Dutch Caribbean Islands Research Articles

Vegetation classification in the Neotropics – Novel insights from Latin America and the Caribbean

Our editorial introduces a Special Collection of scientific articles on current vegetation research in the most biodiverse of all biogeographic realms, the Neotropics. It contains nine scientific contributions dedicated to vegetation data, description and classification. Four research papers provide new vegetation classifications of important Neotropical biomes, namely the Arid Chaco in Argentina, Mexican temperate forests, and Andean wetlands in the Argentine Puna and southern Peru. Furthermore, one study provides a novel bioclimatic-vegetation classification approach applied to Mexican vegetation, while another proposes a new synthesis of the South American terrestrial biomes as geocomplexes. Finally, three vegetation databases are presented in the Special Collection: ArgVeg – Database of Central Argentina (GIVD ID: SA-AR-002), CACTUS – Vegetation database of the Dutch Caribbean Islands (GIVD ID: SA-00-004) and VegAndes: the vegetation database for the Latin American highlands (GIVD ID: SA-00-005). The Special Collection provides fundamental data and tools to better understand the diversity and complexity of Neotropical vegetation. Abbreviations: GIVD = Global Index of Vegetation-Plot Databases, IAVS = International Association for Vegetation Science, IAVS-LACS = IAVS Regional Section for the Latin America and the Caribbean, VCS = Vegetation Classification and Survey

The carbon footprint of vegetable imports into Aruba: A closer look at sea and air transport

This study aimed to give insights into low-carbon vegetable import strategies for Aruba, a Dutch Caribbean island. Our selected products were potatoes, lettuce, onions, tomatoes, and green beans. The products originated from 13 different countries, and 25 product-country combinations were identified. The system boundaries were from the farm until arrival at the supermarket. We identified actual maritime transport routes, and calculated greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of passenger aircrafts flying from Amsterdam to Aruba. Vegetables imported by air had significantly higher GHG emissions (4.2–8.3 kg CO2eq per kg) than products imported by sea (0.4–2.3 kg CO2eq per kg). GHG emissions of road transport generally contributed more than those of other life cycle stages, except when products showed a high contribution of agriculture. Although sea transport was calculated with much detail, it usually did not contribute much to the GHG emissions. We recommend Life Cycle Practitioners to consider aircraft characteristics when calculating GHG emissions of air transport, and to include the weight of the 80 kg AKE container, used for cooled airfreight, when allocating impacts between passengers and freight. For this case study, GHG emissions of specific passenger aircrafts always resulted in lower GHG emissions compared to generic calculations.

Spatial distribution of settlement of Diadema antillarum around Saba, Dutch Caribbean.

The mass mortality event of the herbivorous sea urchin Diadema antillarum in 1983-1984 has been a major contributor to the diminished resilience of coral reefs throughout the Caribbean. The reduction in grazing pressure resulted in algae proliferation, which inhibited coral recruitment after disturbances such as disease, hurricanes, pollution and climatic change induced marine heat waves. Natural recovery of D. antillarum after the 1983-1984 die-off has been slow. However, the few locations with recovered populations exhibit signs of improvement in coral reef health, prompting interest in D. antillarum restoration. Current restoration strategies include translocation of wild individuals, the restocking of juveniles that are either cultured from gametes or collected as settlers and head-started in a nursery, and assisted natural recovery by providing suitable settlement substrate. Both the collection of wild settlers and assisted natural recovery necessitate an understanding of the local, spatiotemporal trends in settlement. In this study, which was carried out on the Dutch Caribbean Island of Saba, artificial turf settlement collectors were deployed at nine locations around the island and monitored from June 2019 till July 2020 (13 months). The primary objective was to identify trends in larval settlement in space and time, to be able to optimize restoration efforts. Additionally, the small size of Saba allowed us to deploy settlement collectors around the island and compare D. antillarum settlement between windward and leeward sides. Our study showed that on Saba, D. antillarum settlement peaked in June and July, following similar seasonal trends observed around other islands in the Northeastern Caribbean. By far the most settlement occurred at the leeward side of the island, suggesting that hydrodynamic forces entrained D. antillarum larvae in the lee of Saba and/or calmer waters facilitated settlement. Limited settlement occurred on the more exposed windward locations. The identified high settlement locations are candidates for settler collection and restoration attempts. Continued monitoring of D. antillarum settlement, especially in light of the 2022 D. antillarum die-off, holds significance as it can provide insights into the potential of natural recovery.

Predicting the development of Papiamento and Dutch word decoding efficiency in the Dutch Caribbean

Abstract We investigated the development of word decoding (Grades 4–6; 165 children) in Papiamento (L1) and Dutch (L2) in the postcolonial context of the Dutch Caribbean islands of Aruba, Bonaire, and Curaçao. The results show a steady development over the upper Grades for both L1 Papiamento and L2 Dutch word decoding in that children became more efficient in word decoding over the years. However, the children were generally better decoders in L2 Dutch than in L1 Papiamento. Moreover, the initial language of decoding instruction did not matter for the development of word decoding. The groups were equally efficient in L1 and L2 word decoding in Grades 4–6. Furthermore, rapid naming and phonological awareness predicted L1 word decoding development, whereas rapid naming, phonological awareness, and working memory predicted L2 word decoding development. Finally, evidence was found for linguistic interdependencies for word decoding development from L1 to L2 and vice versa.

Can we build better? Challenges with geospatial and financial accessibility in the Caribbean. Illustrative case.

Within the Caribbean, Curaçao provides a neurosurgical hub to other Dutch Caribbean islands. At times, the inefficiency of neurosurgical referrals leads to unsatisfactory patient outcomes in true emergency cases. This article reports an illustrative case of a patient in need of emergency neurosurgical care, who was referred to a tertiary health institution in Curaçao. This case highlights the challenges of timely neurosurgical referrals within the Dutch Caribbean. Highlighting this case may provide a foundation for further discussions that may improve neurosurgical care and access. Limiting long-distance surgical referrals in the acute care setting will aid in saving lives.

CACTUS – Vegetation database of the Dutch Caribbean Islands

The vegetation database CACTUS (registered in GIVD under SA-00-004) aims to bring together all plot-based relevés from the Dutch Caribbean Islands that are available from literature, unpublished resources, and recent field surveys. The database currently contains 2,701 vegetation descriptions. The database is used for vegetation classification, to investigate vegetation change over time, to assist in the planning of vegetation surveys, as a source for plant species distribution maps, and to inform nature conservation and policy. Taxonomic references: Van Proosdij (2012) for the Leeward Islands, Axelrod (2017, 2021) for the Windward Islands, except for St. Martin (Howard 1974-1989).

Prevalence of congenital anomalies in the Dutch Caribbean islands of Aruba, Bonaire, and Curaçao.

Congenital anomalies represent an important global health issue. Data on the prevalence and pattern of congenital anomalies in the Caribbean region are scarce and lacking altogether in Aruba, Bonaire and Curaçao (ABC islands). We performed a population-based surveillance study to determine the prevalence of structural congenital anomalies in the ABC islands, including all live births and stillbirths between January 1, 2008 and December 31, 2017 with major congenital anomalies according to EUROCAT guide 1.5. Terminations of pregnancy for fetal anomaly were included as well. Cases were identified by active case ascertainment, using multiple sources including pediatric patient files and discharge letters, delivery records, and clinical genetic patient files. Total and subgroup prevalence rates were compared between the three islands and to the French West Indies and Northern Netherlands. Total prevalence of congenital anomalies on the ABC islands was 242.97 per 10,000 births. Total prevalence of congenital anomalies in Bonaire (325.15 per 10,000 births) was higher compared to Aruba (233.29 per 10,000 births) and Curaçao (238.58 per 10,000 births), which was mainly attributable to a higher prevalence of limb anomalies, in particular polydactyly, in Bonaire. Total prevalence of congenital anomalies on the ABC islands was comparable to the French West Indies (248.69 per 10,000 births) but significantly lower compared to the Northern Netherlands (298.98 per 10,000 births). In the subgroup prevalence analysis, the prevalence of polydactyly and atrial septal defect on the ABC islands was significantly higher compared with the French West Indies and the Northern Netherlands, while the prevalence of congenital anomalies of the kidney and urinary tract and genetic disorders was significantly lower. This is the first study to establish the prevalence and pattern of congenital anomalies on the ABC islands, which is important to inform healthcare managers and policymakers and to provide a basis for continuous surveillance of congenital anomalies.

Separate but equal in the protection against climate change? The legal framework of climate justice for the Caribbean part of the Kingdom of The Netherlands

AbstractThe experiences of overseas territories and how their varying degrees of self‐governance influence climate (in)action are overlooked topics, even though these places are often highly impacted by climate change. Analysing the situation of the Dutch Kingdom demonstrates some of these challenges. The Kingdom consists of the European Netherlands and the Caribbean islands of Aruba, Curacao, St Maarten, Bonaire, St Eustatius and Saba. Out of these, the Caribbean islands are the most vulnerable to climate change, while the European Netherlands has contributed the most to it. This can be seen as climate injustice. Access to mitigation and adaptation mechanisms mentioned in international agreements could be beneficial to these Caribbean islands. However, the international climate change agreements have only entered into force for the European part of the Kingdom and not the Caribbean part due to a territorial limitation. This has several consequences, and this paper highlights two. First, the requirement that greenhouse gas emissions should be reduced does not apply to the islands, which leaves room for unsustainable activities but also overlooks their need for adaptation and compensation for loss and damage. Second, access to climate finance instruments is limited as the Dutch Caribbean islands are seen as part of the Kingdom and therefore do not qualify for international assistance. Within the European Union, funds are available but access to these is not guaranteed, as the experience with recovery after Hurricane Irma demonstrates. These examples show that the issues around climate justice have been insufficiently resolved. There is a need for a long‐term climate strategy within the Kingdom along with complementary funding. Until then, climate litigation could assist in enforcing a duty of care by local governments and the Kingdom to protect inhabitants by using the human rights framework. This would also create a roadmap for other territories in similar circumstances.

David Williams: finding solutions for racial inequities in health

David Williams was born “in the Dutch Caribbean island of Aruba”, and “raised in, at the time, the British colony of St Lucia”. His parents had not attended high school but they were, he recalls, “avid readers who had a lot of books at home” and his mother, who became a nurse aged 62 years, was a powerful source of inspiration for him. Over his influential career, Williams, who is the Norman Professor of Public Health and Chair of the Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences at the Harvard T H Chan School of Public Health and Professor of African and African American Studies and of Sociology at Harvard University, Boston, MA, USA, has elucidated the ways in which racism, socioeconomic status, stress, and health behaviours impact physical and mental health.

Assisted Natural Recovery: A Novel Approach to Enhance Diadema antillarum Recruitment

The massive die-off of the sea urchin Diadema antillarum in 1983–1984 is one the main reasons for low coral recruitment and little coral recovery in the Caribbean. As the natural recovery of D. antillarum is slow to non-existent, multiple restoration studies have been attempted. There are currently three different approaches to obtain individuals for restocking: the translocation of wild-collected juveniles or adults, lab-reared juveniles cultured from wild-collected settlers, or lab-reared juveniles cultured from gametes. All three methods are costly and can only be applied on a relatively small scale. We here propose a fourth, new, approach, which we term assisted natural recovery (ANR) of D. antillarum populations. ANR, a concept already applied in terrestrial restoration to restore forests and grasslands, can accelerate succession by removing barriers to natural recovery. In this study, performed on the Dutch Caribbean island of Saba, suitable settlement substrate was provided in the form of bio ball streamers that were attached to the reef shortly before the settlement season. At the end of the experiment, reefs with streamers had significantly higher D. antillarum recruit densities than control reefs without additional settlement substrate, indicating that the lack of settlement substrate is an important factor constraining natural recovery. However, D. antillarum recruit abundance was low compared to the measured settlement rates, possibly due to low post-settlement survival. The size distribution of recruits showed that recruits almost never became larger than 20 mm, which is likely due to predation. We conclude that, next to low settlement availability, low post-settlement survival and high predation on recruits also constrain the natural recovery of D. antillarum populations on Saba. To improve the survival of settlers till adults, we propose to 1) reduce predation on settlers by using bio balls or other substrates that can provide shelter to larger individuals and 2) optimize the reef habitat by removing macroalgae, either manually or by facilitating other herbivores. To improve the survival of recruits, we suggest to 1) choose sites with a known lower predation density or 2) protect recruits with a corral around the reef underneath the streamers. The combination of these measures could improve prospects for ANR, and we expect this new approach can contribute to the recovery of D. antillarum populations in the future.

Life at the Salty Edge of Empire: The Maritime Cultural Landscape at the Orange Saltpan on Bonaire, 1821–1960

The early modern history of the Dutch Caribbean island of Bonaire has to a large extent been influenced by its most valuable resource: solar salt. Through a multidisciplinary approach combining a landscape study, underwater and terrestrial archaeological surveys, and documentary research, the maritime cultural landscape of Bonaire’s southernmost saltpan is analyzed holistically, revealing new aspects of the lives of the people who lived and toiled there.

The zombie pirate invasion: an introduction to immunology concepts.

Abstract Introduction The terminology that is used to describe the parts of the immune system can be very intimidating to student learners. We have noticed that some students disengage from the learning process early on in the semester because they are overwhelmed by “jargon” (e.g. CD markers, cytokines). The classroom exercise described here serves to introduce students to the concept of immunology as the body’s defense system as well as to provide a simplified framework for students to refer to as they learn more advanced concepts. Methods First-year medical students at Saba University School of Medicine, located on the small Dutch Caribbean island of Saba, are engaged in this group-based exercise at the beginning of the immunology content block. We present them with the following scenario: “Our island is being invaded by zombie pirates! How can we defend against this attack?” Each learning group is assigned a specific task, such as figuring out how to communicate across the island, determining how to differentiate zombies from residents, or planning how to train the populace in defense. Students then share their answers with the class. Instructors facilitate the linking of student answers with applicable concepts in immunology, e.g. communication = cytokine signaling, zombie identification = MHC presentation, training centers = lymph nodes. Results/Conclusion We have found that students remember this discussion in the following weeks, and that we can use the ideas they presented as a framework for reference as we introduce immunology concepts. This activity could be adapted to a number of different educational settings, contingent on the unique geographic or structural features of the campus on which other students study.

Mapping the economic loss of ecosystem services caused by the invasive plant species Antigonon leptopus on the Dutch Caribbean Island of St. Eustatius

Invasive species are a worldwide threat to biodiversity, especially on Caribbean islands. Through their impact on the structure and functioning of ecosystems, they also affect ecosystem services. Therefore, invasive species can have profound socio-economic effects. On the Dutch Caribbean Island of St. Eustatius, the invasive perennial vine Coralita is present on roughly 33% of the Island. While ecological damage is evident, effective management strategies are still lacking. This study links the ecological, cultural and societal effects of the invasion to the economy of the Island by estimating the ecosystem service losses due to Coralita in monetary value. We have spatially assessed the economic value of five main ecosystem services (tourism, non-use value, carbon sequestration, archaeology and local cultural and recreational value) to the different habitats on the Island and estimated the loss of these values under three scenarios of Coralita cover: 0%, 3% and 36% dominant cover. The baseline scenario of 0% demonstrated a total ecosystem service value of $2.7 million per year, concentrated on the Quill volcano. The 3% and 36% scenario showed a yearly loss of $39,804 and $576,704, respectively, with the largest losses located on the northern and eastern slopes of the Quill. These areas should be prioritised for management and the known potential gain per area enables choice of strategy, based on cost-benefit considerations. To reduce further economic loss by Coralita, we urgently advise an immediate management strategy and ongoing research into eradication and restoration methods.

Evaluating and strengthening the health system of Cura\u04abao to improve its performance for future outbreaks of vector-borne diseases

BackgroundVector-borne diseases (VBDs) such as dengue, chikungunya, and Zika pose a significant challenge to health systems in countries they affect, especially countries with less developed healthcare systems. Therefore, countries are encouraged to work towards more resilient health systems. This qualitative study aims to examine the performance of the health system of the Dutch Caribbean island of Curaҫao regarding the prevention and control of VBDs in the last decade by using the WHO health system building blocks.MethodsFrom November 2018 to December 2020, a multi-method qualitative study was performed in Curaçao, applying content analysis of documents (n = 50), five focus group discussions (n = 30), interviews with experts (n = 11) and 15 observation sessions. The study was designed based on the WHO framework: health system building blocks. Two cycles of inductive and deductive coding were employed, and Nvivo software was used to analyse the data.ResultsThis study’s data highlighted the challenges (e.g. insufficient oversight, coordination, leadership skills, structure and communication) that the departments of the health system of Curaҫao faced during the last three epidemics of VBDs (2010–2020). Furthermore, low levels of collaboration between governmental and non-governmental organisations (e.g. semi-governmental and private laboratories) and insufficient capacity building to improve skills (e.g. entomological, surveillance skills) were also observed. Lastly, we observed how bottlenecks in one building block negatively influenced other building blocks (e.g. inadequate leadership/governance obstructed the workforce's performance).ConclusionsThis study uncovers potential organisational bottlenecks that have affected the performance of the health system of Curaҫao negatively. We recommend starting with the reinforcement of oversight of the integrated vector management programme to ensure the development, implementation and evaluation of related legislation, policies and interventions. Also, we recommend evaluating and reforming the existing administrative and organisational structure of the health system by considering the cultural style, challenges and barriers of the current health system. More efforts are needed to improve the documentation of agreements, recruitment and evaluation of the workforce's performance. Based on our findings, we conceptualised actions to strengthen the health system's building blocks to improve its performance for future outbreaks of infectious diseases.Graphical abstract

Vulnerability and Resilience in the Caribbean Island States; the Role of Connectivity.

It is well-known that small states, because of their size, tend to be less endowed with natural resources than big ones. This makes small states vulnerable and raises the question if specific policies can be implemented to offset the drawbacks of their small size and to increase resilience. We address this question in this paper, thereby focusing on the role of connectivity – between states, organisations, parties, or otherwise – in understanding a country’s vulnerability and resilience. Here ‘policies’ are interpreted as ‘institutions’ in the sense of Douglass C. North (1990), i.e. as ‘humanly devised constraints that structure political, economic and social interaction’. We focus on the Caribbean area, which is characterised by a wide variety of small states, each with its own set of rules and regulations. Within this area, we concentrate on the relationship between three Dutch Caribbean islands, i.e., Aruba, Curaçao, and Sint Maarten, on the one hand, and the Netherlands, the former colonizer, on the other hand. As a first step we have measured the economic vulnerability and resilience of 17 Caribbean island states, both dependent and independent, employing the theoretical framework proposed by Lino Briguglio. The outcomes show that the three Dutch island states are performing comparatively well, although there are individual differences. We provide a first effort to explain this outcome in terms of the continuing interest of the three island states to keep their ties to the former colonizer viable. Here the presence of ‘systemic interest’ as shown by the stakeholders appears to be a most important variable.Supplementary InformationThe online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s11067-021-09533-w.

From Individual to Collective Memories: The Year in Aruba

From Individual to Collective MemoriesThe Year in Aruba Rose Mary Allen (bio) and Jeroen Heuvel (bio) Over time, Aruba,1 one of the six islands in the Dutch Caribbean, has produced several autobiographical books. The latest is by Hyacinthus (better known as Chinto) Thomas Erasmus, Mi memorianan: Aruba di antaño segun Chinto, published in 2019. Erasmus wrote it when he was seventy-five years old ("Chinto Erasmus"), and it was published twenty-one years after his death by the Aruban publishing house Charuba. The publication of Erasmus's autobiography followed an interesting path. Initially, he decided to pen his memories in Papiamento, the local creole language, for his children and grandchildren only. His daughter Etty Eustatia-Erasmus typed out his handwritten notes and shared them with the rest of the family. She was later persuaded by people who promote literature in Papiamento to have the document published. Erasmus was born on the island of Aruba in 1912. His autobiography covers more than 200 pages, in which he chronicles a socially engaged and meaningful life. In the first eighty-eight pages, the writer details the first twelve years of his life. Jeroen Heuvel, who has reviewed the book, finds that "de schrijfstijl is heel beperkt, in de zin van 'en toen en toen en toen', een beetje zoals kinderen van die leeftijd kunnen vertellen" [the narrative style of this part is limited, in the sense of "and then and then and then," similar to how children of that age tend to tell stories]. Heuvel wonders whether Erasmus used this style on purpose to reflect the way a child at that age (younger than twelve) might think. Heuvel goes on to say that the contents of the autobiography indicate a well thought-out story. Erasmus grew up in an era when many Aruban families lived in extreme poverty, with very little cash on hand, and although his family had a piece of land on which they could grow food, in times of drought, the harvest was limited and they had little to eat. As an example of this poverty, Erasmus relates that in 1917, his grandfather's only sheep died. His grandfather lived with them and seems to have had a significant impact in Erasmus's life as the keeper of the family's heritage. In that year, Aruba endured a shortage of maize, the staple food at that time, and other [End Page 9] agricultural products such as cassava and sweet potato would not grow because of the drought. Driven by these dire straits, Erasmus's father joined the large number of men from Aruba (as well as the other islands of the Dutch Caribbean) who went to Cuba to work in the cane fields. The migration from the economically impoverished Aruba to Cuba at the start of the twentieth century has been analyzed extensively by the historian Jorge Pietersz, who corroborates Erasmus's narrative that Arubans migrated mostly when the maize harvest failed because of extreme drought. After a while his father returned to Aruba from Cuba. Erasmus's mother passed away when he was seven, and at age eleven he went to Curaçao as a stowaway to join his father, who had resumed his pattern of migration, now to Curaçao, where the oil refinery established in 1915 offered employment to many foreign workers, including from Aruba and Bonaire. A week later, Erasmus returned to Aruba by boat under the care of Cachi, the vessel's cook. At the age of thirteen, Erasmus stopped going to school in Aruba and started working to help support his family. His father returned to Aruba from Curaçao when the economy of Aruba began to pick up with the establishment of the Lago Oil and Transport Company in 1924. The Erasmus family benefited from the growing Aruban economy, as his father slaughtered pigs and cows for Lago employees. Erasmus's book also provides insight into Aruba's political situation. The twentieth century saw growing opposition in Aruba to the political hegemony of Curaçao, the largest Dutch Caribbean island and the center of Dutch colonial rule. Erasmus was deeply involved with Jan Hendrik (Henny) Eman, the leader of the...

Plasmid diversity among genetically related Klebsiella pneumoniae blaKPC-2 and blaKPC-3 isolates collected in the Dutch national surveillance

Carbapenemase-producing Klebsiella pneumoniae emerged as a nosocomial pathogen causing morbidity and mortality in patients. For infection prevention it is important to track the spread of K. pneumoniae and its plasmids between patients. Therefore, the major aim was to recapitulate the contents and diversity of the plasmids of genetically related K. pneumoniae strains harboring the beta-lactamase gene blaKPC-2 or blaKPC-3 to determine their dissemination in the Netherlands and the former Dutch Caribbean islands from 2014 to 2019. Next-generation sequencing was combined with long-read third-generation sequencing to reconstruct 22 plasmids. wgMLST revealed five genetic clusters comprised of K. pneumoniae blaKPC-2 isolates and four clusters consisted of blaKPC-3 isolates. KpnCluster-019 blaKPC-2 isolates were found both in the Netherlands and the Caribbean islands, while blaKPC-3 cluster isolates only in the Netherlands. Each K. pneumoniae blaKPC-2 or blaKPC-3 cluster was characterized by a distinct resistome and plasmidome. However, the large and medium plasmids contained a variety of antibiotic resistance genes, conjugation machinery, cation transport systems, transposons, toxin/antitoxins, insertion sequences and prophage-related elements. The small plasmids carried genes implicated in virulence. Thus, implementing long-read plasmid sequencing analysis for K. pneumoniae surveillance provided important insights in the transmission of a KpnCluster-019 blaKPC-2 strain between the Netherlands and the Caribbean.

Contribution of amenable mortality to life expectancy differences between the Dutch Caribbean islands of Aruba and Curaçao and the Netherlands.

ABSTRACTObjective.To identify specific health care areas whose optimization could improve population health in the Dutch Caribbean islands of Aruba and Curaçao.Methods.Comparative observational study using mortality and population data of the Dutch Caribbean islands and the Netherlands. Mortality trends were calculated, then analyzed with Joinpoint software, for the period 1988–2014. Life expectancies were computed using abridged life tables for the most recent available data of all territories (2005–2007). Life expectancy differences between the Dutch Caribbean and the Netherlands were decomposed into cause-specific contributions using Arriaga’s method.Results.During the period 1988–2014, levels of amenable mortality have been consistently higher in Aruba and Curaçao than in the Netherlands. For Aruba, the gap in amenable mortality with the Netherlands did not significantly change during the study period, while it widened for Curaçao. If mortality from amenable causes were reduced to similar levels as in the Netherlands, men and women in Aruba would have added, respectively, 1.19 years and 0.72 years to their life expectancies during the period 2005–2007. In Curaçao, this would be 2.06 years and 2.33 years. The largest cause-specific contributions were found for circulatory diseases, breast cancer, perinatal causes, and nephritis/nephrosis (these last two causes solely in Curaçao).Conclusions.Improvements in health care services related to circulatory diseases, breast cancer, perinatal deaths, and nephritis/nephrosis in the Dutch Caribbean could substantially contribute to reducing the gap in life expectancy with the Netherlands. Based on our study, we recommend more in-depth studies to identify the specific interventions and resources needed to optimize the underlying health care areas.

Het onzichtbare verleden van Sint-Eustatius

The invisible past of St. Eustatius Saint Eustatius, a small Dutch Caribbean island, was one of the busiest transit harbors in the 18th-century Atlantic World. While its importance as an entrepot in colonial trade networks has been well researched, much less is known about the less visible past on the island, which includes its plantation landscape and the lives of people belonging to the lowest social classes. Recent archaeological and documentary research have produced valuable data that sheds more light on these topics. This article discusses the significance of various elements in the island’s rural landscape, how they affected the experiences of the people living in it, and how these have shaped the history of the island.

An annotated checklist of the Branchiopoda (Crustacea) of the Dutch Caribbean islands.

The launch of the Dutch Caribbean Species Register by Naturalis Biodiversity Center (2017)-https://www.dutchcaribbeanspecies.org/-raised the question of which branchiopods originate from this part of the Netherlands. To answer this question, surveys of literature and of the Naturalis collection were conducted. The additional samples (collected in 2003-2005 and 2008) were analyzed. We present an annotated checklist of the Branchiopoda of the Dutch Caribbean. The Kingdom of the Netherlands includes the Dutch mainland and six Caribbean islands. From the Caribbean part of the kingdom, an annotated list of all known species is given. Fifteen taxa and three genera have been encountered and the species are discussed. To date, six species of large branchiopods and nine species of cladocerans are known. Two more genera of cladocerans have been found. One species is endemic to Bonaire.