Thirteen species of freshwater fish have been recorded in Tobago, but only a handful of these have successfully conquered the Main Ridge. While we humans can easily drive along the Roxborough – Parlatuvier road to access the reserve, fish must initially colonise inland from the sea. In North East Tobago, fish in the lower reaches moving upstream soon reach one of many waterfall barriers at the edge of the Ridge. Often these are tens of metres high, much like those at Argyll. Most fish will never manage to traverse these barriers, forever restricted to the lowland rivers. Only the most intrepid make it through to dominate the uplands. Without a doubt, the king of the Main Ridge rivers is the Jumping Guabine, Aneblepsoides hartii. Ordinarily, this species reaches around 10cm from head to tail. However, the Main Ridge individuals are decidedly larger, as with fewer fish predators they can live longer. |
This piece originally appeared in the Tobago Newsday on March 16th 2017.
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I never turn down a chance to promote my favourite fish, so when the Trinidad and Tobago Field Naturalists’ Club invited me to contribute to their new weekly column in the local newspaper, I accepted immediately! The print version was accompanied by some colourful photos, but you can read the article itself here. Other contributions have included a piece I co-authored on two of Trinidad’s most charismatic garden birds, and a lovely column by another club member about the beautiful immortelle trees that brighten up the forests here during dry season. This summer I was delighted to accept an invitation to contribute a ‘Top Ten Animals’ piece to the Guardian’s online ‘Island Guide to Tobago’. Finally, a chance to put to good use some of the experience I’d accumulated while exploring the island in the various roles of biologist, naturalist, tourist and amateur 'tour guide' over the last 6 years. |
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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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