Precise identification of plants is critical for informed agriculture where nutraceutical properties and productivity are simultaneously important. The Jamaican-grown West Indian raspberry (Rubus rosifolius) falls into this category. The first step to taking this wild-growing plant into agricultural production is morphological identification. Although there are no botanical reports of multiple varieties of this species in Jamaica, two morphotypes were found, which were named ‘Red' and ‘Wine Red’ based on fruit colour. Morphological methods were used to characterise these plants growing at Holywell (located over 900 m above sea level), in the Blue Mountain region of Jamaica. Morphological analyses revealed that growth form, leaf, flower, and fruit characteristics of the morphotypes were statistically distinctive between the two morphotypes for 48 of the 59 measured parameters. Several descriptors allowed the morphotypes to be distinguished before their fruits became visible. These findings support the hypothesis that there is a standard morphotype having a scrambling morphology, smaller leaves, and darker red, oblong, solitary fruits (Wine Red, WR), and a distinct morphotype with more upright stems, larger leaves, and lighter red, spherical, bunched fruits (Red, R). This information can now be used to facilitate molecular analyses and ramp-up clonal production of these morphotypes to determine the agricultural factors that are linked to yield and nutritionally relevant traits.

Anomalous pigmentations have been reported in several groups of reptiles. Among these, albinism is one of the most striking aberrations of body coloration. This pigmentary anomaly is caused by the absence of melanin in the integument. Many cases of albinism have been reported in snakes, primarily in species with cryptozoic habits, and several reports are available for the Dipsadidae family from South America. Geophis is one of the most diverse genera in this family, with 50 species distributed mainly in Mesoamerica. The Yellow-bellied Earth Snake (Geophis godmani) is known only from the mountain ranges of Costa Rica and western Panama. In September, 2020 we encountered an albino individual of the Yellow-bellied Earth Snake at Palmira de Zarcero, Alajuela province, Costa Rica. Here we report on this finding and discuss possible consequences of albinism in snakes. Snakes affected by albinism have red eyes and a yellow or pink coloration due to the presence of xanthophores and erythrophores. As a result, aspects such as thermoregulation can be affected, and jeopardize the snake's survival. However, some individuals can have traits that potentially preclude the negative effects of albinism. These characteristics would allow for the survival of individual snakes to the adult stage, such as the albino individual of Geophis godmani we found in central Costa Rica.

Elasmobranchs (sharks, rays, skates, and sawfish) exert top-down pressure in tropical lagoons and are necessary for maintaining trophic balance, so it is important to understand how abiotic factors drive shark and ray movement and habitat use in a tropical lagoon. Our aim was to assess patterns of lagoon use by sharks and rays in Anne's Creek, Exuma, The Bahamas. Four different elasmobranch species (Hypanus americanus, Styracura schmardae, Ginglymostoma cirratum, and Negaprion brevirostris) were observed using non-invasive visual surveys from the mouth of the lagoon in the summer of 2019 and the winter of 2020. Ray presence was significantly higher in the winter than in the summer and their presence is negatively correlated with temperature in the winter, which suggests a preference for cooler temperatures that affects ray nearshore habitat use. Ray presence was also changed with tidal phase and was weakly negatively correlated with tidal depth. Shark presence was not significantly correlated with season, temperature, or tides – this could be due to low sample sizes as sharks were less abundant than rays. Ultimately, understanding abiotic forces that drive shark and ray habitat use can help predict how they may respond to temperature changes and sea level rise associated with climate change.

The biogeographic origins of flora and fauna in the Caribbean have remained a hotly debated topic in island biogeography, with evidence to suggest that both vicariance (tectonic activity) and oversea dispersal mechanisms are at play in isolating species distributions and/or expanding them. Here we document the first evidence of the Central American Snapping Turtle (Chelydra rossignonii) on Utila Island, part of the Bay Islands, Honduras. Information is presented on two adult female individuals that were encountered washed ashore following separate extreme weather events in the region; most recently a single specimen was retrieved following Hurricane ETA in November 2020. Though dispersal in this case has not led to establishment, our novel observations may support previous inferences that long-distance overseas dispersal is a valid mechanism for explaining the occurrence of a potentially wide variety of terrestrial and freshwater biodiversity on the Bay Islands, as well as in the wider Caribbean.

We registered the first three localities for the invasive frog Eleutherodactylus planirostris in El Salvador within urban sites, and four new localities in Honduras, including three new department records and the first record from a protected area in Honduras. We discuss the invasion progress of the species in these two countries and mention one of several possible ways in which this species is dispersing in Honduras and how some populations are occupying new habitats from their dispersal points.

The gastrointestinal helminth communities of five populations of Anolis grahami, an introduced anole on Bermuda, were surveyed to determine the prevalence, abundance, and species diversity of parasites in these reptiles. Only three nematode species were found, Atractis scelopori, Parapharyngodon cubensis, and Physaloptera squamatae. This species, P. squamatae, is recorded for the first time in Anolis grahami on Bermuda, probably introduced through its arthropod intermediate host. The role of the host A. grahami as a “spillover” agent for these parasites is discussed.

Entire communities of columnar cacti such as Pilosocereus royenii are being devastated by the infestation of the invasive mealybug Hypogeococcus sp. in Puerto Rico. This insect was first described as Hypogeococcus pungens, but later studies suggest it might be a different, undescribed specie of Hypogeococcus. The use of common insecticides results in a limited control strategy because this insect inhabits deformed plant tissue and covers itself with a protective wax. Generally, endophytic fungi provide the host plant with defenses against biotic and abiotic factors through the production of bioactive compounds that increase plant defenses and their ability to attack pathogens. We studied the community of cultivatable endophytic fungi associated with P. royenii to establish its possible role in the survival of cacti infested with Hypogeococcus sp. We assessed fragments of surface-sterilized plant tissue from asymptomatic and cacti infested by Hypogeococcus sp. The rate of fungal infection and relative frequency of fungal morphotypes isolated from plant tissue was calculated as well as the similarity of the fungal community among individuals. Asymptomatic and infested P. royenii individuals presented similar fungal infection rates. Fungal colonies were isolated from asymptomatic P. royenii tissue and from affected individuals, representing a total of 34 fungal morphotypes. Infested individuals harbored an endophytic fungal community with greater similarity to each other compared to the asymptomatic individuals.

Puerto Rico was affected by two major hurricanes during the 2017 Atlantic Hurricane Season, hurricanes Irma and Maria. These large-scale disturbances caused a restructuring of the forests across the whole island, affecting the physical environment of the terrestrial biota. One way to measure how the environment changes after a disturbance is with the use of soundscapes, or the acoustic signatures of an area. This study compares soundscapes of areas recorded before and after the hurricane season to analyze if, in addition to the physical forest restructuring caused by the hurricanes, there were also changes in the acoustic structure. The study was conducted in the Carite State Forest in southeastern Puerto Rico. The results show differences in soundscape structure between the sites measured before and after the 2017 Atlantic hurricane season. In-depth analysis of the frequencies used by vocal animals showed that a change in insect activity, and amphibian colonization/extinction, were the main drivers of the observed differences between the pre- and post-hurricane soundscapes. This study corroborates that Passive Acoustic Monitoring and soundscape analysis are important tools to understand how a community reacts to natural, large scale disturbances.

We measured water temperature, salinity, Secchi, and concentrations of dissolved oxygen, chlorophyll, suspended matter, and nutrients in the water column at six sites at Cahuita National Park on the southern Caribbean coast of Costa Rica, at three-month intervals over a two-year time period in 2017 and 2018. We also assemble and compare the available water quality measurements for the area dating back to 1979. Water quality conditions were similar to previous reports at this site and nearby areas, with the exception of decreased suspended matter, and increased nitrogen concentrations. Higher nitrogen concentrations at this location may be the result of the growing human population, and may be a factor influencing seagrass decline over time, although the observed concentrations are considered adequate for seagrass development. We recommend continued monitoring of seagrasses and water quality at this location, along with adequate effluent and catchment management.

Double mutualism describes the situation where two species interact for the benefit of both in more than one type of interaction. For instance, if a given plant species is both pollinated and has its seeds dispersed by the same animal species. Double mutualism is thought to be more present in ecosystems where organisms are generalized, such as on oceanic islands. In the Caribbean islands, double mutualism has only been reported four times, of which only one involves a bird, between the widespread Bananaquit (Coereba flaveola) and the plant Cordia bicolor (Boraginaceae) on the continental island of Tobago. Here, for the first time, we report an observation of double mutualistic behaviour of a bird on Caribbean oceanic islands: The Black-crowned Tanager (Phaenicophilus palmarum), a bird endemic to Hispaniola, and the widespread plant Beach Creeper (Ernodea littoralis, Rubiaceae). Whereas hummingbirds and insects were more frequent visitors to the flowers of E. littoralis compared to P. palmarum, only P. palmarum was observed as a seed-disperser of E. littoralis. Based on our observations, we conclude that P. palmarum and E. littoralis show double mutualistic behaviour, though more detailed studies are needed to quantify the importance of this mutualistic behaviour, both from the bird's point of view and from the plant's point of view regarding the effectiveness of P. palmarum as pollinator and seed-disperser, respectively. We believe that double mutualism has been overlooked in the Caribbean, and, thus, we hope our observations will stimulate research into the importance of double mutualism across the Caribbean.

The Jumping Viper genus Metlapilcoatlus is composed of five species distributed throughout the Mesoamerican region, with M. indomitus being endemic to Honduras. While there have been numerous publications about its distribution, basic data concerning the species natural history (reproduction, diet, and behavior) remain poorly known. Here we expand on the knowledge of M. indomitus through an ex-situ study of two captive individuals inside a herpetarium. Over the course of three years from October 11, 2017, we monitored reproductive patterns of courtship, copulation, and reproductive potential. We register two events of courtship and copulation, and three deliveries with a total of 61 neonates (26, 14, and 21 respectively). We found significant differences in the total length of the neonates between broods (p = 3.557e-12). Our data mark a strong correlation and linear trade-off between the number of offspring per delivery and their length, with neonates of broods containing fewer offspring being of greater length, whereas those neonates from larger broods were shorter in average.

The Yucatan yellow bat (Rhogeessa aeneus) is a poorly known species endemic to the Yucatan Peninsula, mainly distributed in tropical forests of the three Mexican states of Campeche, Quintana Roo, and Yucatan. Here, we report the first record of this species in Cayo Centro, the main cay of Banco Chinchorro atoll, located in southern Quintana Roo, Mexico, 47 km from the mainland in the Caribbean Sea. On May 2021, we captured three individuals of R. aeneus on Cayo Centro in a low coastal forest consisting mostly of Bursera simaruba. This is the second species of bat reported for the atoll, and more studies are needed to further the investigation on the species diversity and status of the populations there.

Plestiodon longirostris is a critically endangered endemic skink living in the Bermuda archipelago. To know their intestinal parasites and evaluate the role that they may have in the conservation of the species, we have carried out a faecal analysis of some samples obtained from several populations. This type of analysis is presented as the most suitable for threatened species. The results show that P. longirostris has incorporated parasites from introduced species in Bermuda, and it is a competent host for these parasites. Nevertheless, the low prevalence of infection of these parasites suggests that they are not actually a threat to the endemic skink populations.

Two nests of Bananaquit (Coereba flaveola) were observed in man-made objects in a suburban area of Jarabacoa, Dominican Republic. The nests were located at the base of rustic pendant lights made of metal, placed on a second-floor terrace of an inhabited dwelling. One nest contained three chicks, while the other was empty. An adult made several approaches to the breeding nest to feed the chicks, despite the presence of people nearby. The selection of these nesting sites is probably due to protection against adverse environmental conditions and predators, since both were located under a roof.

Vaccinium ekmanii Berazain (Ericaceae) is an endemic species from the Dominican Republic whose habitat is particularly vulnerable to human activities due to their proximity to developed areas. Its related species, V. racemosum (Vahl) Wilbur & Lutyen, is native, widely distributed, and is thought to be abundant. Using nine microsatellite loci and pollinator exclusion experiments, this study compared the population genetic structure and the reproductive biology of these two species of Vaccinium in the Dominican Republic to evaluate the impact of anthropogenic activities on their genetic diversity and pollinators. Pollinator exclusion experiments demonstrated that both species are mostly outcrossing, thus they need pollinators to set fruits. Vaccinium ekmanii and V. racemosum have flowers typical of the bee pollination syndrome; the former was confirmed to be bee-pollinated, while the latter was surprisingly pollinated by birds. We found that anthropogenic activities were associated with smaller population size, lower genetic diversity, and low native pollinator frequency. Populations of both species had low-to-moderate levels of genetic diversity and genetic differentiation. The inbreeding coefficients (F_IS) were low in V. ekmanii, and ranged from low to high in V. racemosum. The Bayesian analysis identified two distinct genetic clusters in V. racemosum and three highly admixed groups in V. ekmanii. Our results confirm that habitat degradation had a detrimental effect on pollinators and genetic diversity. Conservation efforts should aim to increase population size and connectivity, and reduce anthropization, particularly in V. ekmanii populations.

We report for the first time the greenhouse frog Eleutherodactylus planirostris from San Andrés, the largest Colombian Caribbean island. This record represents the second known frog species on the island, and the second invasive Eleutherodactylus species reported from Colombian territory. In addition, we describe and discuss the morphology and some aspects of the natural history of this newly documented and well-established population. Additional research about the ecological impacts of invasion of E. planirostris on natural ecosystems and native species of San Andrés are required.