Tobago has about 25 species of snake, none of which are venomous. Most of these species can be found in and around the Main Ridge. Among them are the Boa Constrictor - the largest snake on the island; the Brown Vine Snake - a common snake also found in gardens; and the Tobago False Coral – which can be found nowhere else in the world! Together these three species highlight just some of the different shapes, sizes and habits of snake fauna found in the reserve.
This piece is coauthored with herpetologist Renoir Auguste and originally appeared in the Tobago Newsday on the 17th August 2017. Tobago has about 25 species of snake, none of which are venomous. Most of these species can be found in and around the Main Ridge. Among them are the Boa Constrictor - the largest snake on the island; the Brown Vine Snake - a common snake also found in gardens; and the Tobago False Coral – which can be found nowhere else in the world! Together these three species highlight just some of the different shapes, sizes and habits of snake fauna found in the reserve.
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This piece was originally published in the Tobago Newsday on the 9th February 2017.
Frogs, toads, newts and salamanders are all amphibians, as they live underwater for at least some of their lives, and on land the rest of the time. Tobago is home to 15 different frog species, many of which are found inside the Main Ridge Reserve. Four of these are not found on Trinidad, and three are found nowhere else in the world. Trinidad & Tobago’s rivers are filled with at more than 40 different species of fish of all shapes, sizes and habits. One of the best-known is the ‘teta’, also called the ‘Anne Marie’, and known to scientists as Hypostomus robinii.
It's all very well being told not to eat popular seafood such as shark and shrimp - but what are the alternatives? In the UK and USA there are already comprehensive guides to help people choose more sustainable options when dining on seafood. In this guide, published in the Caribbean Beat magazine last month, Robin Ramdeen (of Papa Bois Conservation) and I set out to provide Caribbean consumers with the information they need to make informed and more sustainable choices... We all know that fish is an excellent source of lean protein, and some species provide us with a healthy dose of fish oils and vitamins. That’s why we’ve been eating seafood for aeons. But times have changed, and so have the oceans. The sad reality today is that not all our seafood choices are harmless. Many species are in trouble due to over-fishing, and are now endangered globally. Plus, many commercial fishing methods are destructive to marine habitats. For instance, shrimp trawling is one of the most damaging and wasteful fishing methods ever invented. As a result, trawler-caught shrimp isn’t a wise choice for any ocean-lover. Further, there’s your health to consider: many large-bodied fish like shark, tuna, marlin, and swordfish can contain harmful contaminants such as mercury. In case you didn’t already know, if it accumulates in large enough quantities, mercury can negatively affect brain development and the nervous system. So the next time you’re dining at your favourite restaurant, think twice before ordering that mouth-watering basket of succulent shrimp, or that delicious bake and shark. Your thought process should go something like this: 1. Is it okay to eat this (in terms of population sustainability and human health)? 2. Is the method used to catch this okay for the environment? Shark conservation is a hot topic here in T&T at the moment. I have written a piece on the campaign for my research group's website. You can read it here or below. I was recently invited to be a guest blogger for ‘Not Bad Science’, my friend Felicity Muth's Scientific American-hosted blog. In response to some recent sensationalist news reports, I chose to highlight myth-busting work by my colleagues Anne Magurran and Helder Queiroz on piranha behaviour. You can read the piece here. Following Felicity’s blog is an excellent way to keep up with exciting developments in animal behaviour and cognition. |
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I enjoy writing about natural history, science and other interesting things. Links to some of these pieces are posted here. Archives
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