battle by conducting a series of vulnerability assessments across the board. The exercise ‘merely’ requires some geographic information - mapping with analysis, interviews or feedback from all the stakeholders. For example THA’s own Public Works Division could bring us up to speed on the integrity of the island’s rivers, drains, culverts beaches and other natural defences (like watersheds). These are things that variations in the climate will stress out. A value-chain analysis can also be used to suss out the ability of Tobago-based businesses, knowing where they stand can only help to identify where they need help. Granted the above is hugely simplified, but it’s well within local capacity to conduct. Then again this may be the time to stick the proverbial pin - a vulnerability assessment modelled on the APF cannot make management decisions for the Tobago House of Assembly. What it does, is help with strategising, prioritising and allocating resources to assist the island’s more vulnerable communities. And that’s not bad management, is it?

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ECOLOGY NOTES Food strainers – what is filter feeding?

Jo-Anne Nina Sewlal Dept of Life Sciences, University of the West Indies Food is a vital resource needed for survival and all organisms cannot survive without nourishment. However, just as there is diversity in organisms and the habitats they are found in, the way they feed is just as varied. One method of feeding is through filter feeding which simply means that the organisms strains its food. This method is very simple and is found from single-celled organisms up to mammals. This article will briefly look at this method of feeding and how it is implemented in a variety of animals.

Let us first look at a simple organism, such as a single celled protist. Ciliates are an example, and are so called because their membrane covered in microscopic hairs called cilia. These beat and draw small particles toward the organism’s mouth.

Sponges are an example of a more advanced organism that utilises filter feeding. Where the lining of their opening are covered with special cells called “collar cells”. These cells have a very long flagellum which resembles a long thing hair that moves from side to side and draw water through tiny pores called ostia. Special cells in the wall of the of the pores filter the food from the water as it passes.

Baleen whales are an example of how more highly evolved organisms utilise filter feeding. One would assume that an animal of that size would feed on other large animals. But on the contrary, they actually feed on numerous crustaceans called krill, other crustacean species and small fish. They are called Baleen whales since they possess a special structure called a baleen. When the whale opens its mouth, one can see the baleen which looks similar to the teeth of a comb. The whale would take in a mouthful of water while the krill and other small seafood sticks to the baleen which the whale licks off with its tongue.

As one moves up the animal groups, a more advanced animal that uses filter feeding includes bivalves, such as clams and oysters. When one splits open the shell of these animals, a prominent feature are a pair of large gills. This is quite unusual since such structures are associated with very active organisms, as they are used to obtain oxygen from the surrounding water. In an hour a typical bivalve pumps water equivalent to about 30-60 times its own volume into the mantle cavity and out again.

It passes over the gills, where particles are captured, moved by cilia to the ventral edges and along food grooves to be transferred to labial palps and then to the mouth.

Particles undergo sorting along this route, with useless ones discarded and useful ones moved along toward the mouth.

Filter feeding is an example of the intricacy of evolution, where the simplest of mechanisms is utilised by both simple and complex organisms. In other words, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.

“an example of where the simplest of mechanisms is utilised by both simple and complex organisms. In other words, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. ” “ To many p eopl e t hes e tall pea ks make fo r a c hallen ging b ut s cenic hike. B u t t hey a re not jus t a no the r t all m oun tain to climb . ”

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Environment TOBAGO newsletter

IN THE NEW NEW WORLD Philip Henry Gosse 1851. A Naturalist's Sojourn in Jamaica. London: Longman, Brown, Green & Longmans 508 pp. (Online at the Internet Archive.)

[Forty-second in a series on "naturalist-in" books; see www.ckstarr.net/ reviews_of_naturalist.htm ] Christopher K. Starr Caura Village, Trinidad ckstarr@gmail.com

“Gosse's subject was the living organism in its natural habitat.�

Philip Henry Gosse (1810-1888) was born in England into insecure circumstances. His early life was marked by hardship and often dire poverty. Because he had to go to work at an early age, Gosse had little formal schooling. However, there was much reading and writing at home at a time when the British working class was becoming increasingly literate and publishing was an expanding industry.

Gosse was physically sound and a thorough field naturalist, never happier than when out collecting and observing. He continued his excursions almost to the end of his life. He was a proficient writer of both popular science books and original natural history, illustrated with his own precise drawings and plates. His son, Edmund Philip Henry Gosse in 1855 Gosse (1890, 1907), wrote two biographical accounts of P.H. Gosse, whom he said was "less in sympathy with the literary and scientific movement of our age than, perhaps, any writer or observer of equal distinction."

In 1832, at the age of 22, Gosse underwent a sharpening of his overall outlook that included a desire to devote himself to both natural history and religion. His life from that point was marked by definite purpose, and as expected his writings were firmly in the natural-theology tradition. He became a stalwart of the Plymouth Brethren, whom his son called "a byword of bigotry and unlovely prejudice." They were regarded by the general public of that time much as the Jehovah's Witnesses are today, although with less warmth.

This all makes Gosse sound like a dreadfully compromised naturalist, yet that is far from the case. His observations were rigorous and reliable, as evidenced by his correspondence with Charles Darwin, who utilized some of Gosse's observations in the service of his theory of evolution. For his part, Gosse -- although a bib-

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lical literalist committed to the special creation of all species -- remained in fruitful communication with Darwin even after the appearance of On the Origin of Species.

Likewise, his scientific attitude was solid.

This latter is seen in his approach to the lock-andkey explanation of insect genitalia. It had often been remarked that these tend to be both complex (at least on the male side) and species-specific, so that in principle one could identify species in many groups according to genitalia alone. This gave rise to the hypothesis -- widely accepted until recently -that species specificity provides a mechanical guard against wasteful false mating. Even as he endorsed this attractive idea, Gosse (1883) noted that it still required scientific demonstration. He was not about to rest on the idea (central to religious reaPhilip Henry Gosse in 1857 with his soning) that if it feels right it must be true. son Edmund Gosse's subject was the living organism in its natural habitat. At the same time, he often took animals into captivity in order to study them better. He was in open revolt against the excessive attention of his time to dead museum specimens, disregarding the living animal.

This is not to suggest that he despised taxonomy, just that he recognized its limitations, especially with respect to tropical animals. Given the state of information at the time, Gosse did a remarkably good job of identifying species and was careful to give scientific names, even of the species mentioned only in passing. He even described several new species.

As a young man, Gosse made two trips to North America, first to Newfoundland and Québec (Gosse 1840) and then to Alabama (Gosse 1859). During 1844-1846 he spent 18 months in Jamaica, an island that he had chosen because it was biotically little known. Like Henry Walter Bates and Alfred Russel Wallace a decade later (see reviews 30 and 31), he aimed to finance his visit through the sale of specimens to private collectors and public institutions.

There had been one earlier major natural-history effort in Jamaica. In a 15month effort starting in 1687, Hans Sloane (1707, 1725) had collected about 800 species of plants, mostly new species. Sloane's personal collections later formed the nucleus of the British Museum (Natural History).

As expected, Jamaica was a rich hunting ground for Gosse, and he established a daily collecting routine. During the early period he was impressed by one novelty after another on a daily basis. His main attention was to the birds, leading to a book (Gosse 1847) that brought knowledge of the birds of Jamaica to a new level, including definite records of almost 200 species. The present book, then, is mainly about animals other than birds.

In another respect, Jamaica was a disappointment. He did not find the expected profusion of large and showy lepidoptera and beetles, which actually seemed less abundant than in Newfoundland and Alabama. Even so, unlike Newfoundland and Alabama, Gosse actually liked Jamaica.

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“As expected, Jamaica was a rich hunting ground for Gosse.”

“ To many p eopl e t hes e tall pea ks make fo r a c hallen ging b ut s cenic hike. B u t t hey a re not jus t a no the r t all m oun tain to climb . ”

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Bluefields Estate

Even so, he was socially quite isolated. He knew no other naturalist in the island except Richard Hill, a magistrate and native Jamaican in Spanish Town, who provided many personal communications. This book is by Gosse "assisted by Richard Hill".

“He knew no other naturalist in the is land excep t Richard Hill, a magistrate and native Jamaican in Spanish Town.“

He stayed at Bluefields, a former sugar estate near the shore in the southwest of the island and about eight kilometers from the summit of Bluefields Mountain. The mainstay of Jamaica's economy, the sugar industry, had been in decline since before 1800, so that during Gosse's visit plantation society was in a state of advanced decay. Very shortly afterward it was ruined by removal of the preferential tarif on sugar. Slavery had been abolished a decade earlier. Bluefields was neglected and largely allowed "to resume the original wildness of nature". It was bad for the owners, but it suited Gosse's purposes very well.

A Naturalist's Sojourn in Jamaica is in the form of a diary. The 84 chapters bear titles such as "Bluefield Mountain", "Sea-Urchins", "The Venus Lizard", "The Pond Turtle", "Periodical Rain", "The Brush-Footed Spider", "A Swarm of Dragon Flies", "The Red Hairy-Tailed Bat", "The Liguanea Mountains", "Nocturnal Forest Sounds", "Gregarious Trees". These amount to a few long essays and a great many short ones. The method -- seen in some other naturalist-in books -- is to begin with a particular observation on a given date, then to expand and generalize.

As an example, the description of a large estate house leads to an enumeration of the wild creatures living in it. Among other topics to illustrate his range: the lizard Thecadactylus laevis re-growing its tail, the red hairy-tailed bat Lasiurus rufus and great-eared leaf bat Macrotus waterhousei, yellow boa Chilabothrus inornatus and the incubation of its eggs, colour changes and the display of the dewlap in anoles, the orb web of Argiope argentata, the beetle Pyrophorus noctilucus with conspicuous glow spots on the thorax and abdomen, the abundant arboreal colonies of Nasutitermes, the Conurus flaviventer nesting in old Nasutitermes nests, rain-fly swarms and the process of dealation, the calabash tree Crescentia cujeto as a host of epiphytes, the sting of a scorpions (with a clinical description of the pain and other symptoms), and wild hogs, including hunting and cooking them. He was rhapsodic about tree ferns, while analyti-

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cal at the same time. I regret that he seems never to have encountered the endemic iguana, Cyclura collei.

It bears mention that Gosse's description of nesting by a solitary wasp (Sphex sp.) indicates that her prey is not dead but disabled. This presaged Fabre's (1855) demonstration that the prey is paralyzed by stinging.

Gosse's fine sense of landscape is seen not only both in the text and some of the eight full-page plates. The extensive index is an indication of seriousness.

His prose is often either vivid or purple, depending on how you look at it. Here, you can decide for yourself: "The wild scream of the Kildeer Plover is suddenly heard, and up springs a flock of these birds, which wheel in swift flight around the traveler's head, and alight close to their first station. In the rushy shallows of the stream the stately form of the Snowy Gaulin is seen, deliberately wading hither and thither; or watching, motionless and silent, for his aquatic prey. Plump Peadoves, with large liquid gentle eyes, walk about on the turf beneath the pimento trees, picking up the fallen fruit, or the seeds of papilionaceous weeds; and now and their reiterated cooing, a very soft and mournful sound, comes from the bordering woods, falling gently and soothingly on the ear."

Gosse never returned to the tropics, even as he remained an important and engaging English naturalist. That is worth another book review.

References Fabre, J.H. 1855. Observations sur les moeurs des Cerceris et sur la cause de la longue conservation des Coléoptères dont ils approvisionnent leurs larves.

Ann. Sci. nat., Zool. (4) 4:129-50.

Gosse, E. 1890. The Life of Philip Henry Gosse F.R.S. London: Kegan, Paul, Trench, Trübner 387 pp.

Gosse, E. 1907. Father and Son: Biographical Reflections. New York: Charles Scribner 355 pp.

Gosse, P.H. 1840. The Canadian Naturalist: A Series of Conversations on the Natural History of Lower Canada. London: J. Van Voorst 372 pp.

Gosse, P.H. 1847. The Birds of Jamaica. London: J. Van Voorst 447 pp.

Gosse, P.H. 1859. Letters from Alabama (U.S.), Chiefly Relating to Natural History. London: Morgan & Chase 306 pp.

Gosse, P.H. 1883. On the clasping-organs ancillary to generation in certain groups of the Lepidoptera. Trans. linn. Soc. London, Zool. (2) 2:265-345.

“Bluefields was neglected and largely allowed "to resume the original wildness of nature".”

Environment TOBAGO newsletter

Page 16

WHAT’S HAPPENING @ ET

Environment TOBAGO Environmental and Services Map of Tobago

ET is now on Facebook and Twitter We invite everyone on Facebook to join. Here we will post upcoming events, links, photos and videos on ET matters and other environmental issues.

ET group link: http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/ group.php?gid=53362888661&ref=ts And keep up to date on what we are up to by following us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/environ_tobago

They are excellent and will be published every two years.

Published in January 2008. Requests for these maps can be made to ET office.

Volunteers needed!

Persons who are interested in helping with cataloguing and filing of ET’s educational, research and operational material and archiving.

New Members

ET has a membership of 429 worldwide, ET welcomes the following members:

Denise Phillips

Literature Available

The Tropical Rainforest of Tobago — The Main Ridge Graham Wellfare and Hema Singh Published by Environment TOBAGO pp 37 Price: TT120.

Environment TOBAGO newsletter

Page 17

Environment TOBAGO t-shirts and caps now available

Type: Polos Size: Small, Medium & Large Price: TT$150.00 Colours: Kelly green, royal blue, red, gold and ash grey Description: ET logo embroidered on left breast, sponsor’s logo printed on the back.

Type: Regular tees Size: Small, Medium & Large Price: TT$100.00 Colours: Kelly green, red, black, navy blue, ash, purple, royal blue and black forest Description: ET logo printed on front and sponsor logos on sleeves at the back centre

Type: Lady’s tees Size: Small & Medium Price: TT$100.00 Colours: Lime green, red and black Description: ET logo printed on front and sponsor logo at the back centre

Price: TT$120.00

Orders can be made through the office.

Products featuring artwork from Rainforest Education & Awareness Programme

Tote bags-TT$120

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Postcards TT$15 per card or TT$100 for a pack of Drawstring bags-TT$130

Environment TOBAGO newsletter

Page 18

READERS’ FORUM Dear ET Newsletter Readers, Office:

11 Cuyler Street Scarborough, Tobago, W.I.

Mailing address:

P.O. Box 503, Scarborough, Tobago, W.I.

Phone: 1-868-660-7462 Fax: 1-868-660-7467 E-mail: envir@tobago.net

We want to hear from YOU! Comments may be edited for length and clarity.

Send your comments to: joannesewlal@gmail.com or envir@tobago.net

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) joannesewlal@gmail.com 2) envir@tobago.net

We are on the web http:// www.Environmenttobago.net

Deadline for submission of material for the 3rd Quarter 2016 issue of the Bulletin is September10th, 2016.