Coast Of Venezuela Research Articles

High Temporal Resolution Analyses with GOES-16 Atmospheric Motion Vectors of the Non-Rapid Intensification of Atlantic Pre-Bonnie (2022)

Four-dimensional COAMPS Dynamic Initialization (FCDI) analyses that include high-temporal- and high-spatial-resolution GOES-16 Atmospheric Motion Vector (AMV) datasets are utilized to understand and predict why pre-Bonnie (2022), designated as a Potential Tropical Cyclone (PTC 2), did not undergo rapid intensification (RI) while passing along the coast of Venezuela during late June 2022. A tropical cyclone lifecycle-prediction model based on the ECMWF ensemble indicated that no RI should be expected for the trifurcation southern cluster of tracks along the coast, similar to PTC 2, but would likely occur for two other track clusters farther offshore. Displaying the GOES-16 mesodomain AMVs in 50 mb layers illustrates the outflow burst domes associated with the PTC 2 circulation well. The FCDI analyses forced by thousands of AMVs every 15 min document the 13,910 m wind-mass field responses and the subsequent 540 m wind field adjustments in the PTC 2 circulation. The long-lasting outflow burst domes on both 28 June and 29 June were mainly to the north of PTC 2, and the 13,910 m FCDI analyses document conditions over the PTC 2 which were not favorable for an RI event. The 540 m FCDI analyses demonstrated that the intensity was likely less than 35 kt because of the PTC 2 interactions with land. The FCDI analyses and two model forecasts initialized from the FCDI analyses document how the PTC 2 moved offshore to become Tropical Storm Bonnie; however, they reveal another cyclonic circulation farther west along the Venezuelan coast that has some of the characteristics of a Caribbean False Alarm event.

A spanish colony made of foreigners: Transimperial Trinidad during the age of revolutions

ABSTRACT This article analyzes the initial transformation of the island of Trinidad into a transimperial contact zone during the final decades of the Eighteenth century and how it became a particularly revealing space for colonial experimentation. This process began two decades before the British invasion of 1797 and originated from the core of the Spanish reformist state that sought to experiment with new political, legal, and economic arrangements for its American domains. The intensification of complex transimperial and transcolonial networks that connected imperial agents in Spain, colonial officials in the Venezuelan coast, local residents in Trinidad, and potential French and Irish Catholic migrants in the Lesser Antilles gave shape to the transformation of Trinidad. This article contributes to the history of the transimperial Atlantic by analyzing the initial phase of Trinidad’s transformation into a plural slave-based colony.

Nature’s Repository? Pearl Fishing and Environments in the Americas and Asia in the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries

Abstract: The early modern period was “the great age of pearls.” Portraits of rulers, aristocrats and elites in both Europe and Asia show the abundant use of pearls in jewellery and clothing. Sought after for their lustre and their symbolism, pearls were a marine material transformed into the most astonishing works of ornamentation. Yet, pearls were also a natural resource produced by oysters harvested by the millions from the warm tropical waters of the Americas and the Indian Ocean. The case of pearl fishing off the coast of Venezuela in the early sixteenth century by the Spanish, highlights two factors: first, the intense fishing of pearls that led to their depletion, and second, the concomitant exploitation of enslaved divers. Technology – both the organisation of labour and the tools used in pearl fishing – depleted the resource rather than protecting or enhancing it. This article argues, however, that the so-called “curse of the commons” – the idea that when a number of people have unchecked access to a finite resource, they will tend to overexploit it – is not fate. A second case study – that of the Dutch East India Company’s pearl fishing in the Gulf of Mannar in the seventeenth century – presents a different understanding of pearls as a resource, one that emphasises profitability over time. The article uses the concepts of “simultaneous” and “sequential” games from economics in arguing that technology can be both a repository of processes and a tool of destruction.

Reconstructing past lifeways of Indigenous individuals in pre-colonial Bonaire, through multi-isotope analysis

Archaeological research in the Caribbean has been extensive and has revealed that, since its first settlement, the region has been characterized by continuous interaction between its inhabitants. However, there are certain areas, like the islands of the southern Caribbean (islands off the Venezuelan coast), that are understudied, despite being a source of information regarding connections with the South American mainland. The aim of this research is to investigate the lifeways of eight individuals from the island of Bonaire through isotopic data to identify non-locals, and to examine dietary patterns within the site. In order to establish the residential histories of the eight individuals, strontium (87Sr/86Sr) and oxygen (δ18Ο) isotopes from the dental enamel were analyzed. The results were evaluated based on existing isotopic baselines and indicate that all eight individuals can be considered isotopically local. In order to investigate patterns of paleodiet, carbon isotopes from the dental enamel (δ13Cen) and carbon (δ13Ccol) and nitrogen isotopes (δ15Ncol) from the dental dentin were also analyzed. Four out of the eight individuals provided results and interestingly, despite the small sample size, they had variable dietary preferences, suggesting a combination of different plants and animal resources were consumed.

Historical occurrence and distribution of humpback whales in the eastern and southern Caribbean Sea, based on data from American whaling logbooks

The best-known present-day wintering areas for the North Atlantic population of humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) are in the northern West Indies, notably off the island of Hispaniola. However, it is known that in the nineteenth century American whalers hunted humpbacks in the Windward Islands (primarily from Guadeloupe southwards), along the coast of Trinidad, in the Gulf of Paria and westwards along the Venezuelan coast. To investigate the historical distribution and occurrence of humpback whales, data were extracted from nineteenth century American whaling logbooks and journals covering 48 voyages by 29 vessels to the West Indies from 1823-1889. Humpback whale records in these documents came from a geographical area that encompassed Haiti to the coast of Venezuela. Of 807 records in which whales were mentioned (as sightings, strikes or catches), the largest number was from the Windward Islands and Venezuela, especially St Vincent and the Grenadines (319 records covering an estimated 958 humpbacks), Guadeloupe (190 records, 592 humpbacks), Dominica/Martinique/St Lucia (74 records, 193 humpbacks) and Venezuela (64 records, 216 humpbacks). These totals should be regarded only as approximate indicators of the relative abundance of whales since the effort involved cannot be meaningfully quantified. Similarly, effort-uncorrected data suggest that the peak months for humpback whales in the Windward Islands were February, March and April. Few sightings were recorded off the Dominican Republic after March, but this may reflect a lack of effort there in April and May. However, humpbacks apparently were abundant in the Windwards in April and even May, which is not the case in the major present-day wintering areas off Hispaniola. With one notable exception, there is little evidence in the logbooks and journals that humpbacks were taken on a more than casual basis in waters off Hispaniola, where the major aggregations are found today; possible explanations for the marked contrast in present versus historical distribution are discussed. The highly seasonal visitation of the West Indies by the American nineteenth-century whalers precludes a meaningful investigation of the possibility that some humpbacks from the Southern Hemisphere migrated to the Caribbean Sea in the austral winter.

Atlantic ITCZ variability during the Holocene based on high-resolution speleothem isotope records from northern Venezuela

Few high-resolution paleoclimate proxy records exist in the region located under the direct influence of the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) in South America and most of them were retrieved from the Cariaco Basin off the coast of Venezuela. Here we present new ẟ18O and ẟ13C records of Venezuelan speleothems collected in caves adjacent to Cariaco, covering the mid- and late-Holocene. We document previously undetected secular-to multidecadal-scale climate variability in the core region of the ITCZ, which is compared to other high-resolution records from the North Atlantic, Caribbean and tropical South America. Over the mid-Holocene our record exhibits broad swings between periods of reduced (8.3–8.0, 6.5–5.0, 4.1–3.6 ka BP) and increased (8.5, 8.0–6.5, 4.9–4.2 ka BP) rainfall. In particular, between 5.5 and 5.0 ka BP, increases in polar and subpolar North Atlantic ice rafted debris and a reduction in North Atlantic Deep Water (NADW) formation might have contributed to the southward displacement of the North Atlantic Subtropical High (NASH) and the ITCZ, which led to severe dry conditions in north central Venezuela and an enhancement of the South American Monsoon System (SAMS). During the late-Holocene, contrary to data from Cariaco reported in previous studies, our results point to drier conditions during the Medieval Climate Anomaly (MCA, 900–1100 CE), which were further amplified during positive Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation (AMO) phases. Wet conditions, however, prevailed during the first part of the Little Ice Age (LIA, 1400–1500 CE). No speleothem deposition occurred during the main LIA period, which might be related to drier conditions in response to a southward displacement of the ITCZ that led to major moisture convergence over the SASM domain. Our new records from Venezuela provide a reliable proxy for ITCZ behavior over the Atlantic – South America domain and document past dynamics in relation to other climate systems (NASH and SAMS), while providing new evidence of ITCZ – North Atlantic teleconnections during the Holocene.

A note on the spatial and temporal distribution of humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) off Venezuela, Southeastern Caribbean

This paper presents information on the spatial and temporal distribution of humpback whales in Venezuelan waters. Using a relational database containing information from the museums of Venezuela, published and unpublished records were incorporated into a Geographical Information System (MapInfo Professional 7.0). A total of 53 records were gathered, of which sightings made up 72%, followed by acoustic sampling (9%) intentional capture (6%), stranding (6%) and unknown records (8%). Humpback whales were mainly sighted over the continental shelf of the northeastern region in shallow waters of 0-100m in depth. The date on which each record was made supports the seasonal occurrence of North Atlantic humpback whales off the Venezuelan coast. Opportunistic sightings and stranding records from the austral winter months do not give conclusive proof that Southern Hemisphere humpback whales are present during this time, but lead to the hypothesis that whales migrate from Brazil. Systematic research effort (especially photo-identification) is recommended in order to better understand humpback whale movements, distribution and identity.

Heavy metals in Venezuelan marine sediments: concentrations, degree of contamination, and distribution

Venezuelan oil exploration and exploitation activities have been taking place since the 18th century. These long-term activities are closely related to heavy metal contamination because of the increasing input of toxic pollutants. Variations in heavy metal concentrations can cause, among other things, changes in metal distribution patterns, alterations in biogeochemical cycles, and increments in environmental and biological risks. The need for a complete baseline on heavy metal concentrations along the Venezuelan coast is critical. For this reason, we present the concentrations, distribution, and degree of contamination of 9 heavy metals (barium, mercury, copper, nickel, chromium, cadmium, zinc, lead, and vanadium) in marine sediments along the Venezuelan coast. We used the enrichment factor, the geoaccumulation index, and the mean effects range median quotients to evaluate the degree of contamination, comparing areas with and without intervention. Our results indicate that higher concentrations of these heavy metals are associated with places with greater anthropic activity, especially on the central and eastern coasts of Venezuela. Only cadmium showed extremely severe enrichment and a high degree of contamination. The biohazard potential was between 12% and 30% and was primarily associated with locations having high oil activity, which suggests that these places must be monitored, given the potential hazard they represent. This work encompasses the distribution and concentration of 9 heavy metals along the Venezuelan coast and takes relevance as a baseline for heavy metal concentrations and pollution indicators in marine sediments for Venezuela and the Caribbean.

A return to the past? The Spanish as the First Foreign Language policy in Trinidad and Tobago

Abstract Situated close to the coast of Venezuela, the small twin-island nation of Trinidad & Tobago is geographically South American, but culturally Caribbean. Despite colonisation by various European powers, years of British rule and the ensuing dominance of English have meant that the country’s rich ethnic and cultural heritage is currently not paralleled by equivalent linguistic diversity. Building on the country’s natural position as a bridge between the English and Spanish-speaking worlds, the government launched the Spanish as the First Foreign Language (SAFFL) policy in 2005, with the aim to enhance trade links with Latin America through increased use of Spanish in the education system, civil service, and wider society. After outlining the historical and sociocultural background underpinning the SAFFL policy, this study examines the initiative’s implementation and surveys its impact, seeking to evaluate the policy’s effectiveness as a whole.

Echinoderms from the Gulf of Venezuela, north-western coast of Venezuela

Echinoderms are a major group of marine invertebrates that often play integral roles within the marine ecosystem. Studies about their occurrence, abundance, and distribution in Venezuela are focused in the central-eastern coasts; hence the aim of this study is to describe the echinoderm community in the north-western coast of the Gulf of Venezuela. Samples were collected from three sites in the Venezuelan Guajira Peninsula (Castilletes, Porshoure, and Kazuzain) where patchy coral reefs and seagrass meadows are abundant. According to the substrate, two methods were performed using quantitative (1 m² quadrates), and qualitative free-diving observations. All organisms were counted and identified to the lowest possible taxonomic level; finally, diversity (Shannon diversity index), richness (number of species), and dominance in the different sampled substrates were recorded. The updated list of echinoderms of the Gulf of Venezuela reported in this research, includes 20 genera, 15 families, 10 orders, four classes, and 28 species. The richest class was Ophiuroidea, with 18 species, followed by Asteroidea, Echinoidea and Holothuroidea, with three species each. Castilletes was the sampling site with the higher number of species (18 species), followed by Porshoure (15 species), and lastly Kazuzain (12 species). Our observations indicate that the number of species and abundance were higher when found in coral reefs (21 species, 80.69% of the total collected individuals) in contrast to the species found in seagrass beds (16 species, 19.31% of the total of individuals collected). This updated list of echinoderms represents 11.54% of the total diversity of the phylum in the marine areas from the coast of Venezuela; it is suggested that this percentage is greatly influenced by the differences of habitats and substrates alongside the north-western coast in the Gulf of Venezuela.

Inferring the Potential Distribution of an Emerging Rickettsiosis in America: The Case of Rickettsia parkeri.

Tick-borne rickettsioses represent a severe public health problem that has increased in recent decades by several activities that place human populations in contact with a wide range of vectors. In particular, Rickettsia parkeri, an eschar-associated spotted fever agent, represents an emerging pathogen that has been gradually identified throughout America. In the present work, we compiled an occurrence database of these bacteria, as well as its vectors, in order to identify the potential distribution of these bacteria and to detect the risk areas where this emerging pathogen may be circulating. The results show the at-risk areas to be broad regions in Central America, on the coast of Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Chile, part of Brazil and Argentina, and the greater part of Bolivia, Paraguay, and Uruguay. Particularly, in Mexico, conditions exist for widespread dissemination. Our results must be considered for the establishment of active acarological surveillance in previously unsampled areas, as well as the establishment of prevention measures for vulnerable populations and risk groups participating in outdoor activities that can place them in contact with this pathogen.

Neurosurgery in the Dutch Antilles: A Minireview of Recent Developments

Curaçao is an island in the Southern Caribbean Sea, which formed part of the Dutch Antilles together with Aruba, Bonaire, part of SaintMartin, Saba, and Statia. Aruba was the first country of the Dutch Antilles to dissolute in 1986 (1). On October 10th of 2010, Curaçaoand Saint Martin also became a constituent country within the Dutch kingdom. Bonaire, Saba, and Statia became “specialmunicipalities,” also known as administrative divisions, within the Dutch state (2).Curaçao is the biggest of the six islands, with an area of 444 km2/ 171.4 sq.mi, situated 65 km (40mi) north of the Venezuelan coast (3).Curaçao is of multi-cultural composition (mainly Afro-Caribbean) and has three official languages: Papiamentu, Dutch, and English.Spanish is widely spoken on the island as well (3). It has a little less the 160,000 inhabitants (4)

Neurosurgery in the Dutch Antilles: A minireview of recent developments


 Curaçao is an island in the Southern Caribbean Sea, which formed part of the Dutch Antilles and Aruba, Bonaire, part of Saint Martin, Saba, and Statia. Aruba was the first country of the Dutch Antilles to dissolute in 1986 (1). On October 10th of 2010, Curaçao and Saint Martin also became constituent countries within the Dutch kingdom. Bonaire, Saba, and Statia became “special municipalities,” also known as administrative divisions, within the Dutch state (2).
 Curaçao is the biggest of the six islands, with an area of 444 km2/ 171.4 sq.mi, situated 65 km (40mi) north of the Venezuelan coast (3). Curaçao is of multi-cultural composition (mainly Afro-Caribbean) and has three official languages; Papiamentu, Dutch, and English. Spanish is widely spoken on the island as well.3 It has a little less the 160,000 inhabitants (4).

Chitons (Mollusca: Polyplacophora) from the Venezuelan Coasts, Southern Caribbean: A Checklist and Brief Review in Advance of Their Knowledge

Chitons (Mollusca: Polyplacophora) from the Venezuelan Coasts, Southern Caribbean: A Checklist and Brief Review in Advance of Their Knowledge

Dinámica poblacional de Clibanarius antillensis (Crustacea: Anomura: Diogenidae) de la localidad de Puerto Abajo, Estado Nueva Esparta. Durante el periodo marzo-septiembre de 2014

On the Venezuelan coast, the genus Clibanarius is represented by four species, of which there is an almost absolute ignorance about the ecology of C. antillensis. For this reason it was proposed to carry out this research whose main objective was to study its population dynamics in the town of Puerto Abajo. Fortnightly samples were sampled during the March-September 2014 period. The sample consisted of 1098 specimens: 556 (50,64%) females (♀), of which 335 were ovigerous and 542 (49,36%) males (♂) The sexual ratio was 1♀: 1♂. The lowest number of organisms was collected in the month of March and the largest in May and August. The t-student of the wet weight (t = 1,66; p> 0,05) shows that there are no affected differences between females and males, while the wet weight relationship with the shield length shows a negative allometric growth. The population parameters for ♂ and ♂ of the hermit were, respectively: asymptotic length L∞ = 7,40 mm and 7,90 mm; growth coefficient: k = 0,20 / year-1 and 0,22 / year-1 ; the theoretical age: t0 = -0,22 / years-1 and -0,2 / years-1 ; calculated age limit: A0,95 = 13,8 years and 12,5 years. The coefficient of variation obtained for both ♀ (CV = 22,49%) and ♂ (CV = 27,75%), modified that the pattern of growth in length of the species differs statistically in relation to sex.

Molecular Inferences on Scomberomorus brasiliensis, From the Western South Atlantic, Based on Two Mitochondrial Genes

The Serra Spanish Mackerel, Scomberomorus brasiliensis is one of the principal fishery resources found in the tropical and subtropical waters of the western South Atlantic. Declining catches of S. brasiliensis off the coast of northeastern Brazil indicate that this species is being overfished. Despite the importance of this species to local fisheries, few data are available on its genetic diversity or population parameters. Given this scenario, the present study evaluated the genetic variability of S. brasiliensis off the coast of the western South Atlantic, based on mitochondrial genes. We compiled two databases, one with partial sequences of the MT-CYB gene (N =105), and the other of the MT-ND4 gene of the Serra Spanish Mackerel, sampled from eight localities, ranging from Cumana in Venezuela to Paranagua, in soutern Brazil. The results of the analysis indicate low levels of genetic diversity in the study. Samples from Cumana, on the coast of Venezuela were the most differentiated, although the results of the AMOVA were not significant. The PhiST values, the genetic divergence, and the haplotype network all indicate the widespread sharing of haplotypes by the mackerel from all the different localities. Analyses of the historical demography, based on both markers, indicate the occurrence of past population expansion, coinciding with fluctuations in sea level that occurred 10,000 years ago. The demographic and phylogeographic analyses of the mitochondrial DNA revealed the existence of a single genetic stock of S. brasiliensis on the coast of the western South Atlantic according to. These findings are fundamental to the development of effective conservation strategies.

COVID-19 in the West Indies: Trinidad and Tobago Experience

Trinidad and Tobago (T+T) is a small twin-island state in the Caribbean, eight miles off the coast of Venezuela. It has an area of approximately 5431 square kilometres and population of 1.4 million. At the present time, there are 116 coronavirus disease (COVID-19) cases and eight deaths, with no new cases or deaths for the last 21 days (May 17, 2020). Its COVID-19 story is one of the prompts, with early control and great success. There has beenno such instance where the health services were stretched or unable to cope. Even before the first case was identified, the T+T Government restricted entry to travelers from China, Japan, Singapore, South Korea and several European countries.The first case of COVID-19 identified in T+T was on March 12, 2020. The patient had returned from Switzerland. The next day, a second positive case was a person who had returned from USA.

Spatial and Temporal Distribution of a Multiple Gear Fishing Fleet Exploiting the Caribbean Sea and North Brazil Shelf Large Marine Ecosystems

AbstractAn industrial multigear fishing fleet from Venezuela emerged in 2009 as a governmental strategy to reduce the impact of industrial trawling on the Venezuelan coast of the North Brazil Shelf Large Marine Ecosystem. The current study aimed to examine the spatial–temporal distribution of fishing effort and the catch levels obtained by the Venezuelan industrial multigear fishing fleet during the period 2015–2018. Fishing gear types employed by this fleet in order of preference were as follows: bottom longline (target sea catfishes [family Ariidae]), trap (target snappers [family Lutjanidae]), pelagic longline (target tunas [family Scombridae]), hand line (target mackerels [family Scombridae]), and shark longline (target sea catfishes and sharks [families Carcharhinidae, Squalidae, Sphyrnidae, Ginglymostomatidae, Alopiidae, and Triakidae]). The kernel intensity estimator determined that the main fishing area was the North Brazil Shelf (comprising 95% of the total fishing sets). Fishing effort (fishing sets per trip) distribution may be associated with oceanic fronts present in the region. A change in the dynamics of the fleet were recorded, with an increase in the use of bottom longlines, along with a decrease in the use of traps, possibly due to overfishing of resources caught by traps. The analyses of covariance showed a linear and positive relationship between the catch and fishing effort but with significant changes over the study period for traps and bottom longlines, since in the years where the fishing effort of traps was lower there were greater catches by unit of effort, and vice versa for bottom longlines, where lower catches by unit effort were obtained in years with greater effort.

Serological Evidence for Henipa-like and Filo-like Viruses in Trinidad Bats.

Bat-borne zoonotic pathogens belonging to the family Paramxyoviridae, including Nipah and Hendra viruses, and the family Filoviridae, including Ebola and Marburg viruses, can cause severe disease and high mortality rates on spillover into human populations. Surveillance efforts for henipaviruses and filoviruses have been largely restricted to the Old World; however, recent studies suggest a potentially broader distribution for henipaviruses and filoviruses than previously recognized. In the current study, we screened for henipaviruses and filoviruses in New World bats collected across 4 locations in Trinidad near the coast of Venezuela. Bat tissue samples were screened using previously established reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction assays. Serum were screened using a multiplex immunoassay to detect antibodies reactive with the envelope glycoprotein of viruses in the genus Henipavirus and the family Filoviridae. Serum samples were also screened by means of enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for antibodies reactive with Nipah G and F glycoproteins. Of 84 serum samples, 28 were reactive with ≥1 henipavirus glycoprotein by ≥1 serological method, and 6 serum samples were reactive against ≥1 filovirus glycoproteins. These data provide evidence of potential circulation of viruses related to the henipaviruses and filoviruses in New World bats.

American Baroque: Pearls and the Nature of Empire, 1492–1700 by Molly A. Warsh

Reviewed by: American Baroque: Pearls and the Nature of Empire, 1492–1700 by Molly A. Warsh David Hope American Baroque: Pearls and the Nature of Empire, 1492–1700. By molly a. warsh. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2018. xviii + 275 pp. ISBN 978-1-4696-3897-3. $39.95 (hardcover). In American Baroque, Molly Warsh offers an illuminating exploration of the use, trade, and extraction of pearls during the early modern period. The book has an impressive global reach. While focused on the role of pearls in the Iberian Atlantic world, the book extends beyond this framework to consider pearl-fishing and pearl-trading by the Portuguese and English East India Companies as well as river pearl fishing in Scotland and Sweden. Warsh provides a valuable original contribution to the growing literature on the global lives of things, one that will appeal to scholars interested in cultural, environmental, and imperial history, and the way in which commodity trades defined interactions between diverse peoples and state administrations during the early stages of globalization. In Warsh’s view, pearls most enduring legacy is through the prominence they have given to “the term baroque as a metaphor for [End Page 635] irregularity in form and function” (p. 11) as this expression was first used to describe pearls of an irregular shape. Pearls gave their name to an entire artistic style but their importance to Spain’s early encounter with the Americas has been similarly underappreciated. Charting the pearl fisheries established off the Venezuelan coast in the early sixteenth century, Warsh convincingly shows how the maritime sphere was critical to the emerging Spanish Atlantic economy. Before the formation of the Spanish mainland empire, it was American pearls harvested from Caribbean oyster reefs—not gold and silver—that provided substantial wealth to Spanish adventurers and the crown, resource extraction that relied upon indigenous knowledge, labor, and resources (and from 1518, enslaved African labor). The scale of this industry is staggering. Warsh estimates that 1.2 billion oysters were harvested from Caribbean waters in fewer than three decades, with one in ten shells containing a pearl. By the mid-1530s there were signs that yields were unsustainable, and the boom came to a spectacular end when a tsunami wiped out the settlement of Nueva Cádiz de Cubagua in 1541. Warsh maintains that despite the Spanish inhabitants predatory and extractive practices, residents “paid attention to maritime ecology even at the height of their oyster-harvesting frenzy” (p. 67) and realized that “oyster banks recovered when they were left alone for a time” (p. 65). Inhabitants of pearl fishing settlements routinely opposed the mechanical solutions proposed by European investors to improve harvests, schemes that captivated the Spanish crown. American Baroque argues that “the political economy of pearls gave rise to a productive tension between vernacular, small-scale understandings of wealth management. . . and developing imperial understandings of the same” (p. 8). Pearls were a constant source of frustration for the Spanish crown as they were almost impossible to track and trace, while decrees aimed at protecting pearl divers and oyster banks had limited success. Although Warsh does not make the connection, the Qing state similarly attempted to manage the disappearance of pearls from the riverbeds of Manchuria, as was discussed by Jonathan Schlesinger in A World Trimmed with Fur: Wild Things, Pristine Places, and the Natural Fringes of Qing Rule (2017). By the seventeenth century, pearl fishing was no longer central to the Spanish imperial economy, but the enterprise persisted despite the growing scarcity of oysters. Warsh emphasizes how a successful pearl industry depended on local skill and experience, and how this expert labor force became even more important as the oyster beds diminished. While Warsh notes how Panama and Venezuela were the center of pearl production in the Americas, most of her analysis pertains to the [End Page 636] latter, in a region commonly known as “The Pearl Coast.” More exploration of pearl ventures off the coast of Panama would have been useful. Similarly, the fate of pearl fishing off the coast of Baja California remained rather unclear. A more detailed discussion of the extent to which oyster beds recovered would have been welcome. If...