Wild Tobago

Islands have a special appeal: why else do visitors flock to tropical islands as places of idyll and escape. Islanders must exercise special care of their ecosystems which are fragile. Dr Anjani Ganase explains why islands are more vulnerable; and considers the delicate balance.             Islands off islands: St Giles lies off the northwest coast of Tobago Photo by Anjani Ganase     The definition of an island is a piece of land surrounded by water. There is an upper limit to how big islands can be;   very large land masses, such as Australia, are considered continents. Usually they are as small as the rocks we observe out at sea. The largest is Greenland, followed by New Guinea. Islands are mostly found in the ocean but can occur in lakes and rivers. The Orinoco River has several islands in its mouth formed by the sediment collected by the river. Consider the high-end New York neighbourhood of Manhattan that sits on an island in the Hudson River?   Islands are found everywhe

  Shivonne Peters, marine scientist, advocates the use of low-cost technology to monitor and protect Marine Protected Areas such as Buccoo Reef. (All photos courtesy Shivonne Peters) Within the recent year, the Covid-19 pandemic causing government-imposed restrictions, has led to the third closure of the Buccoo Reef Marine Park in Tobago. Every period of closure has prompted the use of innovation and technology to redefine operations and strategies with respect to monitoring and preserving our coastal and marine resources. The question remains, how do we effectively monitor a significantly large marine space and how can we do so at   minimal cost? The use of drones or Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) has become an increasingly popular tool for aerial photography and videography especially along scenic areas such as beaches and rocky coastlines. But this “eye in the sky” apparatus can certainly be used for monitoring the Marine Park.                                         Aerial view

What does a wet dry season really mean? Dr Anjani Ganase explains the phenomena that originate in the Pacific Ocean, El Niño (the Child) and La Niña (the reversal)   Humankind’s path has always been at the mercy of the weather, climate, oceans, and atmosphere. Those capable of understanding the environment were able to use the winds to sail to foreign lands or to successfully grow crops with higher yield and survive disaster. Today, we have the best tools and capacity to monitor and observe our planet and mitigate for environmental shifts, but no matter how much we learned, we will always be at the mercy of the planet.    The unusually high number of rainy days in this dry season have caught both humans and wildlife by surprise. Photo by Anjani Ganase    The might of the Pacific Ocean and its oceanic circulation can be felt in weather patterns around the world, a continent away. This is because of the strong connectivity between oceanic circulation and atmospheric conditions.

Dr Anjani Ganase reveals the intricate web of life that exists between water and air off our shores As a budding marine biologist, some of my first introductions to the ocean did not include exciting encounters on exotic reefs or swimming with dolphins. Rather we were introduced to the very top layer of the ocean and the marine creatures that lived near the surface of the water, these creatures are referred to as a neuston community. Neuston is a Greek word for “to swim” and “to float”. Skimming a net along the surface of the water, we would find a collection of transparent shapes and drifting forms that were larvae of fish and invertebrates and other marine critters. In her recent publication, Rebecca Helm, Assistant Professor at the University of North Carolina, reviews the complexities of the neuston zone around the world and discusses the threats to these communities that reside in the interface between air and ocean at the “frontline” of impacts from human activities.  Diverse me