What does the Scientist Say? Read the Scientificlatest News! thEBAT! Meet
Tiny creatures that make a big difference
What are ISLANDS? ISLANDS?
Islands are pieces of land that are surrounded by water.
On our islands in the Dutch Caribbean, we are surrounded by the Caribbean Sea.
ISLANDS
SEA
ISLANDS
The islands share some of the same plants and animals, and some have their own special plants and animals.
CARiBBEAN
We all live On an island and these areas have similarities and di erences.
On these islands, we have natiOnal parks that are based on the land, and these are called terrestrial national parks. We also have protected areas like Ramsar Sites. Arikok National Park Washington Slagbaai National Park 1. Christo el National Park 2. National Park Rif St. Marie-Hermanus 3. Curaçao Rif Mangrove Park 4. Hato Caves Mt. Scenery National Park 1. Quill National Park 2. Boven National Park Ramsar Site Protected Area: Mullet Pond Aruba Bonaire Curaçao Saba St. Eustatius St. Maarten Souliga spider aruban whiptail lizard Mountain Mahogany Have you visited one of these national parks or protected areas before? Curaçao sabal palm Statia morning glory Endemic species... only live on certain locations such as a forest, island, or region. Here are endemic animals or plants on the Dutch Caribbean islands. ..
WINNER WINNER of the Drawing Competition from BioNews Kids: Issue 1 ! Theme: Why dO I love the Ocean? Julianna Hughs, 9 years old, Saba
Nature Creates Art In the photos, there are animals or plants that are magnified ....................................... ....................................... ....................................... ....................................... 1 2 3 4 can you match them to the right name? ACTIVITY! ACTIVITY! Lizard Skin Hummingbird Wing Butterfly Wing GreenLeaf ??
ife Of a Water Bird
Have yOu ever seen a Caribbean FlamingO On yOur island?
Have yOu ever seen a Caribbean FlamingO On yOur island?
Caribbean Flamingo is a large bird with orange pink feathers that live on mudflats, saline ponds, and coastal lagoons. This animal has been seen in Bonaire, Curaçao zand St. Maarten!
An adult flamingo lays 1 white chalky egg on top of a mud mound. Once the baby flamingo comes out of the egg, it is called a fledging. The fledging is taken care of by the flamingo parents until it is 6 years old!
The fledging will become a juvenile Caribbean Flamingo and has gray, white feathers. This is because they are still young and are not mature adults yet.
Once they become adult flamingos their feathers change colors, and they will either stay in the area or fly to mainland Venezuela to find more food!
Adult flamingos gain their pinkish orange color from their diet of shrimps, crabs and other small crustaceans! These small creatures have the same color as a carrot which is why an adult flamingo looks bright orange and pink!
BRINESHRIMP
ACTIVITY ACTIVITY
the A
Can you draw a to the matching pictures to complete
Life Of a Water Bird Red-billed Tropic Bird
feathers look di erent from the parents.
Though this bird nests on the land, it depends on the sea for its food! It likes to eat small fish and squid!
The chick has grey and fuzzy feathers with a short black tipped tail. The chick depends on the parents for food.
ACTIVITY ACTIVITY Can you draw a line to bring the Red-billed tropic bird to its rocky cliff? A red-billed tropic bird egg true to size!
Tiny Creatures That Big Difference Make a
Arachnids!
Arachnids are: spiders, scorpions, mites, and ticks.
Spiders...
... are cool animals, some of them make spider webs out of silk. These spider webs are sticky, and the spiders use them to catch their dinner!
If an insect, for example, a mosquito, flies into a spider web, it would get stuck on it and the spider will be able to eat it!
Yummy!
However, not all the spiders make spider webs. For example, the whiptail scorpion that can be seen on our islands, does not produce spider webs or any venom! Even though they look scary they will not hurt you!
Mommy scorpion
People confuse them with insects, but they are not!
Insects have 6 legs and wings, like mosquitos or flies. Arachnids have 8 legs and don't have wings.
Scorpions... invisible???
... are the biggest arachnids. They have enormous pincers. Do you know what a pincer is? They use them to grab their prey before injecting their venom. The venom is on the sting on its tail.
Contrary to the scorpions, dust mites are the smallest arachnids. You cannot see them with your naked eye because they are very small, but they are everywhere! They don’t eat other living beings, like spiders and scorpions do.
Now practice what you have learned! Find the hidden word in the bold rectangles by filling the answers to the clues in the puzzle. 1 2 3 4 5 1. Arachnid with poison on their tail. 2. Arachnids that you cannot see with your eyes. 3. Name of a harmless spider that does not make spider webs. 4. Animal with eight legs and no wings. There is a superhero with its name. 5. Animal with six legs and wings. Usually it gets confused with arachnids but is not! The hidden word is...
worry, i’m harmless! A whiptail scorpion
Don’t
New Beetles DiscOvered in the Dutch Caribbean!
What are some of the tiniest creatures that live on islands? Beetles!
Recently, scientists discovered 35 new beetle species for the islands of Saba and St. Eustatius!
Do you know what a beetle is? These bugs can be found in di erent places… have you ever seen a ladybug? That’s right, a ladybug is considered a beetle!
It is an insect with 2 sets of wings and plays an important role in breaking down natural waste and keeping other insects in check!
The scientists have visited Saba and St. Eustatius. They usually hike into di erent areas of the islands to look for beetles. Once they find the beetles, they record it and check if these beetles have been recorded before. If they have not seen them before, then they are added to the list!
News!
What does the Scientist Say? Read the latest Scientific
ss lad
March 1, 2022
Geiger tOrtOisebeetle
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Plastics are used regularly, and they can be found in our daily lives. Plastics are used to wrap food, transport items, and other uses. We can reuse plastics and one of them can be to create fun projects! Try this fun project of turning plastic into a toy car! Clean
wire fit the holes on the sides of the bottle. Push them in until you have enough of straw/stick/wire on each side of the bottle that can fit the bottle cap.
Your
Turn
Plastic into a
the Plastic bottle
bottle. Place 2 holes
each
the bottle
WHAT YoU WILL need: 1x Plastic Bottle 2x Plastic Straws or Sticks or Wire 4x Plastic Bottle caps Scissors 1 2
Take the wrapping o and clean it with soap and water. Dry the
on
side of
These holes should be parallel to this is where the axels of the car will go. The holes should be big enough to fit the straw/sticks or wire.
3 Toy Car!
Gather the 4 Bottle Caps
Gather the 4 bottle caps and make holes on the top of them. The holes need to fit the axels. These will be the wheels of your car.
Stick your wheels onto your axels
Place the bottle caps on to each end of the straws/sticks or wire.
Use the bottle lid to move the car
Make a hole in the middle of the bottle lid. Grab the string and make a knot at the end
4 5 6 7 Drive Your Car!
Why DO We Need Trees On Our Islands? COlOr Me!
Humans need oxygen and trees provide it.
Trees provide homes to many animals such as birds, bees, and insects.
Trees provide shade and keep temperatures cool.
Trees give us food
Trees protect the soil and can help avoid landslides.
Write a reason why trees are important on your
island!
JOhnstOne’s Tree FrOg Green Iguana Ruby-TOpaz Hummingbird Racer Snake COlOmbian FOur Eyed FrOg CuraçaO White-tailed Deer ANIMAL ID! ANIMAL ID! ANIMALS THAT LIVE ON LAND in the Dutch Caribbean
BARRY thE BAT! Meet
He is an animal that has wings, fur and can fly!
He lives in the caves of your island and loves to eat fruits. Barry will explain why bats are di erent to birds and why these creatures are amazing!
Bats and birds dO share sOme similarities.
Both like to eat fruits, nectar, insects, or even fish!
Birds use their eyes to see objects, but bats use sound to locate objects. Both animals can fly but birds have feathers and bats have fur.
Bats’ wings are made differently frOm birds’ wings.
Bats have short wings and have soft skin that connects to their fingers and legs.
It stretches between their long fingers.
Birds have wings but they are sti and made of feathers.
In the following pictures, canyou...
circle which ones are bats and cross out the ones that are birds?
A bat may lOOk like a bird, but they are different creatures!
COLOR BARRY THE BAT AND HIS HABITAT
About DCNA
The Dutch Caribbean Nature Alliance (DCNA) is a regional network of protected areas organizations, established in 2005 to support and assist the protected area management organizations (parks) within the Dutch Caribbean.
DCNA’S vision is to work for the parks and to help coordinate activities with other partners to ensure that protected area management organizations have the tools necessary to safeguard the islands’ biodiversity and promote the sustainable management of nature resources throughout the Dutch Caribbean.
Donate directly to Nature Education
Your support enables the educators at the parks to improve the nature education for children and ensure the future of nature in the Dutch Caribbean! Donations such as yours can go directly into supporting Junior Ranger programs on the islands.
by: Make a donation Go to dcnanature.org/donate Select the organization you want to support
DCNA’S activities are Generously supported
HEY ADULTS! Want to see your organization on one of the pages of BioNews Kids? Find out more information by contacting projects@dcnanature.org
DCNA’S Member Organizations
Scan me for puzzle answers:
