Isolates of the fungal pathogen Deuteromycota, Melanconiales, Colletotrichum gloeosporioides (Penz and Sacc.) from yam, Dioscoreales, Dioscoreacceae, Dioscorea alata cultivar White Lisbon, and one each from Mangifera indica L (mango), Anthurium andreanum (Schott) (anthurium) and Citrus paradisi (grapefruit) were used for precipitation of phytotoxic secondary metabolites. These phytotoxic extracts decreased cell viability of yam, tomato, pepper and tobacco cell suspension cultures. Protein and carbohydrate fractions of the extract co-eluted during gel filtration chromatography and were present in amounts ranging from 26–46 μgmL^-1 and 0.24–0.62 μgmL^-1 respectively per gram of phytotoxin. Biochemical analyses of the phytotoxic extracts showed they contained mainly two sugars, mannose, and galactose which were both closely linked to a protein component containing large amounts of cysteine and glycine. This latter protein component was essential for disease induction in yam and is part of a relatively mid-range glycoprotein complex containing both N and O-glycosidic bonds, approximately 40kDa in molecular mass.

Brood defense behaviour of parental Midas cichlids, Amphilophus xiloaensis, was observed in Lake Xiloá, Nicaragua. The research was conducted during two study periods separated by 22 years, 1972–73 and 1995. Role-differentiation was observed between the male and female during brood defense. The male defended the territory from adult conspecifics, while the female defended the brood from predators. These observations were consistent in two different study periods 22 years apart and at two different locations within the lake. Attack rates increased as the brood matured, contradicting laboratory findings on this species. These findings reinforced the use of brood defense behavior as a possible diagnostic tool to differentiate sibling species. The pattern of brood care and role differentiation remained stable over many generations, and should be a useful character for distinguishing sibling species.

Abraded potsherds from Caribbean archaeological sites have rounded, square or oval shapes due to human modification. Microscopic analysis of traces of wear was performed on the abraded potsherds from two sites on Guadeloupe, Anse à la Gourde and Morel. Explorative experiments proved the sherds to be very effective for pottery production but considerably less functional for other activities. High power use wear analysis of the archaeological sherds has revealed identifiable traces of wear that are interpreted to have been due to scraping leather hard clay. The application of high power use wear analysis to broken sherds has rarely been done before and indicates that broken sherds, rather than being discarded, had a second life as tools.

Knowledge of plant nutrient limitations within natural and agricultural ecosystems is important for a full understanding of the ecology of plant populations and communities. While broad generalizations have been made for wet tropical forests there are few studies that directly address the question of nutrient limitations. The lack of research, in part, is due to the time and expense of traditional long-term fertilization experiments that examine ecosystem productivity under different nutrient regimes. To identify nutrient limitations within a lowland tropical rainforest we utilized an alternative method, the root ingrowth-core technique, which uses nutrient enriched substrates implanted into the forest soil. Over time root growth into the enriched substrates is greatest in those containing limiting nutrients. In addition, we analyzed intact soil cores from the forest floor for nutrients and root length density to see if natural nutrient variations were sufficient to elicit changes in root proliferation. We found that root ingrowth cores as well as soil cores showed greater root length in cores richer in phosphorus and nitrogen. Comparisons between root ingrowth core treatments revealed no differences in root width. However, overall root width was greater in the ingrowth cores than in the forest soil. While most authors suggest that phosphorus and nutrient cations (e.g., K, Mg, and Ca) tend to be limiting in lowland tropical forests, our study suggests that both phosphorus and nitrogen but not potassium are in limited supply within the forest studied.

Considering the abundance of archaeological sites and the numerous archaeological surveys conducted throughout the Caribbean region, evidence of prehistoric cultivation of maize (Zea mays subsp. mays) is surprisingly rare. The rarity of botanical or other evidence of maize agriculture hampers efforts to chart the spread of this cultigen through the Caribbean and to understand its local and regional importance at different times. To better constrain and understand the biogeography and chronology of maize in the Caribbean we searched for evidence of maize agriculture in lake sediments from two mid-elevation lakes in the Dominican Republic, Laguna Castilla and Laguna de Salvador. The two sedimentary records contain abundant maize pollen dating back to around A.D. 1060. These prehistoric maize pollen grains constitute the earliest evidence of maize from the interior of Hispaniola and represent some of the earliest and most securely dated evidence of maize agriculture on the island of Hispaniola and from the Caribbean as a whole.

The diverse graminoid-dominated savannas of Central America remain poorly described. The flora and environment of a hyperseasonal coastal savanna near Sapodilla Lagoon, Stann Creek District, Belize were examined. Percent cover and frequency using plots and line transects were used to assess the community structure. We used non-metric multidimensional scaling and correlation to describe communitylevel variation and its environmental correlates. The flora consisted of 193 angiosperms, 2 gymnosperms, and 6 pteridophytes, and was dominated by graminoids. Species with the highest importance values were Mesosetum filifolium, Paspalum pulchellum, Rhynchospora plumosa, and Rhynchospora barbata. Woody species were scattered in dense clusters throughout the savanna, and were divided into a tall tree layer, dominated by Pinus caribaea, and a tree-palm-shrub layer, dominated by Acoelorraphe wrightii and Byrsonima crassifolia. Several large Acoelorraphe wrightii-dominated vernal pools were scattered about the landscape. Variation in species composition within the savanna correlated strongly with particular species (Acoelorraphe wrightii and Paspalum pulchellum), topography, cation exchange capacity, and copper concentration. Quantitative comparisons with another savanna studied in Belize show distinct differences in flora, structure, and dominance in spite of previously being classified as similar.

The regionally endangered Least Grebe (Tachybaptus dominicus) has nested on the three main islands (St. Croix, St. John, St. Thomas) on the United States Virgin Islands (USVI) since 2002. Single pairs (occasionally two pairs) have been confirmed nesting at five man-made freshwater ponds and two salt ponds on St. Croix, at five freshwater ponds on St. Thomas, and at one freshwater pond on St. John. Breeding occurred at six of seven sites on St. Croix from 2004 into 2007 after average, or above-average annual rainfall including torrential rainfall from four autumnal storms (November 2003, September 2004, October 2005, October 2006) that filled freshwater ponds and salt ponds. Least Grebes respond rapidly to water level changes at semi-permanent wetlands and can breed year-round; one pair attempted to nest at least 20 times (eight successfully) at Windsor North Pond on St. Croix. Non-breeding birds in the USVI have occurred less frequently at other freshwater ponds and a few brackish salt ponds, where they also have a restricted distribution. Least Grebe populations in the USVI, at the eastern edge of their breeding range in the Greater Antilles, are generally low. Breeding at man-made freshwater ponds has probably been overlooked in the USVI until recently because of insufficient sampling effort. Future surveys should focus on selected manmade freshwater ponds and brackish salt ponds when water levels are adequate, especially on St. John where birds may have been underreported at salt ponds because of insufficient sampling effort.

The diversity of sessile invertebrates of coral reefs is highly dependent upon spatial association and interactions among species. In this report we describe biotic substratum-associated effects on the growth and survival of the sponge Desmapsamma anchorata Carter 1882. Special attention is given to associations and interactions of Desmapsamma with various gorgonian species on which the sponge dwells. With the exception of relatively high abundances of Desmapsamma on Briareum asbestinum Pallas 1766, associations with gorgonian taxa were not species-specific. In contrast, interactions were often species-specific with gorgonians and other taxa, the nature of which ranged from (1) mutualistic (with Briareum), (2) to neutral (non-interactive) with other sponges, (3) to negative (competitive) with a variety of other organisms. Negative interactions included (1) overgrowth, (2) competitive standoff, and (3) allelochemical effects. Other results show that wave action plays an important role in the growth and survival of Desmapsamma individuals. These results indicate that the reciprocal action of physical and biological factors play a key role in structuring and organizing coral reef communities.

Reef fishes are critical functional groups for coral reefs, where the diversity of the former varies across different spatial scales. Multi-scale approaches are necessary to find this scale-dependence because the identification of such critical scales is fundamental to conserve coral reef biodiversity. For the first time, we present a study on fish diversity partition from the northern sector of the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef System (nsMBRS). In this area, coral reefs mainly present four habitats (e.g., lagoon, front, slope and terrace) and the spatial and environmental variables differ along a north-south gradient along the coast. This particular geomorphology provides an excellent opportunity to evaluate the reef fish diversity. Our objectives were to assess the inventory and differentiation diversity at habitat, reef and regional scales, and carry out additive diversity partitioning from sample to region scale. Total fish diversity (ε) was partitioned into its additive diversity components (αs, β_s, α, β, γ and δ), which were evaluated using bootstrap and rarefaction procedures, non-parametric statistics, and non-linear and null models. We found that α diversity was higher in the habitats front, slope and terrace, and β_h diversity was highest between lagoons and fronts. The most developed reefs exhibited the highest α, β_h, γ and δ_r diversity. The β_s and δ_r diversity were essentials to keep γ and ε diversity. Additive partition outcomes showed that total fish diversity is determined mostly by reef scale followed per sample and habitat scales. This supports the hypothesis that inter-habitat and reef differences seem to strongly regulate local and regional species richness. We conclude that reef scale was the most important level for conserving and keeping the biodiversity at nsMBRS.

We examined population densities and structural microhabitat use by Anolis griseus and A. trinitatis at eight sites on the leeward (western) coast of St. Vincent, West Indies. Estimates of population density based on the Schnabel method varied according to habitat complexity and ranged to 5,208/ha for A. griseus (a higher estimate at one site was not considered due to conditions that compromised the accuracy of estimates) and to 27,923/ha for A. trinitatis. Our highest estimate for both species at one site (32,867/ha) was the highest yet recorded for any site on a two-species Lesser Antillean island. For both species, larger individuals tended to perch higher and on perches of larger diameter than smaller lizards, with adult male A. griseus using the highest and largest diameter perches. However, considerable overlap in perch use among other size classes of A. griseus and all size classes of A. trinitatis suggests that structural habitat partitioning is not rigid in these two species. Although A. griseus was most abundant at densely shaded sites, A. trinitatis was essentially ubiquitous, supporting the predictions that these anoles were ecologically versatile and abundance and microhabitat use would reflect available vegetative structure.

The Middle Miocene Grand Bay Formation is exposed on the eastern half of the island of Carriacou, Grenada Grenadines. The formation was deposited in water depths of greater than 150 m and is mainly composed of a sequence of bioclastic and volcanogenic turbidites. The dominant rock type in the Grand Bay Formation is fine- to coarse-grained sandstones. The volcaniclastic sandstones are poorly sorted and immature, and contain volcanic clasts, clinopyroxene, amphibole, plagioclase feldspar and opaque crystals in an argillaceous matrix. Within the Grand Bay Formation are beds of subaequeous lapilli and ash tuff representing pyroclastic fall deposits that have a mineralogy that is similar to the heavy minerals in the turbidites. The mineral assemblage of the lapilli tuffs suggests that these eruptions were basaltic andesite or andesite in composition. It is postulated that the volcanogenic turbidites in the Grand Bay Formation formed as a consequence of volcanic eruptions along the southern Lesser Antilles arc during the Early to Middle Miocene. The lithic volcanic fragments and mineral composition of the volcaniclastic turbidites indicate a monomagmatic source in which reworked pyroclastic deposits were temporarily stored on a shallow shelf prior to deposition downslope, in a deep water basin.

In two consecutive years, 2005 and 2006, specimens of Regalecus have been observed or collected on the reef at the southern end of Cozumel Island, Mexican Caribbean, between February and May. A single specimen has been preserved. Although a large part of the body is missing, the fish was identified as Regalecus glesne Ascanius, 1772, on the basis of the total gill-raker count on the first arch (35), the number of prolonged, cephalic dorsal-fin rays (9) and the relative length of the prolonged pelvic- fin ray (more than twice the head length). The mutilation of the specimen is probably not the result of autotomy, because the exposed vertebra is broken and the gut is sectioned; the shape of the cut suggests that a shark bit off the rear half of the body. While R. glesne has been recorded several times in Florida, Bermuda, and even the northern coast of Cuba, these are the first documented records of Regalecus in the Caribbean Sea proper. The strong seasonality of the records of R. glesne in the region (always between February and July) suggests that the fish may come closer to the coast attracted by seasonal upwelling.

The pholcid spider Mesabolivar aurantiacus (Mello-Leitão 1930) is common in forests of Trinidad, West Indies. Its webs are often found to contain the nabid bug Arachnocoris trinitatis (Bergroth 1916). In a lowland forest in August-September 2003 (wet season) we censused 81 M. aurantiacus webs for occupancy by the spider and the insect. A. trinitatis showed no significant preference for webs occupied by either juvenile or adult spiders. However, it showed a preference for empty webs, suggesting that it utilizes these as a ready-made preycapture device, and possibly as a site for finding mates.