We found that while the number of species in a community tends to remain stable over time, changes in the composition of species are more common. We also found that assemblages of diatoms (single-celled plants), invertebrates (e.g. insect larvae) and fish at the same sites each show different patterns over time. This suggests that tracking species identities as well as species richness is important, and that we cannot necessarily rely on monitoring one taxa to learn about an ecosystem as a whole.
This week we published a paper based on 5 years of intensive sampling of Trinidad's rivers as part of the BioTIME project. The aim of this research was to understand more about how communities change over time, so that we are better able to detect and manage impacts to biodiversity.
We found that while the number of species in a community tends to remain stable over time, changes in the composition of species are more common. We also found that assemblages of diatoms (single-celled plants), invertebrates (e.g. insect larvae) and fish at the same sites each show different patterns over time. This suggests that tracking species identities as well as species richness is important, and that we cannot necessarily rely on monitoring one taxa to learn about an ecosystem as a whole.
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Last week I was interviewed by local journalist Shereen Ali about our work on recreational disturbance of T&T's rivers. I think she did a great job at getting the central messages of the research across and raising awareness of the potential impact we can have on aquatic biodiversity (see bottom of post for downloadable pdf of article).
This post originally appeared on my research group's website.
Every year, the El Socorro Centre for Wildlife Conservation design and present an outreach exhibit at a science fair in Point Fortin, near the south-westerly tip of Trinidad. This year the theme was to be the wildlife of Matura, with an emphasis on the freshwater fish, so the Centre’s founder, Ricardo Meade, asked me to assist. I was more than happy to get involved, and while Ricardo and his team had the hard task of constructing tanks and catching fish, I set to work illustrating and researching the various species to compile a set of educational posters and labels to accompany the display. This wasn’t hard as most of the species were those that we commonly come across on our BioTIME surveys. Thursday 22nd May was the International Day for Biodiversity. As part of Trinidad’s celebrations, I was invited to take part in a panel discussion on biodiversity at an event at the local Green Market. |
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