Wild Tobago

The sun, moon and stars have provided us with the means to mark seasons, a system we call time. Dr Anjani Ganase considers the rhythm of biological clocks in the ocean.   Telling time is basic and integral to all life on Earth. All biological functions of growth, reproduction, regulation, movement are predicated on the planet’s orbit around the sun and the spin of the earth about its axis by which we track time. For us humans, we’ve studied and documented day/ night cycles, lunar and seasonal cycles that see corresponding changes in temperature, weather and other environmental or biological cues (sandflies at dusk) that influence food availability, survival of offspring, health and anything essential for survival. At sea, telling time is tied to navigation and exploration, as we track the movements and positions of the sun, stars and the moon across the sky. Tidal changes are observed for fishing, and even coastal defence. Our time tracking skills improved an...

Dr Anjani Ganase considers recent scientific studies on sea urchins, coral reefs and management targets; and arrives at the conclusion expressed by environmentalist David Attenborough and echoed by other scientists and ocean advocates. The Ocean must be protected and managed everywhere.   Long spined sea urchin. Photo by Jonathan Gomez Sea Urchins: pest or protector The Caribbean Sea is lined by islands and coral reefs that are unique. Forty years ago, these coral reefs were dominated by sea urchins, specifically the long-spined sea urchin ( Diadema antillarum ). These urchins were once regarded as a nuisance especially in the shallows in the seagrass beds. However, only after the 1980s, did we recognise the critical function of this specific species of sea urchin after they were destroyed by a disease throughout the Caribbean. These were important grazers, like cows grazing a meadow, ensuring that the bare surfaces of reefs were regularly cleaned of algae, t...

What do we have to learn from the environmental disasters in Australia? Dr Anjani Ganase, coral reef ecologist, who studied and worked at the University of Queensland, reviews the timeline to extinction.  The fires in Australia are examples of the abrupt and severe consequences of human induced changing climate. According to the Australian Bureau of Meteorology, 2019 has been the hottest (1.5 C above average) and driest year (40 % less than the average rainfall) on record; their data goes back to 1910. The fire season is longer and more severe than ever; bush fires started since spring in September and have yet to ease. Along the eastern and southern parts of the country, over 100,000 square kilometres of land have burned. This area is equivalent to the size of Cuba, the largest Caribbean island.  The Australian bushfires are the most obvious among the environmental disasters that are the result of the climate getting drier and hotter. Most severely impacted are fra...

Anjani Ganase, marine scientist, proposes a different way of looking at the world. “To think big, we first need to see the small things,” she says, as she looks into the ocean. What is the most abundant group of organisms in the oceans, and why do they matter? When I first started my degree in Marine Biology, I - like many others – was excited to begin exploring the world of fish, crabs, critters, whales and even sharks. To my surprise, we had to begin with the smallest of things, the foundation of all ecosystems, understanding the microbial universe. Microscopic organisms, although we can’t see them, are crucial for life and are constantly providing us with all essentials nutrients and removing our waste, they are the cogs in the wheel of life. Microorganisms are invisible to the naked eye and typically constituted of single-celled entities. Furthermore microorganisms are everywhere, yes everywhere! They can be found in deep scalding undersea volcanic vents and even on the s...

Anjani Ganase, Trinbagonian marine biologist, begins a weekly column on the value of coral reefs to our islands and people, and especially Tobago. This, the first of her series, was published in the Tobago Newsday on Thursday, July 14, 2016 Anjani Ganase is completing her PhD in Coral Reef surveys The Buccoo reef is considered a national and natural icon by Trinbagonians. Yet few of us have had the luxury of exploring beyond the upper edges of the reef, barely a couple metres below the sea surface. To fully understand the true beauty and importance of the Buccoo reef, you need to dive deeper in order to discover and understand how the reef functions.   The Buccoo reef, like many other reefs around the world, is a metropolis for marine life, where corals – stationary animals that grow by building a limestone skeleton – create homes for animals, such as fish, lobster and other invertebrates, sponges, anemones, and plants that live and grow on and among the cora...