Conserving and restoring the Caicos pine forests: The first decade.

The severe and rapid attack on the Caicos pine Pinus caribaea var. bahamensis (Pinaceae) by the non-native invasive pine tortoise scale, Toumeyella parvicornis, has resulted in the death of most of the trees in the Turks and Caicos Islands (TCI) in just over a decade. Local and international conservation efforts have enabled the necessary multi-disciplinary research, data gathering, and monitoring to develop and implement a restoration strategy for this endemic tree from the Bahaman archipelago. The native plant nursery established on North Caicos and horticultural expertise acquired throughout the years were crucial to the successful rescue of Caicos pine saplings from the wild populations and cultivation of new saplings grown from locally sourced seeds. These saplings have been used to establish six Restoration Trial Plots on Pine Cay and a seed orchard on North Caicos in TCI. Core Conservation Areas (CCAs) for the Caicos pine forests have been identified and mapped. To date, forest within the Pine Cay CCA has been supplemented by planting more than 450 pine trees, which have survived at a high (>80%) rate.

Reassessing public opinion of captive cetacean attractions with a photo elicitation survey.

BACKGROUND: Captive cetacean attractions are growing in number globally, their operators citing entertainment, education, and conservation as benefits. Those for and against developing such attractions claim public support. Previous public opinion research, however, shows little consensus, partly due to the introduction of biases in study design that influence participants' responses. Those involved in, or concerned with, developing and licensing these attractions need to better understand what drives the lack of consensus to take socially-acceptable decisions. METHODS: We reviewed previous research on public opinion of cetacean captivity, noting possible sources of bias. Survey question wording can be a major source of introduced bias, so we used an open-ended photo elicitation approach. We showed tourists in the Turks Caicos Islands (N = 292) images of a marine mammal park (MMP) killer whale show and a swim-with-the-dolphins (SWTD) attraction and asked for their qualitative comments on the potential development of each. They also indicated how likely they would be to visit each on a Likert scale. RESULTS: Respondents were generally against visiting MMP killer whale shows, with 60.9% not likely to visit. SWTD attractions were more popular; 60.3% were likely to visit. For SWTD, USA residents were more likely to visit; older respondents and those staying in all-inclusive resorts were less likely. Those staying in all-inclusive resorts were also less likely to visit MMP killer whale shows. The great majority of qualitative comments centred on either entertainment value or animal welfare concerns. There were very few, if any, comments on the education or conservation value of these attractions. DISCUSSION: Our findings contradict several previous studies on public opinion of captive cetaceans that did not use photo elicitation. The support shown for MMP killer whale shows in this survey was well below that claimed by studies conducted on behalf of captive cetacean attraction operators. Opposition to SWTD was also noticeably lower than that found in surveys conducted with wild cetacean tourism participants. This difference can likely be attributed to the different survey populations and settings, but this variation is also very likely attributable to researcher-introduced bias. While photo selection can introduce bias, photo elicitation reduces reliance on pre-scripted questions and responses, and seems to effectively reduce other forms of bias. Allowing open-ended responses, where participants responded to an image, seems to have given a more representative understanding of what is at the forefront of the public's mind than closed questioning. These conclusions, among others made in this study, suggest that development decisions for captive cetacean attractions are being made on imprecise data. Going forward, data collected via responder-led, open-ended, bias-minimising approaches should at least be considered when informing such decisions.

Site affinity of whitespotted eagle rays Aetobatus narinari assessed using photographic identification.

Photographic identification was used to track the movements of the whitespotted eagle ray Aetobatus narinari around South Caicos, Turks and Caicos Islands. A total of 165 individuals were identified, aided by the computer program I3 S Spot. The sex ratio across all study sites in 2015 was not significantly different from 1:1 (χ2 = 2·8, P > 0·05). 33·9% of all individual rays were resighted at least once and the maximum number of days between the first and last sighting was 1640 (median 165, interquartile range, IQR = 698). Sightings of individuals occurred at locations differing from the original sighting location 24·6% of the time (0·7-20 km away). The entire population around South Caicos has yet to be sampled and these rays exhibited site affinity during the study period; they are either resident to South Caicos or are using the area for parts of the year before making movements elsewhere and then returning. Given these results, A. narinari is suited to local-scale management and conservation efforts.

Tetracha hope 1838 of the Turks and Caicos Islands (coleoptera, carabidae, cicindelinae).

A new species, Tetracha (Neotetracha) naviauxi, and a new subspecies, Tetracha (Tetracha) sobrina caicosensis, are described from the Turks and Caicos Islands. The key to Tetracha species in Naviaux (2007) is adapted to accommodate Tetracha naviauxi. Tetracha sobrina caicosensis is compared to other Caribbean subspecies of Tetracha sobrina.

Effect of severe hurricanes on Biorock Coral Reef Restoration Projects in Grand Turk, Turks and Caicos Islands

Artificial reefs are often discouraged in shallow waters over concerns of storm damage to structures and surrounding habitat. Biorock coral reef restoration projects were initiated in waters around 5m deep in Grand Turk, at Oasis (October 2006) and at Governor’s Beach (November 2007). Hemi-cylindrical steel modules, 6m long were used, four modules at Oasis and six at Governor’s Beach. Each project has over 1200 corals transplanted from sites with high sedimentation damage, and are regularly monitored for coral growth, mortality and fish populations. Corals show immediate growth over wires used to attach corals. Growth has been measured from photographs using a software program and is faster at Governor’s Beach. After hurricanes Hanna and Ike (September 2008) the Governor’s Beach structure was fully standing since the waves passed straight through with little damage, the Oasis structures which were tie-wired rather than welded had one module collapse (since been replaced with a new, welded structure). Hurricane Ike was the strongest hurricane on record to hit Grand Turk. Most cables were replaced following the hurricanes due to damage from debris and high wave action. The projects lost about a third of the corals due to hurricanes. Most of those lost had only been wired a few days before and had not yet attached themselves firmly. These projects have regenerated corals and fish populations in areas of barren sand or bedrock and are now attractive to snorkelers. High coral survival and low structural damage after hurricanes indicate that Biorock reef restoration can be effective in storm-impacted areas. Rev. Biol. Trop. 58 (Suppl. 3): 141-149. Epub 2010 October 01.

Con frecuencia no se favorece la creación de arrecifes artificiales en aguas someras debido a que se estima que las tormentas pueden producir daños en las estructuras y en el hábitat circundante. En las aguas de Grand Turk, a unos 5m de profundidad, se iniciaron proyectos de restauración de arrecifes coralinos en Oasis (octubre 2006) y en Governor’s Beach (noviembre 2007). Se utilizaron módulos de acero semicilíndricos, 4 en Oasis y 6 en Governor’s Beach. A cada proyecto se han trasplantado más de 1200 corales desde sitios con un elevado daño por sedimentación y se monitorean regularmente para evaluar crecimiento y mortalidad de los corales, así como la población de peces. Los corales muestran un crecimiento inmediato sobre los alambres utilizados para asegurar los corales. Este crecimiento se ha medido usando fotografías y un programa de computación y es más rápido en Governor’s Beach. Después de los huracanes Hanna e Ike (setiembre 2008), las estructuras en Governor’s Beach se mantuvieron erectas debido a que las olas pasaron a través de las mismas sin afectarlas, una de las estructuras en Oasis colapsó debido a que todas se amarraron con alambre en vez de soldarse (desde entonces se sustituyó con una nueva, soldada esta vez). El huracán Ike ha sido el más fuerte de los históricamente registrados que ha impactado Grand Turk. La mayor pare de los cables fueron reemplazados debido a daños causados por la acción de detritus y de las grandes olas. Los proyectos perdieron alrededor de un tercio de los corales debido a los huracanes. La mayoría de los corales perdidos habían sido amarrados a las estructuras unos días antes de los huracanes y consecuentemente no se habían adosado firmemente a las mismas. Estos proyectos han regenerado poblaciones de corales y peces en áreas inhóspitas de arena o roca y constituyen ahora una atracción para el buceo superficial. La alta tasa de supervivencia de corales y el bajo daño a las estructuras después de los huracanes indican que la tecnología Biorock para restauración de arrecifes coralinos es efectiva en áreas impactadas por tormentas.

The Turks and Caicos Islands Constitution Order 1988, 17 February 1988. [Selected provisions].

PIP: The Turks and Caicos Islands Constitution Order 1988, Part VIII, Fundamental Rights and Freedoms of the Individual, states that every person in the Islands is entitled to the fundamental rights and freedoms of the individual, regardless of race, place of origin, political opinions, color, creed, or sex, subject to respect for the rights and freedoms of others and for the public interest. Those rights include: life, liberty, security of the person, and protection of the law; freedom of conscience, of expression, of assembly, and association and protection for the privacy of the home and other property and from deprivation of property without compensation. No person shall be hindered in the enjoyment of freedom of movement throughout the Islands, including residing in any part, entering the Island, and immunity from expulsion. Limiting movement or residence within the Islands or limiting leaving the Islands, when reasonably required, shall be permitted: in the interests of defence, public safety, public order, public mortality, or public health; for protecting the rights and freedoms of other persons, unless shown not to be reasonably justifiable in a democratic society; for extradition for trail or punishment in another country for a criminal offence; public officers may have movement or residence limited when reasonable required for the purpose of ensuring the proper performance of their function; when a person does not belong to the Islands; for the imposition of restrictions on the acquisition or use by any person of land or other property in the Islands; for the imposition of restrictions, by court order in consequence of being found guilty of a criminal offence, or for purposes of ensuring a fair trial, or the persons later appearance in court; and for the imposition of restrictions reasonably required to secure the fulfillment of court-imposed obligations.^ieng

Migration transition in small Northern and Eastern Caribbean states.

PIP: 1 area of intra-Caribbean migration that has been overlooked is the "migration transition"--the transformation of rapidly modernizing societies from net labor exporters to net labor importers. This article assembles 8 case studies to 1) briefly present a spectrum of migration experiences in the Caribbean, 2) uncover some transitions under way, 3) pinpoint the forces that underlie the migration transition, and 4) point out some of the more important policy implications of labor migration reversals. The 8 island societies sampled for illustration purposes include 1) the Bahamas and the US Virgin Islands as post-migration transition societies (Zelinsky's advanced society), 2) the British Virgin Islands and the Cayman Islands as undergoing transition (Zelinsky's late transitional society), and 3) Anguilla, St. Kitts-Nevis, Turks and Caicos, and Montserrat as premigration transition societies (Zelinsky's early transitional society). Population data for the islands were derived primarily from the West Indian censuses and government statistics. These 8 historical sketches reveal certain commonalities. All are at various stages in a long-term economic restructuring to displace traditional staple crops with more income elastic, high value export services. In such societies, population growth and progress along the migration transition is an increasing function of this kind of successful export substitution. In addition, along the migration and economic transitions, such insular economies exhibit a relatively large public sector (20-30% of all activity), declining unemployment, increasing fiscal autonomy, and are committed to a development strategy remarkably similar to the "successful" model of the Bahamas and the US Virgin Islands. Cursory evidence suggests that, because of intersectoral competition for land and labor, there is an inverse relationship between farm effort/manufacturing employment and tourism intensity. This review suggests that small islands undergoing rapid growth imperatives also experience a similar set of self-reinforcing socioeconomic and environmental imbalances. Particularly for post-transition and transition societies, these spillovers include increasing real estate speculation and inflation because of tourism and the allied development of retirement colonies of affluent North Americans, wage pressures and skilled manpower shortages, and increasing vulnerability to international business cycles.^ieng

Attaining higher coverage: obstacles to overcome. English-speaking Caribbean and Suriname.

PIP: In 1983, 8 (42%) of the 19 English-speaking Caribbean countries (including Suriname) achieved at least 50% coverage with 3 doses of diphtheria-pertussis-tetanus (DPT) vaccine among children under 1 year of age and 6 countries (32%) had at least 50% coverage with 3 doses of trivalent oral polio vaccine (TOPV). In addition, 10 countries (53%) achieved over 75% DPT coverage and 11 (58%) achieved over 75% TOPV coverage. Despite this record of progress, several factors continue to impede further gains in immunization coverage. Of particular concern is the high dropout rate. As many as 25% of infants receive their 1st dose of DPT and TOPV but do not return to complete their course of immunization. There is also a need for each health center to estimate its annual target population for immunization every year through analysis of the total live births from the previous year in the health center's catchment area (minus infant mortality). Monthly target figures can thus be computed and coverage monitored. A further problem has been a reluctance on the part of some health workers to administer vaccines simultaneously. This does not reduce effectiveness or increase the risk of complications, and reduces the number of visits needed to complete the immunization schedule. An unresolved question is whether to immunize ill or malnourished children. Decisions on this matter should take into account the availability and accessibility of health care services, the ability to follow-up children who are not immunized, and the likelihood that children will return for subsequent immunizations. Finally, a number of immunizations performed by private practitioners and institutions are not reported. Both public and private health care providers should agree on a standardized reporting format to allow better estimation of coverage.^ieng