Due to the pandemic, the 2020 Bioblitz took the form of a special ‘Backyard’ edition, to allow social distancing. Anyone with even a tiny backyard or balcony was invited to join in to help document backyard biodiversity across T&T.
Since 2012 I have been involved in the annual T&T Bioblitz, alongside the Trinidad and Tobago Field Naturalists’ Club. Many of our staff, students and alumni help organise and participate in this event each year, which was established by former UWIZM curator Mike Rutherford.
Due to the pandemic, the 2020 Bioblitz took the form of a special ‘Backyard’ edition, to allow social distancing. Anyone with even a tiny backyard or balcony was invited to join in to help document backyard biodiversity across T&T.
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Former lab member James Josaphat's recent fish discovery made the front page of the June issue of UWI Today! This publication appears as a monthly supplement in one of the main daily newspapers in Trinidad & Tobago.
Former Deacon Lab MSc student, James Josaphat, has helped describe a new species of endemic poeciliid fish in his native Haiti!
It is not every day that a new vertebrate species is discovered! Many congratulations to authors Rodet Rodriguez-Silva, Patricia Torres-Pineda and James on this fruitful Caribbean collaboration, which was published this week in the journal Zootaxa. The work was funded by the National Geographic Society and the Caribaea Initiative. Fantastic to see James using the skills acquired during his Masters fieldwork to expand our knowledge of Caribbean biodiversity - which of course is the first step towards effectively conserving it. Looking forward to many more exciting discoveries and achievements from James, as he embarks on his PhD at the Université des Antilles. You can view the article and photos of the new species here: https://www.mapress.com/j/zt/article/view/zootaxa.4768.3.6/39622
'This year I marked Earth Day (22nd March) by accepting an invitation to appear on Trinidad's TV breakfast show - CNC3's The Morning Brew. Presenter Hema Ramkissoon was interested to hear how the Covid-19 lockdown might be impacting local wildlife, as well as what we can learn about our relationship with the planet as a result of the current circumstances - and ultimately how we can live more sustainably post-lockdown. A recording of our conversation is available here. Let's hope we can all take the opportunity to live differently even after lockdown, for the benefit of wildlife, the climate and our own wellbeing!
By Haley Arnold Every year vast areas of land are deforested. At the same time, some previously deforested areas regrow - either as naturally regenerating “secondary forests” or as plantations [1,2]. Long-standing patterns of forest losses and gains have led to an increase in secondary and plantation forests relative to old “primary” forests which have been undisturbed for centuries.
Parallel to this shift in forest cover, the species found within forests are changing rapidly over time. The species that make up forest communities fluctuates naturally as forests recover over time, as well as with to human activities (eg. when species are introduced to new areas, when a species is driven to local extinction or when populations move to avoid disturbances or changes in climate). We are looking for a local part-time research assistant (paid) to work for 2 months (March and April 2020) on projects on fish behaviour and environmental change in Trinidad. The projects will focus on predatory pike cichlids (Crenicichla frenata) and their guppy (Poecilia reticulata) prey.
You will assist a small research team from the University of Bristol run behavioural experiments in the field at the University of West Indies, St Augustine campus, and help with catching fish in the streams and rivers of the Northern Range. We are looking for someone resident to T&T who is enthusiastic, has an interest in ecology and evolution, is prepared to spend 2-3 days per week in the field, sometimes working long hours, and ideally has previous experience of fieldwork. Being a competent driver with valid licence and being 25+ years old (for hire car insurance reasons) would be good but not essential. If you are interested, please contact me, Dr Amy Deacon ([email protected]), with a copy of your CV, a covering letter detailing your motivation for applying and contact details of at least one referee. Any queries about the position should also be directed to Dr Deacon. Deadline: Monday 10th February 2020 (midnight). Amy had the pleasure of awarding her Zoology Research Project student Naomi Favrod-Coune with the Trinidad and Tobago Field Naturalists' Club Elisha Tikasingh Prize for Best Performance in Zoology at this year's Faculty of Science and Technology Prize Giving Ceremony. Naomi also won the Environmental Management Prize for the Best Zoology Project, for her work on the exploratory behaviour of wild and ornamental guppies. Congratulations Naomi - and all the best for the future!
Two members of the Biodiversity & Behaviour Group attended this year's Caribaea Initiative Conference - Haley Arnold presented some of her PhD work on succession and functional traits in abandoned cocoa estates, while James Josaphat spoke about his MSc project on the effect of recreational disturbance on freshwater macroinvertebrates in Trinidad rivers. Both Haley and James gave excellent talks and got lots of positive feedback.
It is a fantastic annual conference which this year took place in the Dominican Republic between 15-17 May. |
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