Caribbean

Assessing Barbuda’s Ecosystems

by Ayana Elizabeth of Waitt Foundation

Before making changes to ocean management, it helps to know something about the status of living creatures and ecosystems you’re trying to use sustainably. So, nine marine biologists* (plus me makes ten) descended on Barbuda in May to conduct an ecological assessment of the fish, coral, lobster, conch, and water quality within 3 miles of shore. This was part of the Waitt Foundation’s Barbuda Ocean Initiative, which aims to use ocean zoning plus fisheries management to achieve sustainable, profitable, and enjoyable use of ocean resources.

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International Recognition for National Parks in The Dutch Caribbean

At the end of October 2012 the Bonaire National Marine Park’, the ‘National Park The Quill/Boven op St. Eustatius’ and the ‘National Park Sababank’ were recognized as areas of special interest for the Caribbean region. This happened during a meeting in the Dominican Republic for the sixteen countries which are associated to the Caribbean decree for protection of special areas and spies, the SPAW Protocol.

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Climate Change

In a detailed account of a long-term project in the southern Caribbean, a Stony Brook professor, Dr. Gordon Taylor, and his colleagues report in this week’s Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences how tropical ecosystems are also affected by global climatic trends – and with accompanying economic impacts.

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(Source: repeatingislands.com)

Petition: ‘Protect Dying Coral Reefs in the Caribbean’

Coral reefs, some of the most awe-inspiring spectacles on Earth are dying at a truly alarming rate in the Caribbean Sea. In fact, now more than ever we are in danger of losing these marvelous and diverse ecosystems. Unless swift and decisive steps are taken to protect and preserve the coral reefs the possibility of them fading from the Earth could become a reality.

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Saving Coral Reefs in Barbados

Barbados needs to act now to save its coral reefs!

Marine Biologist at the Coastal Zone Management Unit (CZMU), Angelique Brathwaite, said the reality is that the situation regarding the island’s coral reefs is now “dire”, and all sectors need to come together to save them. “Our coral reefs are in serious trouble. Most of the ecosystem services provided by coral reefs such as protection and reef fish habitat could be lost in as few as another 70 years unless something is done,” she said, noting that while still beautiful, many reefs were already showing increases in algae and declines in coral and reef fish abundance.

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(Source: repeatingislands.com)

Aggressive frog overruns Puerto Rico, threatens Dominican Republic

The frog septentrionalis, an aggressive species from Cuba and the Cayman Islands, has spread uncontrolled throughout Puerto Rico where it threatens the Caribbean island’s ecosystem and fauna, EFE reports.

Puerto Rico Natural Resources and Environment Dept. (DNEA) Wildlife Unit director Angel Atienza said even though its presence has yet to be cataloged as a pest on the island it threatens the local fauna.

He cautions that its arrival via shipments to Dominican Republic or other Caribbean islands shouldn’t be ruled out

Atienza also warned that the frog is a threat to the native ecosystem, while the fluid secreted by its glands may be harmful to humans, leading to skin rashes and cause severe vision impairment if it reaches the eyes.

He noted that there’s evidence of septentrionalis’ presence in Puerto Rico during 20 years, but has become commonplace throughout the island only recently, including residential areas.

He said the species doesn’t have a natural predator in Puerto Rico where it has upset the food chain, in detrimental to native species, especially its national symbol the coqui frog, in addition to feeding on other verities of amphibians, native lizards and scorpions.

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(Source: repeatingislands.com)

Turtles

Did you know that sea turtles have lived in the world’s oceans for more than 150 million years? To put that in context, humans have been around for roughly 200,000 years, about .013 percent of the time sea turtles have been here.

Sadly these ancient marine reptiles that inhabit all of the world’s oceans except the Arctic are globally threatened with extinction (Hawksbill and Leatherbacks are Critically Endangered) – a result of persistent coastal development, incidental capture and marine pollution. This decline has been evident throughout the Caribbean and in some areas the trends are dramatic and likely to be irreversible in our lifetime. Because sea turtles are among the most migratory of all Caribbean animals, what appears as a decline in a local population may be a direct consequence of activities of people hundreds of kilometers away and thus presents a call to not only local conservation, but also regional partnership.

Sea turtle populations, which remain robust in many areas of the Dutch Caribbean, are stressed for many reasons. A major consideration is the destruction and/or modification of habitat. Many nesting beaches have disappeared due to sand mining and development of the coast. Beach trampling by tourists and disorienting light from nearshore buildings have a serious impact on nesting females and hatchings attempting to find the sea.

Pollution from both land-based and marine sources (eg. sewage, plastic, oil) is an increasing problem for sea turtles. The degradation of our coral reef system has also taken its toll on the turtles foraging grounds and while uncontrolled harvesting of turtles has seen policy improvement in the past decade, there are still areas that allow harvesting or do not have the enforcement abilities to adequately protect these endangered species.

STCB Weighing a Turtle with Nature Managers from Saba, St. Maarten and St. Eustatius (foto: STCB-Bonaire)

Visit Sea Turtle Conservation Bonaire (STCB) to see what is being done to protect sea turtles and how you can do your part for nature in the the Dutch Caribbean.

Sea turtles play key roles in two ecosystem types that are critical to them as well as to humans—oceans and beaches/dunes. In the oceans, for example, sea turtles, especially green sea turtles, are one of very few creatures (manatees are another) that eat the sea grass that grows on the sea floor. Sea grass must be kept short to remain healthy, and beds of healthy sea grass are essential breeding and development areas for many species of fish and other marine life. A decline or loss of sea grass beds would damage these populations, triggering a chain reaction and negatively impacting marine and human life.

Beaches and dunes form a fragile ecosystem that depends on vegetation to protect against erosion. Eggs, hatched or unhatched, and hatchlings that fail to make it into the ocean are nutrient sources for dune vegetation. Every year, sea turtles lay countless eggs on beaches.

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ARCHIVES:

http://duivelsei.tumblr.com/archive - Duivelsei

http://caribbejan.tumblr.com/archive - Caribbean

http://isjanbul.tumblr.com/archive - Istanbul

http://olym-pics.tumblr.com/archive - London 2012

http://littenseradiel.tumblr.com/archive - Friesland