Why Size Matters – How the Loss of the Ocean’s Megafauna is Affecting Our Ecosystems
Heracles, better known by his Roman name Hercules, is one of the most famous characters of Greek mythology. An illegitimate child of the Greek God Zeus, Heracles was the source of jealousy for Zeus’s legitimate wife Hera, hence his mother's naming him Heracles, which translates to “Hera’s glory”. Hera remained unmoved and in the red mist of anger, tricked Heracles into killing his wife and children, a crime for which his punishment became known as the 12 labours of Heracles. Heracles’ 12 labours, were in essence, ridding the Greek universe of some of its most fearsome creatures such as lions, hydras, boars and bulls. I...
PERSPECTIVES: The wonders of marine biodiversity
Vincent Van Gogh’s love for nature was no secret and the olive groves in Saint-Remy, France, were one his favourite places to paint. In a letter to his brother Theo, Van Gogh once wrote, “The murmur of an olive grove has something very intimate, immensely old about it….it’s too beautiful for me to dare paint it.” What Van Gogh captures in his words is the reverence of nature which is often quite difficult to ignore when you are working in natural settings. As a marine biologist, working in the sea allows one the good fortune of seeing many marine species living life in their natural habitat. Marine biologists like Attish...
IMA first in region to earn Nitrate/Nitrite Testing laboratory accreditation
The Institute of Marine Affairs (IMA) has been successful in attaining ISO/IEC 17025:2017, which is an international accreditation and standard for the ‘General Requirements for the Competence of Testing and Calibration Laboratories’ specific to the nitrate/ nitrite test. Notice of accreditation was issued by letter in December 2022 by the Trinidad and Tobago Bureau of Standards. The Trinidad and Tobago Laboratory Accreditation Service (TTLABS) conducted the accreditation exercise. This certification serves as the international reference for the testing and calibration laboratories, that demonstrate their capacity to deliver reliable results and is a reliable indicator of laboratory’s technical competence. Accreditation therefore enhances the public confidence in...
Shifts Along Our Sandy Shores
Beaches remain the main attraction of tourists to the Greater Caribbean. For small island nation states, tourism accounts for an average of 25% of their Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and is the fastest growing sector of their economies. About 115 million people live around the Caribbean Sea’s coastline, and every year, another 20 million people come to visit. This rapid growth in the tourism sector and its associated activity on beaches together with climate change impacts are leading to greater erosion on Caribbean beaches and shorelines. This is damaging the infrastructure and shorelines of coastal communities, depleting important tourism resources, and negatively impacting the...