Island Of Grenada Research Articles

Status and distribution of the Antillean Broad-winged Hawk (Buteo platypterus antillarum) on the island of Grenada

Status and distribution of the Antillean Broad-winged Hawk (Buteo platypterus antillarum) on the island of Grenada

Lapidary production in the eastern Caribbean: a typo-technological and microwear study of ornaments from the site of Pearls, Grenada

The present paper examines bodily ornaments made of semiprecious lithic materials from the site of Pearls on the island of Grenada. The site was an important node in long-distance interaction networks at play between circum-Caribbean communities during the first centuries of the Common Era. Pearls was an amethyst bead-making workshop and a gateway to South America, from where certain lapidary raw materials likely originated. The importance of the site for regional archaeology and local stakeholders cannot be overstated. However, it has undergone severe destruction and looting over the decades. Here, we present a study of a private collection of ornaments from Pearls, which combines raw material identification, typo-technological analysis and microwear analysis. We identify great diversity in lithologies and in techniques adapted to their working properties. Multiple abrasive techniques for sawing, grinding, polishing and carving are identified. Furthermore, the use of ornaments is examined for the first time. Finally, we contrast our dataset to other Antillean sites and propose management patterns for each raw material. Our approach ultimately provides new insights on ornament making at Pearls and on its role in regional networks.

Grenada Heart Project–Community Health ActioN to EncouraGe healthy BEhaviors (GHP-CHANGE): A randomized control peer group–based lifestyle intervention

The incidence of cardiovascular (CV) risk factors is increasing globally, with a disproportionate burden in the low and low-middle income countries (L/LMICs). Peer support, as a low-cost lifestyle intervention, has succeeded in managing chronic illness. For global CV risk reduction, limited data exists in LMICs. The GHP-CHANGE was designed as a community-based randomized trial to test the effectiveness of peer support strategy for CV risk reduction in the island of Grenada, a LMIC. We recruited 402 adults from the Grenada Heart Project (GHP) Cohort Study of 2827 subjects with at least two CV risk factors. Subjects were randomized in a 1:1 fashion to a peer-group based intervention group (n = 206) or a self-management control group (n = 196) for 12 months. The primary outcome was the change from baseline in a composite score related to Blood pressure, Exercise, Weight, Alimentation and Tobacco (FBS, Fuster-BEWAT Score), ranging from 0 to 15 (ideal health = 15). Linear mixed-effects models were used to test for intervention effects. Participants mean age was 51.4 years (SD 14.5) years, two-thirds were female, and baseline mean FBS was 8.9 (SD 2.6) and 8.5 (SD 2.6) in the intervention and control group, respectively (P = .152). At post intervention, the mean FBS was higher in the intervention group compared to the control group [9.1 (SD 2.7) vs 8.5 (SD 2.6), P = .028]. When balancing baseline health profile, the between-group difference (intervention vs. control) in the change of FBS was 0.31 points (95% CI: -0.12 to 0.75; P = .154). The GHP-CHANGE trial showed that a peer-support lifestyle intervention program was feasible; however, it did not demonstrate a significant improvement in the FBS as compared to the control group. Further studies should assess the effects of low-cost lifestyle interventions in LMICs.

ANTS OF GRENADA (HYMENOPTERA, FORMICIDAE)

On West Indian islands, as elsewhere in the world, ants are a very important component of virtually every terrestrial ecosystem. Nonetheless, the ants of most West Indian islands have remained largely unknown and unstudied. Now several destructive exotic ant species are spreading through the region, threatening native biodiversity. Here, we have compiled published and unpublished ant records and collected new specimens to document the diversity of ants on the island of Grenada. Our investigations increased the list of ant taxa known from the island to 82 (65 New World and 17 Old World species). Of these, 71 species are represented among specimens we collected, whereas 11 are New World species known from Grenada solely on the basis of earlier records. Some species recorded earlier, including at least nine not seen for more than 100 years, may now be extinct on Grenada. Grenada has more New World ant species than are known for Barbados (46), a neighboring island that has 34% more land area. Factors that may contribute to this difference include: 1) during low sea levels 15,000 years ago, Grenada was part of a larger island about 10 times Grenada's current size; 2) Grenada is more mountainous than Barbados; and 3) Grenada has more remaining forest cover than Barbados (50.0% vs. 14.7%). Conversely, Grenada has fewer Old World ant species than are known for Barbados (24). Factors that may contribute to this difference include: 1) lower human population density, 2) lower levels of imported lumber products, and 3) lower tourism levels. Records for only four of the 17 Old World exotic ants found in Grenada date to before 1995. Major tramp ant species that are known from the West Indies but have not yet been recorded from Grenada include Old World species such as the pharaoh ant (Monomorium pharaonis), the African big-headed ant (Pheidole megacephala), and the difficult white-footed ant (Technomyrmex difficilis), as well as the red imported fire ant (Solenopsis invicta).

Tracing the ethnic origins of enslaved Africans in Grenada

ABSTRACTThe southeastern Caribbean island of Grenada has been excluded from studies concerned with the demographics of the trans-atlantic slave trade and its impact on the formation of African diasporic identities and cultures. Using Voyages: The Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade Database, plantation lists, newspaper advertisements, and the multi-ethnic danced ceremony, Nation Dance, this article focuses on the demographics of the slave trade between 1669–1808 and the ethno-linguistic composition of Grenadian slave society. It demonstrates that various groups of enslaved Africans over time forged neo-African ethnic identities that remained visible in Nation Dance and archival material. In Nation Dance, inter-African blending and borrowing is evident, illustrating the complex ways whereby enslaved Africans and their descendants reconstructed their identities and cultures in the Atlantic world. Additionally, this article considers the limits of the Voyages Database and suggests ways in which other evidence may be used to understand the ethno-linguistic backgrounds of enslaved Grenadians.

Flank instability assessment at Kick-\u2019em-Jenny submarine volcano (Grenada, Lesser Antilles): a multidisciplinary approach using experiments and modeling

Kick-’em-Jenny (KeJ)—located ca. 8 km north of the island of Grenada—is the only active submarine volcano of the Lesser Antilles Volcanic Arc. Previous investigations of KeJ revealed that it lies within a collapse scar inherited from a past flank instability episode. To assess the likelihood of future collapse, we employ here a combined laboratory and modeling approach. Lavas collected using a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) provided samples to perform the first rock physical property measurements for the materials comprising the KeJ edifice. Uniaxial and triaxial deformation experiments showed that the dominant failure mode within the edifice host rock is brittle. Edifice fractures (such as those at Champagne Vent) will therefore assist the outgassing of the nearby magma-filled conduit, favoring effusive behavior. These laboratory data were then used as input parameters in models of slope stability. First, relative slope stability analysis revealed that the SW to N sector of the volcano displays a deficit of mass/volume with respect to a volcanoid (ideal 3D surface). Slope stability analysis using a limit equilibrium method (LEM) showed that KeJ is currently stable, since all values of stability factor or factor of safety (Fs) are greater than unity. The lowest values of Fs were found for the SW-NW sector of the volcano (the sector displaying a mass/volume deficit). Although currently stable, KeJ may become unstable in the future. Instability (severe reductions in Fs) could result, for example, from overpressurization due to the growth of a cryptodome. Our modeling has shown that instability-induced flank collapse will most likely initiate from the SW-NW sector of KeJ, therefore mobilizing a volume of at least ca. 0.7 km3. The mobilization of ca. 0.7 km3 of material is certainly capable of generating a tsunami that poses a significant hazard to the southern islands of the West Indies.

Group Maturity in a Community-Based Project

Community-based projects have become popular as a method to address various community problems. Specifically important is that community members take an active role in these interventions resulting in sustainable social change. Although considerable literature exists on the dynamics of small group interaction, this article addresses how group processes differ in community-based projects. Instead of constructing a static model for group interaction, this discussion focuses on experiences from a recent community-based health project on the island of Grenada. Because community-based projects are directed by a diverse group of community members, maturity is described as a process of negotiation rather than consensus.

‘Shrouded in Some Mystery’: The Governor General's Invitation and the 1983 Grenada Intervention

ABSTRACTOn 25 October 1983 the United States, supported by several Caribbean states, intervened militarily in the commonwealth Caribbean island of Grenada. Operation Urgent Fury followed the implosion of the Marxist-Leninist People's Revolutionary Government and execution of Prime Minister Maurice Bishop and several colleagues. This article examines the alleged request for external assistance made by the Grenadian governor general, Sir Paul Scoon. It will examine the discrepancies between Scoon's memoir account of the episode and the official record to reveal that Scoon made no such request. The origins of the request emerged from discussions between Caribbean and US officials and it was brought to fruition by the Barbadian prime minister, Tom Adams.

Serological Detection of Caseous Lymphadenitis in Sheep and Goats Using a Commercial ELISA in Grenada, West Indies

Caseous lymphadenitis (CLA) in small ruminants has been diagnosed by culture, several times in the state of Grenada. In order to understand the prevalence of CLA, serum samples from 541 sheep and 338 goats from Grenada and Carriacou islands were tested for antibodies against the phospholipase antigen of Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis , the causative agent of caseous lymphadenitis (CLA) using a commercial ELISA kit: “ELITEST CLA”. The percentage of positive samples among sheep was 7.9, and for goats it was 31.3%, with a significant difference between these two species of animals. Of the six parishes of Grenada, and one parish of Carriacou, significantly more positive samples originated from St. George parish. There were no significant differences between age groups. The results of this study show that CLA is endemic and widely distributed throughout the islands of Grenada and Carriacou.

Composition of goat milk in Grenada, West Indies: Apreliminary study

Goat farming is a common practice on the island of Grenada, West Indies. In the years post-Hurricane Ivan (2004), the dairy goat industry has been gradually evolving into a commercial entity, in order to provide goat milk and milk products to the community. Vital to the sustainability of this industry is the maintenance of a high-quality and reproducible product. However, there are no data available on the current composition of goat milk in Grenada. This preliminary study was undertaken to assess the composition of goat milk to assist farmers in the further development of the Grenada goat milk industry. Using a commercial milk analyzer, 115 goat milk samples from four Grenada parishes were analyzed. The results gave an average of dairy goat milk composition in Grenada, including values for fat (4.53%), protein (3.47%), non-fat solids (9.07%), lactose (4.91%), and total solids (13.60%). Milk values were significantly different among the four parishes, with St. Patrick having the lowest values and St. Andrew the highest. Additionally, there was no significant difference between values derived for Grenada versus those recently reported in the neighboring island of Trinidad. The composition of goat milk in Grenada and the differences among parishes is hypothesized to be influenced in large part by nutrition. Future plans are underway 1) to advise goat farmers on the husbandry and feeding of goats to optimize the quality of milk and 2) to perform updated analyses on the milk composition post-implementation.

Infertility Knowledge, Attitudes, and Beliefs of College Students in Grenada

The knowledge, attitudes and beliefs of college students in Grenada about infertility were assessed using a paper-based survey. The target population was students who attended the only college located on the island of Grenada. Five hundred and eight college students over the age of 16 out of the 1,946 students enrolled in the college at the time of the survey participated in this study with females comprising 65.7% (n = 334). The main research outcome measures for this study were to determine the level of knowledge of Grenadian college students on the causes of infertility as well as their knowledge of possible treatment options. Overall, while there was a moderate level of knowledge among both males and females with regards to the risk factors that may cause infertility, over 73% of the students believed that infertility may be caused by God’s will and approximately 58% believed in the power of prayer to treat infertility. While a greater proportion of female students answered more questions correctly in comparison to their male counterparts, there was a notable lack of basic knowledge among all Grenadian college students about the causes of infertility with the overall perception that women are more likely to become infertile due to any number of causes that are of equal risk to both men and women. Further, this survey found that there are greater stigmas attached to male infertility than to female infertility. Education programs and community support groups are recommended to increase knowledge about the causes of infertility as well as decrease the stigma associated with this condition.

The Standing of New Subjects: Grenada and the Protestant Constitution after the Treaty of Paris (1763)

In November 1767, Jean-Baptiste Domonchy, a French Catholic on the British island of Grenada, sparked an imperial crisis when he attempted to stand for election to the island's assembly. The incorporation of French Catholic subjects into the British Empire after the Treaty of Paris (1763) posed major challenges to prevailing notions of the empire and constitution. At a time when many Britons understood the Protestant faith to be fundamental to the stability of the British state and empire, the large populations of Catholics in the new territories necessitated a reappraisal of exclusionist policies. In demanding, and ultimately gaining, the right to hold office in Grenada's political and legal bodies, the crown's new Catholic subjects generated a crisis that played a crucial role in the formulation of a new model of empire. Utilising the print debate surrounding the decision to allow Catholic subjects to hold public office in Grenada, this article examines contemporary attitudes to toleration within an imperial context and defines the wider implications of the crisis. Whatever their view, contemporaries agreed that Grenada stood at the centre of a broader imperial and constitutional debate. In an increasingly heterogeneous empire where the formation of loyal and stable colonies was a fundamental goal of the British state, the case for a more flexible ideal of empire and the constitution gained traction in the dispute over Grenada. The centrality of the Catholic question to the foundations of the British state makes Grenada a critical test case in the contemporary debates over the nature of the British Empire after 1763.

‘These Things not Marked on Paper’: Creolisation, Affect and Tomboyism in Joan Anim-addo's Janie, Cricketing Lady and Margaret Cezair-thompson's The Pirate's Daughter

This article will look closely at the performance of tomboy identity in Joan Anim-Addo's collection of poetry Janie, Cricketing Lady, written as a tribute to her mother Jane Joseph, and Margaret Cezair-Thompson's novel The Pirate's Daughter, a fiction about Errol Flynn's ‘outside’ Jamaican daughter, May. It will argue that the ongoing affects of colonialism and patriarchy in the islands of Grenada and Jamaica, respectively, shape the life narratives of Janie and May who express their anger, shame, fear, frustration and desire through their ambiguous gender identity and through their determination to intervene in masculinist traditions, such as cricket, piracy and adventure, traditions that underpin Caribbean his/tories. To understand the way in which affect can be expressed through tomboyism in Caribbean societies, it is necessary to look at colour and class alongside gender in the context of Caribbean creolisation.

Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis confirmed following serological surveillance of small ruminants in Grenada, West Indies

Surveillance for Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis (Map) infection in small ruminants of Grenada was undertaken using a commercial enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Among the 479 sheep tested, 11 (2.3%) were ELISA positive while only 1 out of 260 goats (0.3%) was ELISA positive. Five of the 12 ELISA-positive animals were also positive in a commercial agar gel immunodiffusion (AGID) assay, and 4 of these showed acid-fast rods consistent with Map in fecal smears. Two sheep that were test-positive by ELISA, AGID, and fecal smears were euthanized and necropsied. Both had gross and histological lesions of paratuberculosis affecting the ileocecal area of small intestines and adjacent lymph nodes. These tissues were successfully cultured in 2 of 3 variants of Middlebrook 7H10 medium. The identity of acid-fast organisms isolated from the tissues was confirmed as Map by multiplex conventional polymerase chain reaction. Using IS1311 amplification and Hinf I restriction digest analysis, isolates were identified as cattle (C) strains of Map. The current study describes Map infection in Grenada and confirms the presence of C type in sheep on the island of Carriacou. The low seroprevalence in clinically normal animals on the islands of Grenada and Carriacou suggests that control measures implemented in the near future may have a good chance of preventing spread of the infection.

Caribbean hydrological variability during the Holocene as reconstructed from crater lakes on the island of Grenada

AbstractContemporary precipitation patterns in the Caribbean region are spatially variable, and the small number of Holocene paleoclimatic records may not adequately capture patterns of variation in the past. The hydrological history of Grenada was inferred from paleolimnological analyses of sediment cores from two crater lakes on the island. The basins were formed by volcanic activity some time during the Last Termination, but were dry between ca. 13 000 and ca. 7200 cal. a BP. After filling, the lakes were initially very shallow, and sedimentation was interrupted by a hiatus ca. 6300–5500 cal. a BP, followed by deposition of a thick tephra in both sites. After 5500 cal. a BP, lake level shows considerable multi‐centennial variability, superimposed upon a long‐term trend of generally higher lake level after 3200 cal. a BP. The pattern of lake‐level variation in Grenada shows some similarity with other Caribbean paleoclimatic records in terms of the timing of transitions, but differs from several classic studies in the sign of inferred precipitation change. The differences among records may reflect spatially variable precipitation patterns in the past in response to the position of the Intertropical Convergence Zone and to sea surface temperature influences on the trade winds and Caribbean low‐level jet. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

A new species of Habralictus (Hymenoptera, Halictidae) from the Island of Grenada (Lesser Antilles) with comments on the insular species of the genus

A new species of the genus Habralictus Moure (Apoidea, Halictidae, Caenohalictini), Habralictus insularis sp. n., is described from the island of Grenada. A diagnosis of the genus and comments on its taxonomy and patterns of distribution are presented.

Dengue Transmission in the Small-Island Setting: Investigations from the Caribbean Island of Grenada

The Caribbean region has experienced a major surge in dengue activity in recent decades. Yet, for many, and especially the smaller islands, the true extent and general epidemiology of dengue transmission remains unclear because of inadequate systems of surveillance and reporting. We established an active surveillance system supported by laboratory-based diagnosis on the small island of Grenada, from January 2001 through June 2002. The surveillance data provided evidence of three distinct modes of disease dynamics in the form of low endemic, pre-epidemic, and overt epidemic transmission of mostly benign dengue fever. A shift in serotype activity and modal age was evident during the noted transition, with the more densely populated south end of the island presenting the focus of transmission.

Application of a needs-driven, competencies-based mental health training program to a post-disaster situation: the Grenada experience.

This report outlines an innovative approach to address post-natural disaster mental health needs in a region in which natural disasters are common---the Caribbean. Instead of traditional external vertical psychosocial interventions commonly used in this region, the authors developed and implemented a mental health interventions training program, in the island country of Grenada, which is focused on enhancing the capacity of local community-based health service providers to provide immediate and continued mental healthcare following a natural disaster. Soon after this training, a hurricane stuck the island of Grenada. A review of the self-confidence in the application of this training and the mental health intervention activities of these community health providers demonstrated that they felt able to effectively identify, intervene, and address post-disaster mental health needs within their communities and that their care of individuals affected continued beyond the immediate post-disaster period, suggesting that enhancing the capacity of local community-based health providers to deal with post-natural disaster mental health needs may be a useful model that may be applicable in other jurisdictions.

Trouble in paradise

Things aren9t quite what they seem on the beautiful Caribbean island of Grenada, Robin Dart discovers

Invasion of the Carribean by the hibiscus mealybug, Maconellicoccus hirsutus Green [Homoptera : Pseudococcidae

Since its accidental introduction into the island of Grenada in 1994, Maconellicoccus hirsutus [Homoptera : Pseudococcidae], commonly named the Hibiscus or Pink Mealybug (HMB), has been inexorably spreading through the Caribbean islands where it has become a major pest on several crops in 24 Caribbean Islands. This pest was also reported in Guyana threatening South and Central America. M. hirsutus is a very prolific pest that injects a toxin at the point of feeding, causing severe distortion of leaves, new shoots and fruit. Initial use of physical and chemical control methods were ineffective. In addition, because of its wide host range and its rapid geographie expansion, not only to agricultural land but also to home gardens and forest areas, biological control appeared as the most suitable method to manage the HMB populations. Three natural enemies were selected for this biocontrol effort: the predatory beetles Cryptolaemus montrouzieri Mulsant and Scymnuscoccivora Ramkrisna [Coleoptera : Coccinellidae] and the parasitoid Anagyruskamali Moursi [Hymenoptera : Encyrtidae]. A. kamali and C. montrouzieri were highly effective in bringing HMB populations under control. In newly infested countries, early introduction of biological control agents resulted in effective management of the pest. This experience provided a model for future management of other alien invasive pest species in the region.