Wild Tobago

It’s not too early to begin preparing for summer sargassum.   Dr Anjani Ganase reviews the latest Sargassum White Paper generated by the United Nations Environmental Programme. The big picture requires trans-Atlantic cooperation - West Africa and Brazil   to fully understand the annual sargassum influx .   Since 2011 and persisting to today, sargassum has been washing up on beaches and coasts of the Caribbean and South and Central America as regular summer events. The highest amounts to date were 27 million tonnes (estimated) of sargassum washed up in 2018; with 20 million tonnes in 2019.   Amazon and Sahara While the two species of sargassum ( S. natans and S. fluitans ) that wash up on our shores naturally occur and grow in oceanic gyres (in the mid-Atlantic), the excessive amount of algal blooms transported is new. Scientists are now certain that these blooms are the result of increased nutrient outflow from the Amazonian basin, mixed...

At Carnival time, humans like to think that we can be masters of disguise and transformation: men dressed like women; and women like jamettes, or birds… But throughout the world there are plants and animals disguising and transforming to ensure their survival. What would an acacia tree do to prevent its leaves from being eaten? Or an insect living near flowers to get more food? Dr Anjani Ganase looks at some specific animals and plants   Plants that behave like Animals   Ti- Marie (Mary, Mary Shut your door or Touch Me Not!), also known as Mimosa pudica was always a memorable childhood introduction into more interesting plant life, precisely because it responded like an animal when touched. This reaction is an evolutionary strategy where the plant is able to retract its leaflets upon being touched. This response to touch is known as thigmotaxis. The mechanism of the folding results from a change in the turgidity in the “hinge” where the leaflets are attached to the ...

T he Buccoo Reef Marine Park was reopened on Monday July 7, 2020   with new regulations. Dr Anjani Ganase talks with marine scientist Shivonne Peters,  Policy Advisor to the Chief Secretary  of the Tobago House of Assembly. about the rules and their enforcement in a renewed attempt to manage human activities and their effects on the life and sustainability of the Buccoo ecosystem and its creatures.   Aerial view of No Man’s Land in the Buccoo Reef Marine Park. Photo courtesy RJJ Aerial Photography   The Covid 19 pandemic taught us that caring for ourselves – our lives, our economy and our future - goes hand in hand with caring for nature. We also learned that if we leave nature alone, it has the potential to heal itself. As humans were kept away from all public and natural spaces, as industries were working on minimal capacity, as our consumption of plastic and food wastage lowered, and the use of cars was reduced, our envi...

Far from being “dumb”, animals do communicate and learn from each other. Dr Anjani Ganase discusses how animals socialize, innovate and learn new behaviors across groups of the species. Intelligence is not a peculiarly human trait and we can learn from other species. In the animal kingdom where parents care for their offspring, they teach them the fundamental lessons for life and the skills to survive. Bird parents teach their young how to fly, orcas, tigers and other predators teach their young to hunt and even monkeys teach their kids how to floss their teeth (with human hair). However, there comes a point where our learning capacity grows beyond genetics and parental care, and this occurs through social learning from peers within a cultural setting. Similar to that of humans, the cultures within the animal kingdom depend on socially learned behavior to benefit groups of individuals with shared advantages within a species population. By observing, cons...

With beaks and talons specifically developed to swiftly dispatch their prey, raptors can be found fishing and hunting all around Tobago, as Faraaz Abdool reports . All photos by Faraaz Abdool Powerful, fierce and noble, birds of prey have held us in awe for millennia. Eagles, hawks, kites and falcons – or raptors as they’re collectively known – are ruthless and calculating monarchs of the avian universe. Some of the largest and most powerful specialize in making prey of primates while the smallest raptors terrorize crickets, locusts and other insects. A healthy natural ecosystem ensures the survival of species at the top of the food chain. Thus, the presence of these majestic bird hunters indicates that the food web in the forest and on the coasts is healthy. Images of these regal birds often highlight their sharply hooked and deadly beaks, but raptors’ weapons of choice are razor sharp talons. Whether they feed on rodents, fish or snails, each species is ...

Sometimes, only the wildest ideas can take us out of ourselves with courage to face the gravest challenges. Pat Ganase resorts to “blue sky thinking” with practical supports from marine scientist, Dr Anjani Ganase. The people of Tobago may – at this point – be relatively unscathed by Covid-19. The economy is in shambles but we have health! We are fortunate that our leaders closed borders early; and we have not imported any infected persons for four weeks. With the prioritized restart of commercial and industrial activities (announced by the Prime Minister on May 9, 2020), borders may open with caution after the end of June.   Many Tobago hotels have been posting friendly messages on their web pages about travel restrictions and re-booking; about extra care in cleaning procedures and sanitization. Will this messaging cut it to bring international visitors this far south on the Caribbean archipelago? What about the countries that are our markets? ...