Green Pages

Eels of the Turks & Caicos Islands Story & Photos By C.E. O’Brien, Associate Professor of Tropical Marine Ecology, The School for Field Studies, Center for Marine Resource Studies Eels are members of the order Anguilliformes, a group of mostly marine fishes characterized by their elongated bodies without scales. They also lack the pelvic and (usually) the pectoral ...

Gauging sustainable spiny lobster fisheries. Story & Photos By Marta Calosso & John Claydon, Founders & Directors, FisherFolkFirst The majority of commercial fishers in the Turks & Caicos Islands (TCI) are free-divers, and their fishing techniques have remained largely unchanged for almost 50 years. This fact should be celebrated as a testament to the quality of the ...

Part 2:  Menagerie a trois Story & Photos By Eric S. Cole, Biology Department, St. Olaf College, Northfield, Minnesota The life cycle of a jellyfish, and in particular the upside-down jellyfish (Cassiopea) involves something called alternation of generations, going between a swimming form, (the “medusa” that most of us recognize as a jellyfish), and a tiny anchored ...

Keeping Turks & Caicos “Beautiful By Nature” through storytelling and art. By Teresa Tomassoni, Amy Avenant and Katharine Hart Art and storytelling are powerful tools our ancestors have used from the beginning of time to preserve cultural heritage, pass on generations of wisdom about nature and advocate for her protection. They are tools that help us humans ...

Developing ocean stewardship and sustainable livelihoods for fisherfolk. Story & Photos By Marta Calosso & John Claydon, Founders & Directors, FisherFolkFirst The Caribbean spiny lobster (Panulirus argus) is the most important fishery in the Turks & Caicos Islands (TCI). It also has the potential to be one of the most sustainable fisheries in the world. Almost all ...

Part 1:  The Medusa Worm (Synaptula hydriformis) Story & Photos By Eric S. Cole, Biology Department, St. Olaf College, Northfield, Minnesota Trigger warning: this creature’s habits are so foreign, they may offend the senses. One of the most marvelous life-forms I’ve encountered in both The Bahamas and Turks & Caicos islands is a tiny sea cucumber named Synaptula ...

Getting the edge on seagrass meadows. By Natalie Ritter (The School for Field Studies), Violet Apodaca (Bowdoin College), Kira Kaplan (Smith College), Lily Marynik (Wellesley College), Sophie Moniz (Connecticut College), Rory O’Connor (Lehigh University), Paul Stanley (University of Massachusetts Amherst) and Aliya Swearngin (Grinnell College) Edited by Dr. C.E. O’Brien, The School for Fields Studies, Center for ...

Our “feathered friends” are an important indicator of environmental health. Story & Photos By Dolly Prosper, DECR Environmental Officer: Terrestrial Ecologist Humans have always been fascinated with our avian neighbours. Throughout history, the relationship between humans and birds has been multifaceted, encompassing utility, symbolism, and mutual benefit. The genesis of our intricate bond was due to caloric ...

Restoring TCI reefs. By Kort Alexander and Kara Rumage, The School for Field Studies Center for Marine Resource Studies, South Caicos We sit on the siderails of the boat in anticipation, hands holding our masks and regulators in place. The captain counts down from three and we lean back until our tanks hit the water. We are instantly ...

New Natural Capital Investment Plan to launch this summer. By Andy Tetlow, International Biodiversity Officer, Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC) The environmental landscape of the Turks & Caicos Islands plays a vital role in the country’s tourism-focused economy, providing “ecosystem services” that have a significant impact on communities across TCI.  What are ecosystem services, you may ask? This ...

The Darwin PLUS 129 Project focuses on TCI wetlands. By Christopher May, Samuel Pike, Katie Medcalf, B Naqqi Manco, Dodly Prosper, and Junel Blaise As development steadily progresses throughout the Turks & Caicos Islands, it remains crucial to conserve and protect the areas that make the country “Beautiful by Nature.” The North, Middle and East Caicos wetlands ...

Connections between marine and terrestrial ecosystems. Story & Photos By Bill Bigelow, The School for Field Studies, Center for Marine Resource Studies, South Caicos, Turks & Caicos Islands At The School for Field Studies’ (SFS) Center for Marine Resource Studies, I start my research course by posing a seemingly simple question to students: “What is a land crab?” ...

Two-“legged” walking in octopods. By Sydney L. O’Brien and C. E. O’Brien, The School for Field Studies Center for Marine Resource Studies, South Caicos Have you ever seen a walking coconut? If you have, chances are it was actually an octopod, running on two arms across the sand. This may sound like an odd piece of science fiction ...

Empowering island youth: Scuba diving as a pathway to marine sciences. By Alizee Zimmermann, Turks & Caicos Reef Fund ~ Photos By Reginald Beckford Jr. Close your eyes. Breathe in. Breathe out. Descend. The light shimmers above, penetrating through crystal-clear water and creating patterns along the sand, rainbows that dance in and out of the schools of ...

Miniature inland seas offer refuge to a rich gallery of marine life. Story & Images By Dr. Eric Cole, Biology Professor, St. Olaf College, Northfield, MN Ten thousand years ago the last of the great glaciers receded from the continents in the North, and their meltwaters drained into the ocean basins. Far to the South, the rising ...