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Monthly Archives: June 2017

Into the Ghaut

Get an inside look at science as it happens in the Caribbean. This week we dive into the freshwater ecosystems of St. Kitts and Nevis. Ghaut, ghut, gut: however you spell it, it refers to the steep ravines that link hills and mountains to the sea. Nestled in the bottom of some, we find streams …

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A Monkey to Blame?

Get an inside look at science as it happens in the Caribbean. This week, how do you know if something’s wrong in the local ecology, and how do you know what it is? During a February 2017 field visit to St. Kitts and Nevis, I marveled at the forests. There were huge trees, hanging vines, …

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A Night with the Bat People

Get an inside look at science as it happens in the Caribbean. This week, join the bat people to study these furry flying critters on St. Kitts. The bat people don’t have a lot of time to rest. Scientists studying these flying mammals spend their days scouting good locations to catch them and their evenings …

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A Night with the Bat People

Get an inside look at science as it happens in the Caribbean. This week, join the bat people to study these furry flying critters on St. Kitts. The bat people don’t have a lot of time to rest. Scientists studying these flying mammals spend their days scouting good locations to catch them and their evenings …

read more

A Night with the Bat People

Get an inside look at science as it happens in the Caribbean. This week, join the bat people to study these furry flying critters on St. Kitts. The bat people don’t have a lot of time to rest. Scientists studying these flying mammals spend their days scouting good locations to catch them and their evenings …

read more

By the Light of the Headlamp

Get an inside look at science as it happens in the Caribbean. This week, we shine a light into a world of darkness in the field on St. Kitts. Beyond the narrow beam of the headlamp, the world is dark. There are no streetlights here, and the forest canopy blocks out the moon and stars …

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Dipping for Diversity

Get an inside look at science as it happens in the Caribbean. This week, we dip into freshwater habitats as part of a biodiversity survey of St. Kitts and Nevis. Take a medium-sized mesh strainer and use some duct tape to secure it to the end of an old broomstick. Voilà, you just made a …

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Into the Field

There are plenty of biologists in the world working in university laboratories and museum basements. In many ways, these indoor environments might be considered the primary natural habitat of the modern biologist. Some, however, are only truly at home when out in the field. In biology, fieldwork is essentially any research that is done outside …

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Caribbean Curiosities: Having it Both Ways

All of the creatures that have found lasting success on St. Martin have some kind of adaptation that makes them suited to life here. Freshwater species have more challenges than most, and the Apple Snail is well equipped to deal with them. The Apple Snail is a large snail that lives in freshwater habitats. Members …

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Caribbean Curiosities: Having it Both Ways

All of the creatures that have found lasting success on St. Martin have some kind of adaptation that makes them suited to life here. Freshwater species have more challenges than most, and the Apple Snail is well equipped to deal with them. The Apple Snail is a large snail that lives in freshwater habitats. Members …

read more