Our Solutions Lie in Nature
Attish Kanhai, Research Officer Institute of Marine Affairs In 1970, Theodor Geisel was fighting to save some Eucalyptus trees around his house from being cleared in order to make way for a suburban development. His idea was to write a children’s book about conservation that was not boring but entertaining. However, writer’s block got the better of him and upon his wife’s suggestion he travelled to Mount Kenya Safari Club where he was able to watch the animals along Kenya’s Laikipia plateau. Theodor Geisel was a children’s author of some repute, he could ill afford to have his work be substandard, and such an important message of...
Parrotfish – Eating and “pooping” their way to healthy reefs!
Mainly found near and around coral reefs, parrotfish are reef fish which are significant to our coral reefs as they graze and eat algae found on corals. They are the reef’s gracious and indispensable gardeners, removing the algae that compete with corals. This prevents the corals from being overgrown and becoming smothered. Additionally, they feed mainly on algae extracted from pieces of coral bitten off from the reef using their teeth which have been fused into powerful beaks, much like a parrots’ beak – hence their name. As much as 90% of their day may be spent nibbling away at the reef. The rock and...
Ocean Science for Climate Change
The ocean is a key component of the Earth’s climate system and shares a complex relationship with climate change....
SEA, SAND AND A TERRIBLE STING-
What are fire corals and stonefish? Can you identify them? Do you know that these marine creatures, which wash up on our shores every year during Easter time can inflict severe pain should you get stung?...
Sargassum – A Visitor to Our Beaches
While we are home, another visitor is washing up on our beaches, the Sargassum seaweed....
Happy 2020 Easter
On behalf of the Board of Governors and Management of the Institute of Marine Affairs, I extend Easter Greetings 2020 to all....
The Importance of Gender Equality to Marine Sciences at the IMA
From the brackish waterways dotted with hectares of healthy mangroves on Trinidad’s shorelines to scenic underwater seascapes of coral reefs in Tobago, female scientists at the Institute of Marine Affairs (IMA), alongside their male colleagues, continue to dedicate their time and efforts to conserve our precious marine and coastal resources. ...
Wetland Biodiversity: Why It matters?
Prepared by Dr. Rahanna Juman, Director (Ag.) Institute of Marine Affairs As the world commemorates World Wetlands Day on February 2nd with the theme ‘Wetland Biodiversity: Why its Matters’, a December 2019 publication by Diaz et al in Science revealed that most indicators of the state of nature, whether monitored by natural and social scientists or by indigenous peoples and local communities, are declining. Consequently, nature’s capacity to provide crucial benefits has also declined, including environmental processes underpinning human health and non-material contributions to the quality of human life. These trends in nature and its contributions to people are projected to worsen in the coming decades, unless rapid and integrated action is taken to...