Nature

News about Bonaire Nature

Friday, February 03, 2012

CIEE Announces Two Upcoming Presentations

Mark the calendar for CIEE Research Station’s upcoming public presentations on Tuesday February 7th and Tuesday February 21st, 2012.

The presentation on February 7th is entitled “Lionfish in Bonaire: Picky Eaters or Gluttons of the Sea?” and will be presented by Fadilah Ali, from the University of Southampton. The February 21st presentation is entitled “For good sex in the dark you need your nose: True confessions of a Bonairean nectar-feeding bat”, to be presented by Jafet M. Nassar.

Both presentations will be held at the CIEE Research Station located at Kaya Gob. N. Debrot 26 from 7:00 to 8:00 PM and all are invited to attend. Admission is free. (Source: CIEE Bonaire)

Monday, January 23, 2012

Bonaire Marine Park Manager, Ramon de Leon, to Present Next CIEE Public Lecture

The CIEE Research Station Bonaire will present their next public lecture this Wednesday evening, January 25th, 2012, from 7:00 PM to 8:00 PM, and Bonaire’s own Ramon de Leon, manager of the Bonaire National Marine Park, will be presenting the lecture.

The topic will be an update on the “Status and Trends of Bonaire’s Coral Reefs 2011:  Cause for Grave Concerns.” The presentation will be followed by a question and answer period to address any queries from the public. 

The research station is located at Kaya Gobernador Debrot #26 in Kralendijk.  Entry is free, and all are invited.  (Source:  CIEE and Bonaire National Marine Park)

Saturday, January 21, 2012

Sea Turtle Tracking Update

Our last check on Bonaire’s tagged sea turtles had Jklynn being outfitted with her transmitter, as mentioned in a previous story. On December 11, 2011, satellite signals indicated that she had started her migration home in a northerly direction.

Jklynn continued moving north and by December 22nd, the female hawksbill was just 80 kilometers south of the Dominican Republic, swimming 716 kilometers or 445 miles to get there. She was close to the boundary of Jaragua National Park, which is the largest protected area of the Dominican Republic and includes forests, mangroves and marine ecosystems. It is also known as a feeding areas for hawksbills, especially juveniles. Although Jklynn was close to protected waters, she was also very close to Haitian waters, where she was not protected from being harvested.

Even Jaragua Park, while being a protected area, still suffers from egg poaching and illegal harvesting of turtles. Efforts to protect migratory turtles like Jklynn have been a priority for Sea Turtle Conservation Bonaire (STCB) in recent years, as they have worked with regional partners to increase protection for sea turtles, no matter where they go during their migrations. Illegal harvesting and legal protection are still areas of concern.

After the December 22nd tracking signal, there were no further tracking signals for 24 days until January 15, when Jklynn’s transmitter showed her to be in the coastal waters at Jaragua National Park on the west coast of the park in Bahia de Las Aguilas (Eagle Bay). This location has one of the Dominican Republic’s most beautiful beaches and is an area where some hawksbill and many leatherback turtles nest. Looking at her average rate of speed, STCB believes she travelled from Bonaire to that area in approximately 13 days. It is also believed that since she headed in this direction after leaving Bonaire and because she has remained in these waters for several weeks, that this is her home foraging ground. (Source: Sea Turtle Conservation Bonaire)

Monday, November 28, 2011

CIEE Announces Next Public Presentation

The CIEE Research Station Bonaire is pleased to invite everyone on Bonaire to their next public presentation, which will take place this Wednesday, November 30, 2011 from 7:00 PM to 8:00 PM.  The topic will be, “Rehabilitation of Deteriorated Mangroves, from Hydrological Characteristics to Management Tools.”

The presenter will be Roel Dijksma from the Hydrology and Quantitative Water Management Group of Wageningen University.  He has chosen this subject as mangroves are unique ecosystems. In many locations the mangroves have been destroyed or are in very poor condition, due to natural threats such as storms and tsunamis, but also due to human influences. Many rehabilitation projects in the past have failed to achieve the objectives due to poor knowledge of the hydrology of mangroves. In 1928, Watson developed a hydrological classification for mangroves in the Philippines. This classification is still used by rehabilitation projects. Over the last ten years, Wageningen University has done research at mangroves in Vietnam and Indonesia to improve this hydrological classification. In the presentation the hydrological features of mangroves will be shown, the development of the classification, and what this would imply for the mangrove of Lac Bay at Bonaire.

Entry is free and all are invited.  CIEE is located at Kaya Gobernador N. Debrot #26. (Source:  CIEE Bonaire)

Wednesday, November 23, 2011

CIEE Presents Their Fall Semester Students’ Presentations Tonight, November 23, 2011

Everyone is invited to attend CIEE’s public lecture this evening at from 7:00 PM through 9:00 PM at their lecture hall on Kaya Gobernador N. Debrot #26, when their students of the fall semester will present the results of their research studies.

The following topics will be discussed:

1) “Potential for transmission of coral yellow band disease between colonies of Montastrea annularis through common research techniques"--by Dana Hergert, Oregon State University

2) “Effects of a small harbor on nutrient levels and coral reef health in Bonaire, Dutch Caribbean"--by Kendall Miller, University of Virginia

3) “Fish density, species richness and diversity in natural and artificial Acropora cervicornis"--by Stephen Nelson, Oregon State University

4) “Effects of hole size in artificial reefs on coral reef fish communities"--by Tessa Code, Santa Clara University

5) “Use of trophic structure as an indicator of reef fish populations in areas open and closed to fishing"--by Ben VanDine, Cedarville University

6) “Sponge abundance and the prevalence of disease on Scleractinian coral in Bonaire"--by Luke Powell, Arizona State University

7) “Assessing coral disease prevalence and fish species richness among reefs on Bonaire"--by Ian Ster, Mount Mercy University

8) “Cephalopholis fulva, Cephalopholis cruentata, and Sphyraena barracuda populations in response to fishing protection"--by Jack Olson, University of Colorado at Boulder

Entrance is free.  (Source:  CIEE Bonaire)

Wednesday, November 02, 2011

CIEE Announces November Public Lectures

CIEE has announced their next three public lectures for the month of November, and a wide variety of topics are included.  Everyone is invited to attend, and entrance is always free.

Tonight, the title of the presentation is “FORCE Project: Future of Reefs in a Changing Environment” by Stacey M. Williams, PhD, Marine Biologist Consultant, FORCE.

Next Wednesday, November 9th, the presentation will be, “Dispelling Jaws: Sharks Can Be Selective Feeders” by Steve Newman, PhD, School of Marine Science and Technology, Newcastle University.

Dr. Williams and Dr. Newman are both on Bonaire conducting research on how climate change may affect the reefs on Bonaire.  FORCE (Future of Reefs in a Changing Environment) project is an integrated research project which takes an ecosystem approach, linking social and ecological aspects toward managing Caribbean coral reefs in the face of climate change.  The project is a joint research endeavor between social and natural sciences to help sustain the services provided by coral reefs on which so many people depend. The ten projects include research into ecological and social processes that affect coral reef health; linking the ecological and social processes underpinning reef health, and the creation of tools to aide practitioners, stakeholders, and governments plan for more effective coral reef management.

The third public lecture will be held on Tuesday, November 15th and is entitled, “Archaeological Research at Tanki Maraka, With Development Potentials for Bonaire” and will be presented by Jay B. Haviser, PhD.  Dr. Haviser is an archaeologist who has conducted and participated in extensive archaeological work in St. Martin. A well published expert on ancient Amerindian archeology, the USA-born Dr. Haviser has served as vice president of the International Association of Caribbean Archeology (1993-1997), editorial review board member of the Latin American Antiquity Journal, a member of the Curacao Historical Society, Society of Africanist Archeology, and Society of Professional Archaeologists. Dr. Haviser is a graduate of Florida State University, USA, and the Royal University of Leiden, The Netherlands.

All presentations will be held in the lecture hall at CIEE headquarters at Kaya Gobernador N. Debrot 26 and begin promptly at 7:00 PM.  (Source:  CIEE Bonaire)

Monday, October 31, 2011

Queen Beatrix and the Prince of Orange, Willem Alexander, Complete State Visit to Bonaire

Her Majesty, Queen Beatrix of The Netherlands, her son, Willem Alexander, Prince of Orange, and his wife, Princess Maxima, completed a whirlwind visit to Bonaire today.  They spent their time on Bonaire, their first state visit since Bonaire became a special municipality of The Netherlands, touring facilities with a special emphasis on education, social services, and Bonaire’s nature.

The Bonaire Insider caught up with the royal entourage at the Mangrove Info & Activity Center at Lac, where the Queen and her son explored the island’s important mangrove forests.  Upon arrival at the center, the entourage was welcomed by Elsmarie Beukenboom (director of STINAPA) and Elly Albers (director of the Mangrove Info & Activity Center).  After a short presentation, the group was then escorted out to the mangrove area, where they took to the water in the center’s solar-powered touring boats.  While on the water, Kalli de Meyer, director of DCNA (Dutch Caribbean Nature Alliance) explained the importance of the mangrove ecology and how this area serves as the nursery area for many of the species of marine life that visitors see today on Bonaire’s reefs.  During the tour, Lac’s uniqueness was explained, its RAMSAR and IBA status, some of the threats and challenges for management, as well as the excellent work
being done to protect the bay and restore conch population via the IUCN NL/Lottery funded conch project.

The Queen expressed her gratitude to the parks and DCNA for the outstanding work in protecting nature on the islands. Her Majesty explained that this is why she took the unprecedented step of becoming a patron.

As always, the Queen and Prince Willem Alexander were gracious, exhibiting a keen interest in this facet of Bonaire’s nature.  View images of their visit to the Mangrove Info & Activity Center on the Bonaire Insider Photo Gallery by clicking here.  (Source:  Bonaire Insider Reporter)

Sunday, October 30, 2011

Update on Bonaire’s Lionfish Situation

Bonaire’s dedicated team of lionfish wranglers are out on the reefs every day, removing hundreds of these invasive fish, which prey upon Bonaire’s naturally occurring marine life.  The Bonaire National Marine Park, under the auspices of STINAPA, works with the volunteers by scheduling and organizing official hunts--often in areas where there are fewer divers, and thus higher numbers of lionfish--to keep as much of the lionfish population as possible in check.

The last official hunt was Saturday, October 15, 2011 and took place in the Karpata Marine Reserve.  All of the fish removed were brought to Bonaire’s CIEE station to be analyzed and processed.  On this day, just from this one location, 214 lionfish were donated to CIEE for research purposes.  Stomachs were removed and the fish were returned to any of the hunters that wanted their fish back for dinner (or whatever other destiny they might have had).

Thanks to CIEE, there are some interesting statistics from the studies of these fish:

Largest by weight - 600g (1.32 pounds)
Largest by Total Length (TL) - 34.5cm (13.58 inches)
Largest by Standard Length (SL) (not including the tail fin) - 26.5cm (10.43 inches)

The single largest lionfish that was brought in over the past two years was donated by Joi Jenkins with a weight of 1050g (2.31 pounds) and total length of 43.8cm (17.24 inches).  The smallest fish during this same timeframe was brought in by Ramon de Leon with a total weight of 0.12g (.02 pounds) and a total length of 2.1cm (.82 inches).

Since October 2009, a total of 2750 lionfish have been donated to CIEE for research purposes, but many more have been removed from Bonaire’s reefs.  Of these, the stomachs of 2,200 fish have been dissected and the contents analyzed.  Ms. Fadilah Ali, a PhD student at Southampton University in the UK, will be presenting the results of this research project on lionfish feeding ecology in Bonaire at the Gulf and Caribbean Fisheries Institute conference in Mexico in November.  CIEE will be writing a scientific paper on the topic and will share it when it’s available.  Jerry Ligon has donated time and expertise in order to identify the fish, as well as other items, found in the stomachs resulting in the following list of the number of fish from different families that were found in lionfish stomachs:

Scientific Name, Common name, Number of Fish Found in Lionfish Stomachs

Pomacentridae Damselfish 91
Apogonidae Cardinalfish 77
Grammatidae Basslets 76
Labridae Wrasses 56
Serranidae Seabasses 47
Gobiidae Gobies 68
Blennidae Blennies 41
Lutjanidae Snappers 53
Scaridae Parrotfish 14
Holocentridae Squirrelfish 3
Haemulidae Grunts 11

Although it’s virtually impossible to totally eradicate the invasive lionfish, Bonaire continues to be at the forefront of efforts in the Caribbean region to diminish their harmful effects.  Thanks go to all Bonaire’s lionfish wranglers, as well as those at STINAPA, the Bonaire National Marine Park, and CIEE, who continue through their efforts to help the reefs.  (Source:  CIEE)

Wednesday, October 26, 2011

CIEE Presentation To Be Held Tonight

CIEE is pleased to announce a public lecture this evening Wednesday October 26, 2011, dealing with the topic of coral overgrowth in Lac Bay by an encrusting red algae. 

The presentation will include a discussion of overgrowth rates, frequency of colony overgrowth and inhibition of coral recruitment of an encrusting red algae in Lac Bay. Presenters will be Caren E. Eckrich and M. Sabine Engel. CIEE presentations are open to the public and the content include research topics which are relevant to Bonaire and its ecology.

Tonight’s presentation will start at 7:00 PM and will be held at the CIEE Research Station at Kaya Gobernador N. Debrot #26. All are welcome to attend. (Source: CIEE Bonaire)

Thursday, October 20, 2011

No Landing Zone Established on Klein Bonaire for Vessels

Unfortunately, there’s been an increase of stranding of rental boats or kayaks on the eastern shore of Klein Bonaire, which is harmful to the marine environment in that area.  Accordingly, the Bonaire Insider has been informed by STINAPA that a “no landing zone” has been established to avoid further damage.

Effective immediately, it is no longer allowed to embark or disembark on Klein Bonaire with any type of vessel in the area between Ebo’s Reef (12.09.881 N 68.17.703 W) and Nearest Point (12.08.081N 68.17.372W). This measure is necessary to preserve the shallow reef of that area, the only sea grass patch on Klein Bonaire, and the only foraging area for juvenile green turtles.

In the place of this area, No Name Beach may continue to be used as a landing area for all vessels.  (Source:  STINAPA)