Green Pages

Piping Plovers return to the TCI for the winter. By Eric F. Salamanca (DECR), Elise Elliot-Smith (US Geological Survey), Caleb Spiegel and Craig Watson (US Fish and Wildlife Service), Sidney Maddock (Contractor for Environment and Climate Change Canada), Simon Busuttil (Turks & Caicos National Trust & Royal Society for the Protection of Birds), Kathleen Wood (SWA ...

TCI’s native plants are a long way from home. Story & Photos By B Naqqi Manco, TCI Naturalist It is a plant fanatic’s dream—away from the exhibition greenhouses and behind the public barriers, the walk through the glass-walled corridor of the Tropical Plant Nursery at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew in London passes by huge glasshouse rooms ...

This unusual plant is not as “romantic” as it would seem. Story & Photos By B Naqqi Manco, TCI Naturalist “Ugh, it’s like evaporating rubber cement,” I lamented, scraping the mucilaginous liquid off my fingers onto the twig of a pink poui tree, “No wonder I could never get it to work before—I was doing it wrong ...

Restoring endangered coral species to TCI reefs. Story & Photos By Don Stark, Chairman, Turks & Caicos Reef Fund Coral reefs form some of the planet’s most biologically diverse ecosystems, providing protection of beaches, habitat for fishes, and a natural source of carbon capture from the atmosphere (corals build their homes out of calcium carbonate which they ...

The past, present and future of feeding the Turks & Caicos Islands. By Dr. Alastair M. Smith, School for Field Studies, Center for Marine Resource Studies, South Caicos, and Dr. Jessica Paddock, Sustainable Consumption Institute, Manchester University, UK One of the many reasons that a growing number of people are flocking to visit the Turks & Caicos ...

TCI’s cave system helps researchers understand local geology. By Michael J. Lace, John E. Mylroie, Nancy A. Albury, and Joan R. Mylroie, Coastal Cave Survey The Turks & Caicos Islands are well known for beautiful beaches and sparkling turquoise seas. Did you know that the Islands also have a unique and interesting underworld? It is made up ...

Rare, endangered, and threatened bird found in Turks & Caicos Islands. By Eric F. Salamanca, DEMA, Elise Elliote-Smith, US Geologic Service, and Caleb Spiegel and Craig Watson, US Fish and Wildlife Service Photos By Eric F. Salamanca The Piping Plover (Charadrius melodus) is a small shorebird that nests and feeds along coastal sand and beaches. Due to anthropogenic disturbances, ...

Invasive lionfish mitigation on South Caicos. By Anela Akiona, School for Field Studies Center for Marine Resource Management Invasive species are a major threat to ecosystem stability and biodiversity and the environmental and economic costs are increasing. While most invasions to date have been in terrestrial and freshwater systems, marine invasions have significantly increased. This has been ...

Regionally endangered, locally abundant Story & Photos By John Claydon, PhD & Marta Calosso, MS, MA – TCI Nassau Grouper Project leaders Go on any SCUBA dive or snorkel trip in the Turks & Caicos Islands and you would be very unlucky not to see a Nassau grouper or two. It is no exaggeration to say that ...

South Caicos’ salt ponds attract an amazing bird community. Story & Photos By Liam M. Carr, Ph.D., School for Field Studies, Center for Marine Resource Studies, South Caicos The island of South Caicos provides important habitat for over 200 species of birds, some year-round residents and others only appearing briefly as they move across the region. Mourning ...

Beach profile monitoring for marine turtle nesting areas. By Charlotte de Fontaubert, Heidi Hertler, Aaron Henderson, and Anela Akiona The Turks & Caicos Islands (TCI) are an archipelago of about forty limestone islands. Most of the land habitat is scrub lands. The mangrove forests, seagrass ecosystems, salt flats and coral reefs that line the coast are among ...

Second controlled burn in Middle Caicos pineyard a success. Story & Photos By B Naqqi Manco, Caicos Pine Recovery Project Manager Following the excellent results of TCI’s first controlled burn in the Middle Caicos pineyard in May, 2012 (see Times of the Islands, Fall 2012 “A Burning Desire”), a second controlled burn was carried out on December ...

Studying, monitoring, and protecting TCI’s coral reefs. By Emily Stokes and Heidi Hertler, School for Field Studies Center for Marine Resource Studies Photos By Heidi Hertler Coral reefs are among the most biologically diverse and highly productive ecosystems on Earth. Whilst they cover a mere 1% of the Earth’s surface, their contribution to the global economy is estimated ...

Be part of a TCI science revolution. By Edward Hind and Katharine Hart The natural world in the Turks & Caicos changes daily. Birds of all shapes and sizes continually arrive to and leave our shores on their long migrations. Waters inundate and then leave mangrove forests as the tide rises and falls. Humpback whales pass along ...

TCI’s eagle rays on “Near Threatened” list By Dr. Aaron C. Henderson, Resident Lecturer, The School for Field Studies, Center for Marine Resource Studies, South Caicos The spotted eagle ray, known scientifically as Aetobatus narinari, is one of the largest species of fish inhabiting the waters around the Turks & Caicos Islands. Growing up to 300 cm ...