Antigonon leptopus invasion is associated with plant community disassembly in a Caribbean island ecosystem

Invasions by non-native plant species are widely recognized as a major driver of biodiversity loss. Globally, (sub-)tropical islands form important components of biodiversity hotspots, while being particularly susceptible to invasions by plants in general and vines in particular. We studied the impact of the invasive vine A. leptopus on the diversity and structure of recipient plant communities on the northern Caribbean island St. Eustatius. We used a paired-plot design to study differences in species richness, evenness and community structure under A. leptopus-invaded and uninvaded conditions. Community structure was studied through species co-occurrence patterns. We found that in plots invaded by A. leptopus, species richness was 40–50% lower, and these plots also exhibited lower evenness. The magnitude of these negative impacts increased with increasing cover of A. leptopus. Invaded plots also showed higher degrees of homogeneity in species composition. Species co-occurrence patterns indicated that plant communities in uninvaded plots were characterized by segregation, whereas recipient plant communities in invaded plots exhibited random co-occurrence patterns. These observations suggest that invasion of A. leptopus is not only associated with reduced species richness and evenness of recipient communities in invaded sites, but also with a community disassembly process that may reduce diversity between sites. Given that A. leptopus is a successful invader of (sub-)tropical islands around the globe, these impacts on plant community structure highlight that this invasive species could be a particular conservation concern for these systems.

Utilising Natural Attributes of Tropical Islands for Beach Protection

This study reveals the coastal protection benefits of small artificial reefs on tropical islands. A monitored case study involving field and computer modelling investigations, as well as construction of a 95 m long reef and 12,000 m3 of local sand nourishment in a tropical lagoon on the north-east coast of Mauritius, is presented. Monitoring showed that a large salient widened the beach by 50 m in one year. The salient has continued to grow slowly and has remained stable for four years, including during a cyclone. Only a simple and inexpensive artificial reef was needed in the shallow lagoon to rebalance the shoreline wave conditions, because most wave energy was lost by breaking further offshore on the natural reef. With rising sea levels, inshore reefs with nourishment can overcome increases in wave height, wave set-up and wave run-up at the shoreline, which are jointly responsible for erosion and the flooding of homes by erosion and over-topping. To find suitable nourishment sources, regional computer modelling identified the following dominant circulation patterns: currents both coming into the lagoon over the reef crest (driven by breaking wave energy) and exiting via relict river channels or zones of lower waves. Sand for nourishment may be extracted from the exit locations with reduced environmental impact, because net currents are driving sand out of the lagoon system into deeper water. These relict sands have the same grain size as the natural beach and are readily accessible.

Biomass Feedstocks for Liquid Biofuels Production in Hawaii & Tropical Islands: A Review

Many tropical islands, including Aruba, Seychelles, Mauritius, and Pacific Island countries, are entirely dependent on importing fossil fuels to meet their energy demands. Due to global warming, improving energy use efficiency and developing regionally available renewable energy resources are necessary to reduce carbon emissions. This review analyzed and identified biomass feedstocks to produce liquid biofuels targeting tropical islands, particularly focusing on Hawaii as a case study. Transportation and energy generation sectors consume 25.5% and 11.6%, respectively, of Hawaii's imported fossil fuels. Various nonedible feedstocks with information on their availability, production, and average yields of oils, fiber, sugars, and lipid content for liquid biofuels production are identified to add value to the total energy mix. The available biomass conversion technologies and production costs are summarized. In addition, a section on potentially using sewage sludge to produce biodiesel is also included. Based on a comparative analysis of kamani, croton, pongamia, jatropha, energycane, Leucaena hybrid, gliricidia, and eucalyptus feedstock resources, this study proposes that Hawaii and other similar tropical regions can potentially benefit from growing and producing economical liquid biofuels locally, especially for the transportation and electricity generation sectors

Biomass Feedstocks for Liquid Biofuels Production in Hawaii & Tropical Islands: A Review

Many tropical islands, including Aruba, Seychelles, Mauritius, and Pacific Island countries, are entirely dependent on importing fossil fuels to meet their energy demands. Due to global warming, improving energy use efficiency and developing regionally available renewable energy resources are necessary to reduce carbon emissions. This review analyzed and identified biomass feedstocks to produce liquid biofuels targeting tropical islands, particularly focusing on Hawaii as a case study. Transportation and energy generation sectors consume 25.5% and 11.6%, respectively, of Hawaii's imported fossil fuels. Various nonedible feedstocks with information on their availability, production, and average yields of oils, fiber, sugars, and lipid content for liquid biofuels production are identified to add value to the total energy mix. The available biomass conversion technologies and production costs are summarized. In addition, a section on potentially using sewage sludge to produce biodiesel is also included. Based on a comparative analysis of kamani, croton, pongamia, jatropha, energycane, Leucaena hybrid, gliricidia, and eucalyptus feedstock resources, this study proposes that Hawaii and other similar tropical regions can potentially benefit from growing and producing economical liquid biofuels locally, especially for the transportation and electricity generation sectors

Tropical islands of the Anthropocene: Deep histories of anthropogenic terrestrial–marine entanglement in the Pacific and Caribbean

Islands are useful model systems for examining human–environmental interactions. While many anthropogenic effects visible in the archaeological and paleoecological records are terrestrial in nature (e.g., clearance of tropical forests for agriculture and settlement; introduction of nonnative flora and fauna), native peoples also relied heavily on marine environments for their subsistence and livelihood. Here we use two island case studies—Palau (Micronesia) and the Lesser Antilles (Caribbean)—and approach their long-term settlement history through a “ridge-to-reef” perspective to assess the role that human activity played in land- and seascape change over deep time. In particular, we examine the entanglement of terrestrial and marine ecosystems resulting from anthropogenic effects and cultural responses to socio-environmental feedback. We suggest that on the humanized tropical islands of the Anthropocene, mangroves, near shore and littoral areas, and coral reefs were major sites of terrestrial–marine interface chronicling and modulating anthropogenic effects.

Reduced Dengue Incidence During COVID-19 Restrictions in Sri Lanka From March 2020 to April 2021

BackgroundDengue is a major public health concern in Sri Lanka. COVID-19 in Sri Lanka was first detected in January 2020, and has continued to be prevalent in the country since that time. The impact of public health measures imposed to restrict COVID-19 transmission on the incidence of dengue throughout the island and particularly its northern Jaffna district in the period March 2020 to April 2021 was determined.MethodsThe incidence of dengue and COVID-19, rainfall and the public health measures implemented to contain COVID-19 transmission for each district in Sri Lanka were obtained from Government sources. The Seasonal Autoregressive Integrated Moving Average (SARIMA) model was used to predict the dengue incidence expected in March 2020 to April 2021, based on pre-pandemic data and this was compared with the actual reported incidence of dengue during the period of COVID-19 restrictions. Ovitrap collections of Aedes larvae were also carried out in the Gurunagar ward of Jaffna city in the Jaffna district during the 2020 and 2021 lockdown and the findings compared with data from 2019.ResultsThe reported number of dengue cases for the whole country from March 2020 to April 2021 was significantly lower than the numbers of dengue cases predicted from the five years immediately preceding the COVID-19 pandemic (2015-2019). Decreased numbers of dengue cases were reported compared to predicted numbers of cases in all 25 administrative districts in the country including the Jaffna district. Aedes larval numbers collected from ovitraps in the Gurunagar ward in Jaffna city during the COVID-19 lockdown period were decreased, with significantly lower proportions of Ae. aegypti than Ae. albopictus, compared with 2019. ConclusionPublic health measures that restricted movement of people, closed schools, universities and offices in order to contain COVID-19 transmission unexpectedly led to a marked reduction in the incidence of dengue in Sri Lanka, in contrast to Singapore. The differences between the two tropical islands have significant implications for the epidemiology of dengue.

Stochastic daily rainfall generation on tropical islands with complex topography

Stochastic rainfall generators are probabilistic models of rainfall space-time behavior. During parameterization and calibration, they allow the identification and quantification of the main modes of rainfall variability. Hence, stochastic rainfall models can be regarded as probabilistic conceptual models of rainfall dynamics. As with most conceptual models in Earth Sciences, the performance of stochastic rainfall models strongly relies on their adequacy in representing the rain process at hand. On tropical islands with high elevation topography, orographic rain enhancement challenges most existing stochastic models because it creates localized rains with strong spatial gradients, which break down the stationarity of rain statistics. To allow for stochastic rainfall modeling on tropical islands, despite non-stationarity, we propose a new stochastic daily rainfall generator specifically for areas with significant orographic effects. Our model relies on a preliminary classification of daily rain patterns into rain types based on rainfall space and intensity statistics, and sheds new light on rainfall variability at the island scale. Within each rain type, the spatial distribution of rainfall through the island is modeled following a meta-Gaussian approach combining empirical spatial copulas and a Gamma transform function, which allows us to generate realistic daily rain fields. When applied to the stochastic simulation of rainfall on the islands of O‘ahu (Hawai‘i, United States of America) and Tahiti (French Polynesia) in the tropical Pacific, the proposed model demonstrates good skills in jointly simulating site specific and island scale rain statistics. Hence, it provides a new tool for stochastic impact studies in tropical islands, in particular for watershed water resources management and downscaling of future precipitation projections.