Grand Cayman Island Research Articles

First records of Asperoteuthis acanthoderma (Lu, 1977) (Cephalopoda: Oegopsida: Chiroteuthidae), from the North Atlantic Ocean, Straits of Florida

Abstract The first observation in the North Atlantic Ocean of the deep sea squid Asperoteuthis acanthoderma (family Chiroteuthidae) is reported here from off the coast of Key West, Florida in the Straits of Florida. We describe the morphology of the two nearly complete, but damaged, specimens. A third record is based on photographs of a specimen from off Grand Cayman Island; this specimen was not available for examination. The multiple occurrences of this species, heretofore unknown in the North Atlantic Ocean, within a 10-month period are so unusual that we attempt to hypothesize an explanation for these events. All previously known records are recorded from a few specimens scattered from Hawaii to the Philippines. The present specimens were identified by the following characteristics unique to the species: Y-shaped funnel locking apparatus, sucker ring form and dentition, beak morphology, photophore patch configuration on ventral surface of eyeballs, and numerous small cartilaginous tubercles that cover...

Demonstration of a New Technology for Restoration of Red Mangrove (Rhizophora mangle) in High-Energy Environments

AbstractRestoration of red mangroves (Rhizophora mangle) in high-energy environments has proven difficult in the past, but it is a critical aspect of restoration science, since mangroves provide natural protection to shorelines and buffer sensitive near-shore tropical ecosystems. We present here the initial field results from a pilot test of a new technique for the restoration of R. mangle in high-energy environments, using anchored armored concrete cultivator pots to stabilize the juvenile mangrove until it can establish a network of buttress roots. Mangroves were reared in a nursery for 15 months before transplantation to fully and partially exposed field sites. Mangroves transplanted in this way on Grand Cayman Island were able to survive two direct hurricane hits shortly after transplantation during the hurricane season of 2008, with survival rates ranging from 42% to 73% depending on the exposure of the site. We discuss the implications of these results and a proposed revision to our technique, which we hope will eliminate the work-intensive and costly nursery phase while also facilitating higher survival rates by minimizing washout, which was a key source of mortality, accounting for 20%-50% of mortalities, depending on site.

Crustacea of the Cayman Islands, British West Indies II. Heteromysis (Olivemysis) ebanksae, a new species (Mysida: Mysidae) from Little Cayman and Grand Cayman Islands

ABSTRACT During a survey of the marine Crustacea of the Cayman Islands, Heteromysis ebanksae, new species was discovered in depths of 1–3 m adjacent to Little Cayman Island and from North Sound, Grand Cayman Island. The new species, which belongs to the subgenus Olivemysis Bacescu, 1968, collected from live bottom and sea grass habitats, is distinguished from other closely related species in the western Atlantic by differences in the setation of thoracic endopod 3, male pleopod 4 and the telson. Heteromysis ebanksae has 2–9 flagellated spiniform setae on male pleopod 4, 6–10 spinules along the anterior half of the telsonic cleft, and each apical lobe of the telson has a pair of spiniform setae, the outer 1.2 times longer than the inner. A diagnostic table separating the new species from H. actinae Clarke, 1955, H. bermudensis G. O. Sars, 1885 and H. floridensis Brattegard, 1969 is presented.

Halichrysis corallinarius sp. nov. (Rhodymeniaceae, Rhodophyta) from Puerto Rico, Caribbean Sea

SUMMARYA new species, Halichrysis corallinarius sp. nov. is described from coral reef habitats in southwest Puerto Rico as well as from Grand Cayman Island. The new species produces strap‐shaped thalli supported above the substrata by abundant peg‐like stipes. The lobed branches are frequently anastomosed with colonies measuring to 4.0 cm broad with individual axes measuring to 7.0 mm across. Algae possess up to five layers of medullary cells with frequent open spaces in the medulla. Tetrasporangia, measure to 19 × 25 μm, and are borne in sori limited to ventral surfaces. Gametophytes are monoecious and hemispherical carposporophytes are produced dorsally, measuring to 900 μm in diameter and 600 μm high.

The Story of a Life

The Sea Captain's Wife begins, appropriately enough, with Emily Dickinson's famous lines: I'm Nobody! Who are you?/ Are you-Nobody-Too? Eunice Richardson Stone Connolly was, in many respects, an ordinary woman in nineteenth-century America. Born on a farm in Northfield, Massachusetts, in 1831, she was one of eight children. Eunice worked hard for most of her life in the cotton mills of New England, as a seamstress, washerwoman, and domestic. Her life was also conventional, Martha Hodes suggests, because she yearned to climb out of poverty, make a stable marriage, and find comfort in hearth, home, and motherhood. What makes her unique is her decision to cross the color line, marry Captain William Smiley Connolly in 1869, and move to Grand Cayman Island. Almost as unusual was the decision-of her brother, Henry Richardson, and his heirs-to preserve some five hundred letters to and from Eunice's family. The correspondence, housed in the Duke University Library, is the answer to the prayers of anyone interested in what used to be called history from the bottom up. Martha Hodes stumbled on the collection some years ago and has made the most of it. In a remarkable feat of archival research, detective work, oral history, and imagination, she has excavated and recreated Eunice Connolly's world. The Sea Captain's Wife offers no major reinterpretations of industrialization, the Civil War, religious ferment, or race prejudice. But in the tradition of distinguished micro-histories and biographies-Laurel Ulrich's Midwife's Tale: The Life of Martha Ballard, Based on Her Diary, 1785-1812 (1990), and Nick Salvatore's We All Got History: The Memory Books of Amos Webber (1996)-Hodes illuminates Eunice's lived experience. A page-turning tour de force, The Sea Captain's Wife captures the fragility, volatility, and vitality of everyday life in the United States. Hodes begins with a dissertation on letter writing. As the revolutions in transportation and industrialization dispersed families, she notes, letters became the only way to maintain intimate connections to loved ones. Letter

First Report of Lethal Yellowing Disease of Coconut Palms Caused by Phytoplasma on Nevis Island.

Coconuts (Cocos nucifera) are an important small-holder's crop in many tropical countries and are used to enhance esthetics of coastal areas. Lethal yellowing (LY) is the single most important plant disease affecting the coconut industry in Jamaica. It affects many palm species in Jamaica, Florida, and Guatemala. This coconut disease was first recorded in Grand Cayman Island in 1834 and Jamaica in 1884. Symptoms of LY disease include premature nut fall, necrosis of the inflorescence, yellowing of the leaves, and defoliation. Thirty-eight coconut palms displaying symptoms indicative of LY disease were sampled in April, 2005 at several locations in Nevis. Immature leaf tissues (leaf bases adjacent to the apical meristem) and nondestructive (boring with a bit and braces) samples were collected from disease and healthy control coconut trees. DNA was extracted (2). The first round of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) with phytoplasma universal primer pair P1/P7 (1,3) resulted in an rDNA fragment of 1.8 kb, and a subsequent nested PCR using LY16-23Sr/LY16Sf primers yielded an amplicon of 1.74 kb (4). Purified product was cloned for sequencing. Sequences obtained were analyzed with Vector NTI Software Suite. The sequence of LYN 18-3 was entered in Genbank and Accession No. DQ378279 was assigned. LYN 18-3 has approximately 99% homology with LY Phytoplasma U18747 from Florida (Manila palm [Veitchia merrillii]). The disease-associated phytoplasma was reliably detected in immature tissues and trunk phloem at the onset of foliar symptoms in palms by PCR. On the basis of the results obtained from this study, it is clear that LY phytoplasma (16SrIV group) was found in the samples collected from Nevis. To our knowledge, this is the first report on lethal yellowing disease in Nevis.

Selected Life-History Observations on the Cayman Gambusia, Gambusia xanthosoma Greenfield, 1983 (Poeciliidae)

The Cayman gambusia (Gambusia xanthosoma Greenfield, 1983) is an uncommon species within the G. punctata species group, endemic to North Sound, Grand Cayman Island, BWI. Since the original description (Greenfield 1983) only phylogenetic information has been published and little is known of its habitat, feeding ecology, or reproductive life history (Wildrick and Greenfield 1985, Rauchenberger 1988). Originally described from a brackish-water (30 psu) mosquito control ditch, the species also occurred throughout marine mangrove habitat and inland saline ponds adjacent to North Sound, Grand Cayman Island. Here we present information on the habitat, diet, reproduction, life history, and parasites of the Cayman gambusia.

Ovalidota milleri, a new genus and species of bathyal sea cucumber from the Caribbean Sea (Echinodermata: Holothuroidea: Apodida)

Ovalidota milleri new genus, new species, is a chiridotid holothurian with an egg-shaped body, a broad oral field surrounded by 18 19 (?20) tentacles, and body wall ossicles in the form of typical Chiridota wheels gathered into papillae and also scattered among the papillae. It is known from two localities in the Caribbean, near St. Vincent and at Grand Cayman Island, in bathyal depths of 366-414 metres. The egg-shaped body of this new genus is unique in the Order Apodida. When more material becomes available for study, Ovalidota milleri may be referred to a new family.

Systematics of the subterranean amphipod genus Bahadzia (Hadziidae), with description of a new species, redescription of B. yagerae, and analysis of phylogeny and biogeography

Bahadzia caymanensis, a new stygobitic species is described from a shallow, weakly brackish-water pool in a small cave on Grand Cayman Island in the Cayman Islands. Further exploration and collecting from the type-locality of Bahadzia yagerae in Cuba has provided more data, allowing for a thorough redescription of this species. With the description of Bahadzia caymanensis, there are now 11 species within the genus. Revised phylogenetic and biogeographic analyses of Bahadzia offer further support for a close phylogenetic relationship between Bahadzia and the predominately freshwater genera Mayaweckelia and Tuluweckelia on the Yucatan Peninsula.

Mutations in a novel gene encoding a CRAL-TRIO domain cause human Cayman ataxia and ataxia/dystonia in the jittery mouse.

Cayman ataxia is a recessive congenital ataxia restricted to one area of Grand Cayman Island. Comparative mapping suggested that the locus on 19p13.3 associated with Cayman ataxia might be homologous to the locus on mouse chromosome 10 associated with the recessive ataxic mouse mutant jittery. Screening genes in the region of overlap identified mutations in a novel predicted gene in three mouse jittery alleles, including the first mouse mutation caused by an Alu-related (B1 element) insertion. We found two mutations exclusively in all individuals with Cayman ataxia. The gene ATCAY or Atcay encodes a neuron-restricted protein called caytaxin. Caytaxin contains a CRAL-TRIO motif common to proteins that bind small lipophilic molecules. Mutations in another protein containing a CRAL-TRIO domain, alpha-tocopherol transfer protein (TTPA), cause a vitamin E-responsive ataxia. Three-dimensional protein structural modeling predicts that the caytaxin ligand is more polar than vitamin E. Identification of the caytaxin ligand may help develop a therapy for Cayman ataxia.

A New Species of Thetispelecaris (Crustacea: Peracarida) from Submarine Cave on Grand Cayman Island

A new species of the peracaridan order Bochusacea, Thetispelecaris yurikago, is described from a submarine cave on Grand Cayman Island, the Caribbean Sea. The new species is the fourth species of the order and family, and the second of the genus. Recent studies have strongly suggested a close phylogenetic affinity between cave-dwelling and deep-sea taxa in the Bochusacea as recognized in other cavernicolous/deep-sea crustaceans such as amphipods and copepods. The morphology of the gut and female reproductive system is observed for the first time in the Bochusacea: the stomach is complex with structures such as ridges, processes, spinules, and hairs in the lumen; paired gonopores are located near the base of the fifth pereiopods on the sternite.

Crustacea of the Cayman Islands, British West Indies. I. Records of Mysids from Shallow Water Non-Reef Habitats

A single species of mysid Siriella chierchiae has been previously reported from the Cayman Islands. However, between May 1995 and August 1999, 20 species of mysids were collected from shallow water non-reef habitats surrounding Grand Cayman and Little Cayman Islands. Of the species collected, one species Anchialina typica has a cosmopolitan distribution in tropical and subtropical seas. Thirteen species (Amathimysis cherados, A. gibba, Bowmaniella johnsoni, Dioptromysis paucispinosa, Heteromysis bermudensis, H. mayana, Mysidium columbiae, M. gracile, M. integrum, Mysidopsis bispinulata, M. brattstromi, Parvimysis bahamensis, Siriella chierchiae) are found widely distributed throughout the subtropical and tropical waters of the Northwest Atlantic. Four species (Heteromysis coralina, Mysidopsis mathewsoni, Siriella chessi, S. macrophthalma) previously known only from their type localities are reported, and two undescribed species of Heteromysis, one from Little Cayman Island, and one from Grand Cayman Island, are recognized. MATERIALS AND METHODS

Metschnikowia lochheadii and Metschnikowia drosophilae, two new yeast species isolated from insects associated with flowers.

Two new haplontic heterothallic species of Metschnikowia were isolated from floricolous insects and flowers. Metschnikowia lochheadii was recovered from insects found in various flowers on the Hawaiian Islands of Kauai and Maui, and from Conotelus sp. (Coleoptera: Nitidulidae) in northwestern Guanacaste Province, Costa Rica. The morphology, physiology, and sexual cycle are typical of the large-spored Metschnikowia species, and the partial ribosomal DNA large subunit (D1D2) sequences suggest that the new species is most closely related to Candida ipomoeae. Metschnikowia lochheadii is nearly indistinguishable from its ascogenous relatives and conjugates freely with Metschnikowia continentalis, forming sterile asci. It also exhibits asymmetric mating with Metschnikowia hawaiiensis. Metschnikowia drosophilae was found in morning glory (Ipomoea sp.) flowers and associated Drosophila bromeliae on Grand Cayman Island. Its nutritional profile is atypical of the genus, being the only species that does not utilize sucrose or maltose as carbon sources, and one of the few that does not utilize melezitose. D1D2 sequences show that Metschnikowia drosophilae is a sister species to Candida torresii, to which it bears considerable similarity in nutritional profile. The type cultures are: Metschnikowia lochheadii, strains UWO(PS)00-133.2 = CBS 8807 (h+, holotype) UWO(PS)99-661.1 = CBS 8808 (h-, isotype); and Metschnikowia drosophilae, strains UWO(PS)83-1135.3 = CBS 8809 (h+, holotype) and UWO(PS)83-1143.1 = CBS 8810 (h-, isotype).

Evidence for asymmetrical intraguild predation between native and introduced Anolis lizards.

Since its introduction, Anolis sagrei (Sauria: Polychrotidae) has been replacing native A. carolinensis in Florida and native A. conspersus in Grand Cayman Island as the common anole of urban environments and other open habitats. To assess the likelihood that predation of juvenile native anoles by A. sagrei adults is an important interaction in this process, the propensities for intraguild predation and cannibalism were assessed for A. sagrei and A. carolinensis in Florida and for A. sagrei and A. conspersus in Grand Cayman. Predation experiments were conducted in cages, using freshly captured lizards, in which adult males of each species were presented with conspecific and heterospecific juveniles. Adult A. sagrei were (1) significantly more likely to eat juveniles than were adult A. carolinensis or A. conspersus, and (2) significantly more likely to eat heterospecific than conspecific juveniles, whereas adult A. carolinensis and A. conspersus were not. Thus, the propensity for intraguild predation is asymmetrical in favor of introduced A. sagrei in Florida and Grand Cayman. Further study is needed, however, to determine the importance of intraguild predation under field conditions.

Addition of dimpled plate type effects to existing MED plant increases capacity, performance ratio and scale control

In June of 1994 a two-effect dimpled plate type MED will be started at Central DeSal Ltd. on Grand Cayman Island of the British West Indies. The existing nine-effect MED plant will be modified to a seven-effect to accommodate the new A and B effect on the front end. Operating results will be presented at the conference since results are not available at the time of writing this paper.

New coral-bivalve association (Actinastrea-Lithophaga) from the Eocene of Florida

The endolithic mytilid bivalve, Lithophaga palmerae n. sp., from the Upper Eocene Ocala Limestone of north-central Florida, sheds new light on the evolution of lithophagids with its unspecialized morphology and highly specialized mode of life. Lithophaga palmerae n. sp. inhabited dead and living coral as indicated by orientation evidence. In living coral, the anterior end of the borehole was sealed off with thick, continuous, “false floors” of CaCO3, as the posterior end was extended to keep pace with coral growth. To date, this new species of lithophagid has been found associated with only one host coral, Actinastrea cf. A. incrustans (Duncan). Association with living coral is found today in L. bisulcata (d'Orbigny) and L. dixonae Scott from the Caribbean and in several Red Sea and Indo-Pacific lithophagids. In the fossil record, live-coral boring has been reported from the Miocene of the Vienna Basin of Austria and from the Pleistocene of Grand Cayman Island in the Caribbean. Lithophaga palmerae n. sp. provides a valuable ancestral link in the evolution of Lithophaga by extending the range of live-coral boring back to the Eocene of Florida.

Corals to Rhodolites to Microbialites: A Community Replacement Sequence Indicative of Regressive Conditions

Late Pleistocene strata on Grand Cayman and San Salvador Island contain fossil corals which became the nuclei for rhodolites that in turn became the nuclei for microbialites. The complex community replacement sequence from corals to rhodolites to microbialites developed in response to the drop in sea level which followed the Sangamon highstand approximately 125,000 years ago

Grand Cayman Island and the Resort Cycle Concept

Butler's model of cyclical tourism development (exploration, involvement, develop ment, consolidation, stagnation, and either rejuvenation, stability, or decline) is applied empirically to Grand Cayman Island, which to date largely conforms to the stages of the model. A significant deviation isfound with respect to local versus non-local control; owing to several factors, local participation seems to have increased rather than decreased in the development stage. Weaver's resort-cycle model is also applied, and a contrast is made between tourism. development on Grand Cayman Island (a nonplantation culture) and Antigua (a plantation culture), where external control has been maintained during the development stage. Long-term stability is predicted for tourism on Grand Cayman Island; social, economic, and environmental stresses building in Antigua may lead to the decline stage for tourism on that island.

Growth and Population Characteristics of the Slider Turtle, Trachemys decussata, on Grand Cayman Island

Note sur le developpement et de la structure de la population chez les tortues d'eau douce Trachemys decussata et T. stejnegeri.Cette etude, realisee par capture et recapture, porte sur la taille des individus en fonction de l'age et du sexe ainsi que sur l'habitat des animaux.

A New Species of Efferia Coquillett (Diptera: Asilidae), staminea Species Group, from Grand Cayman Island, West Indies

Efferia caymanensis is described as a new species from Grand Cayman Island, West Indies. This species is the first Efferia reported from the Cayman Islands and the first member of the staminea group reported from the West Indies. Illustrations of the terminalia are included.