Sample records for caribbean

  1. @Caribbean_LCC | CARIBBEAN LANDSCAPE CONSERVATION COOPERATIVE (A2)

    Science.gov Websites

    Monitoring Data Ecosystem Governance Community Get involved Advisory Groups Scientific Community Practitioner ! Caribbean Agriculture, Forestry and Climate Governance Database Slide background LANDSCAPE Conservation Is Caribbean. Ecosystem Governance Discover our compendium of NGOs and coalition groups doing conservation

  2. Caribbean landscapes and their biodiversity

    Treesearch

    A. E. Lugo; E. H. Helmer; E. Santiago Valentín

    2012-01-01

    Both the biodiversity and the landscapes of the Caribbean have been greatly modified as a consequence of human activity. In this essay we provide an overview of the natural landscapes and biodiversity of the Caribbean and discuss how human activity has affected both. Our Caribbean geographic focus is on the insular Caribbean and the biodiversity focus is on the flora,...

  3. The Caribbean after-shock.

    PubMed

    Canak, W L; Levy, D

    1988-03-01

    The population of the Caribbean islands, is expected to double by the mid-21st century, placing new pressures on local labor markets and economic resources and increasing the need for social expenditures. Most of this growth will take place in urban areas. Emigration to the US is an increasingly important trend, especially in the Dominican Republic, Haiti, and Jamaica, and local Caribbean economies are linked with labor markets in the US through a system of family remittances. Oil price hikes, escalating debt burdens, and falling export prices have created an economic crisis in the Caribbean since the late 1970s. There has been double-digit inflation, rising unemployment, and only sporadic growth in the gross national product. The Caribbean Basin Initiative, established by the Reagan Administration, provides the Caribbean nations with duty-free export entry to the US market for 12 years and targets manufacturing, tourism, agriculture, and foreign investment for growth. Overall, however, the results of this initiative have been an effective subsidy to US investors and little stimulus for growth in locally owned businesses. Haiti and the Dominican Republic are the islands with the most poverty, while Trinidad and Tobago are the most prosperous. Puerto Rico plays an important role in the Caribbean region, serving as a link between North and South America and between cultural differences.

  4. Subduction in the Southern Caribbean

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Levander, A.; Schmitz, M.; Bezada, M.; Masy, J.; Niu, F.; Pindell, J.

    2012-04-01

    The southern Caribbean is bounded at either end by subduction zones: In the east at the Lesser Antilles subduction zone the Atlantic part of the South American plate subducts beneath the Caribbean. In the north and west under the Southern Caribbean Deformed Belt accretionary prism, the Caribbean subducts under South America. In a manner of speaking, the two plates subduct beneath each other. Finite-frequency teleseismic P-wave tomography confirms this, imaging the Atlantic and the Caribbean subducting steeply in opposite directions to transition zone depths under northern South America (Bezada et al, 2010). The two subduction zones are connected by the El Pilar-San Sebastian strike-slip fault system, a San Andreas scale system. A variety of seismic probes identify where the two plates tear as they begin to subduct (Niu et al, 2007; Clark et al., 2008; Miller et al. 2009; Masy et al, 2009). The El Pilar system forms at the southeastern corner of the Antilles subduction zone by the Atlantic tearing from South America. The deforming plate edges control mountain building and basin formation at the eastern end of the strike-slip system. In northwestern South America the Caribbean plate tears, its southernmost element subducting at shallow angles under northernmost Colombia and then rapidly descending to transition zone depths under Lake Maracaibo (Bezada et al., 2010). We believe that the flat slab produces the Merida Andes, the Perija, and the Santa Marta ranges. The southern edge of the nonsubducting Caribbean plate underthrusts northern Venezuela to about the width of the coastal mountains (Miller et al., 2009). We infer that the underthrust Caribbean plate supports the coastal mountains, and controls continuing deformation.

  5. Tsunami Risk for the Caribbean Coast

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kozelkov, A. S.; Kurkin, A. A.; Pelinovsky, E. N.; Zahibo, N.

    2004-12-01

    The tsunami problem for the coast of the Caribbean basin is discussed. Briefly the historical data of tsunami in the Caribbean Sea are presented. Numerical simulation of potential tsunamis in the Caribbean Sea is performed in the framework of the nonlinear-shallow theory. The tsunami wave height distribution along the Caribbean Coast is computed. These results are used to estimate the far-field tsunami potential of various coastal locations in the Caribbean Sea. In fact, five zones with tsunami low risk are selected basing on prognostic computations, they are: the bay "Golfo de Batabano" and the coast of province "Ciego de Avila" in Cuba, the Nicaraguan Coast (between Bluefields and Puerto Cabezas), the border between Mexico and Belize, the bay "Golfo de Venezuela" in Venezuela. The analysis of historical data confirms that there was no tsunami in the selected zones. Also, the wave attenuation in the Caribbean Sea is investigated; in fact, wave amplitude decreases in an order if the tsunami source is located on the distance up to 1000 km from the coastal location. Both factors wave attenuation and wave height distribution should be taken into account in the planned warning system for the Caribbean Sea.

  6. Caribbean contributions to contemporary psychiatric psychopathology.

    PubMed

    Hickling, F W; Hutchinson, G

    2012-07-01

    The intellectual exploration of phenomenological and psychiatric discovery that has flowered in the Caribbean in the period of political independence from British colonization is a reflection of the scholarship that has emerged from the academic nurturance by The University of the West Indies. Burgeoning migration of Caribbean people to England in the twentieth century has resulted in high reported rates of psychosis for this migrant population. Caribbean research into this condition has revealed that there exist hostile racial and environmental challenges in Britain that have had a profound pathological effect on the mental health of African Caribbean migrants. These findings have significantly shifted the pendulum of understanding of the aetiology of this condition from a genetic to a biopsychosocial position. Research has also revealed longstanding psychopathological effects of slavery and colonialism in the Caribbean that have had significantly negative long term effects on the mental health of many within the Caribbean population. Current research suggests that there is a need to nurture protective strategies to enhance resilience and social capital, which would ensure the wellness and continued survival of Caribbean people in spite of the many challenges they face.

  7. Caribbean Crucible: History, Culture, and Globalization.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Yelvington, Kevin A.

    2000-01-01

    Reconsiders the Caribbean as an origin-point of the modern global system. Discusses the conquests and colonization of the Caribbean; the slavery system and racial distinctions; the post-emancipation society; and culture, Creolization, and the concept of movement as features of Caribbean society. Provides a bibliography. (CMK)

  8. Towards a Global Citizenship Education for Caribbean Canadian Youth

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Walrond, Jean

    2008-01-01

    The number of people living in Canada of Caribbean heritage has increased substantially over the past forty years. This paper examines aspects of Caribbean culture and Caribbean education culture to explore if Caribbean Canadians can claim a Caribbean education philosophy. The research claims there is one. The article suggests that this philosophy…

  9. Caribbean tectonics and relative plate motions

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Burke, K.; Dewey, J. F.; Cooper, C.; Mann, P.; Pindell, J. L.

    1984-01-01

    During the last century, three different ways of interpreting the tectonic evolution of the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean have been proposed, taking into account the Bailey Willis School of a permanent pre-Jurassic deep sea basin, the Edward Suess School of a subsided continental terrain, and the Alfred Wegener School of continental separation. The present investigation is concerned with an outline of an interpretation which follows that of Pindell and Dewey (1982). An attempt is made to point out ways in which the advanced hypotheses can be tested. The fit of Africa, North America, and South America is considered along with aspects of relative motion between North and South America since the early Jurasic. Attention is given to a framework for reconstructing Caribbean plate evolution, the evolution of the Caribbean, the plate boundary zones of the northern and southern Caribbean, and the active deformation of the Caribbean plate.

  10. Globalizing the English Curriculum through Caribbean Literature.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Spoelman, Linda; Thomas, Katherine

    Although Caribbean (English) writers hold differing views on the effectiveness of making connections in an area of so much diversity, Caribbean literature can be connected to the English curriculum to promote diversity and understanding. V. S. Naipaul, Nobel Prize winning author from the region, presents a pessimistic view of Caribbean society in…

  11. 48 CFR 25.405 - Caribbean Basin Trade Initiative.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-10-01

    ... 48 Federal Acquisition Regulations System 1 2013-10-01 2013-10-01 false Caribbean Basin Trade... SOCIOECONOMIC PROGRAMS FOREIGN ACQUISITION Trade Agreements 25.405 Caribbean Basin Trade Initiative. Under the Caribbean Basin Trade Initiative, the United States Trade Representative has determined that, for...

  12. 48 CFR 25.405 - Caribbean Basin Trade Initiative.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-10-01

    ... 48 Federal Acquisition Regulations System 1 2014-10-01 2014-10-01 false Caribbean Basin Trade... SOCIOECONOMIC PROGRAMS FOREIGN ACQUISITION Trade Agreements 25.405 Caribbean Basin Trade Initiative. Under the Caribbean Basin Trade Initiative, the United States Trade Representative has determined that, for...

  13. 48 CFR 25.405 - Caribbean Basin Trade Initiative.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-10-01

    ... 48 Federal Acquisition Regulations System 1 2012-10-01 2012-10-01 false Caribbean Basin Trade... SOCIOECONOMIC PROGRAMS FOREIGN ACQUISITION Trade Agreements 25.405 Caribbean Basin Trade Initiative. Under the Caribbean Basin Trade Initiative, the United States Trade Representative has determined that, for...

  14. 48 CFR 25.405 - Caribbean Basin Trade Initiative.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-10-01

    ... 48 Federal Acquisition Regulations System 1 2011-10-01 2011-10-01 false Caribbean Basin Trade... SOCIOECONOMIC PROGRAMS FOREIGN ACQUISITION Trade Agreements 25.405 Caribbean Basin Trade Initiative. Under the Caribbean Basin Trade Initiative, the United States Trade Representative has determined that, for...

  15. Achievement and Underachievement: The Experiences of African Caribbeans

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Rhamie, Jasmine

    2012-01-01

    The disproportionate representation of African Caribbeans in all the negative educational statistics has been well documented. Despite this, there are African Caribbeans who achieve academically but relatively few studies have explored this area. This study aimed to investigate the factors that contribute to African Caribbean academic success,…

  16. Caribbean Luxury

    NASA Image and Video Library

    2017-12-08

    Caribbean Luxury - April 24th, 2003 Description: The Caicos Islands (pronounced KAY-kohss) in the northern Caribbean are a popular tourist attraction, renowned for their beautiful beaches, clear waters, scuba diving, and luxury resorts. The islands lie primarily along the northern perimeter of the submerged Caicos Bank (turquoise), a shallow limestone platform formed of sand, algae, and coral reefs covering 6,140 square kilometers (2,370 square miles). Credit: USGS/NASA/Landsat 7 To learn more about the Landsat satellite go to: landsat.gsfc.nasa.gov/ NASA Goddard Space Flight Center enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission. Follow us on Twitter Join us on Facebook

  17. Poverty, drug abuse fuel Caribbean AIDS outbreak.

    PubMed

    Kovaleski, S F

    1998-01-01

    Hatred and fear of homosexuals, together with a fear of losing tourism revenue, drove many high-level policymakers in the Caribbean to ignore the HIV/AIDS in its infancy. With an annual incidence rate of at least 146.6 people per 100,000, the Bahamas now has one of the highest AIDS rates in the world and the highest such rate in the English-speaking Caribbean. AIDS has become the major cause of death for men and women aged 20-44 in the Bahamas. Indeed, throughout the Caribbean, countries like the Bahamas must now cope with a growing AIDS epidemic. UN AIDS Program figures indicate that at least 310,000 people in the Caribbean have either HIV infection or AIDS, and that the prevalence rate among adults is almost 2%. This compares with an estimated 7.4% of the adult population of sub-Saharan Africa which is infected and 0.6% of adults in North America. 65% of reported AIDS cases in the region result from heterosexual intercourse. While the annual number of AIDS cases has been falling in North America over the last several years and rates in Latin America have leveled off, rates in the Caribbean are increasing sharply. Poverty, the population's lack of awareness, low levels of education, internal and international migration, crack cocaine use, promiscuity, high levels of STDs, prostitution, and tourism are also facilitating the spread of HIV in the Caribbean. Social conservatism, mainly in the English-Caribbean, about discussing sex impedes the implementation and success of HIV/AIDS prevention interventions.

  18. Kinematic reconstruction of the Caribbean region since the Early Jurassic

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Bochman, Lydian; van Hinsbergen, Douwe; Torsvik, Trond; Spakman, Wim; Pindell, James

    2014-05-01

    The Caribbean region results from a complex tectonic history governed by the interplay of the North American, South American and (Paleo-)Pacific plates, between which the Caribbean plate evolved since the early Cretaceous. During its entire tectonic evolution, the Caribbean plate was largely surrounded by subduction and transform boundaries, which hampers a quantitative integration into the global circuit of plate motions. In addition, reconstructions of the region have so far not resulted in a first order kinematic description of the main tectonic units in terms of Euler poles and finite rotation angles. Here, we present an updated, quantitatively described kinematic reconstruction of the Caribbean region back to 200 Ma integrated into the global plate circuit, and implemented with GPlates free software. Our analysis of Caribbean tectonic evolution incorporates an extensive literature review. To constrain the Caribbean plate motion between the American continents, we use a novel approach that takes structural geological observations rather than marine magnetic anomalies as prime input, and uses regionally extensive metamorphic and magmatic phenomena such as the Great Arc of the Caribbean, the Caribbean Large Igneous Province (CLIP) and the Caribbean high-pressure belt as correlation markers. The resulting model restores the Caribbean plate back along the Cayman Trough and major strike-slip faults in Guatemala, offshore Nicaragua, offshore Belize and along the Northern Andes towards its position of origin, west of the North and South American continents in early Cretaceous time. We provide the paleomagnetic reference frame for the Caribbean region by rotating the Global Apparent Polar Wander Path into coordinates of the Caribbean plate interior, Cuba, and the Chortis Block. We conclude that a plate kinematic scenario for a Panthalassa/Pacific origin of Caribbean lithosphere leads to a much simpler explanation than a Proto-Caribbean/Atlantic origin. Placing our

  19. Caribbean Life in New York City: Sociocultural Dimensions.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sutton, Constance R., Ed.; Chaney, Elsa M., Ed.

    This book comprises the following papers discussing Caribbean life in New York City: (1) The Context of Caribbean Migration (Elsa M. Chaney); (2) The Caribbeanization of New York City and the Emergence of a Transnational Socio-Cultural System (Constance R. Sutton); (3) New York City and Its People: An Historical Perspective Up to World War II…

  20. 78 FR 67127 - Caribbean Fishery Management Council; Public Meeting

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2013-11-08

    ... Caribbean Fishery Management Council's Outreach and Education Advisory Panel (OEAP) will meet. DATES: The... Verguilla Issue --USVI Activities: ``Marine Outreach & Education USVI Style'' --Caribbean Fisheries Teacher... Commercial and Recreational Fishing Regulations for the US Caribbean Exclusive Economic Zone --Other Business...

  1. The East Falcon Basin: Its Caribbean roots

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Bartok, P.; Boesi, T.

    1996-08-01

    The East Falcon Basin has been described persistently in the context of the Maracaibo Basin tectonic framework. It is the objective of the present study to demonstrate that the Falcon Basin is, in effect, a Caribbean basin juxtaposed on South America and affected by Caribbean tectonics. The oldest rocks outcropping in the region are Late Paleozoic metamorphic and igneous rocks rafted from northcentral Colombia, Middle Jurassic ophiolite complexes, sediments and metasediments and Cretaceous ophiolites transported by a melange of late Cretaceous to early Tertiary sediments. The south vergence of the Caribbean Nappe province has been documented and extends to themore » present limit of the Andean uplift and to the southern limit of the Coastal Range. The migrating foredeep that developed during the Paleocene-Eocene deposited dominantly basinal shales and thin sandstones. During the Oligocene the Caribbean faults of the Oca system and conjugates began with a dominantly transtensional regime becoming progressively transpressional by Miocene time. The facies development of the Oligocene-Miocene documents the tectonic history. Unique blocks remained as resistant blocks creating ramparts and modifying the basin configuration. During transpression northward-verging thrusting progressively migrated towards the present coastline. The most evident structures of the region are Caribbean in affinity and combined with the sedimentary history of the region can serve to unravel the complex Caribbean-South American plate interaction.« less

  2. The Caribbean: Crossroads of the Americas.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Nettleford, Rex

    1992-01-01

    Discusses the history of the Caribbean region and issues affecting the resion. Addresses language diversity, cultural interchanges, historical and cultural realities, ideological pluralism, and efforts at area cooperation. Suggests that the cultural diversity, innovation, and creativity that are such a part of Caribbean cultures can form the basis…

  3. Languages in Contemporary Anglophone Caribbean Societies

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Davids, Melva P.

    2013-01-01

    The paper Languages in Contemporary Anglophone Caribbean Societies examines how language is treated in Jamaica and other Anglophone Caribbean societies and the effects of a haphazard approach to language planning on the social dynamics of the society as well as the individual. It briefly explores how Language is handled in Francophone or…

  4. Tsunamis from Tectonic Sources along Caribbean Plate Boundaries

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Lopez, A. M.; Chacon, S.; Zamora, N.; Audemard, F. A.; Dondin, F. J. Y.; Clouard, V.; Løvholt, F.; Harbitz, C. B.; Vanacore, E. A.; Huerfano Moreno, V. A.

    2015-12-01

    The Working Group 2 (WG2) of the Intergovernmental Coordination Group for the Tsunami and Other Coastal Hazards Warning System for the Caribbean and Adjacent Regions (ICG/CARIBE-EWS) in charge of Tsunami Hazards Assessment, has generated a list of tsunami sources for the Caribbean region. Simulating these worst-case, most credible scenarios would provide an estimate of the resulting effects on coastal areas within the Caribbean. In the past few years, several publications have addressed this issue resulting in a collection of potential tsunami sources and scenarios. These publications come from a wide variety of sources; from government agencies to academic institutions. Although these provide the scientific community with a list of sources and scenarios, it was the interest of the WG2 to evaluate what has been proposed and develop a comprehensive list of sources, therefore leaving aside proposed scenarios. The seismo-tectonics experts of the Caribbean within the WG2 members were tasked to evaluate comprehensively which published sources are credible, worst-cases, and consider other sources that have been omitted from available reports. Among these published sources are the GEM Faulted Earth Subduction Characterization Project, and the LANTEX/Caribe Wave annual exercise publications (2009-2015). Caribbean tectonic features capable of generating tsunamis from seismic dislocation are located along the Northeastern Caribbean, the Lesser Antilles Trench, and the Panamá and Southern Caribbean Deformed Belts. The proposed sources have been evaluated based on historical and instrumental seismicity as well as geological and geophysical studies. This paper presents the sources and their justification as most-probable tsunami sources based on the context of crustal deformation due to Caribbean plate interacting with neighboring North and South America plates. Simulations of these sources is part of a subsequent phase in which effects of these tectonically induced tsunamis

  5. Accreditation of undergraduate medical education in the Caribbean: report on the Caribbean accreditation authority for education in medicine and other health professions.

    PubMed

    van Zanten, Marta; Parkins, Lorna M; Karle, Hans; Hallock, James A

    2009-06-01

    Medical education in the Caribbean has undergone significant change and growth in the past decades. Currently, approximately 60 medical schools in the Caribbean provide medical training to a combination of domestic and international students. External quality assurance of these institutions has varied in effectiveness and scope throughout the region. The Caribbean Accreditation Authority for Education in Medicine and Other Health Professions (CAAM-HP) was established by governments of the Caribbean Community as a way to fulfill regional and local needs for a governmentally recognized quality assurance agency. To examine efficient and effective options for maintaining and improving established accreditation systems such as CAAM-HP, the Invitational Conference on Accreditation of Medical Education Programs in the Caribbean took place in May 2007 in Jamaica. The conference was hosted by CAAM-HP and the World Federation for Medical Education, with assistance from the Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates. The evaluation and monitoring of undergraduate medical education programs in the Caribbean by a regional accrediting system such as CAAM-HP can help ensure the quality of the education delivered at these diverse institutions.

  6. Creating Research Culture in Caribbean Universities

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lewis, Theodore; Simmons, Lynette

    2010-01-01

    Recent expansion of tertiary education in the Caribbean via the creation of two new universities invites reflection on what impedes the creation of research culture, and what enables it. We contend that research culture in the Caribbean comes up against the strictures of post-colonial dependence, university education in the region being largely a…

  7. The Caribbean Online: Exploration through Internet Resources.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Berson, Michael J.

    2000-01-01

    Provides an annotated list of websites that cover a variety of topics on the Caribbean such as the African cultures of Cuba, Belize and its government, news organizations throughout the Caribbean, and general information on the University of Puerto Rico. (CMK)

  8. Surveillance of avian influenza in the Caribbean through the Caribbean Animal Health Network: surveillance tools and epidemiologic studies.

    PubMed

    Lefrançois, T; Hendrikx, P; Ehrhardt, N; Millien, M; Gomez, L; Gouyet, L; Gaidet, N; Gerbier, G; Vachiéry, N; Petitclerc, F; Carasco-Lacombe, C; Pinarello, V; Ahoussou, S; Levesque, A; Gongora, H V; Trotman, M

    2010-03-01

    The Caribbean region is considered to be at risk for avian influenza (AI) due to a large backyard poultry system, an important commercial poultry production system, the presence of migratory birds, and disparities in the surveillance systems. The Caribbean Animal Health Network (CaribVET) has developed tools to implement AI surveillance in the region with the goals to have 1) a regionally harmonized surveillance protocol and specific web pages for AI surveillance on www.caribvet.net, and 2) an active and passive surveillance for AI in domestic and wild birds. A diagnostic network for the Caribbean, including technology transfer and AI virus molecular diagnostic capability in Guadeloupe (real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction for the AI virus matrix gene), was developed. Between 2006 and 2009, 627 samples from four Caribbean countries were tested for three circumstances: importation purposes, following a clinical suspicion of AI, or through an active survey of wild birds (mainly waders) during the southward and northward migration periods in Guadeloupe. None of the samples tested were positive, suggesting a limited role of these species in the AI virus ecology in the Caribbean. Following low pathogenic H5N2 outbreaks in the Dominican Republic in 2007, a questionnaire was developed to collect data for a risk analysis of AI spread in the region through fighting cocks. The infection pathway of the Martinique commercial poultry sector by AI, through introduction of infected cocks, was designed, and recommendations were provided to the Caribbean Veterinary Services to improve cock movement control and biosecurity measures. The CaribVET and its organization allowed interaction between diagnostic and surveillance tools on the one hand and epidemiologic studies on the other, both of them developed in congruence with regional strategies. Together, these CaribVET activities contribute to strengthening surveillance of avian influenza virus (AIV) in the

  9. Caribbean Foresters take steps towards a network of permanent forest plots in the Caribbean: a meeting report

    Treesearch

    A.E. Lugo

    2016-01-01

    This manuscript contains an overview of the 16th meeting of Caribbean Foresters that resulted in the establishment of a network of forest plots throughout the region with the purpose of increasing understanding of the patterns of long-term forest dynamics. Research projects in the network will improve collaboration among those working in Caribbean forests and will...

  10. Toward a Caribbean psychology: an African-centered approach.

    PubMed

    Sutherland, Marcia Elizabeth

    2011-01-01

    Although the Americas and Caribbean region are purported to comprise different ethnic groups, this article’s focus is on people of African descent, who represent the largest ethnic group in many countries. The emphasis on people of African descent is related to their family structure, ethnic identity, cultural, psychohistorical, and contemporary psychosocial realities. This article discusses the limitations of Western psychology for theory, research, and applied work on people of African descent in the Americas and Caribbean region. In view of the adaptations that some people of African descent have made to slavery, colonialism, and more contemporary forms of cultural intrusions, it is argued that when necessary, notwithstanding Western psychology’s limitations, Caribbean psychologists should reconstruct mainstream psychology to address the psychological needs of these Caribbean people. The relationship between theory and psychological interventions for the optimal development of people of African descent is emphasized throughout this article. In this regard, the African-centered and constructionist viewpoint is argued to be of utility in addressing the psychological growth and development of people of African descent living in the Americas and Caribbean region.

  11. Caribbean Music.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Dean, Kris

    1991-01-01

    The Caribbean is a rich breeding ground for African-derived music. A synopsis is given of the music of the following countries and styles: (1) Jamaica; (2) Trinidad and Tobago; (3) Calypso; (4) steel pan; (5) Haiti; (6) Dominican Republic; (7) Cuba; (8) Puerto Rico; and (9) other islands. (SLD)

  12. Caribbean Tourism.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Prosser, Robert

    1983-01-01

    Describes a teaching unit which explores the concept of development in a study of the Caribbean tourist industry. Intended for use by high school students, its purpose is to make students aware that development must not be equated with economic growth alone and that tourism brings both costs and benefits. (CS)

  13. 9th Caribbean Geological Conference

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Draper, Gren

    The ninth in a series of Caribbean Geological Conferences, which are held every 3 or 4 years, took place in Santo Domingo, capital of the Dominican Republic, from the 15th to 26th of August 1980. The conference, which was sponsored by the government of the Dominican Republic and the Universidad Catolica Madre y Maestra, was preceded by 2 days of field trips and was opened by President Antonio Guzman on the evening of the 17th of August. Generous support was provided by Alcoa Exploration Co., Falconbridge Dominicana, and Rosario Dominicana.Geologists and geophysicists from 25 countries presented about 130 papers on a wide variety of topics ranging from geophysics to paleontology. While the whole Caribbean area was discussed, there was special emphasis on the northern Caribbean and Hispaniola, as befitted the site of the conference. The contribution of workers from the Dirección General de Mineriá was particularly notable.

  14. Language-Planning in the Creole-Speaking Caribbean.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Devonish, Hubert

    1984-01-01

    As a result of anticolonial movements in the Caribbean, Creole languages are becoming major languages of communication. Language planning has begun to focus on them. These languages must be taught to non-native speakers who want to participate fully in Caribbean culture. This is clearly demonstrated in the area of cinema. (VM)

  15. African dust and the demise of Caribbean coral reefs

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Shinn, E.A.; Smith, G.W.; Prospero, J.M.; Betzer, P.; Hayes, M.L.; Garrison, V.; Barber, R.T.

    2000-01-01

    The vitality of Caribbean coral reefs has undergone a continual state of decline since the late 1970s, a period of time coincidental with large increases in transatlantic dust transport. It is proposed that the hundreds of millions of tons/year of soil dust that have been crossing the Atlantic during the last 25 years could be a significant contributor to coral reef decline and may be affecting other ecosystems. Benchmark events, such as near synchronous Caribbean-wide mortalities of acroporid corals and the urchin Diadema in 1983, and coral bleaching beginning in 1987, correlate with the years of maximum dust flux into the Caribbean. Besides crustal elements, in particular Fe, Si, and aluminosilicate clays, the dust can serve as a substrate for numerous species of viable spores, especially the soil fungus Aspergillus. Aspergillus sydowii, the cause of an ongoing Caribbean-wide seafan disease, has been cultured from Caribbean air samples and used to inoculate sea fans.

  16. Regional strategy tested in Caribbean.

    PubMed

    1984-01-01

    Barbados, St. Vincent, and St. Lucia have joined forces in the world's 1st regional Contraceptive Social Marketing (CSM) effort -- the Caribbean CSM. The Barbados Family Planning Association (BFPS) is overseeing the operation, which begins selling 2 contraceptive pills and a condom in early February. Costs and start-up times were shaved by adopting brand names and advertising materials from Jamaica's highly successful CSM project. Jamaica's popular "Panther" condom and "Perle" oral contraceptive (OC) are being used by the Caribbean CSM project. Perle's 9-year-old package has been redesigned and the Caribbean CSM project also is selling a 2nd, low-dose version called "Perle-LD." The products are manufactured in the US by Syntex as Noriday and Norminest, respectively. But the regional approach's financial gains also had a debit side, most notably a tripling of bureaucratic procedures. Part of project difficulties stem from differences among the 3 Caribbean countries. While sharing a common cultural heritage, St. Lucians speak a patois dialect in addition to the English prevalent on the other islands. The biggest hurdle was overcoming an economic disparity between Barbados and its less affluent neighbors, St. Vincent and St. Lucia. The CSM project decided to try a 2-tier product pricing strategy. In US currency, prices run $1.75 per cycle for both OCs on Barbados, but $1.26 on St. Vincent and St. Lucia. A Panther 3-pack costs 75 cents on Barbados and 42 cents on the othe 2 islands. The project is being promoted with generic family planning media advertisements. The project also has held physician orientation seminars on each island. The pilot program will be accompanied by retailer training seminars. In addition the project may introduce a spermicidal foaming tablet, once the US Food and Drug Administration approvs a new American-made product. The unique Caribbean CSM project may spread an idea as potent as the family planning message. Its success could transmit the

  17. Caribbean Oceans: Utilizing NASA Earth Observations to Detect, Monitor, and Respond to Unprecedented Levels of Sargassum in the Caribbean Sea

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Ped, Jordan; Scaduto, Erica; Accorsi, Emma; Torres-Perez, Juan (Editor)

    2016-01-01

    In 2011 and 2015, the nations of the Caribbean Sea were overwhelmed by the unprecedented quantity of Sargassum that washed ashore. This issue prompted international discussion to better understand the origins, distribution, and movement of Sargassum, a free-floating brown macro alga with ecological, environmental, and commercial importance. In the open ocean, Sargassum mats serve a vital ecological function. However, when large quantities appear onshore without warning, Sargassum threatens local tourist industries and nearshore ecosystems within the Caribbean. As part of the international response, this project investigated the proliferation of this macro alga within the Caribbean Sea from 2003-2015, and used NASA Earth observations to detect and model Sargassum growth across the region. The Caribbean Oceans team calculated the Floating Algal Index (FAI) using Terra Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) data, and compared the FAI to various oceanic variables to determine the ideal pelagic environment for Sargassum growth. The project also examined the annual spread of Sargassum throughout the region by using Earth Trends Modeler (ETM) in Clark Labs' TerrSet software. As part of the international effort to better understand the life cycle of Sargassum in the Caribbean, the results of this project will help local economies promote sustainable management practices in the region.

  18. 48 CFR 25.405 - Caribbean Basin Trade Initiative.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-10-01

    ... Initiative. 25.405 Section 25.405 Federal Acquisition Regulations System FEDERAL ACQUISITION REGULATION SOCIOECONOMIC PROGRAMS FOREIGN ACQUISITION Trade Agreements 25.405 Caribbean Basin Trade Initiative. Under the Caribbean Basin Trade Initiative, the United States Trade Representative has determined that, for...

  19. Internalized racism and mental health among African-Americans, US-born Caribbean Blacks, and foreign-born Caribbean Blacks.

    PubMed

    Mouzon, Dawne M; McLean, Jamila S

    2017-02-01

    The tripartite model of racism includes personally mediated racism, institutionalized racism, and the less-oft studied internalized racism. Internalized racism - or negative beliefs about one's racial group - results from cultural racism that is endemic in American society. In this project, we studied whether these negative stereotypes are associated with mental health among African-Americans and Caribbean Blacks. Using secondary data from the National Survey of American Life, we investigated the association between internalized racism and mental health (measured by depressive symptoms and serious psychological distress (SPD)) among these two groups. We also explored whether ethnicity/nativity and mastery moderate the association between internalized racism and mental health among African-Americans and Caribbean Blacks. Internalized racism was positively associated with depressive symptoms and SPD among all Black subgroups. However, internalized racism was a weaker predictor of SPD among foreign-born Caribbean Blacks than US-born Caribbean Blacks and US-born African-Americans. Additionally, higher mastery was protective against distress associated with internalized racism. Internalized racism is an important yet understudied determinant of mental health among Blacks. Future studies should take into account additional heterogeneity within the Black population (e.g. African-born individuals) and other potential protective mechanisms in addition to mastery (e.g. self-esteem and racial identity).

  20. From the past to the globalized future for Caribbean birds

    Treesearch

    Joseph Wunderle Jr.

    2008-01-01

    Extinctions of Caribbean animals were well underway during the period of Amerindian occupation and have continued since the arrival of Columbus. Despite high extinction rates, the Caribbean still retains high levels of terrestrial biodiversity and, for some taxa, exceptionally high levels of endemism relative to other parts of the world. The fate of the Caribbean’s...

  1. School Leadership in the Caribbean: Perceptions, Practices, Paradigms

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Miller, Paul, Ed.

    2013-01-01

    Successful school leadership is an issue currently being debated up and down Caribbean territories. Key issues in the ongoing debate include: students' outcomes and participation in the regional Caribbean Secondary Examinations (CSEC); teacher recruitment and retention; teacher training and continuing professional development (upgrading); and…

  2. 78 FR 57534 - Fisheries of the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, and South Atlantic

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2013-09-19

    ... Mexico, and South Atlantic: Caribbean coral, Caribbean reef fish, Caribbean spiny lobster, Caribbean... migratory pelagics, Gulf and South Atlantic spiny lobster, South Atlantic coral, South Atlantic snapper... (Gulf and South Atlantic spiny lobster) into part 622 (78 FR 22950). With that incorporation, all...

  3. 50 CFR 622.493 - Landing Caribbean queen conch intact.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-10-01

    ... ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE FISHERIES OF THE CARIBBEAN, GULF OF MEXICO, AND SOUTH ATLANTIC Queen Conch Resources of Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands § 622.493 Landing Caribbean queen...

  4. 50 CFR 622.493 - Landing Caribbean queen conch intact.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-10-01

    ... ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE FISHERIES OF THE CARIBBEAN, GULF OF MEXICO, AND SOUTH ATLANTIC Queen Conch Resources of Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands § 622.493 Landing Caribbean queen...

  5. Seafaring Capabilities in the Pre-Columbian Caribbean

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Fitzpatrick, Scott M.

    2013-06-01

    At historic contact Europeans remarked on the skill and proficiency of native Caribbean Amerindians to build and travel in dugout canoes. While archaeological examples of these have been recorded throughout the circum-Caribbean, very few exist in the Antillean chain of islands. Despite this deficiency, indirect evidence of seafaring along with archaeological data has suggested to many that the sea was an artery that linked prehistoric communities together between islands and continents through exchange networks and settlement `lifelines'. It is clear that frequent interaction was taking place prehistorically in the region, but examination of seafaring capabilities and the general lack of hard archaeological evidence for contacts in many places suggest this was largely restricted to interaction between the islands and with South America. The fact remains that seafaring in the Caribbean, as one of the smaller aquatic realms inhabited by humans in the past, was highly influenced and largely structured by oceanographic and anemological effects that limited the development of various watercraft designs and navigational techniques which are seen in many of the other world's seas and oceans. In this paper I: (1) synthesize what is currently known about the antiquity and development of early seafaring in the Caribbean; (2) highlight debates about the level of technologies found in the region; (3) discuss how environmental conditions likely influenced seafaring capabilities and settlement patterns; (4) outline the possible evidence for connections between the different surrounding mainland areas; and (5) provide a comparison with seafaring technologies found in the Pacific to help contextualize the Caribbean into the broader context of global seafaring.

  6. Mental Retardation in the Caribbean: Needs, Resources, Approaches.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Thorburn, Marigold J., Ed.

    Presented are conference reports including an opening address on the economic benefits of programs for the mentally retarded (MR), and eight papers discussing the problem of mental retardation in the Caribbean. Two papers on preschool age children, respectively, consider the identification and assessment of MR children in the Caribbean and present…

  7. Health Care in the Caribbean and Central America.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    McGlynn, Frank, Ed.

    1984-01-01

    This publication examines a range of public health issues in the Caribbean Basin including conditions responsible for the transmission of disease, folk palliatives, and factors affecting preventive and curative health services on the national level. Comparisons are also made among the various Caribbean countries. The book has seven chapters: (1)…

  8. The CAMI Project - Weather and Climate Services for Caribbean Food Security

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Trotman, Adrian; Van Meerbeeck, Cedric

    2013-04-01

    Food security is major focus of Caribbean governments, with production being of particular concern. For the past three decades, Caribbean agriculture has been declining in relative importance, both in terms of its contribution to GDP and its share of the labour force. One of the problems Caribbean agriculture faces is the destructive impacts from weather and climate extremes. These include flood, drought, extreme temperatures, and strong winds from tropical cyclones. Other potential disasters, such as from pests and diseases attacks, are also weather and climate driven. These make weather and climate information critically important to decision-making in agriculture in the Caribbean region. In an effort to help reduce weather and climate related risks to the food security sector, The Caribbean Institute for Meteorology and Hydrology, along with its partners the Caribbean Agricultural Research and Development Institute, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and ten National Meteorological Services from within the Caribbean Community launched and implemented the Caribbean Agrometeorological Initiative (CAMI). From 2010 to 2013, CAMI set out to provide relevant information to farmers, and the industry in general, for decision and policy making. The project is funded by the European Union through the Science and Technology Programme of the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of Countries' (ACP). The overarching objective of CAMI was to increase and sustain agricultural productivity at the farm level in the Caribbean region through improved applications of weather and climate information, using an integrated and coordinated approach. Currently, this is done through (i) provision of relevant climate information appropriately disseminated, (ii) predictions on seasonal rainfall and temperature, (iii) support for improved irrigation management, (iv) the development of strategically selected weather-driven pest and disease models, (v) use of crop simulation models

  9. Caribbean Sea Level Network

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    von Hillebrandt-Andrade, C.; Crespo Jones, H.

    2012-12-01

    Over the past 500 years almost 100 tsunamis have been observed in the Caribbean and Western Atlantic, with at least 3510 people having lost their lives to this hazard since 1842. Furthermore, with the dramatic increase in population and infrastructure along the Caribbean coasts, today, millions of coastal residents, workers and visitors are vulnerable to tsunamis. The UNESCO IOC Intergovernmental Coordination Group for Tsunamis and other Coastal Hazards for the Caribbean and Adjacent Regions (CARIBE EWS) was established in 2005 to coordinate and advance the regional tsunami warning system. The CARIBE EWS focuses on four areas/working groups: (1) Monitoring and Warning, (2) Hazard and Risk Assessment, (3) Communication and (4) Education, Preparedness and Readiness. The sea level monitoring component is under Working Group 1. Although in the current system, it's the seismic data and information that generate the initial tsunami bulletins, it is the data from deep ocean buoys (DARTS) and the coastal sea level gauges that are critical for the actual detection and forecasting of tsunamis impact. Despite multiple efforts and investments in the installation of sea level stations in the region, in 2004 there were only a handful of sea level stations operational in the region (Puerto Rico, US Virgin Islands, Bermuda, Bahamas). Over the past 5 years there has been a steady increase in the number of stations operating in the Caribbean region. As of mid 2012 there were 7 DARTS and 37 coastal gauges with additional ones being installed or funded. In order to reach the goal of 100 operational coastal sea level stations in the Caribbean, the CARIBE EWS recognizes also the importance of maintaining the current stations. For this, a trained workforce in the region for the installation, operation and data analysis and quality control is considered to be critical. Since 2008, three training courses have been offered to the sea level station operators and data analysts. Other

  10. Educating and Preparing for Tsunamis in the Caribbean

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    von Hillebrandt-Andrade, C.; Aliaga, B.; Edwards, S.

    2013-12-01

    The Caribbean and Adjacent Regions has a long history of tsunamis and earthquakes. Over the past 500 years, more than 75 tsunamis have been documented in the region by the NOAA National Geophysical Data Center. Just since 1842, 3446 lives have been lost to tsunamis; this is more than in the Northeastern Pacific for the same time period. With a population of almost 160 million, over 40 million visitors a year and a heavy concentration of residents, tourists, businesses and critical infrastructure along its shores (especially in the northern and eastern Caribbean), the risk to lives and livelihoods is greater than ever before. The only way to survive a tsunami is to get out of harm's way before the waves strike. In the Caribbean given the relatively short distances from faults, potential submarine landslides and volcanoes to some of the coastlines, the tsunamis are likely to be short fused, so it is imperative that tsunami warnings be issued extremely quickly and people be educated on how to recognize and respond. Nevertheless, given that tsunamis occur infrequently as compared with hurricanes, it is a challenge for them to receive the priority they require in order to save lives when the next one strikes the region. Close cooperation among countries and territories is required for warning, but also for education and public awareness. Geographical vicinity and spoken languages need to be factored in when developing tsunami preparedness in the Caribbean, to make sure citizens receive a clear, reliable and sound science based message about the hazard and the risk. In 2006, in the wake of the Indian Ocean tsunami and after advocating without success for a Caribbean Tsunami Warning System since the mid 90's, the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO established the Intergovernmental Coordination Group for the Tsunami and other Coastal Hazards Warning System for the Caribbean and Adjacent Regions (CARIBE EWS). Its purpose is to advance an end to end tsunami

  11. 78 FR 14078 - Caribbean Fishery Management Council; Public Meeting

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2013-03-04

    ... Fishery Management Council; Public Meeting AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National... Caribbean Fishery Management Council's (CFMC) Outreach and Education Advisory Panel (OEAP) will hold a.... FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Caribbean Fishery Management Council, 270 Mu[ntilde]oz Rivera Avenue...

  12. 78 FR 34046 - Caribbean Fishery Management Council; Public Meeting

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2013-06-06

    ... Caribbean Fishery Management Council's Outreach and Education Advisory Panel (OEAP) will hold a meeting... Fishery Management Council; Public Meeting AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National..., Puerto Rico. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Caribbean Fishery Management Council, 270 Mu[ntilde]oz...

  13. Postglacial expansion pathways of red mangrove, Rhizophora mangle, in the Caribbean Basin and Florida.

    PubMed

    Kennedy, John Paul; Pil, Maria W; Proffitt, C Edward; Boeger, Walter A; Stanford, Alice M; Devlin, Donna J

    2016-02-01

    The Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) was a period of massive range contraction. Post-LGM, water-dispersed coastal species, including the red mangrove (Rhizophora mangle), expanded poleward as propagules were transported by ocean currents. We assessed postglacial marine expansion pathways for R. mangle within the Caribbean Basin and Florida. Six microsatellite loci were used to genotype 237 individuals from nine R. mangle populations in the Caribbean, Florida, and Northwest Africa. We evaluated genetic variation, population structure, gene flow along alternative post-LGM expansion pathways to Florida, and potential long-distance dispersal (LDD) from West Africa to Caribbean islands. These R. mangle populations had substantial genetic structure (FST = 0.37, P < 0.0001) with three discrete population clusters (Caribbean mainland, Caribbean islands, and Florida). Genetic connectivity along the mainland pathway (Caribbean mainland to Florida) vs. limited gene dispersal along the Antilles Island pathway (Caribbean islands to Florida) supported Florida recolonization from Caribbean mainland sources. Genetic similarity of Northwest Africa and two Caribbean islands provided evidence for trans-Atlantic LDD. We did not find a pattern of decreasing genetic diversity with latitude. We outline a complex expansion history for R. mangle, with discrete pathways of recolonization for Florida and Caribbean islands. Contrary to expectation, connectivity to putative Caribbean mainland refugial populations via ocean currents, and not latitude, appears to dictate genetic diversity within Caribbean island and Florida R. mangle. These findings provide a framework for further investigation of additional water-dispersed neotropical species, and insights for management initiatives. © 2016 Botanical Society of America.

  14. HIV/AIDS and Children in the English Speaking Caribbean.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Dicks, Barbara A., Ed.

    This collection of papers addresses the HIV/AIDS situation among English-speaking children in the Caribbean. Papers include: "Preface" (C. James Hospedales); "Introduction"; (Barbara A. Dicks); "HIV/AIDS: Challenging a Monster" (Brendan Bain); "HIV/AIDS in Caribbean Children and Adolescents" (Noreen Jack);…

  15. Managed Migration: The Caribbean Approach to Addressing Nursing Services Capacity

    PubMed Central

    Salmon, Marla E; Yan, Jean; Hewitt, Hermi; Guisinger, Victoria

    2007-01-01

    Objective To (1) provide a contextual analysis of the Caribbean region with respect to forces shaping the current and emerging nursing workforce picture in the region; (2) discuss country-specific case(s) within the Caribbean; and (3) describe the Managed Migration Program as a potential framework for addressing regional and global nurse migration issues. Principal Findings The Caribbean is in the midst of a crisis of shortages of nurses with an average vacancy rate of 42 percent. Low pay, poor career prospects, and lack of education opportunities are among the reasons nurses resign. Many of these nurses look outside the region for job opportunities in the United Kingdom, Canada, the United States, and other countries. Compounding the situation is the lack of resources to train nurses to fill the vacancies. The Managed Migration Program of the Caribbean is a multilateral, cross-sector, multi-interventional, long-term strategy for developing and maintaining an adequate supply of nurses for the region. Conclusions The Managed Migration Program of the Caribbean has made progress in establishing regional support for addressing the nursing shortage crisis and developing a number of interesting initiatives such as training for export and temporary migration. Recommendations to move the Managed Migration Program of the Caribbean forward focus on advocacy, integration of the program into regional policy decisions, and integration of the program with regional health programming. PMID:17489919

  16. Afro-Caribbean International Students' Ethnic Identity Development: Fluidity, Intersectionality, Agency, and Performativity

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Malcolm, Zaria T.; Mendoza, Pilar

    2014-01-01

    Afro-Caribbean international students (ACIS) often become engrossed in a complex racial and ethnic dialogue wherein they are thrust into homogenous categorizations forcing them to negotiate their Afro-Caribbean self with other identities perceived by others such as African American, first- and second-generation Caribbean immigrant, African, and…

  17. The World of Spirits in the Work of Some Caribbean Writers in the Diaspora

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Pollard, Velma

    2010-01-01

    Writers of Caribbean ancestry who live outside of the region are usually described as having dual allegiance (Caribbean/American for example). This is eminently justifiable, since there is usually a recognizable Caribbean flavour to the writing. This paper focuses on one feature of Caribbean culture incorporated in three texts: "Praisesong…

  18. 50 CFR 622.50 - Caribbean spiny lobster import prohibitions.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-10-01

    ... 50 Wildlife and Fisheries 8 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Caribbean spiny lobster import... ATLANTIC Management Measures § 622.50 Caribbean spiny lobster import prohibitions. (a) Minimum size limits for imported spiny lobster. There are two minimum size limits that apply to importation of spiny...

  19. 50 CFR 622.50 - Caribbean spiny lobster import prohibitions.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-10-01

    ... 50 Wildlife and Fisheries 10 2011-10-01 2011-10-01 false Caribbean spiny lobster import... ATLANTIC Management Measures § 622.50 Caribbean spiny lobster import prohibitions. (a) Minimum size limits for imported spiny lobster. There are two minimum size limits that apply to importation of spiny...

  20. Subduction and Plate Edge Tectonics in the Southern Caribbean

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Levander, A.; Schmitz, M.; Niu, F.; Bezada, M. J.; Miller, M. S.; Masy, J.; Ave Lallemant, H. G.; Pindell, J. L.; Bolivar Working Group

    2013-05-01

    The southern Caribbean plate boundary consists of a subduction zone at at either end of a complex strike-slip fault system: In the east at the Lesser Antilles subduction zone, the Atlantic part of the South American plate subducts beneath the Caribbean. In the north and west in the Colombia basin, the Caribbean subducts under South America. In a manner of speaking, the two plates subduct beneath each other. Finite-frequency teleseismic P-wave tomography confirms this, imaging the Atlantic and the Caribbean plates subducting steeply in opposite directions to transition zone depths under northern South America (Bezada et al, 2010). The two subduction zones are connected by the El Pilar-San Sebastian strike-slip fault system, a San Andreas scale system that has been cut off at the Bocono fault, the southeastern boundary fault of the Maracaibo block. A variety of seismic probes identify subduction features at either end of the system (Niu et al, 2007; Clark et al., 2008; Miller et al. 2009; Growdon et al., 2009; Huang et al., 2010; Masy et al, 2011). The El Pilar system forms at the southeastern corner of the Antilles subduction zone with the Atlantic plate tearing from South America. The deforming plate edges control mountain building and basin formation at the eastern end of the strike-slip system. Tearing the Atlantic plate from the rest of South America appears to cause further lithospheric instability continentward. In northwestern South America the Caribbean plate very likely also tears, as its southernmost element subducts at shallow angles under northernmost Colombia but then rapidly descends to the transition zone under Lake Maracaibo (Bezada et al., 2010). We believe that the flat slab controls the tectonics of the Neogene Merida Andes, Perija, and Santa Marta ranges. The nonsubducting part of the Caribbean plate also underthrusts northern Venezuela to about the width of the coastal mountains (Miller et al., 2009). We infer that the edge of the underthrust

  1. A Regional Information System Strategy for the Caribbean for the Year 2000.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Durrant, Fay

    This document outlines the proposals for a regional information system strategy resulting from a project undertaken by the Caribbean Community Secretariat and the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean Sub-regional Headquarters for the Caribbean. The document covers: (1) the role of information in the development…

  2. Researching Change in Caribbean Education: Curriculum, Teaching and Administration.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bastick, T. Ed.; Ezenne, A., Ed.

    The chapters of this collection deal with a number of issues and concerns at all levels of education in the Caribbean. Section 1, "Curriculum," contains: (1) "Science Education in the Caribbean: Analysis of Current Trends" (Aldrin E. Sweeney); (2) "A Decade of Research in Technology Education: Implications for Caribbean…

  3. Teaching Reading to Bidialectal English-Speaking Caribbean American Students

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    David Rodriguez, Ingrid

    2012-01-01

    There is little research on bidialectal teacher preparation for teaching bidialectal English-speaking Caribbean American students. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to understand teachers' perception of reading difficulties of Caribbean American children in a local district that has a large percentage of these students who demonstrate…

  4. 77 FR 33601 - National Caribbean-American Heritage Month, 2012

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2012-06-07

    ... Caribbean-American Heritage Month, 2012 By the President of the United States of America A Proclamation Individuals and families from Caribbean countries have journeyed to America's shores for centuries. Some were brought here against their will in the bonds of slavery. Some immigrated to America as children, clutching...

  5. A proposal to conduct a Caribbean plate project involving the application of space technology to the study of Caribbean geology

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Wadge, G. (Editor)

    1981-01-01

    The Caribbean plate project is designed to improve current understanding of geological resources and geological hazards within the Caribbean region. Models of mineral occurrence and genesis (including energy resources) on a regional scale, which contribute to nonrenewable resource investigations. Models of lithospheric stress and strain on a regional scale, which contribute to forecasting geological hazards such as earthquakes and major volcanic eruptions are developed. Geological information is synthesize, and research tools provided by space technology the study of the Earth's crust are used. The project was organized in a thematic fashion, to focus on specific geological aspects of the Caribbean plate which are considered to be key factors in developing the types of models described. The project adopts a synoptic perspective in seeking to characterize the three dimensional structure, composition, state of stress, and evolution of the entire Caribbean plate. Geological information derived from analysis of space acquired data is combined with information provided by conventional methods to obtain insight into the structure, composition, and evolution of the Earth's crust. In addition, very long baseline interferometry and laser ranging techniques, which are also based upon the use of space technology, obtain information concerning crustal motion that, in turn, provides insight into the distribution and localization of crustal stress.

  6. Alternative energy technologies for the Caribbean islands

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Pytlinski, J.T.

    1992-01-01

    All islands in the Caribbean except Puerto Rico can be classified as developing islands. Of these islands, all except Trinidad and Tobago are oil importers. Uncertainties concerning uninterrupted oil supply and increasing oil prices causes economic, social and political instability and jeopardizes further development of these islands. The paper discusses the energy situation of the Caribbean islands and presents alternative energy options. Several alternative energy projects financed by local, federal and international organizations are presented. Present and future uses of alternative energy technologies are described in different islands. Barrier which handicap developing and implementing alternative energy sources in the Caribbeanmore » are discussed. The potential and possible applications of alternative energy technologies such as: solar-thermal energy, photovoltaics, wind energy, ocean thermal energy conversion (OTEC), ocean currents and tides energy, biomass, peat energy, municipal solid wastes, bioconversion, hydropower, geothermal energy, nuclear energy and energy conservation are discussed in detail as means to alleviate the energy situation in the Caribbean islands.« less

  7. Towards indigenous feminist theorizing in the Caribbean.

    PubMed

    Mohammed, P

    1998-01-01

    This theoretical study of feminism in the Caribbean opens by presenting the contemporary image of the Caribbean and then pointing to the continuing influence of the colonial past in the creation of contemporary community and the establishment of identity. The paper continues with a focus on three aspects of identity, or difference, that have influenced the daily articulation of feminism and academic debates. The first concerns the positions taken by women in the region's political struggles. The second is an exploration of the linguistic meanings of the gender discourse within the region. Finally, the essay examines the idea of linguistic difference in light of contemporary Western feminist views of "sexual difference" versus equality. The discussion of each of these issues is grounded in historical analysis and illustrated with specific examples. The study concludes that, in this region, feminism offers a new way to investigate the past while creating challenges and opportunities in the struggle to establish a Caribbean identity.

  8. Teaching Caribbean Students: Research on Social Issues in the Caribbean and Abroad.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bastick, Tony, Ed.; Ezenne, Austin, Ed.

    The issues and findings in the research essays in this collection focus on two main themes: the identification of challenges in preparing Caribbean students for the new global network and the isolation of the challenges posed in developing these global relations. Part 1, "Socially Sensitive Pedagogies," contains: (1) "Domain-Specific Modern…

  9. Oceanic Remnants In The Caribbean Plate: Origin And Loss Of Related LIPs.

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Giunta, G.

    2005-12-01

    The modern Caribbean Plate is an independent lithospheric entity, occupying more than 4 Mkm2 and consisting of the remnants of little deformed Cretaceous oceanic plateau of the Colombia and Venezuela Basins (almost 1 Mkm2) and the Palaeozoic-Mesozoic Chortis continental block (about 700,000 km2), both bounded by deformed marginal belts. The northern (Guatemala and Greater Antilles) and the southern (northern Venezuela) plate margins are marked by collisional zones, whereas the western (Central America Isthmus) and the eastern (Lesser Antilles) margins are represented by convergent boundaries and their magmatic arcs, all involving ophiolitic terranes. The evolutionary history of the Caribbean Plate since the Jurassic-Early Cretaceous encompasses plume, accretionary, and collisional tectonics, the evidence of which has been recorded in the oceanic remnants of lost LIPs, as revealed in: i) the MORB to OIB thickened crust of the oceanic plateau, including its un-deformed or little deformed main portion, and scattered deformed tectonic units; ii) ophiolitic tectonic units of MORB affinity and the rock blocks in ophiolitic melanges; iii) intra-oceanic, supra subduction magmatic sequences with IAT and CA affinities. The Mesozoic oceanic LIPs, from which the remnants of the Caribbean Plate have been derived, have been poorly preserved during various episodes of the intra-oceanic convergence, either those related to the original proto-Caribbean oceanic realm or those connected with two eo-Caribbean stages of subduction. The trapped oceanic plateau of the Colombia and Venezuela Basins is likely to be an unknown portion of a bigger crustal element of a LIP, similar to the Ontong-Java plateau. The Jurassic-Early Cretaceous proto-Caribbean oceanic domain consists of oceanic crust generated at multiple spreading centres; during the Cretaceous, part of this crust was thickened to form an oceanic plateau with MORB and OIB affinities. At the same time, both South and North American

  10. Regional P-wave Tomography in the Caribbean Region for Plate Reconstruction

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Li, X.; Bedle, H.; Suppe, J.

    2017-12-01

    The complex plate-tectonic interactions around the Caribbean Sea have been studied and interpreted by many researchers, but questions still remain regarding the formation and subduction history of the region. Here we report current progress towards creating a new regional tomographic model, with better lateral and spatial coverage and higher resolution than has been presented previously. This new model will provide improved constraints on the plate-tectonic evolution around the Caribbean Plate. Our three-dimensional velocity model is created using taut spline parameterization. The inversion is computed by the code of VanDecar (1991), which is based on the ray theory method. The seismic data used in this inversion are absolute P wave arrival times from over 700 global earthquakes that were recorded by over 400 near Caribbean stations. There are over 25000 arrival times that were picked and quality checked within frequency band of 0.01 - 0.6 Hz by using a MATLAB GUI-based software named Crazyseismic. The picked seismic delay time data are analyzed and compared with other studies ahead of doing the inversion model, in order to examine the quality of our dataset. From our initial observations of the delay time data, the more equalized the ray azimuth coverage, the smaller the deviation of the observed travel times from the theoretical travel time. Networks around the NE and SE side of the Caribbean Sea generally have better ray coverage, and smaller delay times. Specifically, seismic rays reaching SE Caribbean networks, such as XT network, generally pass through slabs under South American, Central American, Lesser Antilles, Southwest Caribbean, and the North Caribbean transform boundary, which leads to slightly positive average delay times. In contrast, the Puerto Rico network records seismic rays passing through regions that may lack slabs in the upper mantle and show slightly negative or near zero average delay times. These results agree with previous tomographic

  11. The perspectives of Caribbean high school students' experiences in American science classrooms

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ferguson, Renae Luenell

    The purpose of this study was to describe the perspectives of Caribbean high school students' experiences in American science classrooms. Research suggests that psychological, cultural, and socioeconomic perspectives influence the science experiences of African Americans or Blacks; the result of which is under-representation (Lewis et al., 2000). Nonetheless, what is uncertain is if these and other perspectives are similar to the science experiences of Caribbeans who also are majority black by race and rank as the 3 rd largest immigrant population in America's schools (Suarez-Orozco, 2000). Questions guiding this study were: (1) What are the perspectives of Caribbean high school students' experiences in American science classrooms? (2) What can we learn from the perspectives of Caribbean high school students' science experiences that may address issues of participation and interest; consequently, influencing the overall performance of ethnic minorities in school science? Sociocultural theory provides the framework for the analysis of the study. Four Caribbean born students in an American high school participated in this naturalistic qualitative research. A constant comparative method was used to categorize and analyze the data and uncover meaningful patterns that emerged from the four interviews and written documents. Although there were similarities between African Americans' science experiences as documented in the literature and that of Caribbeans in this study, the Caribbean participants relied on prior native experiences to dictate their perspectives of their science experiences in America. According to Caribbean students, American science high schools classrooms utilize an objective style of assessments; are characterized by a lack of teacher support; allow behavioral problems in the classroom; and function through different communication styles than the native Caribbean science classroom environment. This study implies science educators should be sensitive

  12. Rigidity and definition of Caribbean plate motion from COCONet and campaign GPS observations

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Mattioli, Glen; Miller, Jamie; DeMets, Charles; Jansma, Pamela

    2014-05-01

    The currently accepted kinematic model of the Caribbean plate presented by DeMets et al. (2007) is based on velocities from 6 continuous and 14 campaign GPS sites. COCONet is a multi-hazard GPS-Met observatory, which extends the existing infrastructure of the Plate Boundary Observatory in North America into the Caribbean basin. In 2010, UNAVCO in collaboration with UCAR, was funded by NSF to design, build, and initially maintain a network of 50 new cGPS/Met sites and include data from another 50 existing sites in the Caribbean region. The current COCONet siting plan calls for 46 new stations, 21 refurbished stations, and 77 existing stations across 26 nations in the Caribbean region. Data from all COCONet sites flow into the UNAVCO archive and are processed by the PBO analysis centers and are also processed independently by the UTA Geodesy Lab using GIPSY-OASISII (v.6.2) using an absolute point positioning strategy and final, precise orbits, clocks, and Earth orientation parameters from JPL in the IGS08 frame. We present here our refined estimate of Caribbean plate motion by evaluating data from an expanded number of stations with an improved spatial distribution. In order to better constrain the eastern margin of the plate near the Lesser Antilles subduction interface, campaign GPS observations have been collected on the island of Dominica over the last decade. These are combined with additional campaign observations from the western Caribbean, specifically from Honduras and Nicaragua. We have analyzed a total of 117 sites from the Caribbean region, including campaign data and the data from the cGPS stations that comprise COCONet. An updated velocity field for the Caribbean plate is presented and an inversion of the velocities for 24 sites yields a plate angular velocity that differs from previously published models. Our best fitting inversion to GPS velocities from these 24 sites suggests that 2-plate model for the Caribbean is required to fit the GPS

  13. Rigidity and definition of Caribbean plate motion from COCONet and campaign GPS observations

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Mattioli, G. S.; Miller, J. A.; DeMets, C.; Jansma, P. E.

    2015-12-01

    The kinematic model of the Caribbean plate presented by DeMets et al. (2007) is based on velocities from 6 continuous and 14 campaign GPS sites. COCONet is a multi-hazard GPS-Met observatory, which extends the existing infrastructure of the PBO in North America into the Caribbean basin. In 2010, UNAVCO in collaboration with UCAR, was funded by NSF to design, build, and initially maintain a network of 50 new cGPS/Met sites and include data from another 50 existing sites in the Caribbean region. The COCONet siting plan is for 46 new stations, 21 refurbished stations, and 77 existing stations across 26 nations in the Caribbean region. Data from all COCONet sites flow into the UNAVCO archive and are processed by the PBO analysis centers and are also processed independently by the UTA Geodesy Lab using GIPSY-OASISII (v.6.3) using an APP strategy and final, precise orbits, clocks, and EOP from JPL in the IGS08r frame. We present a refined estimate of Caribbean plate motion by evaluating data from an expanded number of stations with an improved spatial distribution. In order to better constrain the eastern margin of the plate near the Lesser Antilles subduction interface, campaign GPS observations have been collected on the island of Dominica over the last decade. These are combined with additional campaign observations from the western Caribbean, specifically from Honduras and Nicaragua. We have analyzed a total of 117 sites from the Caribbean region, including campaign data and the data from the cGPS stations that comprise COCONet. An updated velocity field for the Caribbean plate is presented and an inversion of the velocities for 24 sites yields a plate angular velocity that differs from previously published models. Our best fitting inversion to GPS velocities from these 24 sites suggests that 2-plate model for the Caribbean is required to fit the GPS observations, which implies that the Caribbean is undergoing modest (1-3 mm/yr) deformation within its interior. Some

  14. Geology of the Caribbean.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Dillon, William P.; And Others

    1988-01-01

    Describes some of the geologic characteristics of the Caribbean region. Discusses the use of some new techniques, including broad-range swath imaging of the sea floor that produces photograph-like images, and satellite measurement of crustal movements, which may help to explain the complex geology of the region. (TW)

  15. Numerical Simulation of Several Tectonic Tsunami Sources at the Caribbean Basin

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Chacon-Barrantes, S. E.; Lopez, A. M.; Macias, J.; Zamora, N.; Moore, C. W.; Llorente Isidro, M.

    2016-12-01

    The Tsunami Hazard Assessment Working Group (WG2) of the Intergovernmental Coordination Group for the Tsunami and Other Coastal Hazards Early Warning System for the Caribbean and Adjacent Regions (ICG/CARIBE-EWS), has been tasked to identify tsunami sources for the Caribbean region and evaluate their effects along Caribbean coasts. A list of tectonic sources was developed and presented at the Fall 2015 AGU meeting and the WG2 is currently working on a list of non-tectonic sources. In addition, three Experts Meetings have already been held in 2016 to define worst-case, most credible scenarios for southern Hispaniola and Central America. The WG2 has been tasked to simulate these scenarios to provide an estimate of the resulting effects on coastal areas within the Caribbean. In this study we simulated tsunamis with two leading numerical models (NEOWAVE and Tsunami-HySEA) to compare results among them and report on the consequences for the Caribbean region if a tectonically-induced tsunami occurs in any of these postulated sources. The considered sources are located offshore Central America, at the North Panamá Deformed Belt (NPDB), at the South Caribbean Deformed Belt (SCDB) and around La Hispaniola Island. Results obtained in this study are critical to develop a catalog of scenarios that can be used in future CaribeWave exercises, as well as their usage for ICG/CARIBE-EWS member states as input to model tsunami inundation for their coastal locations. Data from inundation parameters are an additional step to produce tsunami evacuation maps, and develop plans and procedures to increase tsunami awareness and preparedness within the Caribbean.

  16. Common wood decay fungi found in the Caribbean Basin

    Treesearch

    D. Jean Lodge

    2016-01-01

    There are hundreds of wood-decay fungi in the Caribbean Basin, but relatively few of these are likely to grow on manmade structures built of wood or wood-composites. The wood-decay fungi of greatest concern are those that cause brown-rot, and especially brown-rot fungi that are resistant to copper-based wood preservatives. Some fungi that grow in the Caribbean and...

  17. Defining and Dividing the Greater Caribbean: Insights from the Biogeography of Shorefishes

    PubMed Central

    2014-01-01

    The Greater Caribbean biogeographic region is the high-diversity heart of the Tropical West Atlantic, one of four global centers of tropical marine biodiversity. The traditional view of the Greater Caribbean is that it is limited to the Caribbean, West Indies, southwest Gulf of Mexico and tip of Florida, and that, due to its faunal homogeneity, lacks major provincial subdivisions. In this scenario the northern 2/3 of the Gulf of Mexico and southeastern USA represent a separate temperate, “Carolinian” biogeographic region. We completed a comprehensive re-assessment of the biogeography of the Greater Caribbean by comparing the distributions of 1,559 shorefish species within 45 sections of shelf waters of the Greater Caribbean and adjacent areas. This analysis shows that that the Greater Caribbean occupies a much larger area than usually thought, extending south to at least Guyana, and north to encompass the entire Carolinian area. Rather than being homogenous, the Greater Caribbean is divided into three major provinces, each with a distinctive, primarily tropical fauna: (1) a central, tropical province comprising the West Indies, Bermuda and Central America; (2) a southern, upwelling-affected province spanning the entire continental shelf of northern South America; and (iii) a northern, subtropical province that includes all of the Gulf of Mexico, Florida and southeastern USA. This three-province pattern holds for both reef- and soft bottom fishes, indicating a general response by demersal fishes to major variation in provincial shelf environments. Such environmental differences include latitudinal variation in sea temperature, availability of major habitats (coral reefs, soft bottom shorelines, and mangroves), and nutrient additions from upwelling areas and large rivers. The three-province arrangement of the Greater Caribbean broadly resembles and has a similar environmental basis to the provincial arrangement of its sister biogeographic region, the Tropical

  18. Balancing the Curricula in the Arts: The Caribbean Connection. Jamaica, Trinidad, and Tobago.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Jackson, Fran R., Comp.; Henderson, Lana T., Comp.

    This curriculum unit evolves from a 5-week study program to the Caribbean by cultural arts teachers from North Carolina. The program was designed: (1) to enhance educators' knowledge of the Caribbean influence on Western culture; (2) to understand the history of the Caribbean and its impact on the arts; and (3) to infuse this information into the…

  19. Gendered Perceptions of Schooling: Classroom Dynamics and Inequalities within Four Caribbean Secondary Schools

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Younger, Mike; Cobbett, Mary

    2014-01-01

    This paper sets out to interrogate the reality of secondary schooling in one part of the Caribbean, through a case study exploration of the "gender regimes" of four secondary schools in the small Eastern Caribbean nation state of Antigua and Barbuda. In Antigua, as in the Caribbean region more broadly, the focus of attention has been on…

  20. Structural features and oil-and-gas bearing of the Caribbean region

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zabanbark, A.; Lobkovsky, L. I.

    2017-09-01

    The structure of the Caribbean region testifies to the extremely unstable condition of the terrestrial crust of this intercontinental and simultaneously interoceanic area. In the recent geological epoch, the Caribbean region is represented by a series of structural elements, the main of which are the Venezuelan and Colombian deep-sea suboceanic depressions, the Nicaraguan Rise, and the Greater and Lesser Antilles bordering the Caribbean Sea in the north and east. There are 63 sedimentary basins in the entire Caribbean region. However, only the Venezuelan and Colombian basins, the Miskito Basin in Nicaragua, and the northern and eastern shelves of the Antilles, Paria Bay, Barbodos-Tobago, and Grenada basins are promising in terms of oil-and-gas bearig. In the Colombian Basin, the southwestern part, located in the rift zone of the Gulf of Uraba, is the most promising. In the Venezuelan Basin, possible oil-and-gas-bearing basins showing little promise are assumed to be in the northern and eastern margins. The main potential of the eastern Caribbean region is attributed to the southern margin, at the shelf zone of which are the Tokuyo-Bonaire, Tuy-Cariaco, Margarita, Paria Bay, Barbados-Tobago, and Grenada oil-and-gas-bearing basins. The rest of the deepwater depressions of the Caribbean Sea show little promise for hydrocarbon research due to the small thickness of the deposits, their flat bedding, and probably a lack of fluid seals.

  1. Monitoring Educational Performance in the Caribbean. World Bank Working Paper.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    di Gropello, Emanuela

    This study represents a first attempt at providing a comprehensive quantification of educational outcomes in the Caribbean region. Its main objectives are: (1) to define a set of operationally relevant education indicators; (2) to provide a database of comparable education indicators in Caribbean countries where data is available, namely Belize,…

  2. Subduction and Plate Edge Tectonics in the Southern Caribbean

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Levander, A.; Schmitz, M.; Niu, F.; Bezada, M. J.; Miller, M. S.; Masy, J.; Ave Lallemant, H. G.; Pindell, J. L.

    2012-12-01

    The southern Caribbean plate boundary consists of a subduction zone at at either end connected by a strike-slip fault system: In the east at the Lesser Antilles subduction zone, the Atlantic part of the South American plate subducts beneath the Caribbean. In the north and west in the Colombia basin, the Caribbean subducts under South America. In a manner of speaking, the two plates subduct beneath each other. Finite-frequency teleseismic P-wave tomography confirms this, imaging the Atlantic and the Caribbean subducting steeply in opposite directions to transition zone depths under northern South America (Bezada et al, 2010). The two subduction zones are connected by the El Pilar-San Sebastian strike-slip fault system, a San Andreas scale system that has been cut off at the Bocono fault, the southeastern boundary of the Maracaibo block. A variety of seismic probes identify where the two plates tear as they begin to subduct (Niu et al, 2007; Clark et al., 2008; Miller et al. 2009; Growdon et al., 2009; Huang et al., 2010; Masy et al., 2011). The El Pilar system forms at the southeastern corner of the Antilles subduction zone with the Atlantic plate tearing from South America. The deforming plate edges control mountain building and basin formation at the eastern end of the strike-slip system. In northwestern South America the Caribbean plate very likely also tears, as its southernmost element subducts at shallow angles under northernmost Colombia and the northern, nonsubducting part underthrusts the continental edge. The subducting segment rapidly descends to transition zone depths under Lake Maracaibo (Bezada et al., 2010). We believe that the flat slab produces the Merida Andes, the Perija, and the Santa Marta ranges. The nonsubducting part of the Caribbean plate underthrusts northern Venezuela to about the width of the coastal mountains (Miller et al., 2009), where the plate edge supports the coastal mountains, and controls continuing deformation.

  3. Afro-Caribbean Women in the United States: Images and Reality.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Palmer, Annette

    Most American-born (or native) blacks think of Afro-Caribbean women as clannish, thrifty to the point of greed, constant strivers, uninvolved in civil rights and women's rights activities, and believing in stereotypes of native blacks' inferiority. These images are tied to the Afro-Caribbean woman's immigrant status. As a foreigner, she constantly…

  4. Religious Involvement among Caribbean Blacks in the United States

    PubMed Central

    Taylor, Robert Joseph; Chatters, Linda M.; Mattis, Jacqueline S.; Joe, Sean

    2011-01-01

    This study examined demographic and denominational differences in religious involvement (i.e., organizational, non-organizational, subjective) among Caribbean Blacks (Black Caribbeans) residing in the U.S. using data from the National Survey of American Life. Caribbean Blacks who were born in the U.S. had lower levels of religious involvement than those who immigrated and respondents originating from Haiti (as compared to Jamaica) had higher levels of religious involvement, while persons from Trinidad-Tobago reported lower service attendance than did Jamaicans. Older persons, women and married persons generally demonstrated greater religious involvement than their counterparts, while highly educated respondents expressed lower levels of self-rated religiosity. Denominational differences indicated that Baptists reported high levels of religious involvement; however, in several cases, Pentecostals and Seventh Day Adventists reported greater involvement. PMID:21927509

  5. Benefits and Costs of LORAN-C Expansion into the Eastern Caribbean.

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1981-01-01

    exported by Caribbean islands are sugar, citrus, rice, bananas , avocados, green coffee, and papaya. However, despite the fact that the Caribbean...Capt. Leon Flowers , Nassau, Bahamas 5. MARITIME ORGANIZATIONS o Maritime Transportation Research Board, Mr. Dave Mellor, Washington, D.C. o National

  6. Women and Education. Women in the Caribbean Project, Volume 5.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Massiah, Joycelin, Ed.

    One of a series emanating from a three-year project concerned with the role of women in the English-speaking Caribbean, these papers discuss the history of Caribbean women's education. The project's objectives are to establish a data base for teaching, research, and planning purposes and to develop guidelines for a social policy that recognizes…

  7. Pilot Testing HIV Prevention in an Afro Caribbean Faith-Based Community.

    PubMed

    Archibald, Cynthia M; Newman, David

    2015-01-01

    This research attempted to test an HIV prevention intervention for Afro-Caribbean female teens. The purpose was to improve knowledge and attitudes concerning HIV/AIDS, improve mother-daughter sexual communication, and to reduce risky sexual behaviors. Using a community-based approach, sixty mother and daughter pairs were randomly assigned. One condition was experimental using the Making Proud Choices Caribbean Style (MPCCS); another was a comparison of General Health Education. Independent t-tests were used for analysis between the pretest, posttest and 90 days posttests. MPCCS indicated clear usage with other Caribbean teens. This study helped to support the theory when Afro-Caribbean (AC) teens feel they need to become sexually active (subjective norm), and have referent support (parental support), they may blend values, knowledge, and skills (control beliefs), and are likely to make proud choices to reduce risky sexual behavior in minimizing HIV in their communities.

  8. Psychotherapy in Caribbean Cultures.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lefley, Harriet P.; Bestman, Evalina W.

    Caribbean mental health professionals are concerned with the types of psychotherapy that are relevant to the needs of their clients, and with the uses of psychotherapy in a political context. They appear to be divided into two schools: one seeking to promote in clients a change from a traditional world view to a modern one, and the other seeking…

  9. Communication from the Information Sharing Working Group: Agreement for Data Sharing Among Caribbean Foresters

    Treesearch

    Tamara Heartsill Scalley; Saara DeWalt; François Korysko; Guy Van Laere; Kasey Jacobs; Seth Panka; Joseph Torres

    2016-01-01

    We presented a new information-sharing platform at the 16th Caribbean Foresters Meeting in August 2013 to facilitate and promote collaboration among Caribbean foresters. The platform can be accessed through the Caribbean Foresters website where information and data on forest research sites can be shared. There is a special focus on identifying potential collaborations...

  10. Race and Ethnic Differences in Religious Involvement: African Americans, Caribbean Blacks and Non-Hispanic Whites

    PubMed Central

    Chatters, Linda M.; Taylor, Robert Joseph; Bullard, Kai McKeever; Jackson, James S.

    2010-01-01

    This study examined differences in religious participation and spirituality among African Americans, Caribbean Blacks (Black Caribbeans) and non-Hispanic Whites. Data are taken from the National Survey of American Life, a nationally representative study of African Americans, Black Caribbeans and non-Hispanic Whites. Selected measures of organizational, nonorganizational and subjective religious participation were examined. African American and Caribbean Blacks were largely similar in their reports of religious involvement; both groups generally indicated higher levels of religious participation than non-Hispanic Whites. African Americans were more likely than Black Caribbeans to be official members of their places of worship, engage in activities (choirs, church clubs) at their place of worship and request prayer from others. Black Caribbeans reported reading religious materials more frequently than African Americans. The discussion notes the importance of examining ethnic differences within the black American population of the United States. PMID:20975850

  11. Panic disorder among African Americans, Caribbean blacks and non-Hispanic whites

    PubMed Central

    Himle, Joseph A.; Taylor, Robert Joseph; Abelson, Jamie M.; Matusko, Niki; Muroff, Jordana; Jackson, James

    2014-01-01

    Introduction This study investigated co-morbidities, level of disability, service utilization and demographic correlates of panic disorder (PD) among African Americans, Caribbean blacks and non-Hispanic white Americans. Methods Data are from the National Survey of American Life (NSAL) and the National Comorbidity Survey-Replication (NCS-R). Results Non-Hispanic whites are the most likely to develop PD across the lifespan compared to the black subgroups. Caribbean blacks were found to experience higher levels of functional impairment. There were no gender differences found in prevalence of PD in Caribbean blacks, indicating that existing knowledge about who is at risk for developing PD (generally more prevalent in women) may not be true among this subpopulation. Furthermore, Caribbean blacks with PD were least likely to use mental health services compared to African Americans and non-Hispanic whites. Conclusion This study demonstrates that PD may affect black ethnic subgroups differently, which has important implications for understanding the nature and etiology of the disorder. PMID:22983664

  12. Extinction rate, historical population structure and ecological role of the Caribbean monk seal.

    PubMed

    McClenachan, Loren; Cooper, Andrew B

    2008-06-22

    The productivity and biomass of pristine coral reef ecosystems is poorly understood, particularly in the Caribbean where communities have been impacted by overfishing and multiple other stressors over centuries. Using historical data on the spatial distribution and abundance of the extinct Caribbean monk seal (Monachus tropicalis), this study reconstructs the population size, structure and ecological role of this once common predator within coral reef communities, and provides evidence that historical reefs supported biomasses of fishes and invertebrates up to six times greater than those found on typical modern Caribbean reefs. An estimated 233,000-338,000 monk seals were distributed among 13 colonies across the Caribbean. The biomass of reef fishes and invertebrates required to support historical seal populations was 732-1018 gm(-2) of reefs, which exceeds that found on any Caribbean reef today and is comparable with those measured in remote Pacific reefs. Quantitative estimates of historically dense monk seal colonies and their consumption rates on pristine reefs provide concrete data on the magnitude of decline in animal biomass on Caribbean coral reefs. Realistic reconstruction of these past ecosystems is critical to understanding the profound and long-lasting effect of human hunting on the functioning of coral reef ecosystems.

  13. Extinction rate, historical population structure and ecological role of the Caribbean monk seal

    PubMed Central

    McClenachan, Loren; Cooper, Andrew B

    2008-01-01

    The productivity and biomass of pristine coral reef ecosystems is poorly understood, particularly in the Caribbean where communities have been impacted by overfishing and multiple other stressors over centuries. Using historical data on the spatial distribution and abundance of the extinct Caribbean monk seal (Monachus tropicalis), this study reconstructs the population size, structure and ecological role of this once common predator within coral reef communities, and provides evidence that historical reefs supported biomasses of fishes and invertebrates up to six times greater than those found on typical modern Caribbean reefs. An estimated 233 000–338 000 monk seals were distributed among 13 colonies across the Caribbean. The biomass of reef fishes and invertebrates required to support historical seal populations was 732–1018 g m−2 of reefs, which exceeds that found on any Caribbean reef today and is comparable with those measured in remote Pacific reefs. Quantitative estimates of historically dense monk seal colonies and their consumption rates on pristine reefs provide concrete data on the magnitude of decline in animal biomass on Caribbean coral reefs. Realistic reconstruction of these past ecosystems is critical to understanding the profound and long-lasting effect of human hunting on the functioning of coral reef ecosystems. PMID:18348965

  14. 3 CFR 8990 - Proclamation 8990 of May 31, 2013. National Caribbean-American Heritage Month, 2013

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-01-01

    ... recognize men and women who trace their roots to the Caribbean. Through every chapter of our Nation's history, Caribbean Americans have made our country stronger—reshaping our politics and reigniting the arts... as National Caribbean-American Heritage Month. I encourage all Americans to celebrate the history and...

  15. Solar energy and conservation technologies for Caribbean Tourist Facilities (CTF)

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    The primary objectives of the Caribbean Tourist Facilities (CTF) project were to develop and publish materials and conduct workshops on solar energy and conservation technologies that would directly address the needs and interests of tourist facilities in the Caribbean basin. Past contacts with the Caribbean and US tourist industries indicated that decision-makers remained unconvinced that renewable technologies could have a significant impact on development and operation costs or that renewable energy products and services suited their needs. In order to assure that the materials and programs developed were responsive to the Caribbean tourist industry and U.S. conservation and renewable energy industries, marketing research with potential end users and the organizations and associations that serve those users was included as an underlying task in the project. The tasks outlined in the CTF Statement of Work included conference planning, gathering of field data, development of educational materials, and conduct of workshop(s). In addition to providing a chronicle of the fulfillment of those tasks, this final report includes suggestions for distributing the documents developed during the project, venues for future workshops, and other technology transfer and market influence strategies.

  16. Origins and genetic legacies of the Caribbean Taino

    PubMed Central

    Sikora, Martin; Gopalakrishnan, Shyam; Cassidy, Lara M.; Maisano Delser, Pierpaolo; Sandoval Velasco, Marcela; Rasmussen, Simon; Homburger, Julian R.; Ávila-Arcos, María C.; Allentoft, Morten E.; Moreno-Mayar, J. Víctor; Renaud, Gabriel; Gómez-Carballa, Alberto; Laffoon, Jason E.; Hopkins, Rachel J. A.; Higham, Thomas F. G.; Carr, Robert S.; Schaffer, William C.; Day, Jane S.; Hoogland, Menno; Salas, Antonio; Bustamante, Carlos D.; Nielsen, Rasmus; Bradley, Daniel G.; Hofman, Corinne L.; Willerslev, Eske

    2018-01-01

    The Caribbean was one of the last parts of the Americas to be settled by humans, but how and when the islands were first occupied remains a matter of debate. Ancient DNA can help answering these questions, but the work has been hampered by poor DNA preservation. We report the genome sequence of a 1,000-year-old Lucayan Taino individual recovered from the site of Preacher’s Cave in the Bahamas. We sequenced her genome to 12.4-fold coverage and show that she is genetically most closely related to present-day Arawakan speakers from northern South America, suggesting that the ancestors of the Lucayans originated there. Further, we find no evidence for recent inbreeding or isolation in the ancient genome, suggesting that the Lucayans had a relatively large effective population size. Finally, we show that the native American components in some present-day Caribbean genomes are closely related to the ancient Taino, demonstrating an element of continuity between precontact populations and present-day Latino populations in the Caribbean. PMID:29463742

  17. Origins and genetic legacies of the Caribbean Taino.

    PubMed

    Schroeder, Hannes; Sikora, Martin; Gopalakrishnan, Shyam; Cassidy, Lara M; Maisano Delser, Pierpaolo; Sandoval Velasco, Marcela; Schraiber, Joshua G; Rasmussen, Simon; Homburger, Julian R; Ávila-Arcos, María C; Allentoft, Morten E; Moreno-Mayar, J Víctor; Renaud, Gabriel; Gómez-Carballa, Alberto; Laffoon, Jason E; Hopkins, Rachel J A; Higham, Thomas F G; Carr, Robert S; Schaffer, William C; Day, Jane S; Hoogland, Menno; Salas, Antonio; Bustamante, Carlos D; Nielsen, Rasmus; Bradley, Daniel G; Hofman, Corinne L; Willerslev, Eske

    2018-03-06

    The Caribbean was one of the last parts of the Americas to be settled by humans, but how and when the islands were first occupied remains a matter of debate. Ancient DNA can help answering these questions, but the work has been hampered by poor DNA preservation. We report the genome sequence of a 1,000-year-old Lucayan Taino individual recovered from the site of Preacher's Cave in the Bahamas. We sequenced her genome to 12.4-fold coverage and show that she is genetically most closely related to present-day Arawakan speakers from northern South America, suggesting that the ancestors of the Lucayans originated there. Further, we find no evidence for recent inbreeding or isolation in the ancient genome, suggesting that the Lucayans had a relatively large effective population size. Finally, we show that the native American components in some present-day Caribbean genomes are closely related to the ancient Taino, demonstrating an element of continuity between precontact populations and present-day Latino populations in the Caribbean. Copyright © 2018 the Author(s). Published by PNAS.

  18. USGS contributions to earthquake and tsunami monitoring in the Caribbean Region

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    McNamara, D.; Caribbean Project Team, U.; Partners, C.

    2007-05-01

    USGS Caribbean Project Team: Lind Gee, Gary Gyure, John Derr, Jack Odum, John McMillan, David Carver, Jim Allen, Susan Rhea, Don Anderson, Harley Benz Caribbean Partners: Christa von Hillebrandt-Andrade-PRSN, Juan Payero ISU-UASD,DR, Eduardo Camacho - UPAN, Panama, Lloyd Lynch - SRU,Gonzalo Cruz - UNAH,Honduras, Margaret Wiggins-Grandison - Jamaica, Judy Thomas - CERO Barbados, Sylvan McIntyre - NADMA Grenada, E. Bermingham - STRI. The magnitude-9 Sumatra-Andaman Islands earthquake of December 26, 2004, increased global awareness of the destructive hazard posed by earthquakes and tsunamis. In response to this tragedy, the US government undertook a collaborative project to improve earthquake and tsunami monitoring along a major portion of vulnerable coastal regions, in the Caribbean Sea, the Gulf of Mexico, and the Atlantic Ocean. Seismically active areas of the Caribbean Sea region pose a tsunami risk for Caribbean islands, coastal areas along the Gulf of Mexico, and the Atlantic seaboard of North America. Nearly 100 tsunamis have been reported for the Caribbean region in the past 500 years, including 14 tsunamis reported in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Partners in this project include the United States Geological Survey (USGS), the Smithsonian Institute, the National Oceanic and Aeronautic Administration (NOAA), and several partner institutions in the Caribbean region. This presentation focuses on the deployment of nine broadband seismic stations to monitor earthquake activity in the Caribbean region that are affiliated with the Global Seismograph Network (GSN). By the end of 2006, five stations were transmitting data to the USGS National Earthquake Information Service (NEIS), and regional partners through Puerto Rico seismograph network (PRSN) Earthworm systems. The following stations are currently operating: SDDR - Sabaneta Dam Dominican Republic, BBGH - Gun Hill Barbados, GRGR - Grenville, Grenada, BCIP - Barro Colorado, Panama, TGUH - Tegucigalpa

  19. Caribbean Connections: Overview of Regional History. Classroom Resources for Secondary Schools.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sunshine, Catherine A., Ed.; Menkart, Deborah, Ed.

    This book was prepared to enable schools to incorporate material on the Caribbean into existing curricula. Four aims guided the editors in their selection and presentation of materials: (1) to show Caribbean history and contemporary realities through the eyes of ordinary people, both real and fictional; (2) to promote critical thinking rather than…

  20. Competing Meanings of Childhood and the Social Construction of Child Sexual Abuse in the Caribbean

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Pasura, Dominic; Jones, Adele D.; Hafner, James A. H.; Maharaj, Priya E.; Nathaniel-DeCaires, Karene; Johnson, Emmanuel Janagan

    2013-01-01

    This article examines the dynamic interplay between competing meanings of childhood and the social construction of sexual abuse in the Caribbean. Drawing on qualitative data from a study undertaken in six Caribbean countries, the article suggests that Caribbean childhoods are neither wholly global nor local but hybrid creations of the region's…

  1. Population Genetics of a Trochid Gastropod Broadens Picture of Caribbean Sea Connectivity

    PubMed Central

    Díaz-Ferguson, Edgardo; Haney, Robert; Wares, John; Silliman, Brian

    2010-01-01

    Background Regional genetic connectivity models are critical for successful conservation and management of marine species. Even though rocky shore invertebrates have been used as model systems to understand genetic structure in some marine environments, our understanding of connectivity in Caribbean communities is based overwhelmingly on studies of tropical fishes and corals. In this study, we investigate population connectivity and diversity of Cittarium pica, an abundant rocky shore trochid gastropod that is commercially harvested across its natural range, from the Bahamas to Venezuela. Methodology/Principal Findings We tested for genetic structure using DNA sequence variation at the mitochondrial COI and 16S loci, AMOVA and distance-based methods. We found substantial differentiation among Caribbean sites. Yet, genetic differentiation was associated only with larger geographic scales within the Caribbean, and the pattern of differentiation only partially matched previous assessments of Caribbean connectivity, including those based on larval dispersal from hydrodynamic models. For instance, the Bahamas, considered an independent region by previous hydrodynamic studies, showed strong association with Eastern Caribbean sites in our study. Further, Bonaire (located in the east and close to the meridional division of the Caribbean basin) seems to be isolated from other Eastern sites. Conclusions/Significance The significant genetic structure and observed in C. pica has some commonalities in pattern with more commonly sampled taxa, but presents features, such as the differentiation of Bonaire, that appear unique. Further, the level of differentiation, together with regional patterns of diversity, has important implications for the application of conservation and management strategies in this commercially harvested species. PMID:20844767

  2. High frequency solar influence revealed in sclerosponge-derived Caribbean SST record

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Estrella, J.; Winter, A.; Sherman, C.; Mangini, A.

    2012-12-01

    We present a high-resolution (annual) record of the Caribbean mixed layer temperature at different depths derived from oxygen isotopic ratios obtained from the sclerosponge Ceratoporella nicholsoni. Sclerosponges precipitate their calcium carbonate skeleton in equilibrium with their surrounding environment and are capable of living at depths down to 200 m. The sponges for this project were collected off the coasts of Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands in northeastern Caribbean Sea. The records obtained extend from the early 1500's to the present and suggest that the Northeastern Caribbean was 1 - 2 °C cooler during the Little Ice Age than present conditions and that sea surface temperature (SST) has been rising at an average linear rate of 0.009 °C yr-1 since the mid 1800's, three times faster than the World Ocean. Wavelet time series analysis of our records suggests that Caribbean SST variability is regulated by the sunspot cycle, especially when the total solar irradiance is high, at what time the SSTs and the sunspot cycle are highly coupled. Our findings suggest a SST response to solar influence of 0.40 °C (W/m2)-1, almost twice that of the World Ocean. Deceleration of the Caribbean Current is proposed as a possible reason for this disparity. Further work is currently being done on other sponges and other calcium carbonate proxies to examine the extension of this forcing in other climate phenomena.

  3. Recruitment phenology and pelagic larval duration in Caribbean amphidromous fishes

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Engman, Augustin C.; Kwak, Thomas J.; Fischer, Jesse R.

    2017-01-01

    Amphidromous fishes are major components of oceanic tropical island stream ecosystems, such as those of the Caribbean island, Puerto Rico. Fishes with this life history face threats related to the requirement for connectivity between freshwater and marine environments during early life stages. Pelagic larval duration and recruitment phenology are 2 early life-history processes that are crucial for the biology, ecology, conservation, and management of amphidromous fishes. However, these processes are understudied in the Caribbean in general and have never been quantified in Puerto Rico. We quantified recruit abundance, recruitment phenology, and pelagic larval duration of several Caribbean amphidromous fish species in multiple rivers in Puerto Rico and explored the effects of environmental variables on recruit abundances. Two fish taxa—sirajo goby (Sicydium spp.) and River Goby (Awaous banana)—were exceptionally abundant as postlarvae and recruited to Caribbean rivers in pulsed migration episodes that were periodic at annual and lunar scales. Sirajo goby and River Goby recruit abundances varied among rivers, were greater at sunrise than at sunset, and were positively related to river discharge. The pelagic larval duration of 4 fish taxa ranged from a minimum of 28 d to a maximum of 103 d with means between 43 ± 7 d (SD) and 65 ± 11 d. We identified the last-quarter moon phase during the months of June through January as periods of maximum amphidromous fish recruitment to freshwater streams. The results and conclusions of our study can be applied to identify critical times to maintain river–ocean connectivity and stream flow for the benefit of the amphidromous fish population dynamics, stream ecology, and natural resources of the Caribbean.

  4. Unexpected evolutionary diversity in a recently extinct Caribbean mammal radiation

    PubMed Central

    Brace, Selina; Turvey, Samuel T.; Weksler, Marcelo; Hoogland, Menno L. P.; Barnes, Ian

    2015-01-01

    Identifying general patterns of colonization and radiation in island faunas is often hindered by past human-caused extinctions. The insular Caribbean is one of the only complex oceanic-type island systems colonized by land mammals, but has witnessed the globally highest level of mammalian extinction during the Holocene. Using ancient DNA analysis, we reconstruct the evolutionary history of one of the Caribbean's now-extinct major mammal groups, the insular radiation of oryzomyine rice rats. Despite the significant problems of recovering DNA from prehistoric tropical archaeological material, it was possible to identify two discrete Late Miocene colonizations of the main Lesser Antillean island chain from mainland South America by oryzomyine lineages that were only distantly related. A high level of phylogenetic diversification was observed within oryzomyines across the Lesser Antilles, even between allopatric populations on the same island bank. The timing of oryzomyine colonization is closely similar to the age of several other Caribbean vertebrate taxa, suggesting that geomorphological conditions during the Late Miocene facilitated broadly simultaneous overwater waif dispersal of many South American lineages to the Lesser Antilles. These data provide an important baseline by which to further develop the Caribbean as a unique workshop for studying island evolution. PMID:25904660

  5. Tectonic evolution and mantle structure of the Caribbean

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    van Benthem, Steven; Govers, Rob; Spakman, Wim; Wortel, Rinus

    2013-06-01

    investigate whether predictions of mantle structure from tectonic reconstructions are in agreement with a detailed tomographic image of seismic P wave velocity structure under the Caribbean region. In the upper mantle, positive seismic anomalies are imaged under the Lesser Antilles and Puerto Rico. These anomalies are interpreted as remnants of Atlantic lithosphere subduction and confirm tectonic reconstructions that suggest at least 1100 km of convergence at the Lesser Antilles island arc during the past 45 Myr. The imaged Lesser Antilles slab consists of a northern and southern anomaly, separated by a low-velocity anomaly across most of the upper mantle, which we interpret as the subducted North America-South America plate boundary. The southern edge of the imaged Lesser Antilles slab agrees with vertical tearing of South America lithosphere. The northern Lesser Antilles slab is continuous with the Puerto Rico slab along the northeastern plate boundary. This results in an amphitheater-shaped slab, and it is interpreted as westward subducting North America lithosphere that remained attached to the surface along the northeastern boundary of the Caribbean plate. At the Muertos Trough, however, material is imaged until a depth of only 100 km, suggesting a small amount of subduction. The location and length of the imaged South Caribbean slab agrees with proposed subduction of Caribbean lithosphere under the northern South America plate. An anomaly related to proposed Oligocene subduction at the Nicaragua rise is absent in the tomographic model. Beneath Panama, a subduction window exists across the upper mantle, which is related to the cessation of subduction of the Nazca plate under Panama since 9.5 Ma and possibly the preceding subduction of the extinct Cocos-Nazca spreading center. In the lower mantle, two large anomaly patterns are imaged. The westernmost anomaly agrees with the subduction of Farallon lithosphere. The second lower mantle anomaly is found east of

  6. Tectonic evolution and mantle structure of the Caribbean

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Benthem, Steven; Govers, Rob; Spakman, Wim; Wortel, Rinus

    2013-06-01

    investigate whether predictions of mantle structure from tectonic reconstructions are in agreement with a detailed tomographic image of seismic P wave velocity structure under the Caribbean region. In the upper mantle, positive seismic anomalies are imaged under the Lesser Antilles and Puerto Rico. These anomalies are interpreted as remnants of Atlantic lithosphere subduction and confirm tectonic reconstructions that suggest at least 1100 km of convergence at the Lesser Antilles island arc during the past ~45 Myr. The imaged Lesser Antilles slab consists of a northern and southern anomaly, separated by a low-velocity anomaly across most of the upper mantle, which we interpret as the subducted North America-South America plate boundary. The southern edge of the imaged Lesser Antilles slab agrees with vertical tearing of South America lithosphere. The northern Lesser Antilles slab is continuous with the Puerto Rico slab along the northeastern plate boundary. This results in an amphitheater-shaped slab, and it is interpreted as westward subducting North America lithosphere that remained attached to the surface along the northeastern boundary of the Caribbean plate. At the Muertos Trough, however, material is imaged until a depth of only 100 km, suggesting a small amount of subduction. The location and length of the imaged South Caribbean slab agrees with proposed subduction of Caribbean lithosphere under the northern South America plate. An anomaly related to proposed Oligocene subduction at the Nicaragua rise is absent in the tomographic model. Beneath Panama, a subduction window exists across the upper mantle, which is related to the cessation of subduction of the Nazca plate under Panama since 9.5 Ma and possibly the preceding subduction of the extinct Cocos-Nazca spreading center. In the lower mantle, two large anomaly patterns are imaged. The westernmost anomaly agrees with the subduction of Farallon lithosphere. The second lower mantle anomaly is found east of

  7. Exploring emotional intelligence in a Caribbean medical school.

    PubMed

    Sa, B; Baboolal, N; Williams, S; Ramsewak, S

    2014-03-01

    To explore the emotional intelligence (EI) in medical students in a Caribbean medical school and investigate its association with gender, age, year of study and ethnicity. A cross-sectional design using convenient sampling of 304 years two to five undergraduate medical students at the School of Medicine, the University of the West Indies (UWI), St Augustine campus, was conducted. The Mayer-Salovey-Caruso Emotional Intelligence Test (MSCEIT-V2.0) was administered to test four branches of EI: perceiving emotions, facilitating thought, understanding emotions and managing emotions. Data were analysed using SPSS version 19. T-test, analysis of variance (ANOVA) and r (product moment correlation) were calculated to establish the effects of selected variables (gender, age, year of study and ethnicity) on total and sub-scales EI scores and tested against 0.05 and 0.01 significance levels. The total mean score for EI fell within the average according to MSCEIT standards. Gender analysis showed significantly higher scores for males and for younger age groups (< 25 years). Year of study and ethnicity did not yield any significant effect. These findings of higher EI scores in males and younger students are unusual, given the well-publicized stereotype of the Caribbean male and the perception that advancing age brings maturity and emotional stability. It would be valuable to widen this study by including other UWI campuses and offshore medical schools in the Caribbean. This preliminary study examined a sample of medical students from a well-established Caribbean medical school. Since EI is considered to be important in the assessment and training of medical undergraduates, consideration should be given to introducing interventions aimed at increasing EI.

  8. Southeastern United States and Caribbean Sea from Apollo 8 spacecraft

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    1968-01-01

    Most of the southeastern United States and Caribbean Sea, the U.S. coastline from Chesapeake Bay to the Florida peninsula can be seen from the Apollo 8 spacecraft in orbit above the Earth. The Bahamas and the Islands of Cuba, Jamaica, Hispiniola and Puerto Rico extend across the Caribbean. The light blue of the shallow Bahama banks contrasts with the darker hue of the deeper water especially in the Tongue of the Ocean area.

  9. The Caribbean: Its Implications for the United States. Headline Series No. 253.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Dominguez, Virginia R.; Dominguez, Jorge I.

    This booklet examines the historical roots from which today's Caribbean societies evolved, and the wide variety of social, economic and political entities that make up the Caribbean region today. Separate chapters discuss and compare the economies of the region, its political systems, and the increasingly important phenomenon of Caribbean…

  10. Focused study of interweaving hazards across the Caribbean

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Braun, John J.; Mattioli, Glen S.; Calais, Eric; Carlson, David; Dixon, Timothy H.; Jackson, Michael E.; Kursinski, E. Robert; Mora-Paez, Hector; Miller, M. Meghan; Pandya, Rajul; Robertson, Richard; Wang, Guoquan

    2012-02-01

    The Caribbean is a region of lush vegetation, beaches, active volcanoes, and significant mountain ranges, all of which create a natural aesthetic that is recognized globally. Yet these very same features, molded through geological, oceanic, and atmospheric processes, also pose natural hazards for the developing countries in the Caribbean. The rise in population density, migration to coastal areas, and substandard building practices, combined with the threat of natural hazards, put the region's human population at risk for particularly devastating disasters. These demographic and social characteristics exist against a backdrop of the threat of an evolving climate, which produces a more vigorous hurricane environment and a rising average sea level.

  11. Marital Satisfaction among African Americans and Black Caribbeans: Findings from the National Survey of American Life

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bryant, Chalandra M.; Taylor, Robert Joseph; Lincoln, Karen D.; Chatters, Linda M.; Jackson, James S.

    2008-01-01

    This study examines the correlates of marital satisfaction using data from a national probability sample of African Americans (N = 962) and Black Caribbeans (N = 560). Findings reveal differences between African Americans and Black Caribbeans, and men and women within those groups, in the predictors of marital satisfaction. Black Caribbean women…

  12. 48 CFR 25.504-2 - WTO GPA/Caribbean Basin Trade Initiative/FTAs.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-10-01

    ... 48 Federal Acquisition Regulations System 1 2014-10-01 2014-10-01 false WTO GPA/Caribbean Basin Trade Initiative/FTAs. 25.504-2 Section 25.504-2 Federal Acquisition Regulations System FEDERAL ACQUISITION REGULATION SOCIOECONOMIC PROGRAMS FOREIGN ACQUISITION Evaluating Foreign Offers-Supply Contracts 25.504-2 WTO GPA/Caribbean Basin Trade...

  13. 48 CFR 25.504-2 - WTO GPA/Caribbean Basin Trade Initiative/FTAs.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-10-01

    ... 48 Federal Acquisition Regulations System 1 2011-10-01 2011-10-01 false WTO GPA/Caribbean Basin Trade Initiative/FTAs. 25.504-2 Section 25.504-2 Federal Acquisition Regulations System FEDERAL ACQUISITION REGULATION SOCIOECONOMIC PROGRAMS FOREIGN ACQUISITION Evaluating Foreign Offers-Supply Contracts 25.504-2 WTO GPA/Caribbean Basin Trade...

  14. 48 CFR 25.504-2 - WTO GPA/Caribbean Basin Trade Initiative/FTAs.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-10-01

    ... 48 Federal Acquisition Regulations System 1 2013-10-01 2013-10-01 false WTO GPA/Caribbean Basin Trade Initiative/FTAs. 25.504-2 Section 25.504-2 Federal Acquisition Regulations System FEDERAL ACQUISITION REGULATION SOCIOECONOMIC PROGRAMS FOREIGN ACQUISITION Evaluating Foreign Offers-Supply Contracts 25.504-2 WTO GPA/Caribbean Basin Trade...

  15. Foreign Providers in the Caribbean. Pillagers or Preceptors? Perspectives on Distance Education

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Marshall, Stewart, Ed.; Brandon, Ed, Ed.; Thomas, Michael, Ed.; Kanwar, Asha, Ed.; Lyngra, Tove, Ed.

    2008-01-01

    The growing phenomenon of cross-border higher education (CBHE) will not help developing countries unless it is accessible, available, affordable, relevant and of acceptable quality. Foreign Providers in the Caribbean: Pillagers or Preceptors? focuses on the trends of CBHE in the Caribbean, which has its own unique characteristics. Following a…

  16. Review of HIV in the Caribbean: significant progress and outstanding challenges.

    PubMed

    Figueroa, J Peter

    2014-06-01

    This paper reviews the recent literature on HIV in the Caribbean and discusses the challenges faced. HIV incidence in the Caribbean has declined by 49 % in the past decade, coverage of persons living with HIV among those eligible for antiretroviral treatment as per national guidelines was 70 % in 2012, and some countries are meeting the target of virtual elimination of mother-to-child transmission. HIV prevalence in the Caribbean is 1 % with features of both a generalized and concentrated HIV epidemic. HIV prevalence among female sex workers has declined but remains unacceptably high among men who have sex with men. Social and cultural factors, gender norms, and strong stigma associated with HIV and homosexuality contribute to the continued spread of HIV. Caribbean countries and their partners have invested significant resources, creative effort and impressive research in strengthening the HIV response nationally and regionally. However, in order to control the HIV epidemic, leaders at all levels, and the people, must address fundamental structural barriers in society that deny marginalized persons their rights, undermine public health goals, and impede universal access to HIV prevention, treatment, and care.

  17. Freshwater exchanges and surface salinity in the Colombian basin, Caribbean Sea.

    PubMed

    Beier, Emilio; Bernal, Gladys; Ruiz-Ochoa, Mauricio; Barton, Eric Desmond

    2017-01-01

    Despite the heavy regional rainfall and considerable discharge of many rivers into the Colombian Basin, there have been few detailed studies about the dilution of Caribbean Surface Water and the variability of salinity in the southwestern Caribbean. An analysis of the precipitation, evaporation and runoff in relation to the climate variability demonstrates that although the salt balance in the Colombian Basin overall is in equilibrium, the area south of 12°N is an important dilution sub-basin. In the southwest of the basin, in the region of the Panama-Colombia Gyre, Caribbean Sea Water is diluted by precipitation and runoff year round, while in the northeast, off La Guajira, its salinity increases from December to May by upwelling. At the interannual scale, continental runoff is related to El Niño Southern Oscillation, and precipitation and evaporation south of 12°N are related to the Caribbean Low Level Jet. During El Niño years the maximum salinification occurs in the dry season (December-February) while in La Niña years the maximum dilution (or freshening), reaching La Guajira Coastal Zone, occurs in the wet season (September-November).

  18. Freshwater exchanges and surface salinity in the Colombian basin, Caribbean Sea

    PubMed Central

    2017-01-01

    Despite the heavy regional rainfall and considerable discharge of many rivers into the Colombian Basin, there have been few detailed studies about the dilution of Caribbean Surface Water and the variability of salinity in the southwestern Caribbean. An analysis of the precipitation, evaporation and runoff in relation to the climate variability demonstrates that although the salt balance in the Colombian Basin overall is in equilibrium, the area south of 12°N is an important dilution sub-basin. In the southwest of the basin, in the region of the Panama-Colombia Gyre, Caribbean Sea Water is diluted by precipitation and runoff year round, while in the northeast, off La Guajira, its salinity increases from December to May by upwelling. At the interannual scale, continental runoff is related to El Niño Southern Oscillation, and precipitation and evaporation south of 12°N are related to the Caribbean Low Level Jet. During El Niño years the maximum salinification occurs in the dry season (December-February) while in La Niña years the maximum dilution (or freshening), reaching La Guajira Coastal Zone, occurs in the wet season (September-November). PMID:28777801

  19. Seismicity of the Earth 1900-2007, Caribbean Plate and Vicinity

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Benz, Harley M.; Tarr, Arthur C.; Hayes, Gavin P.; Villaseñor, Antonio; Furlong, Kevin P.; Dart, Richard L.; Rhea, Susan

    2010-01-01

    The depth profile panels on this map portray earthquakes that extend from the Middle America Trench axis in the west to depths as great as 300 km beneath Guatemala, and from the Lesser Antilles Trench axis in the east to depths of approximately 200 km beneath Guadeloupe and the northeast Caribbean. In contrast, seismicity along the segments of the Caribbean plate margins from Guatemala to Hispaniola and from Trinidad to western Venezuela is indicative of transform fault tectonics.

  20. Cholera in Haiti and Other Caribbean Regions, 19th Century

    PubMed Central

    Szabo, Victoria

    2011-01-01

    Medical journals and other sources do not show evidence that cholera occurred in Haiti before 2010, despite the devastating effect of this disease in the Caribbean region in the 19th century. Cholera occurred in Cuba in 1833–1834; in Jamaica, Cuba, Puerto Rico, St. Thomas, St. Lucia, St. Kitts, Nevis, Trinidad, the Bahamas, St. Vincent, Granada, Anguilla, St. John, Tortola, the Turks and Caicos, the Grenadines (Carriacou and Petite Martinique), and possibly Antigua in 1850–1856; and in Guadeloupe, Cuba, St. Thomas, the Dominican Republic, Dominica, Martinique, and Marie Galante in 1865–1872. Conditions associated with slavery and colonial military control were absent in independent Haiti. Clustered populations, regular influx of new persons, and close quarters of barracks living contributed to spread of cholera in other Caribbean locations. We provide historical accounts of the presence and spread of cholera epidemics in Caribbean islands. PMID:22099117

  1. African American and Black Caribbean Feelings of Closeness to Africans

    PubMed Central

    Thornton, Michael C.; Taylor, Robert Joseph; Chatters, Linda M.; Forsythe-Brown, Ivy

    2016-01-01

    African American and Black Caribbean relations dominate research on interactions across black ethnic divides. Using National Survey of American Life data, we explore a different aspect of black interethnic attitudes: how close these groups feel toward Africans. African Americans and Black Caribbeans were largely similar in their feelings of closeness to Africans. For Black Caribbeans, younger and male respondents, those reporting higher levels of financial strain, living in the northeast and persons who immigrated to the United States at least 11 years ago, report feeling especially close to Africans. Being male was the only significant correlate among African Americans. The findings are discussed in relation to how race, ethnicity and national origin shape personal identities within the U.S. and their significance for intergroup perceptions. These broader issues warrant further consideration in light of assertions that race as a defining feature of American life and intergroup relations is obsolete. PMID:28943747

  2. [Population dynamics and development in the Caribbean].

    PubMed

    Boland, B

    1995-12-01

    The impact is examined of socioeconomic factors on Caribbean population dynamics. This work begins by describing the socioeconomic context of the late 1980s and early 1990s, under the influence of the economic changes and crises of the 1980s. The small size, openness, dependency, and lack of diversification of the Caribbean economies have made them vulnerable to external pressures. The Bahamas and Belize had economic growth rates exceeding 5% annually during 1981-90, but most of the countries had low or negative growth. Unemployment, poverty, the structural adjustment measures adopted in the mid-1980s, and declines in social spending exacerbated general economic conditions. In broad terms, the population situation of the Caribbean is marked by diversity of sizes and growth rates. A few countries oriented toward services and tourism had demographic growth rates exceeding 3%, while at least 7 had almost no growth or negative growth. Population growth rates reflected different combinations of natural increase and migration. Crude death rates ranged from around 5/1000 to 11/1000, except in Haiti, and all countries of the region except Haiti had life expectancies of 70 years or higher. Despite fertility decline, the average crude birth rate was still relatively high at 26/1000, and the rate of natural increase was 1.8% annually for the region. Nearly half of the regional population was under 15 or over 65 years old. The body of this work provides greater detail on mortality patterns, variations by sex, infant mortality, causes of death, and implications for policy. The discussion of fertility includes general patterns and trends, age specific fertility rates, contraceptive prevalence, levels of adolescent fertility and age factors in adolescent sexual behavior, characteristics of adolescent unions, contraceptive usage, health and social consequences of adolescent childbearing, and the search for solutions. The final section describes the magnitude and causes of

  3. Subduction bottom-to-top: The northeast Caribbean

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ten Brink, U. S.

    2017-12-01

    The Northeast Caribbean provides a prime example for the surficial expression of deep subduction processes and their combined effect on natural hazard. The subducting North American slab, recognized in tomography to depths of hundreds of kilometers, has been moving primarily westward at 2 cm/yr relative to the overlying Caribbean plate throughout most of the Cenozoic. A proposed tear in the slab northeast of Puerto Rico, separating a steeply-dipping slab to the west from less-steep slab to the east, is likely responsible for deep (<125 km) and frequent earthquake swarms. The tear is evidenced by the exceptional depth and low gravity of the trench, Puerto Rico's post-Miocene uplift and trenchward tilting and by the island's trenchward component of modern motion. This modern motion implies low seismic coupling on a mainly strike-slip component of the subduction zone. At Hispaniola, by contrast, large 20th century thrust earthquakes (e.g., in 1946) demonstrate seismic subduction, the trench there is shallow, and strain partitioning is expressed as strike-slip earthquakes onshore (e.g., Haiti in 2010). Slab geometry of the transition between these two subducting segments is unclear, as are the surficial effects of the westward "plowing" of the North American slab through the Caribbean mantle. East and south of the inferred tear, subduction accompanied by volcanism is taking place off the northern Lesser Antilles. Tectonic variability of subduction in the northeast Caribbean is likely responsible for faulting within the overlying plate that have generated large earthquakes and tsunamis in 1867 in the Virgin Islands, and in 1918 off the west coast of Puerto Rico. This variability, however, may limit to a few hundred kilometers, the maximum rupture length along the subduction zone. Extreme-wave deposits at Anegada, British Virgin Islands, may represent a large thrust earthquake east of the tear or a smaller normal earthquake on the trench outer wall. The deep trench

  4. Marine Biodiversity in the Caribbean: Regional Estimates and Distribution Patterns

    PubMed Central

    Miloslavich, Patricia; Díaz, Juan Manuel; Klein, Eduardo; Alvarado, Juan José; Díaz, Cristina; Gobin, Judith; Escobar-Briones, Elva; Cruz-Motta, Juan José; Weil, Ernesto; Cortés, Jorge; Bastidas, Ana Carolina; Robertson, Ross; Zapata, Fernando; Martín, Alberto; Castillo, Julio; Kazandjian, Aniuska; Ortiz, Manuel

    2010-01-01

    This paper provides an analysis of the distribution patterns of marine biodiversity and summarizes the major activities of the Census of Marine Life program in the Caribbean region. The coastal Caribbean region is a large marine ecosystem (LME) characterized by coral reefs, mangroves, and seagrasses, but including other environments, such as sandy beaches and rocky shores. These tropical ecosystems incorporate a high diversity of associated flora and fauna, and the nations that border the Caribbean collectively encompass a major global marine biodiversity hot spot. We analyze the state of knowledge of marine biodiversity based on the geographic distribution of georeferenced species records and regional taxonomic lists. A total of 12,046 marine species are reported in this paper for the Caribbean region. These include representatives from 31 animal phyla, two plant phyla, one group of Chromista, and three groups of Protoctista. Sampling effort has been greatest in shallow, nearshore waters, where there is relatively good coverage of species records; offshore and deep environments have been less studied. Additionally, we found that the currently accepted classification of marine ecoregions of the Caribbean did not apply for the benthic distributions of five relatively well known taxonomic groups. Coastal species richness tends to concentrate along the Antillean arc (Cuba to the southernmost Antilles) and the northern coast of South America (Venezuela – Colombia), while no pattern can be observed in the deep sea with the available data. Several factors make it impossible to determine the extent to which these distribution patterns accurately reflect the true situation for marine biodiversity in general: (1) highly localized concentrations of collecting effort and a lack of collecting in many areas and ecosystems, (2) high variability among collecting methods, (3) limited taxonomic expertise for many groups, and (4) differing levels of activity in the study of

  5. 48 CFR 25.504-2 - WTO GPA/Caribbean Basin Trade Initiative/FTAs.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-10-01

    ... 48 Federal Acquisition Regulations System 1 2012-10-01 2012-10-01 false WTO GPA/Caribbean Basin Trade Initiative/FTAs. 25.504-2 Section 25.504-2 Federal Acquisition Regulations System FEDERAL... 25.504-2 WTO GPA/Caribbean Basin Trade Initiative/FTAs. Example 1. Offer A 304,000 U.S.-made end...

  6. 48 CFR 25.504-2 - WTO GPA/Caribbean Basin Trade Initiative/FTAs.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-10-01

    ... 48 Federal Acquisition Regulations System 1 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false WTO GPA/Caribbean Basin Trade Initiative/FTAs. 25.504-2 Section 25.504-2 Federal Acquisition Regulations System FEDERAL... 25.504-2 WTO GPA/Caribbean Basin Trade Initiative/FTAs. Example 1. Offer A 304,000 U.S.-made end...

  7. CARICOF - The Caribbean Regional Climate Outlook Forum

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Van Meerbeeck, Cedric

    2013-04-01

    Regional Climate Outlook Forums (RCOFs) are viewed as a critical building block in the Global Framework for Climate Services (GFCS) of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). The GFCS seeks to extend RCOFs to all vulnerable regions of the world such as the Caribbean, of which the entire population is exposed to water- and heat-related natural hazards. An RCOF is initially intended to identify gaps in information and technical capability; facilitate research cooperation and data exchange within and between regions, and improve coordination within the climate forecasting community. A focus is given on variations in climate conditions on a seasonal timescale. In this view, the relevance of a Caribbean RCOF (CARICOF) is the following: while the seasonality of the climate in the Caribbean has been well documented, major gaps in knowledge exist in terms of the drivers in the shifts of amplitude and phase of seasons (as evidenced from the worst region-wide drought period in recent history during 2009-2010). To address those gaps, CARICOF has brought together National Weather Services (NWSs) from 18 territories under the coordination of the Caribbean Institute for Meteorology and Hydrology (CIMH), to produce region-wide, consensus, seasonal climate outlooks since March 2012. These outlooks include tercile rainfall forecasts, sea and air surface temperature forecasts as well as the likely evolution of the drivers of seasonal climate variability in the region, being amongst others the El Niño Southern Oscillation or tropical Atlantic and Caribbean Sea temperatures. Forecasts for both the national-scale forecasts made by the NWSs and CIMH's regional-scale forecast amalgamate output from several forecasting tools. These currently include: (1) statistical models such as Canonical Correlation Analysis run with the Climate Predictability Tool, providing tercile rainfall forecasts at weather station scale; (2) a global outlooks published by the WMO appointed Global Producing

  8. New strategic directions for Caribbean CSM project.

    PubMed

    1986-01-01

    Recent changes in the strategy of the Caribbean Contraceptive Social Marketing Project emphasize the condom, under the brand name, Panther. Since 1984, CCSMP began marketing their Perle rand of oral contraceptive, since dropped, in Barbados, St. Vincent and St. Lucia. Now wider commercial connections are envisioned, with support by CCSMP to promote generic brands. The Panther condom campaign will include an array of mass media, point-of-purchase and sporting event advertising. Pharmacies report that Panther is selling as well as the leading commercial brand. CCSMP is looking to introduce an ultra-thin condom and a vaginal foaming tablet. Market research, involving physicians and users as well as retail audits, indicates that although population in numbers alone is not a serious problem in the Caribbean, early pregnancy is a concern in the area.

  9. Parrotfish Size: A Simple yet Useful Alternative Indicator of Fishing Effects on Caribbean Reefs?

    PubMed Central

    Vallès, Henri; Oxenford, Hazel A.

    2014-01-01

    There is great need to identify simple yet reliable indicators of fishing effects within the multi-species, multi-gear, data-poor fisheries of the Caribbean. Here, we investigate links between fishing pressure and three simple fish metrics, i.e. average fish weight (an estimate of average individual fish size), fish density and fish biomass, derived from (1) the parrotfish family, a ubiquitous herbivore family across the Caribbean, and (2) three fish groups of “commercial” carnivores including snappers and groupers, which are widely-used as indicators of fishing effects. We hypothesize that, because most Caribbean reefs are being heavily fished, fish metrics derived from the less vulnerable parrotfish group would exhibit stronger relationships with fishing pressure on today’s Caribbean reefs than those derived from the highly vulnerable commercial fish groups. We used data from 348 Atlantic and Gulf Rapid Reef Assessment (AGRRA) reef-surveys across the Caribbean to assess relationships between two independent indices of fishing pressure (one derived from human population density data, the other from open to fishing versus protected status) and the three fish metrics derived from the four aforementioned fish groups. We found that, although two fish metrics, average parrotfish weight and combined biomass of selected commercial species, were consistently negatively linked to the indices of fishing pressure across the Caribbean, the parrotfish metric consistently outranked the latter in the strength of the relationship, thus supporting our hypothesis. Overall, our study highlights that (assemblage-level) average parrotfish size might be a useful alternative indicator of fishing effects over the typical conditions of most Caribbean shallow reefs: moderate-to-heavy levels of fishing and low abundance of highly valued commercial species. PMID:24466009

  10. Parrotfish size: a simple yet useful alternative indicator of fishing effects on Caribbean reefs?

    PubMed

    Vallès, Henri; Oxenford, Hazel A

    2014-01-01

    There is great need to identify simple yet reliable indicators of fishing effects within the multi-species, multi-gear, data-poor fisheries of the Caribbean. Here, we investigate links between fishing pressure and three simple fish metrics, i.e. average fish weight (an estimate of average individual fish size), fish density and fish biomass, derived from (1) the parrotfish family, a ubiquitous herbivore family across the Caribbean, and (2) three fish groups of "commercial" carnivores including snappers and groupers, which are widely-used as indicators of fishing effects. We hypothesize that, because most Caribbean reefs are being heavily fished, fish metrics derived from the less vulnerable parrotfish group would exhibit stronger relationships with fishing pressure on today's Caribbean reefs than those derived from the highly vulnerable commercial fish groups. We used data from 348 Atlantic and Gulf Rapid Reef Assessment (AGRRA) reef-surveys across the Caribbean to assess relationships between two independent indices of fishing pressure (one derived from human population density data, the other from open to fishing versus protected status) and the three fish metrics derived from the four aforementioned fish groups. We found that, although two fish metrics, average parrotfish weight and combined biomass of selected commercial species, were consistently negatively linked to the indices of fishing pressure across the Caribbean, the parrotfish metric consistently outranked the latter in the strength of the relationship, thus supporting our hypothesis. Overall, our study highlights that (assemblage-level) average parrotfish size might be a useful alternative indicator of fishing effects over the typical conditions of most Caribbean shallow reefs: moderate-to-heavy levels of fishing and low abundance of highly valued commercial species.

  11. Dusty air masses transport between Amazon Basin and Caribbean Islands

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Euphrasie-Clotilde, Lovely; Molinie, Jack; Prospero, Joseph; Feuillard, Tony; Brute, Francenor; Jeannot, Alexis

    2015-04-01

    Depend on the month, African desert dust affect different parts of the North Atlantic Ocean. From December to April, Saharan dust outbreaks are often reported over the amazon basin and from May to November over the Caribbean islands and the southern regions of USA. This annual oscillation of Saharan dust presence, related to the ITCZ position, is perturbed some time, during March. Indeed, over Guadeloupe, the air quality network observed between 2007 and 2012 several dust events during March. In this paper, using HISPLIT back trajectories, we analyzed air masses trajectories for March dust events observed in Guadeloupe, from 2007 to 2012.We observed that the high pressure positions over the Atlantic Ocean allow the transport of dusty air masses from southern region of West Africa to the Caribbean Sea with a path crossing close to coastal region of French Guyana. Complementary investigations including the relationship between PM10 concentrations recorded in two sites Pointe-a-Pitre in the Caribbean, and Cayenne in French Guyana, have been done. Moreover we focus on the mean delay observed between the times arrival. All the results show a link between pathway of dusty air masses present over amazon basin and over the Caribbean region during several event of March. The next step will be the comparison of mineral dust composition for this particular month.

  12. Sub-regional Precipitation Climate of the Caribbean and Relationships With ENSO and NAO

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Winter, A.; Jury, M.; Malmgren, B.

    2006-12-01

    Thirty-five meteorological stations encompassing the Caribbean region (Cuba, Bahamas, Jamaica, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands, St. Maarten, and Barbados) were analyzed over the time interval 1951-1981 to assess regional precipitation patterns and their relationships with the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) and El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO). Application of factor analysis to these series revealed the existence of four geographically distinct precipitation regions: (1) western Cuba and northwestern Bahamas, (2) Jamaica, eastern Cuba, and southeastern Bahamas, (3) Dominican Republic and northwestern Puerto Rico, and (4) eastern Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands, St. Marteen, and Barbados. This regionalization is related to different annual cycles and interannual fluctuations of rainfall. The annual cycle is unimodal and largest in the northwest Caribbean (1), and becomes increasingly bimodal toward lower latitudes (4) as expected. Year-to-year variations of precipitation are compared with two well known climatic indices. The ENSO relationship, represented by Niño3.4 SST, is positive and stable at all lags, but tends to reverse over the SE Caribbean (4) in late summer. The NAO influence is weak and seasonally dependent. Early summer rainfall in the northwest Caribbean (1) increases under El Niño conditions. Clusters 2 and 3 are less influenced by the global predictors and more regional in character. Previous related work sub-divided the Caribbean into two to three regions. Our work also shows that the main Caribbean basin should be divided into two clusters and not one homogeneous region as has previously been reported.

  13. HIV/AIDS and tourism in the Caribbean: an ecological systems perspective.

    PubMed

    Padilla, Mark B; Guilamo-Ramos, Vincent; Bouris, Alida; Reyes, Armando Matiz

    2010-01-01

    The Caribbean has the highest HIV rates outside of sub-Saharan Africa. In recent decades, tourism has become the most important Caribbean industry. Studies suggest that tourism areas are epicenters of demographic and social changes linked to HIV risk, such as transactional sex, elevated alcohol and substance use, and internal migration. Despite this, no formative HIV-prevention studies have examined tourism areas as ecologies that heighten HIV vulnerability. HIV/AIDS research needs to place emphasis on the ecological context of sexual vulnerability in tourism areas and develop multilevel interventions that are sensitive to this context. From our review and integration of a broad literature across the social and health sciences, we argue for an ecological approach to sexual health in Caribbean tourism areas, point to gaps in knowledge, and provide direction for future research.

  14. Wilma Trek Through Warm Caribbean/Gulf Waters

    NASA Image and Video Library

    2005-10-21

    This sea surface height map of the Gulf of Mexico and the northwestern Caribbean Sea, with the Florida peninsula on the upper right, is based on altimeter data from three satellites including NASA Jason-1.

  15. Exploring Emotional Intelligence in a Caribbean Medical School

    PubMed Central

    Sa, B; Baboolal, N; Williams, S; Ramsewak, S

    2014-01-01

    Objective: To explore the emotional intelligence (EI) in medical students in a Caribbean medical school and investigate its association with gender, age, year of study and ethnicity. Design and Methods: A cross-sectional design using convenient sampling of 304 years two to five undergraduate medical students at the School of Medicine, The University of the West Indies (UWI), St Augustine campus, was conducted. The Mayer-Salovey-Caruso Emotional Intelligence Test (MSCEIT-V2.0) was administered to test four branches of EI: perceiving emotions, facilitating thought, understanding emotions and managing emotions. Data were analysed using SPSS version 19. T-test, analysis of variance (ANOVA) and r (product moment correlation) were calculated to establish the effects of selected variables (gender, age, year of study and ethnicity) on total and sub-scales EI scores and tested against 0.05 and 0.01 significance levels. Results: The total mean score for EI fell within the average according to MSCEIT standards. Gender analysis showed significantly higher scores for males and for younger age groups (< 25 years). Year of study and ethnicity did not yield any significant effect. Conclusions: These findings of higher EI scores in males and younger students are unusual, given the well-publicized stereotype of the Caribbean male and the perception that advancing age brings maturity and emotional stability. It would be valuable to widen this study by including other UWI campuses and offshore medical schools in the Caribbean. This preliminary study examined a sample of medical students from a well-established Caribbean medical school. Since EI is considered to be important in the assessment and training of medical undergraduates, consideration should be given to introducing interventions aimed at increasing EI. PMID:25303251

  16. Cenozoic Methane-Seep Faunas of the Caribbean Region.

    PubMed

    Kiel, Steffen; Hansen, Bent T

    2015-01-01

    We report new examples of Cenozoic cold-seep communities from Colombia, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Trinidad, and Venezuela, and attempt to improve the stratigraphic dating of Cenozoic Caribbean seep communities using strontium isotope stratigraphy. Two seep faunas are distinguished in Barbados: the late Eocene mudstone-hosted 'Joes River fauna' consists mainly of large lucinid bivalves and tall abyssochrysoid gastropods, and the early Miocene carbonate-hosted 'Bath Cliffs fauna' containing the vesicomyid Pleurophopsis, the mytilid Bathymodiolus and small gastropods. Two new Oligocene seep communities from the Sinú River basin in Colombia consist of lucinid bivalves including Elongatolucina, thyasirid and solemyid bivalves, and Pleurophopsis. A new early Miocene seep community from Cuba includes Pleurophopsis and the large lucinid Meganodontia. Strontium isotope stratigraphy suggests an Eocene age for the Cuban Elmira asphalt mine seep community, making it the oldest in the Caribbean region. A new basal Pliocene seep fauna from the Dominican Republic is characterized by the large lucinid Anodontia (Pegophysema). In Trinidad we distinguish two types of seep faunas: the mudstone-hosted Godineau River fauna consisting mainly of lucinid bivalves, and the limestone-hosted Freeman's Bay fauna consisting chiefly of Pleurophopsis, Bathymodiolus, and small gastropods; they are all dated as late Miocene. Four new seep communities of Oligocene to Miocene age are reported from Venezuela. They consist mainly of large globular lucinid bivalves including Meganodontia, and moderately sized vesicomyid bivalves. After the late Miocene many large and typical 'Cenozoic' lucinid genera disappeared from the Caribbean seeps and are today known only from the central Indo-Pacific Ocean. We speculate that the increasingly oligotrophic conditions in the Caribbean Sea after the closure of the Isthmus of Panama in the Pliocene may have been unfavorable for such large lucinids because they

  17. Environmental change preceded Caribbean extinction by 2 million years

    PubMed Central

    O'Dea, Aaron; Jackson, Jeremy B. C.; Fortunato, Helena; Smith, J. Travis; D'Croz, Luis; Johnson, Kenneth G.; Todd, Jonathan A.

    2007-01-01

    Paleontologists typically treat major episodes of extinction as single and distinct events in which a major environmental perturbation results in a synchronous evolutionary response. Alternatively, the causes of biotic change may be multifaceted and extinction may lag behind the changes ultimately responsible because of nonlinear ecological dynamics. We examined these alternatives for the major episode of Caribbean extinction 2 million years ago (Ma). Isolation of the Caribbean from the Eastern Pacific by uplift of the Panamanian Isthmus was associated with synchronous changes in Caribbean near shore environments and community composition between 4.25 and 3.45 Ma. Seasonal fluctuations in Caribbean seawater temperature decreased 3-fold, carbonate deposition increased, and there was a striking, albeit patchy, shift in dominance of benthic ecosystems from heterotrophic mollusks to mixotrophic reef corals and calcareous algae. All of these changes correspond well with a simple model of decreased upwelling and collapse in planktonic productivity associated with the final stages of the closure of the isthmian barrier. However, extinction rates of mollusks and corals did not increase until 3–2 Ma and sharply peaked between 2 and 1 Ma, even though extinction overwhelmingly affected taxa commonly associated with high productivity. This time lag suggests that something other than environmental change per se was involved in extinction that does not occur as a single event. Understanding cause and effect will require more taxonomically refined analysis of the changing abundance and distribution patterns of different ecological guilds in the 2 million years leading up to the relatively sudden peak in extinction. PMID:17369359

  18. Biogeography of azooxanthellate corals in the Caribbean and surrounding areas

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Dawson, J.

    2002-04-01

    Biogeographic patterns for azooxanthellate corals are not as well known as those of zooxanthellate (primarily reef-building) corals. I analyzed occurrences of 129 species of azooxanthellate corals in 19 geopolitical regions in the Caribbean and surrounding areas. I performed an unweighted pair-group method with arithmetic averages (UPGMA) cluster analysis using Bray-Curtis' similarity measure on the complete data set and shallow- and deep-water subsets of the data. The results indicate two provinces, each with a widespread (tropical and subtropical distributions) component to its fauna. One province has a tropical and primarily insular component to it, while the other has a subtropical and primarily continental component. By contrast, zooxanthellate corals have a uniform faunal composition throughout the Caribbean. Moreover, zooxanthellate corals have half as many species in the Caribbean as the azooxanthellate corals even though their global diversities are equal. These differences in diversity and geographic distribution patterns should be considered when developing conservation strategies.

  19. Educating for Sustainable Development: An Overview of Environmental Education Programmes in the Caribbean.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Howell, Calvin A.

    1995-01-01

    Traditional approaches to formal education in the Caribbean have not achieved sufficiently high levels of sensitivity towards the environment. Nontraditional approaches and new strategies for sustainable development are needed. This paper reviews some approaches being undertaken in the English-speaking Caribbean designed to foster positive change…

  20. Caribbean coral growth influenced by anthropogenic aerosol emissions

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kwiatkowski, Lester; Cox, Peter M.; Economou, Theo; Halloran, Paul R.; Mumby, Peter J.; Booth, Ben B. B.; Carilli, Jessica; Guzman, Hector M.

    2013-05-01

    Coral growth rates are highly dependent on environmental variables such as sea surface temperature and solar irradiance. Multi-decadal variability in coral growth rates has been documented throughout the Caribbean over the past 150-200 years, and linked to variations in Atlantic sea surface temperatures. Multi-decadal variability in sea surface temperatures in the North Atlantic, in turn, has been linked to volcanic and anthropogenic aerosol forcing. Here, we examine the drivers of changes in coral growth rates in the western Caribbean between 1880 and 2000, using previously published coral growth chronologies from two sites in the region, and a numerical model. Changes in coral growth rates over this period coincided with variations in sea surface temperature and incoming short-wave radiation. Our model simulations show that variations in the concentration of anthropogenic aerosols caused variations in sea surface temperature and incoming radiation in the second half of the twentieth century. Before this, variations in volcanic aerosols may have played a more important role. With the exception of extreme mass bleaching events, we suggest that neither climate change from greenhouse-gas emissions nor ocean acidification is necessarily the driver of multi-decadal variations in growth rates at some Caribbean locations. Rather, the cause may be regional climate change due to volcanic and anthropogenic aerosol emissions.

  1. Widespread local chronic stressors in Caribbean coastal habitats

    PubMed Central

    Collin, Rachel; Bastidas, Carolina; Cróquer, Aldo; Gayle, Peter M. H.; Jordán-Dahlgren, Eric; Koltes, Karen; Oxenford, Hazel; Rodriguez-Ramirez, Alberto; Weil, Ernesto; Alemu, Jahson; Bone, David; Buchan, Kenneth C.; Creary Ford, Marcia; Escalante-Mancera, Edgar; Garzón-Ferreira, Jaime; Guzmán, Hector M.; Kjerfve, Björn; Klein, Eduardo; McCoy, Croy; Potts, Arthur C.; Ruíz-Rentería, Francisco; Smith, Struan R.; Tschirky, John; Cortés, Jorge

    2017-01-01

    Coastal ecosystems and the livelihoods they support are threatened by stressors acting at global and local scales. Here we used the data produced by the Caribbean Coastal Marine Productivity program (CARICOMP), the longest, largest monitoring program in the wider Caribbean, to evidence local-scale (decreases in water quality) and global-scale (increases in temperature) stressors across the basin. Trend analyses showed that visibility decreased at 42% of the stations, indicating that local-scale chronic stressors are widespread. On the other hand, only 18% of the stations showed increases in water temperature that would be expected from global warming, partially reflecting the limits in detecting trends due to inherent natural variability of temperature data. Decreases in visibility were associated with increased human density. However, this link can be decoupled by environmental factors, with conditions that increase the flush of water, dampening the effects of human influence. Besides documenting environmental stressors throughout the basin, our results can be used to inform future monitoring programs, if the desire is to identify stations that provide early warning signals of anthropogenic impacts. All CARICOMP environmental data are now available, providing an invaluable baseline that can be used to strengthen research, conservation, and management of coastal ecosystems in the Caribbean basin. PMID:29261694

  2. Training Caribbean Trawlermen for the Future

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Findlay, Peter

    1975-01-01

    Equipped with two multi-purpose fishing vessels, the Caribbean Fishery Development Institute has begun training 45 persons in an 11-month course ranging from navigation to seamanship, from engineering to biology, law, andeconomics. The program description provided by the article is supplemented by figures offering specific curricular and…

  3. Tectonic evolution and mantle structure of the Caribbean

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    van Benthem, Steven; Govers, Rob; Spakman, Wim; Wortel, Rinus

    2013-04-01

    In the broad context of investigating the relationship between deep structure & processes and surface expressions, we study the Caribbean plate and underlying mantle. We investigate whether predictions of mantle structure from tectonic reconstructions are in agreement with a detailed tomographic image of seismic P-wave velocity structure under the Caribbean region. In the upper mantle, positive seismic anomalies are imaged under the Lesser Antilles and Puerto Rico. These anomalies are interpreted as remnants of Atlantic lithosphere subduction and confirm tectonic reconstructions that suggest at least 1100 km of convergence at the Lesser Antilles island arc during the past ~45 Myr. The imaged Lesser-Antilles slab consists of a northern and southern anomaly, separated by a low velocity anomaly across most of the upper mantle, which we interpret as the subducted North-South America plate boundary. The southern edge of the imaged Lesser Antilles slab agrees with vertical tearing of South America lithosphere. The northern Lesser Antilles slab is continuous with the Puerto Rico slab along the northeastern plate boundary. This results in an amphitheater-shaped slab and it is interpreted as westward subducting North America lithosphere that remained attached to the surface along the northern boundary. At the Muertos Trough, however, material is imaged until a depth of only 100 km, suggesting a small amount of subduction. The location and length of the imaged South Caribbean slab agrees with proposed subduction of Caribbean lithosphere under the northern South America plate. An anomaly related to proposed Oligocene subduction at the Nicaragua rise is absent in the tomographic model. Beneath Panama, a subduction window exists across the upper mantle, which is related to the cessation of subduction of the Nazca plate under Panama since 9.5 Ma and possibly the preceding subduction of the extinct Cocos-Nazca spreading center. In the lower mantle two large anomaly patterns are

  4. HIV/AIDS and Tourism in the Caribbean: An Ecological Systems Perspective

    PubMed Central

    Guilamo-Ramos, Vincent; Bouris, Alida; Reyes, Armando Matiz

    2010-01-01

    The Caribbean has the highest HIV rates outside of sub-Saharan Africa. In recent decades, tourism has become the most important Caribbean industry. Studies suggest that tourism areas are epicenters of demographic and social changes linked to HIV risk, such as transactional sex, elevated alcohol and substance use, and internal migration. Despite this, no formative HIV-prevention studies have examined tourism areas as ecologies that heighten HIV vulnerability. HIV/AIDS research needs to place emphasis on the ecological context of sexual vulnerability in tourism areas and develop multilevel interventions that are sensitive to this context. From our review and integration of a broad literature across the social and health sciences, we argue for an ecological approach to sexual health in Caribbean tourism areas, point to gaps in knowledge, and provide direction for future research. PMID:19910343

  5. Rules of engagement: predictors of Black Caribbean immigrants' engagement with African American culture.

    PubMed

    Joseph, Nancy; Watson, Natalie N; Wang, Zhenni; Case, Andrew D; Hunter, Carla D

    2013-10-01

    The cultural context in the United States is racialized and influences Black Caribbean immigrants' acculturation processes, but what role it plays in Black Caribbean immigrants' acculturation into specific facets of American society (e.g., African American culture) has been understudied in the field of psychology. The present study extends research on Black Caribbean immigrants' acculturative process by assessing how this group's experience of the racial context (racial public regard, ethnic public regard, and cultural race-related stress) influences its engagement in African American culture (i.e., adoption of values and behavioral involvement). Data were collected from 93 Black participants of Caribbean descent, ranging in age from 13 to 45 and analyzed using a stepwise hierarchical regression. The findings highlighted that when Black Caribbean-descended participants perceived that the public held a favorable view of their racial group they were more likely to engage in African American culture. In contrast, when participants perceived that the public held a favorable view of their ethnic group (e.g., Haitian) they were less likely to engage in African American culture. Furthermore, among participants experiencing low levels of cultural race-related stress, the associations between racial public regard and engagement with African American culture were amplified. However, for participants experiencing high cultural race-related stress, their engagement in African American culture did not change as a function of racial public regard. These findings may suggest that, for Black Caribbean immigrants, the experience of the racial context influences strategies that serve to preserve or bolster their overall social status and psychological well-being in the United States. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2013 APA, all rights reserved.

  6. Minefields in the Caribbean: A Region Vectored to Becoming Failed States

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2006-04-01

    were more proud of being British subjects than of being Caribbean nationals.40 This reflects a poor sense of self esteem among Caribbean people...the civil service to keep the government running smoothly. Paradoxically, the young Indian students learned about democracy and self -rule, in...298 (Rev. 8-98) Prescribed by ANSI Std Z39-18 Disclaimer The views expressed in this academic research paper are those of the author and does not

  7. Assistance Focus: Latin America/Caribbean

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    The Clean Energy Solutions Center, an initiative of the Clean Energy Ministerial, helps countries throughout the world create policies and programs that advance the deployment of clean energy technologies. Through the Solutions Center's no-cost 'Ask an Expert' service, a team of international experts has delivered assistance to countries in all regions of the world. High-impact examples from the Latin American/Caribbean region are featured here.

  8. The Application of Distance Teaching to Training in Labour Administration: The Caribbean Experience.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Leslie, A. N.

    This presentation describes a collaborative distance education project between the University of the West Indies (UWI) and the Caribbean Labor Administration Center (CLAC) which resulted in CLAC using the UWI Distance Teaching Enterprise (UWIDITE) network to offer a training course for labor administrators in the Caribbean region. In addition, UWI…

  9. Indo Caribbean Immigrant Beliefs about Play and Its Impact on Early Academic Performance

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Roopnarine, Jaipaul L.; Jin, Bora

    2012-01-01

    In this study, the authors use psycho-cultural models of ethnic parental theories and acculturation to look at Indo Caribbean immigrant beliefs concerning the relationship between the amount of time children play and their early academic performance. During home interviews, fifty-seven Indo Caribbean couples offered their opinions about the…

  10. Paleoenvironmental evidence for first human colonization of the eastern Caribbean

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Siegel, Peter E.; Jones, John G.; Pearsall, Deborah M.; Dunning, Nicholas P.; Farrell, Pat; Duncan, Neil A.; Curtis, Jason H.; Singh, Sushant K.

    2015-12-01

    Identifying and dating first human colonization of new places is challenging, especially when group sizes were small and material traces of their occupations were ephemeral. Generating reliable reconstructions of human colonization patterns from intact archaeological sites may be difficult to impossible given post-depositional taphonomic processes and in cases of island and coastal locations the inundation of landscapes resulting from post-Pleistocene sea-level rise. Paleoenvironmental reconstruction is proving to be a more reliable method of identifying small-scale human colonization events than archaeological data alone. We demonstrate the method through a sediment-coring project across the Lesser Antilles and southern Caribbean. Paleoenvironmental data were collected informing on the timing of multiple island-colonization events and land-use histories spanning the full range of human occupations in the Caribbean, from the initial forays into the islands through the arrival and eventual domination of the landscapes and indigenous people by Europeans. In some areas, our data complement archaeological, paleoecological, and historical findings from the Lesser Antilles and in others amplify understanding of colonization history. Here, we highlight data relating to the timing and process of initial colonization in the eastern Caribbean. In particular, paleoenvironmental data from Trinidad, Grenada, Martinique, and Marie-Galante (Guadeloupe) provide a basis for revisiting initial colonization models of the Caribbean. We conclude that archaeological programs addressing human occupations dating to the early to mid-Holocene, especially in dynamic coastal settings, should systematically incorporate paleoenvironmental investigations.

  11. Regional turbulence patterns driven by meso- and submesoscale processes in the Caribbean Sea

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    C. Pérez, Juan G.; R. Calil, Paulo H.

    2017-09-01

    The surface ocean circulation in the Caribbean Sea is characterized by the interaction between anticyclonic eddies and the Caribbean Upwelling System (CUS). These interactions lead to instabilities that modulate the transfer of kinetic energy up- or down-cascade. The interaction of North Brazil Current rings with the islands leads to the formation of submesoscale vorticity filaments leeward of the Lesser Antilles, thus transferring kinetic energy from large to small scales. Within the Caribbean, the upper ocean dynamic ranges from large-scale currents to coastal upwelling filaments and allow the vertical exchange of physical properties and supply KE to larger scales. In this study, we use a regional model with different spatial resolutions (6, 3, and 1 km), focusing on the Guajira Peninsula and the Lesser Antilles in the Caribbean Sea, in order to evaluate the impact of submesoscale processes on the regional KE energy cascade. Ageostrophic velocities emerge as the Rossby number becomes O(1). As model resolution is increased submesoscale motions are more energetic, as seen by the flatter KE spectra when compared to the lower resolution run. KE injection at the large scales is greater in the Guajira region than in the others regions, being more effectively transferred to smaller scales, thus showing that submesoscale dynamics is key in modulating eddy kinetic energy and the energy cascade within the Caribbean Sea.

  12. Whole genome structural analysis of Caribbean hair sheep reveals quantitative link to West African ancestry

    PubMed Central

    Spangler, Gordon L.; Ilori, Moses Babatunde; Hanotte, Olivier; Kim, Eui-Soo; Sonstegard, Tad S.; Burke, Joan M.; Morgan, James L. M.; Notter, David R.; Van Tassell, Curtis P.

    2017-01-01

    Hair sheep of Caribbean origin have become an important part of the U.S. sheep industry. Their lack of wool eliminates a number of health concerns and drastically reduces the cost of production. More importantly, Caribbean hair sheep demonstrate robust production performance even in the presence of drug-resistant gastrointestinal nematodes, a rising concern to the industry. Despite the growing importance of hair sheep in the Americas their genetic origins have remained speculative. Prior to this report no genetic studies were able to identify a unique geographical origin of hair sheep in the New World. Our study clarifies the African and European ancestry of Caribbean hair sheep. Whole-genome structural analysis was conducted on four established breeds of hair sheep from the Caribbean region. Using breeds representing Africa and Europe we establish an objective measure indicating Caribbean hair sheep are derived from Iberian and West African origins. Caribbean hair sheep result from West African introgression into established ecotypes of Iberian descent. Genotypes from 47,750 autosomal single nucleotide polymorphism markers scored in 290 animals were used to characterize the population structure of the St. Croix, Barbados Blackbelly, Morada Nova, and Santa Ines. Principal components, admixture, and phylogenetic analyses results correlate with historical patterns of colonization and trade. These patterns support co-migration of these sheep with humans. PMID:28662044

  13. Southeastern United States and Caribbean Sea from Apollo 8 spacecraft

    NASA Image and Video Library

    1968-12-22

    AS08-16-2581 (21-27 Dec. 1968) --- This photograph of Earth was taken from the Apollo 8 spacecraft while it was in Earth orbit. Most of the southeastern United States and the Caribbean Sea area, the U.S. coastline from Chesapeake Bay to the Florida Peninsula can be seen. The Bahamas and the islands of Cuba, Jamaica, Hispaniola and Puerto Rico extend across the Caribbean, the light blue of the shallow Bahama banks contrasting sharply with the darker hue of the deeper water, especially in the Tongue of the Ocean area.

  14. Intercultural-Bilingual Education for an Interethnic-Plurilingual Society? The Case of Nicaragua's Caribbean Coast.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Freeland, Jane

    2003-01-01

    Latin American models of "intercultural-bilingual" education may be inappropriate for multilingual, interethnic regions such as Nicaragua's Caribbean Coast, where five indigenous and Afro-Caribbean minorities interact in overlapping territories. Examination of one such program and of Coast people's complex linguistic and cultural…

  15. Caribbean Families: Diversity among Ethnic Groups. Advances in Applied Developmental Psychology, Volume 14.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Roopnarine, Jaipaul L., Ed.; Brown, Janet, Ed.

    Little is known about the development and function of families in major Caribbean communities, an area composed of diverse ethnic and political groups, the majority of whom live on the edge of poverty. This edited book provides an interdisciplinary examination of Caribbean families, each chapter detailing studies dealing with family structures and…

  16. 33 CFR 334.1490 - Caribbean Sea, at St. Croix, V.I.; restricted areas.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-07-01

    ... 33 Navigation and Navigable Waters 3 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false Caribbean Sea, at St. Croix, V.I.; restricted areas. 334.1490 Section 334.1490 Navigation and Navigable Waters CORPS OF ENGINEERS, DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY, DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE DANGER ZONE AND RESTRICTED AREA REGULATIONS § 334.1490 Caribbean Sea...

  17. 33 CFR 334.1490 - Caribbean Sea, at St. Croix, V.I.; restricted areas.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ... 33 Navigation and Navigable Waters 3 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Caribbean Sea, at St. Croix, V.I.; restricted areas. 334.1490 Section 334.1490 Navigation and Navigable Waters CORPS OF ENGINEERS, DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY, DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE DANGER ZONE AND RESTRICTED AREA REGULATIONS § 334.1490 Caribbean Sea...

  18. Early Childhood in the Caribbean. Working Papers in Early Childhood Development, No. 47

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Barrow, Christine

    2008-01-01

    This report looks at the development and socialisation of children under 5 years of age in two Caribbean countries, Trinidad and Tobago and Dominica. It involved fieldwork in four very different communities as well as extensive discussion with academics and professionals. Too little is known about child socialisation in the Caribbean, and this…

  19. Caribbean Regional Security: The Challenges to creating Formal Military Relationships in the English-Speaking Caribbean

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2002-05-31

    Central America such as Fuerzas Aliadas Humanitarian and more pointedly, through the expansion of the Caribbean Nations Security Conference (CANSEC...Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, and Nicaragua attended as observers. At the conference Major General Soligan, the SOUTHCOM J5, put...United States, Britain, and Canada are deporting undocumented aliens and legal aliens that have been convicted of criminal offences. Between 1993 and

  20. Social determinants of breast cancer in the Caribbean: a systematic review.

    PubMed

    Brown, Catherine R; Hambleton, Ian R; Hercules, Shawn M; Alvarado, Miriam; Unwin, Nigel; Murphy, Madhuvanti M; Harris, E Nigel; Wilks, Rainford; MacLeish, Marlene; Sullivan, Louis; Sobers-Grannum, Natasha

    2017-04-05

    Breast cancer is the leading cause of cancer deaths among women in the Caribbean and accounts for >1 million disability adjusted life years. Little is known about the social inequalities of this disease in the Caribbean. In support of the Rio Political Declaration on addressing health inequities, this article presents a systematic review of evidence on the distribution, by social determinants, of breast cancer risk factors, frequency, and adverse outcomes in Caribbean women. MEDLINE, EMBASE, SciELO, CINAHL, CUMED, LILACS, and IBECS were searched for observational studies reporting associations between social determinants and breast cancer risk factors, frequency, or outcomes. Based on the PROGRESS-plus checklist, we considered 8 social determinant groups for 14 breast cancer endpoints, which totalled to 189 possible ways ('relationship groups') to explore the role of social determinants on breast cancer. Studies with >50 participants conducted in Caribbean territories between 2004 and 2014 were eligible for inclusion. The review was conducted according to STROBE and PRISMA guidelines and results were planned as a narrative synthesis, with meta-analysis if possible. Thirty-four articles were included from 5,190 screened citations. From these included studies, 75 inequality relationships were reported examining 30 distinct relationship groups, leaving 84% of relationship groups unexplored. Most inequality relationships were reported for risk factors, particularly alcohol and overweight/obesity which generally showed a positive relationship with indicators of lower socioeconomic position. Evidence for breast cancer frequency and outcomes was scarce. Unmarried women tended to have a higher likelihood of being diagnosed with breast cancer when compared to married women. While no association was observed between breast cancer frequency and ethnicity, mortality from breast cancer was shown to be slightly higher among Asian-Indian compared to African-descent populations in

  1. Shifting baselines and the extinction of the Caribbean monk seal.

    PubMed

    Baisre, Julio A

    2013-10-01

    The recent extinction of the Caribbean monk seal Monachus tropicalis has been considered an example of a human-caused extinction in the marine environment, and this species was considered a driver of the changes that have occurred in the structure of Caribbean coral reef ecosystems since colonial times. I searched archaeological records, historical data, and geographic names (used as a proxy of the presence of seals) and evaluated the use and quality of these data to conclude that since prehistoric times the Caribbean monk seal was always rare and vulnerable to human predation. This finding supports the hypothesis that in AD 1500, the Caribbean monk seal persisted as a small fragmented population in which individuals were confined to small keys, banks, or isolated islands in the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea. This hypothesis is contrary to the assumption that the species was widespread and abundant historically. The theory that the main driver of monk seal extinction was harvesting for its oil for use in the sugar cane industry of Jamaica during the 18th century is based primarily on anecdotal information and is overemphasized in the literature. An analysis of reported human encounters with this species indicates monk seal harvest was an occasional activity, rather than an ongoing enterprise. Nevertheless, given the rarity of this species and its restricted distribution, even small levels of hunting or specimen collecting must have contributed to its extinction, which was confirmed in the mid-20th century. Some sources had been overlooked or only partially reviewed, others misinterpreted, and a considerable amount of anecdotal information had been uncritically used. Critical examination of archaeological and historical records is required to infer accurate estimations of the historical abundance of a species. In reconstructing the past to address the shifting baseline syndrome, it is important to avoid selecting evidence to confirm modern prejudices. © 2013

  2. Gravity modeling of the Muertos Trough and tectonic implications (north-eastern Caribbean)

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Granja, Bruna J.L.; Muñoz-Martín, A.; ten Brink, Uri S.; Carbó-Gorosabel, Andrés; Llanes, Estrada P.; Martín-Dávila, J.; Cordoba-Barba, D.; Catalan, Morollon M.

    2010-01-01

    The Muertos Trough in the northeast Caribbean has been interpreted as a subduction zone from seismicity, leading to infer a possible reversal subduction polarity. However, the distribution of the seismicity is very diffuse and makes definition of the plate geometry difficult. In addition, the compressive deformational features observed in the upper crust and sandbox kinematic modeling do not necessarily suggest a subduction process. We tested the hypothesized subduction of the Caribbean plate's interior beneath the eastern Greater Antilles island arc using gravity modeling. Gravity models simulating a subduction process yield a regional mass deficit beneath the island arc independently of the geometry and depth of the subducted slab used in the models. This mass deficit results from sinking of the less dense Caribbean slab beneath the lithospheric mantle replacing denser mantle materials and suggests that there is not a subducted Caribbean plateau beneath the island arc. The geologically more realistic gravity model which would explain the N-S shortening observed in the upper crust requires an overthrusted Caribbean slab extending at least 60 km northward from the deformation front, a progressive increase in the thrusting angle from 8?? to 30?? reaching a maximum depth of 22 km beneath the insular slope. This new tectonic model for the Muertos Margin, defined as a retroarc thrusting, will help to assess the seismic and tsunami hazard in the region. The use of gravity modeling has provided targets for future wide-angle seismic surveys in the Muertos Margin. ?? 2010 Springer Science+Business Media B.V.

  3. [The chikungunya epidemic in the Caribbean: implications for travellers and physicians].

    PubMed

    Cleton, Natalie B; Reusken, Chantal B E M; van Gorp, Eric C M

    2014-01-01

    In 2013, the first autochthonous cases of the chikungunya virus (CHIKV) were reported on the Caribbean island of Saint Martin. The chikungunya virus has since become endemic in the Caribbean due to autochthonous transmission. In the presence of fever and joint symptoms in any traveller returning from the Caribbean, CHIKV should be considered. Although symptoms resemble those of dengue fever, the course of chikungunya is milder. Chikungunya much more commonly causes chronic joint pain. Laboratory tests for the chikungunya virus may give false positive results due to cross reactions with closely related viruses, so taking a full disease and travel history from the patient is necessary in order to interpret these test results correctly. There is no specific treatment for the chikungunya virus. A correct diagnosis can prevent unnecessary additional tests and unjustified treatment. The chikungunya virus can be prevented by the use of insect-repelling substances, nets and air-conditioning.

  4. Emerging viruses in Florida and the Caribbean

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    Multiple thrips-, whitefly- and aphid-transmitted viruses have recently emerged or re-emerged in vegetable and ornamental crops in Florida and the Caribbean. Tomato spotted wilt virus (a thrips-transmitted tospovirus) and Tomato yellow leaf curl virus (a whitefly-transmitted begomovirus) have histor...

  5. Which Fishers Are Satisfied in the Caribbean? A Comparative Analysis of Job Satisfaction among Caribbean Lobster Fishers

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Monnereau, Iris; Pollnac, Richard

    2012-01-01

    Lobster fishing (targeting the spiny lobster "Panulirus argus") is an important economic activity throughout the Wider Caribbean Region both as a source of income and employment for the local population as well as foreign exchange for national governments. Due to the high unit prices of the product, international lobster trade provides a…

  6. Caribbean Shallow-water Black Corals (Cnidaria: Anthozoa: Antipatharia)

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Opresko, Dennis M; Sanchez, Juan Armando

    2005-01-01

    Our aim is to provide a complete key and guide to the species of black corals from the Caribbean reefs at depths shallower than about 100 m. The key to the species is mostly based on colonial features that are recognized in the field, although some closely related species can only be differentiated by microscopic skeletal features. Each species is illustrated with one or more photos showing the size and shape of the colony; many photos were taken in the natural environment to facilitate underwater identification. Additionally, a short description is provided of each species and their microscopic diagnostic charactersmore » are illustrated with the aid of the Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM). Fifteen black coral species are found in relatively shallow-water in the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, and other parts of the tropical western Atlantic; these belong to the families Myriopathidae [Tanacetipathes hirta (Gray), T. tanacetum (Pourtales), T. barbadensis (Brook), T. thamnea (Warner), and Plumapathes pennacea (Pallas)]; Antipathidae [Antipathes lenta Pourtales, A. rubusifonnis Warner and Opresko, A. furcata Gray, A. umbratica Opresko, A. atlantica Gray, A. gracilis Gray, A. caribbeana Opresko, Stichopathes lutkeni Brook, and S. accidentalis (Gray)]; and Aphanipathidae [Rhipidipathes colombiana (Opresko and Sinchez)]. We hope that this guide will facilitate research on black corals on Caribbean reefs, where population surveys are urgently needed to evaluate or modify conservation policies.« less

  7. Determinants and promotion of oral hygiene behaviour in the Caribbean and Nepal.

    PubMed

    Buunk-Werkhoven, Yvonne A B; Dijkstra, Arie; Bink, Pim; van Zanten, Sarah; van der Schans, Cees P

    2011-10-01

    The purpose of this study was to identify predictors of oral hygiene behaviour (OHB) based on the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) among dental care seekers in two cultural different regions: the Caribbean (Aruba/Bonaire) and Nepal. In addition, measures of oral health knowledge (OHK) and the expected social outcomes of having healthy teeth (ESO) were investigated. The main effects of the predictors as well as their interactions with region (Caribbean vs. Nepal) were examined. The interaction term contributed significantly to the amount of explained variance. In the Caribbean, OHB was determined by Attitude and Social Norms, and in Nepal by Perceived Behaviour Control and ESO. On the basis of these findings, quite different oral health care interventions are called for in developing and underdeveloped countries. © 2011 FDI World Dental Federation.

  8. The Prevalence of Perceived Discrimination among African American and Caribbean Black Youth

    PubMed Central

    Seaton, Eleanor K.; Caldwell, Cleopatra H.; Sellers, Robert M.; Jackson, James S.

    2008-01-01

    The present study examined ethnic, gender and age differences in perceived discrimination, and the association between perceived discrimination and psychological well-being in a nationally representative sample of Black adolescents. Data are from the National Survey of African Life (NSAL), which includes 810 African American and 360 Caribbean Black youth. Results indicate that the majority of Black youth perceived at least one discriminatory incident in the previous year. Adolescents at later stages of development perceived more discrimination than those at earlier stages, and African American and Caribbean Black males perceived more discrimination than their female counterparts. Perceptions of discrimination were positively linked to depressive symptoms and negatively linked to self-esteem and life satisfaction, regardless of ethnicity. However, Caribbean Black youth appear to be more vulnerable when they perceive high levels of discrimination. PMID:18793063

  9. Women in Physics: A Caribbean Perspective

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Tanner, Kandice

    2009-03-01

    This paper is concerned with aspects of post-secondary education of women in physics in the Caribbean, focusing more specifically on the main university campuses in Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, and Barbados. Within this framework, there are three institutions of tertiary education that provide for undergraduate and post-graduate studies in physics. On average, the bachelor-level graduating class is roughly 40% female. A great majority of these students go on to seek master's degrees in engineering. Among those enrolled in graduate programs featuring research in astronomy, materials science, environmental physics, medical physics, and quantum physics, 58% are female. Significant numbers of women from the selected countries and from the Caribbean region are engaged in bachelor and doctoral programs in physics abroad, but no formal survey is available to provide the relevant quantitative information. However, an attempt will be made to quantify this component. Based in part on personal experience, a comparison will be made between domestic and foreign educational pathways, in terms of access to resources, level of research training, and occupational opportunities following graduation.

  10. EPA Efforts in Latin America and the Caribbean

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    The Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) program provides environmental tools and information to build the capacity of LAC governments and civil society organizations to reduce environmental degradation and its impacts on public health.

  11. Introduction: Caribbean forest dynamics and regional forestry initiatives

    Treesearch

    Tamara Heartsill Scalley; Grizelle Gonzalez

    2016-01-01

    Herein we provide the context within which the 16th Caribbean Foresters Meeting took place, some background information about the meeting, and a general introduction to this Special Issue focused on that meeting.

  12. Reconstructing the Population Genetic History of the Caribbean

    PubMed Central

    Moreno-Estrada, Andrés; Gravel, Simon; Zakharia, Fouad; McCauley, Jacob L.; Byrnes, Jake K.; Gignoux, Christopher R.; Ortiz-Tello, Patricia A.; Martínez, Ricardo J.; Hedges, Dale J.; Morris, Richard W.; Eng, Celeste; Sandoval, Karla; Acevedo-Acevedo, Suehelay; Norman, Paul J.; Layrisse, Zulay; Parham, Peter; Martínez-Cruzado, Juan Carlos; Burchard, Esteban González; Cuccaro, Michael L.; Martin, Eden R.; Bustamante, Carlos D.

    2013-01-01

    The Caribbean basin is home to some of the most complex interactions in recent history among previously diverged human populations. Here, we investigate the population genetic history of this region by characterizing patterns of genome-wide variation among 330 individuals from three of the Greater Antilles (Cuba, Puerto Rico, Hispaniola), two mainland (Honduras, Colombia), and three Native South American (Yukpa, Bari, and Warao) populations. We combine these data with a unique database of genomic variation in over 3,000 individuals from diverse European, African, and Native American populations. We use local ancestry inference and tract length distributions to test different demographic scenarios for the pre- and post-colonial history of the region. We develop a novel ancestry-specific PCA (ASPCA) method to reconstruct the sub-continental origin of Native American, European, and African haplotypes from admixed genomes. We find that the most likely source of the indigenous ancestry in Caribbean islanders is a Native South American component shared among inland Amazonian tribes, Central America, and the Yucatan peninsula, suggesting extensive gene flow across the Caribbean in pre-Columbian times. We find evidence of two pulses of African migration. The first pulse—which today is reflected by shorter, older ancestry tracts—consists of a genetic component more similar to coastal West African regions involved in early stages of the trans-Atlantic slave trade. The second pulse—reflected by longer, younger tracts—is more similar to present-day West-Central African populations, supporting historical records of later transatlantic deportation. Surprisingly, we also identify a Latino-specific European component that has significantly diverged from its parental Iberian source populations, presumably as a result of small European founder population size. We demonstrate that the ancestral components in admixed genomes can be traced back to distinct sub

  13. Cenozoic Methane-Seep Faunas of the Caribbean Region

    PubMed Central

    Kiel, Steffen; Hansen, Bent T.

    2015-01-01

    We report new examples of Cenozoic cold-seep communities from Colombia, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Trinidad, and Venezuela, and attempt to improve the stratigraphic dating of Cenozoic Caribbean seep communities using strontium isotope stratigraphy. Two seep faunas are distinguished in Barbados: the late Eocene mudstone-hosted ‘Joes River fauna’ consists mainly of large lucinid bivalves and tall abyssochrysoid gastropods, and the early Miocene carbonate-hosted ‘Bath Cliffs fauna’ containing the vesicomyid Pleurophopsis, the mytilid Bathymodiolus and small gastropods. Two new Oligocene seep communities from the Sinú River basin in Colombia consist of lucinid bivalves including Elongatolucina, thyasirid and solemyid bivalves, and Pleurophopsis. A new early Miocene seep community from Cuba includes Pleurophopsis and the large lucinid Meganodontia. Strontium isotope stratigraphy suggests an Eocene age for the Cuban Elmira asphalt mine seep community, making it the oldest in the Caribbean region. A new basal Pliocene seep fauna from the Dominican Republic is characterized by the large lucinid Anodontia (Pegophysema). In Trinidad we distinguish two types of seep faunas: the mudstone-hosted Godineau River fauna consisting mainly of lucinid bivalves, and the limestone-hosted Freeman’s Bay fauna consisting chiefly of Pleurophopsis, Bathymodiolus, and small gastropods; they are all dated as late Miocene. Four new seep communities of Oligocene to Miocene age are reported from Venezuela. They consist mainly of large globular lucinid bivalves including Meganodontia, and moderately sized vesicomyid bivalves. After the late Miocene many large and typical ‘Cenozoic’ lucinid genera disappeared from the Caribbean seeps and are today known only from the central Indo-Pacific Ocean. We speculate that the increasingly oligotrophic conditions in the Caribbean Sea after the closure of the Isthmus of Panama in the Pliocene may have been unfavorable for such large lucinids

  14. Forest fires in the insular Caribbean

    Treesearch

    A.M.J. Robbins; C.M. Eckelmann; M. Quinones

    2008-01-01

    This paper presents a summary of the forest fire reports in the insular Caribbean derived from both management reports and an analysis of publicly available Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectrodiometer (MODIS) satellite active fire products from the region. A vast difference between the amount of fires reported by land managers and fire points in the MODIS Fire...

  15. Too Hot to Handle: African Caribbean Pupils and Students as Toxic Consumers and Commodities in the Educational Market

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hamilton, Dennis George

    2018-01-01

    Secondary sources are used in this paper to highlight how African Caribbean pupils and students--the Black British-born descendants of post-war Caribbean migrants--are victims of symbolic violence, because they are denied the educational capital needed to improve their social status. Since African Caribbean children entered the 1960s British…

  16. Leading Causes of Cancer Mortality - Caribbean Region, 2003-2013.

    PubMed

    Razzaghi, Hilda; Quesnel-Crooks, Sarah; Sherman, Recinda; Joseph, Rachael; Kohler, Betsy; Andall-Brereton, Glennis; Ivey, Marsha A; Edwards, Brenda K; Mery, Les; Gawryszewski, Vilma; Saraiya, Mona

    2016-12-16

    Cancer is one of the leading causes of deaths worldwide (1); in 2012, an estimated 65% of all cancer deaths occurred in the less developed regions of the world (2). In the Caribbean region, cancer is the second leading cause of mortality, with an estimated 87,430 cancer-related deaths reported in 2012 (3). The Pan American Health Organization defines the Caribbean region as a group of 27 countries that vary in size, geography, resources, and surveillance systems.* CDC calculated site- and sex-specific proportions of cancer deaths and age-standardized mortality rates (ASMR) for 21 English- and Dutch-speaking Caribbean countries, the United States, and two U.S. territories (Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands [USVI]), using the most recent 5 years of mortality data available from each jurisdiction during 2003-2013. The selection of years varied by availability of the data from the countries and territories in 2015. ASMR for all cancers combined ranged from 46.1 to 139.3 per 100,000. Among males, prostate cancers were the leading cause of cancer deaths, followed by lung cancers; the percentage of cancer deaths attributable to prostate cancer ranged from 18.4% in Suriname to 47.4% in Dominica, and the percentage of cancer deaths attributable to lung cancer ranged from 5.6% in Barbados to 24.4% in Bermuda. Among females, breast cancer was the most common cause of cancer deaths, ranging from 14.0% of cancer deaths in Belize to 29.7% in the Cayman Islands, followed by cervical cancer. Several of the leading causes of cancer deaths in the Caribbean can be reduced through primary and secondary preventions, including prevention of exposure to risk factors, screening, early detection, and timely and effective treatment.

  17. Cultural Tailoring for an Afro-Caribbean Community: A Naturalistic Approach

    PubMed Central

    Archibald, Cynthia

    2012-01-01

    Purpose The purpose of this study was to discover ways to tailor health care interventions to fit the cultural identity of a minority group of people in order to reduce health disparity. Design/Analysis A naturalistic approach was used to interview four self-identified Afro-Caribbean Americans about their experiences of living on the margin. Through content analysis, categories emerged from the transcription revealed embracing, non-entitlement, enduring disrespect, and caring for self. Conclusion Afro-Caribbean Americans have strong values, healthy intentions, and appropriate attitude which are critical combinations for successfully tailoring interventions. Implications are discussed. PMID:22288207

  18. Quantifying 10 years of improved earthquake-monitoring performance in the Caribbean region

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    McNamara, Daniel E.; Hillebrandt-Andrade, Christa; Saurel, Jean-Marie; Huerfano-Moreno, V.; Lynch, Lloyd

    2015-01-01

    Over 75 tsunamis have been documented in the Caribbean and adjacent regions during the past 500 years. Since 1500, at least 4484 people are reported to have perished in these killer waves. Hundreds of thousands are currently threatened along the Caribbean coastlines. Were a great tsunamigenic earthquake to occur in the Caribbean region today, the effects would potentially be catastrophic due to an increasingly vulnerable region that has seen significant population increases in the past 40–50 years and currently hosts an estimated 500,000 daily beach visitors from North America and Europe, a majority of whom are not likely aware of tsunami and earthquake hazards. Following the magnitude 9.1 Sumatra–Andaman Islands earthquake of 26 December 2004, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Intergovernmental Coordination Group (ICG) for the Tsunami and other Coastal Hazards Early Warning System for the Caribbean and Adjacent Regions (CARIBE‐EWS) was established and developed minimum performance standards for the detection and analysis of earthquakes. In this study, we model earthquake‐magnitude detection threshold and P‐wave detection time and demonstrate that the requirements established by the UNESCO ICG CARIBE‐EWS are met with 100% of the network operating. We demonstrate that earthquake‐monitoring performance in the Caribbean Sea region has improved significantly in the past decade as the number of real‐time seismic stations available to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration tsunami warning centers have increased. We also identify weaknesses in the current international network and provide guidance for selecting the optimal distribution of seismic stations contributed from existing real‐time broadband national networks in the region.

  19. Sociology of Education: Research in the Caribbean.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bastick, Tony, Ed.; Ezenne, Austin, Ed.

    The chapters in this collection explore the premises, standards, requirements, and consequences of education in the Caribbean. Chapters in the first section, "Gender, Education and EmploymentBroken Promises," are: (1) "Educational Management from a Perspective of Care: Women Teachers in Trinidad and Tobago" (Jeanette Morris);…

  20. 78 FR 58522 - Fisheries of the Caribbean; Southeast Data, Assessment and Review (SEDAR); Public Meeting

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2013-09-24

    ... . SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Gulf of Mexico, South Atlantic, and Caribbean Fishery Management Councils, in... appointed by the Gulf of Mexico, South Atlantic, and Caribbean Fishery Management Councils and NOAA Fisheries Southeast Regional Office, Highly Migratory Species (HMS) Management Division, and Southeast...

  1. 78 FR 48654 - Fisheries of the Caribbean; Southeast Data, Assessment, and Review (SEDAR); Public Meeting

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2013-08-09

    ...: The Gulf of Mexico, South Atlantic, and Caribbean Fishery Management Councils, in conjunction with... are appointed by the Gulf of Mexico, South Atlantic, and Caribbean Fishery Management Councils and NOAA Fisheries Southeast Regional Office, Highly Migratory Species Management Division, and Southeast...

  2. A Review of Eight High-Priority, Economically Important Viral Pathogens of Poultry within the Caribbean Region

    PubMed Central

    Gongora, Victor; Hartley, Dane; Oura, Christopher

    2018-01-01

    Viral pathogens cause devastating economic losses in poultry industries worldwide. The Caribbean region, which boasts some of the highest rates of poultry consumption in the world, is no exception. This review summarizes evidence for the circulation and spread of eight high-priority, economically important poultry viruses across the Caribbean region. Avian influenza virus (AIV), infectious bronchitis virus (IBV), Newcastle disease virus (NDV), infectious laryngotracheitis virus (ILTV), avian metapneumovirus (aMPV), infectious bursal disease virus (IBDV), fowl adenovirus group 1 (FADV Gp1), and egg drop syndrome virus (EDSV) were selected for review. This review of serological, molecular, and phylogenetic studies across Caribbean countries reveals evidence for sporadic outbreaks of respiratory disease caused by notifiable viral pathogens (AIV, IBV, NDV, and ILTV), as well as outbreaks of diseases caused by immunosuppressive viral pathogens (IBDV and FADV Gp1). This review highlights the need to strengthen current levels of surveillance and reporting for poultry diseases in domestic and wild bird populations across the Caribbean, as well as the need to strengthen the diagnostic capacity and capability of Caribbean national veterinary diagnostic laboratories. PMID:29373488

  3. Religious Media Use Among African Americans, Black Caribbeans, and Non-Hispanic Whites

    PubMed Central

    Chatters, Linda M.

    2014-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to examine the correlates of watching religious television programs and listening to religious radio programs. Data are taken from the National Survey of American Life, a nationally representative study of African Americans, Black Caribbeans, and non-Hispanic Whites. Several significant findings were noted. Both African Americans and Black Caribbeans watched religious television programs and listened to religious radio programs significantly more frequently than non-Hispanic whites. These differences in electronic religious media consumption were particularly large, especially listening to religious radio programming. Among African Americans and Black Caribbeans, several significant demographic differences in frequency of consuming religious programming (e.g., age, gender, region, marital status, immigration status) emerged. Lastly, our analysis found that consuming electronic religious programming did not substitute for attending church service but, instead, complemented weekly service attendance. PMID:26045698

  4. Library and Archival Resources for Social Science Research in the Spanish, French, Dutch Caribbean.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Mathews, Thomas G.

    The working paper describes how a social scientist might go about locating resources for any particular study. Researchers are directed to non-Caribbean based material in European Archives as well as collections in the United States. Caribbean resources are analyzed by county. The countries include Cuba, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico,…

  5. How doctors' communication style and race concordance influence African-Caribbean patients when disclosing depression.

    PubMed

    Adams, A; Realpe, A; Vail, L; Buckingham, C D; Erby, L H; Roter, D

    2015-10-01

    To determine the impact of doctors' communication style and doctor-patient race concordance on UK African-Caribbeans' comfort in disclosing depression. 160 African-Caribbean and 160 white British subjects, stratified by gender and history of depression, participated in simulated depression consultations with video-recorded doctors. Doctors were stratified by black or white race, gender and a high (HPC) or low patient-centred (LPC) communication style, giving a full 2×2×2 factorial design. Afterwards, participants rated aspects of doctors' communication style, their comfort in disclosing depression and treatment preferences Race concordance had no impact on African-Caribbeans' comfort in disclosing depression. However a HPC versus LPC communication style made them significantly more positive about their interactions with doctors (p=0.000), their overall comfort (p=0.003), their comfort in disclosing their emotional state (p=0.001), and about considering talking therapy (p=0.01); but less positive about considering antidepressant medication (p=0.01). Doctors' communication style was shown to be more important than patient race or race concordance in influencing African Caribbeans' depression consultation experiences. Changing doctors' communication style may help reduce disparities in depression care. Practitioners should cultivate a HPC style to make African-Caribbeans more comfortable when disclosing depression, so that it is less likely to be missed. Copyright © 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd.. All rights reserved.

  6. The epidemiology of schizophrenia and other common mental health disorders in the English-speaking Caribbean.

    PubMed

    Hickling, Frederick W

    2005-01-01

    To report on the epidemiology of schizophrenia and other common mental health disorders in the English-speaking Caribbean. The MEDLINE, MEDCARIB and West Indiana electronic databases were searched with the phrases Caribbean AND psychiatry OR mental OR suicide, and items with specific reference to epidemiology were culled and reviewed. The age-corrected incidence rate for schizophrenia per 10,000 is 2.09 in Jamaica, 2.2 per 1000 in Trinidad, and 2.92 in Barbados. These rates are lower than the incidence rates reported for white British people, and significantly lower that the 6- to 18-fold higher risk ratio incidence reported for African Caribbeans living in Britain. A comparative diagnostic study carried out in the United Kingdom (UK) suggests that misdiagnosis plays a significant role in this difference. Relatively low incidence figures for affective disorders, anxiety states, suicide and attempted suicide have been reported for Jamaica, Trinidad, and Barbados. Most published epidemiological studies of Caribbean populations center on schizophrenia, because of the startling findings of a large increase in risk ratios for African Caribbean people living in England compared to the white native British people. The etiological evidence is shifting toward factors of racism and social alienation experienced by black people in the UK, and to misdiagnosis by white British psychiatrists. Studies of the role of colonial enslavement and social engineering raise the etiological possibility of a role for social and structural community organization in the genesis of schizophrenia. The Caribbean thus represents a rich crucible for research in the epidemiology and etiology of mental health disorders.

  7. Venezuelan Caribbean Sea under the threat of TBT.

    PubMed

    Paz-Villarraga, César Augusto; Castro, Ítalo B; Miloslavich, Patricia; Fillmann, Gilberto

    2015-01-01

    Although environmental tributyltin (TBT) contamination is considered a solved problem, imposex occurrence in Plicopurpura patula as well as butyltins (BTs) contamination in sediments and tissues were detected along 700 km of the Caribbean coastal shore. Areas under the influence of five main ports of Venezuela were covered, as well as large marinas and sites located away from expected sources. Marinas were the most contaminated areas, whilst imposex incidence and TBT levels were relatively low in areas nearby commercial harbors. Thus, it is evident that marinas have become the main source of fresh TBT to the region. This might explain why imposex incidence seems to be widely distributed along the Venezuelan coast, since leisure boats are circulating along the whole coastal region. In fact, this could be the pattern for other areas of the Caribbean Sea. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  8. Strengthening integrated research and capacity development within the Caribbean region

    PubMed Central

    2011-01-01

    Background The Caribbean region, like other developing regions of the world, faces significant challenges in conducting research, especially in the context of limited resource capacities and capabilities. Further, due to its diverse and multiple island states, research capacity is scattered and unevenly spread within the region. The Caribbean EcoHealth Programme (CEHP) is a research program that is structured to improve the capacity and capability of health professionals in the Caribbean region to respond in integrative and innovative ways to on-going and emerging environmental health challenges by means of multi-sectoral interventions. Methods Core parts of the CEHP’s mission are to (1) conduct collaborative research in areas that the region has identified as critical; (2) build and strengthening integrated approaches to research; and (3) develop and enhance basic research capacity within the Caribbean region. Fundamental to the success of the CEHP’s human and resource development mission has been its use of the Atlantis Mobile Laboratory (AML). The AML has allowed the CEHP program to move throughout the Caribbean and be able to respond to calls for specific research and capacity building opportunities. Results The CEHP’s five main research projects have generated the following results: (1) the Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) study has evaluated human exposures to POPs, heavy metals, pesticides, and zoonotic infections; (2) the Burden of Illness (BOI) studies have developed protocols for the testing of foodborne microorganisms, strengthen laboratory analytical capabilities, and determined the prevalence and incidence of food-borne illness; (3) the Rainwater Harvesting (RWH) study has evaluated the microbial and chemical quality of rainwater harvesting systems; (4) the Ecotoxicology Water (ETW) studies have provided much needed data on the quality of recreational and drinking water supplies, and (5) the Food Safety Training Program has developed Diploma

  9. Vestiges of the proto-Caribbean seaway: Origin of the San Souci Volcanic Group, Trinidad

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Neill, Iain; Kerr, Andrew C.; Chamberlain, Kevin R.; Schmitt, Axel K.; Urbani, Franco; Hastie, Alan R.; Pindell, James L.; Barry, Tiffany L.; Millar, Ian L.

    2014-06-01

    Outcrops of volcanic-hypabyssal rocks in Trinidad document the opening of the proto-Caribbean seaway during Jurassic-Cretaceous break-up of the Americas. The San Souci Group on the northern coast of Trinidad comprises the San Souci Volcanic Formation (SSVF) and passive margin sediments of the ~ 130-125 Ma Toco Formation. The Group was trapped at the leading edge of the Pacific-derived Caribbean Plate during the Cretaceous-Palaeogene, colliding with the para-autochthonous margin of Trinidad during the Oligocene-Miocene. In-situ U-Pb ion probe dating of micro-zircons from a mafic volcanic breccia reveal the SSVF crystallised at 135.0 ± 7.3 Ma. The age of the SSVF is within error of the age of the Toco Formation. Assuming a conformable contact, geodynamic models indicate a likely origin for the SSVF on the passive margin close to the northern tip of South America. Immobile element and Nd-Hf radiogenic isotope signatures of the mafic rocks indicate the SSVF was formed by ≪10% partial melting of a heterogeneous spinel peridotite source with no subduction or continental lithospheric mantle component. Felsic breccias within the SSVF are more enriched in incompatible elements, with isotope signatures that are less radiogenic than the mafic rocks of the SSVF. The felsic rocks may be derived from re-melting of mafic crust. Although geochemical comparisons are drawn here with proto-Caribbean igneous outcrops in Venezuela and elsewhere in the Caribbean more work is needed to elucidate the development of the proto-Caribbean seaway and its rifted margins. In particular, ion probe dating of micro-zircons may yield valuable insights into magmatism and metamorphism in the Caribbean, and in altered basaltic terranes more generally.

  10. Black Themes in the Literature of the Caribbean

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Coleman, Ben

    1973-01-01

    Those Africans brought over to the Western Hemisphere left a strong impression on culture and language of Spanish colonizers. This effect has been exemplified in the religion, music, dance, and food of the republics of the Caribbean. (Author/RJ)

  11. Large Earthquake Potential in the Southeast Caribbean

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Mencin, D.; Mora-Paez, H.; Bilham, R. G.; Lafemina, P.; Mattioli, G. S.; Molnar, P. H.; Audemard, F. A.; Perez, O. J.

    2015-12-01

    The axis of rotation describing relative motion of the Caribbean plate with respect to South America lies in Canada near Hudson's Bay, such that the Caribbean plate moves nearly due east relative to South America [DeMets et al. 2010]. The plate motion is absorbed largely by pure strike slip motion along the El Pilar Fault in northeastern Venezuela, but in northwestern Venezuela and northeastern Colombia, the relative motion is distributed over a wide zone that extends from offshore to the northeasterly trending Mérida Andes, with the resolved component of convergence between the Caribbean and South American plates estimated at ~10 mm/yr. Recent densification of GPS networks through COLOVEN and COCONet including access to private GPS data maintained by Colombia and Venezuela allowed the development of a new GPS velocity field. The velocity field, processed with JPL's GOA 6.2, JPL non-fiducial final orbit and clock products and VMF tropospheric products, includes over 120 continuous and campaign stations. This new velocity field along with enhanced seismic reflection profiles, and earthquake location analysis strongly suggest the existence of an active oblique subduction zone. We have also been able to use broadband data from Venezuela to search slow-slip events as an indicator of an active subduction zone. There are caveats to this hypothesis, however, including the absence of volcanism that is typically concurrent with active subduction zones and a weak historical record of great earthquakes. A single tsunami deposit dated at 1500 years before present has been identified on the southeast Yucatan peninsula. Our simulations indicate its probable origin is within our study area. We present a new GPS-derived velocity field, which has been used to improve a regional block model [based on Mora and LaFemina, 2009-2012] and discuss the earthquake and tsunami hazards implied by this model. Based on the new geodetic constraints and our updated block model, if part of the

  12. A Rossby whistle: A resonant basin mode observed in the Caribbean Sea

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hughes, Chris W.; Williams, Joanne; Hibbert, Angela; Boening, Carmen; Oram, James

    2016-07-01

    We show that an important source of coastal sea level variability around the Caribbean Sea is a resonant basin mode. The mode consists of a baroclinic Rossby wave which propagates westward across the basin and is rapidly returned to the east along the southern boundary as coastal shelf waves. Almost two wavelengths of the Rossby wave fit across the basin, and it has a period of 120 days. The porous boundary of the Caribbean Sea results in this mode exciting a mass exchange with the wider ocean, leading to a dominant mode of bottom pressure variability which is almost uniform over the Grenada, Venezuela, and Colombia basins and has a sharp spectral peak at 120 day period. As the Rossby waves have been shown to be excited by instability of the Caribbean Current, this resonant mode is dynamically equivalent to the operation of a whistle.

  13. Severe Physical Intimate Partner Violence and the Mental and Physical Health of U.S. Caribbean Black Women.

    PubMed

    Lacey, Krim K; Mouzon, Dawne M

    2016-09-01

    Intimate partner violence is a threat to women's health. Relative to other racial/ethnic groups, African American and immigrant women are at an increased risk for violence. However, despite the growing presence of Caribbean Black immigrants in this country, few studies have examined the association between severe physical intimate partner violence (SPIPV) and the health of Caribbean Black women currently residing in the United States. This study examined the mental and physical health of U.S. Caribbean Black women with and without a history of SPIPV. We also explored the role of generational status-first, second, or third-in association with the physical and mental health of abused Caribbean Black women. Data from the National Survey of American Life, the largest and the only known representative study on Caribbeans residing in the United States, were analyzed. The World Health Organization (WHO) World Mental Health Composite International Diagnostic Interview (WMH-CIDI) was used to determine DSM-IV mental disorders. The presence of physical health conditions was based on respondents' self-reports of physician diagnoses. The findings indicate an association between SPIPV and the mental and physical health status of U.S. Caribbean Black women. Rates of physical conditions and mental health disorders were generally higher among women with a history of SPIPV than those without a history. Generational status also played a role in women's health outcomes. The study has interventions and preventive implications for both detecting and addressing the health needs of U.S. Caribbean Black women who experience severe physical abuse by an intimate partner.

  14. Substance Use, Mental Disorders and Physical Health of Caribbeans at-Home Compared to Those Residing in the United States

    PubMed Central

    Lacey, Krim K.; Powell Sears, Karen; Govia, Ishtar O.; Forsythe-Brown, Ivy; Matusko, Niki; Jackson, James S.

    2015-01-01

    This study compares the health conditions of domestic Caribbeans with those living in the United States to explore how national context and migration experiences might influence substance use (i.e., alcohol or drug) and other mental and physical health conditions. The study is based upon probability samples of non-institutionalized Caribbeans living in the United States (1621), Jamaica (1216) and Guyana (2068) 18 years of age and over. Employing descriptive statistics and multivariate analytic procedures, the results revealed that substance use and other physical health conditions and major depressive disorder and mania vary by national context, with higher rates among Caribbeans living in the United States. Context and generation status influenced health outcomes. Among first generation black Caribbeans, residing in the United States for a longer length of time is linked to poorer health outcomes. There were different socio-demographic correlates of health among at-home and abroad Caribbeans. The results of this study support the need for additional research to explain how national context, migratory experiences and generation status contribute to understanding substance use and mental disorders and physical health outcomes among Caribbean first generation and descendants within the United States, compared to those remaining in the Caribbean region. PMID:25590147

  15. Genomic timetree and historical biogeography of Caribbean island ameiva lizards (Pholidoscelis: Teiidae).

    PubMed

    Tucker, Derek B; Hedges, Stephen Blair; Colli, Guarino R; Pyron, Robert Alexander; Sites, Jack W

    2017-09-01

    The phylogenetic relationships and biogeographic history of Caribbean island ameivas ( Pholidoscelis ) are not well-known because of incomplete sampling, conflicting datasets, and poor support for many clades. Here, we use phylogenomic and mitochondrial DNA datasets to reconstruct a well-supported phylogeny and assess historical colonization patterns in the group. We obtained sequence data from 316 nuclear loci and one mitochondrial marker for 16 of 19 extant species of the Caribbean endemic genus Pholidoscelis . Phylogenetic analyses were carried out using both concatenation and species tree approaches. To estimate divergence times, we used fossil teiids to calibrate a timetree which was used to elucidate the historical biogeography of these lizards. All phylogenetic analyses recovered four well-supported species groups (clades) recognized previously and supported novel relationships of those groups, including a ( P. auberi + P. lineolatus ) clade (western + central Caribbean), and a ( P. exsul + P. plei ) clade (eastern Caribbean). Divergence between Pholidoscelis and its sister clade was estimated to have occurred ~25 Ma, with subsequent diversification on Caribbean islands occurring over the last 11 Myr. Of the six models compared in the biogeographic analyses, the scenario which considered the distance among islands and allowed dispersal in all directions best fit the data. These reconstructions suggest that the ancestor of this group colonized either Hispaniola or Puerto Rico from Middle America. We provide a well-supported phylogeny of Pholidoscelis with novel relationships not reported in previous studies that were based on significantly smaller datasets. We propose that Pholidoscelis colonized the eastern Greater Antilles from Middle America based on our biogeographic analysis, phylogeny, and divergence time estimates. The closing of the Central American Seaway and subsequent formation of the modern Atlantic meridional overturning circulation may

  16. Systems Science for Caribbean Health: the development and piloting of a model for guiding policy on diabetes in the Caribbean.

    PubMed

    Guariguata, L; Guell, C; Samuels, T A; Rouwette, E A J A; Woodcock, J; Hambleton, I R; Unwin, N

    2016-10-26

    Diabetes is highly prevalent in the Caribbean, associated with a high morbidity and mortality and is a recognised threat to economic and social development. Heads of Government in the Caribbean Community came together in 2007 and declared their commitment to reducing the burden of non-communicable diseases (NCDs), including diabetes, by calling for a multi-sectoral, systemic response. To facilitate the development of effective policies, policymakers are being engaged in the development and use of a system dynamics (SD) model of diabetes for Caribbean countries. Previous work on a diabetes SD model from the United States of America (USA) is being adapted to a local context for three countries in the region using input from stakeholders, a review of existing qualitative and quantitative data, and collection of new qualitative data. Three country models will be developed using one-on-one stakeholder engagement and iterative revision. An inter-country model will also be developed following a model-building workshop. Models will be compared to each other and to the USA model. The inter-country model will be used to simulate policies identified as priorities by stakeholders and to develop targets for prevention and control. The model and model-building process will be evaluated by stakeholders and a manual developed for use in other high-burden developing regions. SD has been applied with success for health policy development in high-income country settings. The utility of SD in developing countries as an aid to policy decision-making related to NCDs has not been tested. This study represents the first of its kind.

  17. Neotectonics of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, northeastern Caribbean, from GPS geodesy

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Jansma, Pamela E.; Mattioli, Glen S.; Lopez, Alberto; Demets, Charles; Dixon, Timothy H.; Mann, Paul; Calais, Eric

    2000-12-01

    The boundary between the North American and Caribbean plates is characterized primarily by left-lateral motion along predominantly east-west striking faults. Seismicity and marine geophysical survey data are consistent with at least two, and possibly three, microplates in the diffuse boundary zone in the northeastern Caribbean: (1) the Gonave, (2) the Hispaniola, and (3) the Puerto Rico-northern Virgin Islands (PRVI). We discuss results from GPS geodetic measurements acquired since 1994 to test the microplate hypothesis, define PRVI translation and rotation within the boundary zone, and constrain PRVI neotectonics. GPS-derived velocities are analyzed with respect to both North American and Caribbean plate reference frames. Integrated displacements across PRVI are limited to a few millimeters per year, consistent with a rigid PRVI and permitting calculation of an average velocity for PRVI. The motions of PRVI relative to North America and the Caribbean are 16.9±1.1 mm/yr toward N68°E±3° (1σ) and 2.4±1.4 mm/yr toward S79°W±26° (1σ), respectively. In contrast with some recent models, ongoing rotation of PRVI about a nearby (< 25° distant) vertical axis is not supported by the geodetic data. In addition, we argue against eastward tectonic escape of PRVI and favor a simple, progressive increase in velocity across the plate boundary zone, requiring that the summed magnitude of strike-slip fault slip rates will equal the total plate motion rate between the Caribbean and North America. GPS data are consistent with components of left-lateral strike-slip faulting along the Muertos trough south of Puerto Rico and shortening across the Puerto Rico trench. Comparison of GPS velocities for PRVI with respect to North America with total North America-Caribbean relative motion suggests up to 85% of North American-Caribbean plate motion is accommodated by the Puerto Rico trench and offshore faults north of Puerto Rico. Differences in GPS-derived velocities from Hispaniola

  18. 75 FR 47274 - Caribbean Fishery Management Council; Public Meeting

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2010-08-05

    ... Drive, St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Caribbean Fishery Management... contained in this agenda may come before this group for discussion, in accordance with the Magnuson- Stevens...

  19. Genetic variation of Anastrepha suspensa (Diptera: Tephritidae) in Florida and the Caribbean using microsatellite DNA markers.

    PubMed

    Boykin, Laura M; Shatters, Robert G; Hall, David G; Dean, David; Beerli, Peter

    2010-12-01

    Anastrepha suspensa (Loew) (Diptera: Tephritidae), the Caribbean fruit fly, is indigenous to Florida and the Greater Antilles where it causes economic losses in fruit crops, including citrus. Because of the geographic separation of many of its native locations and anecdotal descriptions of regional differences in host preferences, there have been questions about the population structure of A. suspensa. Seven DNA microsatellite markers were used to characterize the population genetic structure of A. suspensa, in Florida and the Caribbean from a variety of hosts, including citrus. We genotyped 729 A. suspensa individuals from Florida, Puerto Rico, Cayman Island, Dominican Republic, and Jamaica. The investigated seven loci displayed from 5 to 19 alleles, with expected heterozygosities ranging from 0.05 to 0.83. There were five unique alleles in Florida and three unique alleles in the Caribbean samples; however, no microsatellite alleles were specific to a single host plant. Genetic diversity was analyzed using F(ST) and analysis of molecular variance and revealed low genetic diversity between Florida and Caribbean samples and also between citrus and noncitrus samples. Analyses using migrate revealed there is continuous gene flow between sampling sites in Florida and the Caribbean and among different hosts. These results support previous comparisons based on the mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase I locus indicating there is no genetic differentiation among locations in Florida and the Caribbean and that there is no separation into host races.

  20. A SURVEY OF METHODS FOR SETTING MINIMUM INSTREAM FLOW STANDARDS IN THE CARIBBEAN BASIN.

    Treesearch

    F. N. SCATENA

    2004-01-01

    To evaluate the current status of instream flow practices in streams that drain into the Caribbean Basin, a voluntary survey of practising water resource managers was conducted. Responses were received from 70% of the potential continental countries, 100% of the islands in the Greater Antilles, and 56% of all the Caribbean island nations. Respondents identified ‘...

  1. Cold fronts in the Colombian Caribbean Sea and their relationship to extreme wave events

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ortiz-Royero, J. C.; Otero, L. J.; Restrepo, J. C.; Ruiz, J.; Cadena, M.

    2013-11-01

    Extreme ocean waves in the Caribbean Sea are commonly related to the effects of storms and hurricanes during the months of June through November. The collapse of 200 m of the Puerto Colombia pier in March 2009 revealed the effects of meteorological phenomena other than storms and hurricanes that may be influencing the extreme wave regime in the Colombian Caribbean. The marked seasonality of these atmospheric fronts was established by analyzing the meteorological-marine reports of the Instituto de Hidrología, Meteorología y Estudios Ambientales of Colombia (IDEAM, based on its initials in Spanish) and the Centro de Investigación en Oceanografía y Meteorología of Colombia (CIOH, based on its initials in Spanish) during the last 16 yr. The highest number of cold fronts was observed during the months of January, February, and March, with 6 fronts occurring per year. An annual trend was observed and the highest number of fronts occurred in 2010 (20 in total); moreover, an annual strong relationship between the maximum average wave values and the cold fronts in the central zone of the Colombian Caribbean during the first three months of the year was established. In addition, the maximum values of the significant height produced by the passage of cold fronts during the last 16 yr were identified. Although the Colombian Caribbean has been affected by storms and hurricanes in the past, this research allows us to conclude that there is a strong relationship between cold fronts and the largest waves in the Colombian Caribbean during the last 16 yr, which have caused damage to coastal infrastructure. We verified that the passage of a cold front corresponded to the most significant extreme wave event of the last two decades in the Colombian Caribbean, which caused the structural collapse of the Puerto Colombia pier, located near the city of Barranquilla, between 5 and 10 March 2009. This information is invaluable when evaluating average and extreme wave regimes for the

  2. Subregional precipitation climate of the Caribbean and relationships with ENSO and NAO

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Jury, Mark; Malmgren, BjöRn A.; Winter, Amos

    2007-08-01

    Thirty-five meteorological stations encompassing the Caribbean region (Cuba, Bahamas, Jamaica, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, US Virgin Islands, St. Maarten, and Barbados) were analyzed over the time interval 1951-1981 to assess regional precipitation patterns and their relationships with the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) and El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO). Application of factor analysis to these series revealed the existence of four geographically distinct precipitation regions, (C1) western Cuba and northwestern Bahamas, (C2) Jamaica, eastern Cuba, and southeastern Bahamas, (C3) Dominican Republic and northwestern Puerto Rico, and (C4) eastern Puerto Rico, US Virgin Islands, St. Maarten, and Barbados. This regionalization is related to different annual cycles and interannual fluctuations of rainfall. The annual cycle is more unimodal and largest in the northwest Caribbean (C1) and becomes increasingly bimodal toward lower latitudes (C4) as expected. Year-to-year variations of precipitation are compared with two well-known climatic indices. The ENSO relationship, represented by Niño 3.4 sea surface temperatures (SST), is positive and stable at all lags, but tends to reverse over the SE Caribbean (C4) in late summer. The NAO influence is weak and seasonally dependent. Early summer rainfall in the northwest Caribbean (C1) increases under El Niño conditions. Clusters 2 and 3 are less influenced by the global predictors and more regional in character.

  3. Neogene Proto-Caribbean porcupinefishes (Diodontidae)

    PubMed Central

    Aguilera, Orangel; Lopes, Ricardo Tadeu; Machado, Alessandra Silveira; dos Santos, Thaís Maria; Marques, Gabriela; Bertucci, Thayse; Aguiar, Thayanne; Carrillo-Briceño, Jorge; Rodriguez, Felix; Jaramillo, Carlos

    2017-01-01

    Fossil Diodontidae in Tropical America consist mostly of isolated and fused beak-like jawbones, and tooth plate batteries. These durophagous fishes are powerful shell-crushing predators on shallow water invertebrate faunas from Neogene tropical carbonate bottom, rocky reefs and surrounding flats. We use an ontogenetic series of high-resolution micro CT of fossil and extant species to recognize external and internal morphologic characters of jaws and tooth plate batteries. We compare similar sizes of jaws and/or tooth-plates from both extant and extinct species. Here, we describe three new fossil species including †Chilomycterus exspectatus n. sp. and †Chilomycterus tyleri n. sp. from the late Miocene Gatun Formation in Panama, and †Diodon serratus n. sp. from the middle Miocene Socorro Formation in Venezuela. Fossil Diodontidae review included specimens from the Neogene Basins of the Proto-Caribbean (Brazil: Pirabas Formation; Colombia: Jimol Formation, Panama: Gatun and Tuira formations; Venezuela: Socorro and Cantaure formations). Diodon is present in both the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, whereas the distribution of Chilomycterus is highly asymmetrical with only one species in the Pacific. It seems that Diodon was as abundant in the Caribbean/Western Atlantic during the Miocene as it is there today. We analyze the paleogeographic distribution of the porcupinefishes group in Tropical America, after the complete exhumation of the Panamanian isthmus during the Pliocene. PMID:28746370

  4. Saharan dust - A carrier of persistent organic pollutants, metals and microbes to the Caribbean?

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Garrison, V.H.; Foreman, W.T.; Genualdi, S.; Griffin, Dale W.; Kellogg, C.A.; Majewski, M.S.; Mohammed, A.; Ramsubhag, A.; Shinn, E.A.; Simonich, S.L.; Smith, G.W.

    2006-01-01

    An international team of scientists from government agencies and universities in the United States, U.S. Virgin Islands (USVI), Trinidad & Tobago, the Republic of Cape Verde, and the Republic of Mali (West Africa) is working together to elucidate the role Saharan dust may play in the degradation of Caribbean ecosystems. The first step has been to identify and quantify the persistent organic pollutants (POPs), trace metals, and viable microorganisms in the atmosphere in dust source areas of West Africa, and in dust episodes at downwind sites in the eastern Atlantic (Cape Verde) and the Caribbean (USVI and Trinidad & Tobago). Preliminary findings show that air samples from Mali contain a greater number of pesticides, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and in higher concentrations than the Caribbean sites. Overall, POP concentrations were similar in USVI and Trinidad samples. Trace metal concentrations were found to be similar to crustal composition with slight enrichment of lead in Mali. To date, hundreds of cultureable micro-organisms have been identified from Mali, Cape Verde, USVI, and Trinidad air samples. The sea fan pathogen, Aspergillus sydowii, has been identified in soil from Mali and in air samples from dust events in the Caribbean. We have shown that air samples from a dust-source region contain orders of magnitude more cultureable micro-organisms per volume than air samples from dust events in the Caribbean, which in turn contain 3-to 4-fold more cultureable microbes than during non-dust conditions.

  5. How American History Textbooks View the Caribbean.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Shapiro, Victor W.

    This paper examines: (1) the extent to which recently published textbooks used in United States history survey courses reflect a revised view of the historical relationship between the Caribbean region and the United States; and (2) whether recent shifts in research emphases and methodological expansions in the field of American history have…

  6. Whole genome structural analysis of Caribbean hair sheep reveals quantitative link to West African ancestry

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    Hair sheep of Caribbean origin have become an important part of the U.S. sheep industry. Lack of wool eliminates a number of health concerns and drastically reduces the cost of production. More importantly, Caribbean hair sheep demonstrate robust performance even in the presence of drug resistant ga...

  7. Subduction of aseismic ridges beneath the Caribbean Plate: Implications for the tectonics and seismic potential of the northeastern Caribbean

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    McCann, William R.; Sykes, Lynn R.

    1984-06-01

    Normal seafloor entering the Puerto Rico and northern Lesser Antillean trenches in the northeastern Caribbean is interrupted by a series of aseismic ridges on the North and South American plates. These topographic features lie close to the expected trend of fracture zones created about 80-110 m.y. ago when this seafloor was formed at the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. The northernmost of the ridges that interact with the Lesser Antillean subduction zone, the Barracuda Ridge, intersects the arc in a region of high seismic activity. Some of this seismicity including a large shock in 1974, occurs within the overthrust plate and may be related to the deformation of the Caribbean plate as it overrides the ridge. A large bathymetric high, the Main Ridge, is oriented obliquely to the Puerto Rico trench and intersects the subduction zone north of the Virgin Islands in another cluster of seismic activity along the inner wall of the trench. Data from a seismic network in the northeastern Caribbean indicate that this intersection is also characterized by both interpolate and intraplate seismic activity. Magnetic anomalies, bathymetric trends, and the pattern of deformed sediments on the inner wall of the trench strongly suggest that the Main and Barracuda ridges are parts of a formerly continuous aseismic ridge, a segment of which has recently been overridden by the Caribbean plate. Reconstruction of mid-Miocene to Recent plate motions also suggest that at least two aseismic ridges, and possibly fragments of the Bahama Platform, have interacted with the subduction zone in the northeastern Caribbean. The introduction of these narrow segments of anomalous seafloor into the subduction zone has segmented the arc into elements about 200 km long. These ridges may act as tectonic barriers or asperities during the rupture processes involved in large earthquakes. They also leave a geologic imprint on segments of the arc with which they have interacted. A 50-km landward jump of the locus of

  8. Wide-ranging phylogeographic structure of invasive red lionfish in the Western Atlantic and Greater Caribbean

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Butterfield, John S.; Díaz-Ferguson, Edgardo; Silliman, Brian R.; Saunders, Jonathan W.; Buddo, Dayne; Mignucci-Giannoni, Antonio A.; Searle, Linda; Allen, Aarin Conrad; Hunter, Margaret E.

    2015-01-01

    The red lionfish (Pterois volitans) is an invasive predatory marine fish that has rapidly expanded its presence in the Western Hemisphere. We collected 214 invasive red lionfish samples from nine countries and territories, including seven unpublished locations. To more comprehensively evaluate connectivity, we compiled our d-loop sequence data with 846 published sequences, resulting in 1,060 samples from 14 locations. We found low nucleotide diversity (π = 0.003) and moderate haplotype diversity (h = 0.59). Using haplotype population pairwise ΦST tests, we analyzed possible phylogeographic breaks that were previously proposed based on other reef organisms. We found support for the Bahamas/Turks/Caicos versus Caribbean break (ΦST = 0.12) but not for the Northwestern Caribbean, Eastern Caribbean, or US East Coast versus Bahamas breaks. The Northern Region had higher variation and more haplotypes, supporting introductions of at least five haplotypes to the region. Our wide-ranging samples showed that a lower-frequency haplotype in the Northern Region dominated the Southern Region and suggested multiple introductions, possibly to the south. We tested multiple scenarios of phylogeographic structure with analyses of molecular variance and found support for a Northern and Southern Region split at the Bahamas/Turks/Caicos versus Caribbean break (percentage of variation among regions = 8.49 %). We found that Puerto Rico clustered with the Southern Region more strongly than with the Northern Region, as opposed to previous reports. We also found the rare haplotype H03 for the first time in the southern Caribbean (Panama), indicating that either secondary releases occurred or that the low-frequency haplotypes have had time to disperse to extreme southern Caribbean locations.

  9. Renewable power production in a Pan-Caribbean energy grid

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Miller, David

    The Small Island Developing States of the Caribbean are victims of geography and geopolitics. Lacking access to large fossil fuel reserves, they are forced to import fuel at prices they have no control over. Renewable energy resources, particularly wind, have the potential to help break the Caribbean dependency on fossil fuels and allow for increased development at the same time. Working from a sustainable development point of view, this project discusses the history of the area, the theoretical background for the idea of large scale renewable power production, the regional initiatives already in place that address both the cost of fossil fuels and the policy hurdles that need to be overcome to assist the region in gaining energy independence. Haiti is highlighted as a special case in the region and the potential use of several renewable resources are discussed, along with a potential business model based on the idea of the Internet. Power storage is covered, specifically the potential of battery operated vehicles to have a positive impact on the Caribbean region and other developing states. The role of government regulation and policy comes into play next, followed by a discussion on the need for developed states to change patterns of behavior in order to achieve sustainability. Finally, nuclear power and liquefied natural gas are reviewed and rejected as power options for the region.

  10. [Comparative analysis of Andean and Caribbean region health systems].

    PubMed

    Gómez-Camelo, Diana

    2005-01-01

    Carrying out a comparative analysis of Andean and Caribbean health systems contributing towards the general panorama of Andean and Caribbean region health care system experience. This study was aimed at carrying out a comparative analysis of health systems in Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Venezuela, the Dominican Republic and Cuba between 1990 and 2004. Documentary information from secondary sources was used. Reform and changes during the aforementioned period were compared, as well as the systems' current configurations. Described typologies were used for studying the health systems. Different organisational designs were found for the systems: a national health system (NHS), segmented systems and systems based on mandatory insurance. The trend of reforms introduced in the 1990s and current proposals in almost all systems are directed towards adopting mandatory insurance via a basic packet of services and strengthening competition in providing services through a public and private mix. The organisation and structure of most systems studied have introduced and continue to introduce changes in line with international guidelines. The generality of these structures means that efforts must still be made to adopt designs strengthening them as instruments improving populations' quality of life. Comparative analysis is a tool leading to studying health systems and producing information which can nourish debate regarding current sector reform. This work took shape during the first approach to a comparative study of Andean region and Caribbean health systems.

  11. 76 FR 50719 - Fisheries of the South Atlantic, Gulf of Mexico, and Caribbean; Southeastern Data, Assessment...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2011-08-16

    ... Atlantic, Gulf of Mexico, and Caribbean Fishery Management Councils; in conjunction with NOAA Fisheries, the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, and the Gulf States Marine Fisheries Commission... the South Atlantic, Gulf of Mexico, and Caribbean; Southeastern Data, Assessment, and Review (SEDAR...

  12. Development and implementation of the Caribbean Laboratory Quality Management Systems Stepwise Improvement Process (LQMS-SIP) Towards Accreditation.

    PubMed

    Alemnji, George; Edghill, Lisa; Guevara, Giselle; Wallace-Sankarsingh, Sacha; Albalak, Rachel; Cognat, Sebastien; Nkengasong, John; Gabastou, Jean-Marc

    2017-01-01

    Implementing quality management systems and accrediting laboratories in the Caribbean has been a challenge. We report the development of a stepwise process for quality systems improvement in the Caribbean Region. The Caribbean Laboratory Stakeholders met under a joint Pan American Health Organization/US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention initiative and developed a user-friendly framework called 'Laboratory Quality Management System - Stepwise Improvement Process (LQMS-SIP) Towards Accreditation' to support countries in strengthening laboratory services through a stepwise approach toward fulfilling the ISO 15189: 2012 requirements. This approach consists of a three-tiered framework. Tier 1 represents the minimum requirements corresponding to the mandatory criteria for obtaining a licence from the Ministry of Health of the participating country. The next two tiers are quality improvement milestones that are achieved through the implementation of specific quality management system requirements. Laboratories that meet the requirements of the three tiers will be encouraged to apply for accreditation. The Caribbean Regional Organisation for Standards and Quality hosts the LQMS-SIP Secretariat and will work with countries, including the Ministry of Health and stakeholders, including laboratory staff, to coordinate and implement LQMS-SIP activities. The Caribbean Public Health Agency will coordinate and advocate for the LQMS-SIP implementation. This article presents the Caribbean LQMS-SIP framework and describes how it will be implemented among various countries in the region to achieve quality improvement.

  13. Inter-regional medical cooperation in the Caribbean : a major asset for the influence of the French medicine.

    PubMed

    Resiere, D

    2016-08-01

    Martinique was accepted as an associate member by the Council of Ministers of the Organization of Eastern Caribbean State since February 2015. This membership constitutes a major asset in bringing Martiniquais closer to the other Caribbean populations and should play a key role as it relates to regional cooperation especially in the domain of healthcare. Martinique and several Caribbean countries share common health issues such as; dengue, chikungunya virus, Zika Virus leptospirosis, snakebite, severe cardiovascular diseases (CVD), HTLV-1, sickle cell diseases and so on. This medical cooperation is mainly based in three important areas: training, teaching and transport (medical evacuations). The Inter-regional cooperation between the French Departments of the Americas and all other Caribbean countries is essential for the implementation and improvement of health care. It is urgent for the Caribbean professionals to discuss the possibilities of developing common solid relationships in training, collective scientific research, and continuous medical education.

  14. Flattening of Caribbean coral reefs: region-wide declines in architectural complexity

    PubMed Central

    Alvarez-Filip, Lorenzo; Dulvy, Nicholas K.; Gill, Jennifer A.; Côté, Isabelle M.; Watkinson, Andrew R.

    2009-01-01

    Coral reefs are rich in biodiversity, in large part because their highly complex architecture provides shelter and resources for a wide range of organisms. Recent rapid declines in hard coral cover have occurred across the Caribbean region, but the concomitant consequences for reef architecture have not been quantified on a large scale to date. We provide, to our knowledge, the first region-wide analysis of changes in reef architectural complexity, using nearly 500 surveys across 200 reefs, between 1969 and 2008. The architectural complexity of Caribbean reefs has declined nonlinearly with the near disappearance of the most complex reefs over the last 40 years. The flattening of Caribbean reefs was apparent by the early 1980s, followed by a period of stasis between 1985 and 1998 and then a resumption of the decline in complexity to the present. Rates of loss are similar on shallow (<6 m), mid-water (6–20 m) and deep (>20 m) reefs and are consistent across all five subregions. The temporal pattern of declining architecture coincides with key events in recent Caribbean ecological history: the loss of structurally complex Acropora corals, the mass mortality of the grazing urchin Diadema antillarum and the 1998 El Nino Southern Oscillation-induced worldwide coral bleaching event. The consistently low estimates of current architectural complexity suggest regional-scale degradation and homogenization of reef structure. The widespread loss of architectural complexity is likely to have serious consequences for reef biodiversity, ecosystem functioning and associated environmental services. PMID:19515663

  15. Sea surface temperature 1871-2099 in 38 cells in the Caribbean region.

    PubMed

    Sheppard, Charles; Rioja-Nieto, Rodolfo

    2005-09-01

    Sea surface temperature (SST) data with monthly resolution are provided for 38 cells in the Caribbean Sea and Bahamas region, plus Bermuda. These series are derived from the HadISST1 data set for historical time (1871-1999) and from the HadCM3 coupled climate model for predicted SST (1950-2099). Statistical scaling of the forecast data sets are performed to produce confluent SST series according to a now established method. These SST series are available for download. High water temperatures in 1998 killed enormous amounts of corals in tropical seas, though in the Caribbean region the effects at that time appeared less marked than in the Indo-Pacific. However, SSTs are rising in accordance with world-wide trends and it has been predicted that temperature will become increasingly important in this region in the near future. Patterns of SST rise within the Caribbean region are shown, and the importance of sub-regional patterns within this biologically highly interconnected area are noted.

  16. Determinants of human papillomavirus vaccine acceptability in Latin America and the Caribbean.

    PubMed

    Winkler, Jennifer L; Wittet, Scott; Bartolini, Rosario M; Creed-Kanashiro, Hilary M; Lazcano-Ponce, Eduardo; Lewis-Bell, Karen; Lewis, Merle J; Penny, Mary E

    2008-08-19

    Prophylactic human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccines provide promise as a key component of future cervical cancer prevention programs in the Latin America and the Caribbean region. The successful introduction and acceptance of these vaccines will depend on a range of factors including awareness of cervical cancer as a problem, affordability of the vaccine, political will, competition with other vaccines, feasibility of vaccine delivery and acceptability of the vaccine among the range of groups who will influence uptake. While existing data about acceptability from Latin America and the Caribbean is scarce, it is clear that health policymakers, providers and the general public lack knowledge about HPV and cervical cancer. Furthermore, they would value more local epidemiologic data related to cervical cancer. Price is currently a major barrier to vaccine acceptability and a priority for advocacy. More research is required in Latin America and the Caribbean to determine what messages and strategies will work in these communities.

  17. Ethnic Differences in Family Stress Processes Among African-Americans and Black Caribbeans

    PubMed Central

    Caldwell, Cleopatra Howard; Bellatorre, Anna; Jackson, James S.

    2012-01-01

    Several theories of stress exposure, including the stress process and the family stress model for economically disadvantaged families, suggest that family processes work similarly across race/ethnic groups. Much of this research, however, treats African-Americans as a monolithic group and ignores potential differences in family stress processes within race that may emerge across ethnic groups. This study examines whether family stress processes differ intraracially in African-American and Black Caribbean families. Using data from the National Survey of American Life, a national representative data set of African-American and Black Caribbean families, we assess the extent to which parents’ stress appraisals and psychological adjustment are related to their adolescent children’s stress appraisals, psychological adjustment, and depressive symptoms. Our study illustrates that stress processes differ by ethnicity and operate through varying pathways in African-American and Black Caribbean families. The implications of intraracial variations in stress processes are discussed. PMID:23349643

  18. Addressing the Challenges and Needs of English-Speaking Caribbean Immigrant Students: Guidelines for School Counselors

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Morrison, Stephaney; Bryan, Julia

    2014-01-01

    Caribbean students are among the distinct immigrant groups in U.S. public schools with particular needs to be addressed by school counselors. This article discusses the challenges Caribbean immigrant students face that create obstacles to their academic and personal/social success. Guidelines for school counselors are outlined, which can be used…

  19. Sovereignty Under Siege: Drug Trafficking and State Capacity in the Caribbean and Central America

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2016-06-01

    CARIBBEAN AND CENTRAL AMERICA 5. FUNDING NUMBERS 6. AUTHOR(S) Ryan Thomas King 7. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION NAME(S) AND ADDRESS(ES) Naval...Postgraduate School Monterey, CA 93943-5000 8. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION REPORT NUMBER 9. SPONSORING /MONITORING AGENCY NAME(S) AND ADDRESS(ES) N/A...trafficking organizations have increased their prominence throughout the Caribbean and Central America. These organizations undermine the rule of law

  20. Modeling of intercontinental Saharan dust transport: What consequences on atmospheric concentrations and deposition fluxes in the Caribbean?

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Laurent, Benoit; Formenti, Paola; Desboeufs, Karine; Vincent, Julie; Denjean, Cyrielle; Siour, Guillaume; Mayol-Bracero, Olga L.

    2015-04-01

    The Dust Aging and Transport from Africa to the Caribbean (Dust-AttaCk) project aims todocument the physical and optical properties of long-range transported African dust to the Caribbean. A comprehensive field campaign was conducted in Cape San Juan, Puerto Rico (18.38°N 65.62°W) during June-July 2012, offering the opportunity to constrain the way Saharan dust are transported from North Africa to the Caribbean by 3D models. Our main objectives are: (i) to discuss the ability of the CHIMERE Eulerian off-line chemistry-transport model to simulate atmospheric Saharan dust loads observed in the Caribbean during the Dust-AttaCk campaign, as well as the altitude of the dust plumes transport over the North Atlantic Ocean up to the Caribbean, (ii) to study the main Saharan dust emission source areas contributing to the dust loads in the Caribbean, (iii) to estimate the Saharan dust deposition in the Caribbean for deposition events observed during the Dust-AttaCk campaign. The dust model outputs are hourly dust concentration fields in µg m-3 for 12 aerosol size bins up to 30 µm and for each of the 15 sigma pressure vertical levels, column integrated dustaerosol optical depth (AOD), and dry and wet deposition fluxes.The simulations performed for the Dust-AttaCk campaign period as well as satellite observations (MODIS AOD, SEVIRI AOD) are used to identify the Saharan emission source regions activated and to study the evolution of the dust plumes tothe Cape San Juan station. In complement, the vertical transport of dust plumes transported from Saharan dust sources and over the North Atlantic Ocean is investigated combining model simulations and CALIOP observations. Aerosol surface concentrations and AOD simulated with CHIMERE are compared with sin-situ observations at Cape San Juan and AERONET stations. Wet deposition measurements performed allow us to constrain dust deposition flux simulated in the Caribbean after long-range transport.

  1. The Caribbean Bildungsroman: Notes on a Culture.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Finch, Jacqueline Brice

    The universality of the childhood experience is a perspective that is useful in the classroom where the student body reflects the multiethnic, multicultural roots of American culture. The novels from the Caribbean can add new material to the body of world literature and should be included in a crosscultural study of the "bildungsroman"…

  2. Structural and geophysical interpretation of Roatan Island, Honduras, Western Caribbean

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Sutton, Daniel Scott

    Roatan Island is the largest of the Bay Islands of Honduras. These islands form an emergent crest off the Caribbean coast of Honduras called the Bonacca Ridge. The Bartlett Trough to the north and subsequent Bonacca Ridge were likely formed due to the transform fault system of the Motagua-Swan Islands Fault System. This fault system forms the tectonic plate boundary between the North American and Caribbean plates. Although the timing and kinematics are poorly constrained, the Bay Islands and the Bonacca Ridge were likely uplifted due to transpression along this left-lateral strike-slip system. With limited regional exposures along the adjacent tectonic boundary, this study aimed to present a structural interpretation for Roatan. This new interpretation is further explained through regional considerations for a suggested geologic history of the northwestern Caribbean. In order to better constrain the kinematics of uplift and exhumation of Roatan Island, structural, gravity, and magnetic surveys were conducted. Principal attention was directed to the structural relationship between the geologic units and their relationship to one another through deformation. Resulting geologic cross-sections from this study present the metamorphic basement exposed throughout the island to be in a normal structural order consisting of biotite schist and gneiss, with overlying units of chlorite schist, carbonate, and conglomerate. These units have relatively concordant strike and dip measurements, consistent with resultant magnetic survey readings. Additionally, large and irregular bodies of amphibolite and serpentinite throughout the island are interpreted to have been emplaced as mafic and ultra-mafic intrusions in weakness zones along Early Paleogene transform system fault planes. The interpretation and suggested geologic history from this study demonstrate the importance of transpressive tectonics both local to Roatan and regionally throughout geologic history. Consideration of

  3. Is climate change intensifying the drying-trend in the Caribbean?

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Herrera, D. A.; Ault, T.; Fasullo, J.; Carrillo, C. M.

    2017-12-01

    Since 1950, the Caribbean (11ºN-25ºN; 85ºW-60ºW) has seen a significant drying trend characterized by several recent droughts, some of them contemporaneous with El Niño events. Moreover, the most recent drought from 2013 to 2016 was both the most severe and widespread event since at least 1950, and was associated with high temperatures, likely driven in part by climate change. This work examines the role of increased evaporative demand resulting from warmer temperatures on the drying trend observed in the Caribbean since 1950, using observations and model simulations. Large-scale dynamics associated with drought are also analyzed using sea surface temperature, geopotential height, wind, and precipitation anomalies, as well as radiative fluxes anomalies. Furthermore, land surface model soil moisture and high-resolution self-calibrated Palmer Drought Severity Index (scPDSI) datasets are used to quantify drought severity at local scales. The anthropogenic contribution to drought severity is estimated as the difference between the scPDSI calculated using linearly-detrended temperatures, and the scPDSI computed with the observed trend, with unadjusted precipitation, net radiation, and wind speed. Soil moisture anomalies driven by climate change are derived by comparing a large ensemble of forced simulations against a pre-industrial control. The resulting analysis indicates that anthropogenic forcing has intensified the drying trend in the Caribbean by -0.4 scPDSI-units over 60 years, and has increased the dry-land area by 10%. These findings are consistent with observed potential evapotranspiration (PET) anomalies, which are 30% higher than PET-anomalies estimated using detrended temperatures. These results suggest that climate change is already increasing the risk of drought in the Caribbean by enhancing the atmospheric demand of moisture through temperature, and provide insights into the role of climate change in future drought risk in the region.

  4. Foodborne Disease and the Need for Greater Foodborne Disease Surveillance in the Caribbean

    PubMed Central

    Lee, Brendan

    2017-01-01

    The Caribbean is a net importer of food, and with billions of dollars’ worth of food products being imported each year, territorial governments are now seeking to encourage local production of foods in an attempt to stem the loss of foreign exchange from these economies with little resilience. The Caribbean, however, lacks the comprehensive food safety system that should be a corollary to successful food production. Regional authorities underestimate the burden of foodborne diseases especially on its workforce and major economic base, the tourism industry. Anecdotally after every mass event in the region, many officially unreported cases of gastroenteritis are recognized. This short communication makes the argument of the importance of food borne illnesses specific to the Caribbean, and improvements that could be made to surveillance to reduce negative outcomes associated with the food supply chain.

  5. Information Handling in Selected Academic Libraries of the Caribbean.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Rodriguez, Ketty

    1988-01-01

    Describes a survey that examined the extent of library technical processes automation within academic libraries at 10 Caribbean universities. Existing conditions, steps in progress, and plans for future automation are discussed. (8 references) (CLB)

  6. Interaction between research and diagnosis and surveillance of avian influenza within the Caribbean animal health network (CaribVET).

    PubMed

    Lefrançois, T; Hendrikx, P; Vachiéry, N; Ehrhardt, N; Millien, M; Gomez, L; Gouyet, L; Gerbier, G; Gongora, V; Shaw, J; Trotman, M

    2010-04-01

    The Caribbean region is considered to be at risk for avian influenza (AI) because of predominance of the backyard poultry system, important commercial poultry production, migratory birds and disparities in the surveillance systems. The Caribbean animal health network (CaribVET) has developed tools to implement AI surveillance in the region: (i) a regionally harmonized surveillance protocol, (ii) specific web pages for AI surveillance on http://www.caribvet.net, and (iii) a diagnostic network for the Caribbean including AI virus molecular diagnostic capability in Guadeloupe and technology transfer. Altogether 303 samples from four Caribbean countries were tested between June 2006 and March 2009 by real time PCR either for importation purposes or following clinical suspicion. Following AI H5N2 outbreaks in the Dominican Republic in 2007, a questionnaire was developed to collect data for risk analysis of AI spread in the region through fighting cocks. The infection pathway of Martinique commercial poultry sector by AI through introduction of infected cocks was designed and recommendations were provided to the Caribbean veterinary services to improve fighting cock movement controls and biosecurity measures. Altogether, these CaribVET activities contribute to strengthen surveillance of AI in the Caribbean region and may allow the development of research studies on AI risk analysis.

  7. 50 CFR Appendix E to Part 622 - Caribbean Island/Island Group Management Areas

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-10-01

    ..., AND SOUTH ATLANTIC Pt. 622, App. E Appendix E to Part 622—Caribbean Island/Island Group Management... 50 Wildlife and Fisheries 12 2013-10-01 2013-10-01 false Caribbean Island/Island Group Management... St. Thomas/St. John island group to Point C C 18°13′59.0606″ 65°05′33.058″ D 18°01′16.9636″ 64°57′38...

  8. The role of the meridional sea surface temperature gradient in controlling the Caribbean low-level jet

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Maldonado, Tito; Rutgersson, Anna; Caballero, Rodrigo; Pausata, Francesco S. R.; Alfaro, Eric; Amador, Jorge

    2017-06-01

    The Caribbean low-level jet (CLLJ) is an important modulator of regional climate, especially precipitation, in the Caribbean and Central America. Previous work has inferred, due to their semiannual cycle, an association between CLLJ strength and meridional sea surface temperature (SST) gradients in the Caribbean Sea, suggesting that the SST gradients may control the intensity and vertical shear of the CLLJ. In addition, both the horizontal and vertical structure of the jet have been related to topographic effects via interaction with the mountains in Northern South America (NSA), including funneling effects and changes in the meridional geopotential gradient. Here we test these hypotheses, using an atmospheric general circulation model to perform a set of sensitivity experiments to examine the impact of both SST gradients and topography on the CLLJ. In one sensitivity experiment, we remove the meridional SST gradient over the Caribbean Sea and in the other, we flatten the mountains over NSA. Our results show that the SST gradient and topography have little or no impact on the jet intensity, vertical, and horizontal wind shears, contrary to previous works. However, our findings do not discount a possible one-way coupling between the SST and the wind over the Caribbean Sea through friction force. We also examined an alternative approach based on barotropic instability to understand the CLLJ intensity, vertical, and horizontal wind shears. Our results show that the current hypothesis about the CLLJ must be reviewed in order to fully understand the atmospheric dynamics governing the Caribbean region.

  9. The Caribbean-South American plate boundary at 65°W: Results from wide-angle seismic data

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Bezada, M. J.; Magnani, M. B.; Zelt, C. A.; Schmitz, M.; Levander, A.

    2010-08-01

    We present the results of the analysis of new wide-angle seismic data across the Caribbean-South American plate boundary in eastern Venezuela at about 65°W. The ˜500 km long profile crosses the boundary in one of the few regions dominated by extensional structures, as most of the southeastern Caribbean margin is characterized by the presence of fold and thrust belts. A combination of first-arrival traveltime inversion and simultaneous inversion of PmP and Pn arrivals was used to develop a P wave velocity model of the crust and the uppermost mantle. At the main strike-slip fault system, we image the Cariaco Trough, a major pull-apart basin along the plate boundary. The crust under the Southern Caribbean Deformed Belt exhibits a thickness of ˜15 km, suggesting that the Caribbean Large Igneous Province extends to this part of the Caribbean plate. The velocity structures of basement highs and offshore sedimentary basins imaged by the profile are comparable to those of features found in other parts of the margin, suggesting similarities in their tectonic history. We do not image an abrupt change in Moho depth or velocity structure across the main strike-slip system, as has been observed elsewhere along the margin. It is possible that a terrane of Caribbean island arc origin was accreted to South America at this site and was subsequently bisected by the strike-slip fault system. The crust under the continental portion of the profile is thinner than observed elsewhere along the margin, possibly as a result of thinning during Jurassic rifting.

  10. Ethnic differences in carotid intima-media thickness between UK children of black African-Caribbean and white European origin.

    PubMed

    Whincup, Peter H; Nightingale, Claire M; Owen, Christopher G; Rapala, Alicja; Bhowruth, Devina J; Prescott, Melanie H; Ellins, Elizabeth A; Donin, Angela S; Masi, Stefano; Rudnicka, Alicja R; Sattar, Naveed; Cook, Derek G; Deanfield, John E

    2012-07-01

    UK black African-Caribbean adults have higher risks of stroke than white Europeans and have been shown to have increased carotid intima-media thickness (cIMT). We examined whether corresponding ethnic differences in cIMT were apparent in childhood and, if so, whether these could be explained by ethnic differences in cardiovascular risk markers. We conducted a 2-stage survey of 939 children (208 white European, 240 black African-Caribbean, 258 South Asian, 63 other Asian, 170 other ethnicity), who had a cardiovascular risk assessment and measurements of cIMT at mean ages of 9.8 and 10.8 years, respectively. Black African-Caribbean children had a higher cIMT than white Europeans (mean difference, 0.014 mm; 95% CI, 0.008-0.021 mm; P<0.0001). cIMT levels in South Asian and other Asian children were however similar to those of white Europeans. Among all children, cIMT was positively associated with age, systolic and diastolic blood pressure and inversely with combined skinfold thickness and serum triglyceride. Mean triglyceride was lower among black African-Caribbeans than white Europeans; blood pressure and skinfold thickness did not differ appreciably. However, adjustment for these risk factors had little effect on the cIMT difference between black African-Caribbeans and white Europeans. UK black African-Caribbean children have higher cIMT levels in childhood; the difference is not explained by conventional cardiovascular risk markers. There may be important opportunities for early cardiovascular prevention, particularly in black African-Caribbean children.

  11. Motion of Caribbean Plate during last 7 million years and implications for earlier Cenozoic movements

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Sykes, Lynn R.; McCann, William R.; Kafka, Alan L.

    1982-12-01

    The direction and rate of movement of the Caribbean plate with respect to North America are determined from the slip vectors of shallow earthquakes and from the configuration of downgoing seismic zones in the Greater and Lesser Antilles. A calibration of the relative plate motion for the northeastern Caribbean using data from other subduction zones indicates an average rate of 3.7±0.5 cm/yr for the past 7 million years (Ma). The direction of plate motion inferred from focal mechanisms (ENE) is nearly the same as that deduced from the configuration of downgoing seismic zones going around the major bend in the arc. With respect to North America, the Caribbean plate is moving at an angular velocity of 0.36°/Ma about a center of rotation near 66°N, 132°W. Vector addition using those data and that for the relative motion of North and South America indicates that the Caribbean is moving at an angular velocity of 0.47°/Ma about a center of rotation near 60°N, 88°W with respect to South America. The presence of intermediate-depth earthquakes beneath Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands is ascribed to the curvature of the plate boundary and a component of underthrusting that has been going on for at least the past 7 Ma and is likely occurring today. The alternative hypothesis that earthquakes beneath those areas are occurring in materials that were subducted during the Eocene, the last major episode of magmatism, is not tenable from thermal considerations. The lack of recent magmatism in the eastern Greater Antilles is ascribed to the relatively small component of underthrusting. The 2 cm/yr rate of seafloor creation along the mid-Cayman spreading center for the past 2.4 Ma does not appear to reflect the total Caribbean-North American plate motion while the 4 cm/yr spreading rate from 6.0 to 2.4 Ma does. Between the mid-Cayman spreading center and eastern Guatemala, the northern boundary of the Caribbean plate is narrow and follows the southern margin of the Cayman

  12. Darker Skin Tone Increases Perceived Discrimination among Male but Not Female Caribbean Black Youth.

    PubMed

    Assari, Shervin; Caldwell, Cleopatra Howard

    2017-12-12

    Among most minority groups, males seem to report higher levels of exposure and vulnerability to racial discrimination. Although darker skin tone may increase exposure to racial discrimination, it is yet unknown whether skin tone similarly influences perceived discrimination among male and female Caribbean Black youth. The current cross-sectional study tests the role of gender on the effects of skin tone on perceived discrimination among Caribbean Black youth. Data came from the National Survey of American Life-Adolescent Supplement (NSAL-A), 2003-2004, which included 360 Caribbean Black youth (ages 13 to 17). Demographic factors (age and gender), socioeconomic status (SES; family income, income to needs ratio, and subjective SES), skin tone, and perceived everyday discrimination were measured. Linear regressions were used for data analysis. In the pooled sample, darker skin tone was associated with higher levels of perceived discrimination among Caribbean Black youth ( b = 0.48; 95% Confidence Interval (CI) = 0.07-0.89). A significant interaction was found between gender and skin tone ( b = 1.17; 95% CI = 0.49-1.86), suggesting a larger effect of skin tone on perceived discrimination for males than females. In stratified models, darker skin tone was associated with more perceived discrimination for males ( b = 1.20; 95% CI = 0.69-0.72) but not females ( b = 0.06; 95% CI = -0.42-0.55). Similar to the literature documenting male gender as a vulnerability factor to the effects of racial discrimination, we found that male but not female Caribbean Black youth with darker skin tones perceive more discrimination.

  13. 8.2 ky event associated with high precipitation in the eastern Caribbean

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Winter, A.; Vieten, R.; Miller, T.; Mangini, A.; Scholz, D.

    2013-12-01

    We present data from speleothems collected in Venezuela and Puerto Rico showing that the eastern Caribbean was anomalously moist during the 8.2ka event. Evidence from high-resolution analyses of Greenland ice core (GISP2) shows that at the same time northern Europe and the north Atlantic were cooler by 3 - 6° C. The trigger for the 8.2ka event is thought to be pulsed meltwater discharges from a multi-event drainage of proglacial lakes associated with the decaying Laurentide Ice Sheet margin. The meltwater apparently slowed the thermohaline circulation decreasing warmth to northern Europe. At the same time moisture transfer to the northern latitudes may have slowed resulting in the observed lower latitude precipitation patterns. The eastern Caribbean seems to be especially sensitive to the changes in the strength of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC). Higher precipitation values may also have increased lowland flooding along the coastal areas of north eastern South America, already affected by early Holocene sea-level change, and are linked to social territory reshuffling which stimulated the earliest migrations into the Caribbean Archipelago shortly afterwards. Our age models based on precise MC-ICPMS 230Th/U-dating indicate that the eastern Caribbean stalagmites all grew at about the same rate of 15 cm through the 8.2 ka event, much faster than during any other growth period, except today when they are also growing at an accelerated rate.

  14. Insights on the Understanding of the Circum-Caribbean Region from Potential Field Data

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Garcia-Reyes, A.; Dyment, J.; Thebault, E.

    2017-12-01

    During decades, the nature, geometry and evolution of the Caribbean geological provinces and their boundaries have been topic of discussion and controversy. Great strike-slip faulting in the northern boundaries of the plate, and folding and thrusting structures related with Cretaceous magmatism have been used as indicators of the emplacement of the Caribbean plate between the Northamerican and Southamerican plates at least from the Late Cretaceous, which is the most accepted hypothesis. The exotic origin of the Caribbean plate has also been supported by presence of radiolarites, fauna, ages from rocks sampled from drilling and oceanic paleo-currents analyses. The high thickness of the sediments in most of the basins, the absence of drilling wells reaching the acoustic basement and the absence of identifiable patterns of magnetic anomalies constitute the limitations for the interpretation from potential field data. Potential field data allows tracking contrasts in the physical properties between two geological bodies if they are laterally exhibited. Hence its use is suitable to characterise the seafloor fabric but also to better delineate the boundaries between the geological provinces. In this research we are providing an interpretation from vertical gradients of gravity and reprocessed magnetic anomalies over the Caribbean region with the purpose of making a contribution to the understanding of this area. We are also using magnetic anomalies to determine the paleolatitude over those areas where seafloor spreading related anomalies are observed. Our results led us to propose a conceptual model of the origin of the Caribbean plate. Our model relates the Venezuelan basin with the Cretaceous `not-so-quite' magnetic isochrons; it proposes that the Colombian, Venezuelan and Grenada basins have oceanic crustal affinity and it reinterprets the Beata and Aves ridges as reactivated fracture zones - respectively - in which a magmatic event occurred during or after its

  15. Social determinants of depression and suicidal behaviour in the Caribbean: a systematic review.

    PubMed

    Brown, Catherine R; Hambleton, Ian R; Sobers-Grannum, Natasha; Hercules, Shawn M; Unwin, Nigel; Nigel Harris, E; Wilks, Rainford; MacLeish, Marlene; Sullivan, Louis; Murphy, Madhuvanti M

    2017-06-15

    Depressive disorder is the largest contributor to years lived with disability in the Caribbean, adding 948 per 100,000 in 2013. Depression is also a major risk factor for suicidal behaviour. Social inequalities influence the occurrence of depression, yet little is known about the social inequalities of this condition in the Caribbean. In support of the 2011 Rio Political Declaration on addressing health inequities, this article presents a systematic review of the role of social determinants on depression and its suicidal behaviours in the Caribbean. Eight databases were searched for observational studies reporting associations between social determinants and depression frequency, severity, or outcomes. Based on the PROGRESS-plus checklist, we considered 9 social determinant groups (of 15 endpoints) for 6 depression endpoints, totalling 90 possible ways ('relationship groups') to explore the role of social determinants on depression. Studies with ≥50 participants conducted in Caribbean territories between 2004 and 2014 were eligible. The review was conducted according to STROBE and PRISMA guidelines. Results were planned as a narrative synthesis, with meta-analysis if possible. From 3951 citations, 55 articles from 45 studies were included. Most were classified as serious risk of bias. Fifty-seven relationship groups were reported by the 55 included articles, leaving 33 relationship groups (37%) without an evidence base. Most associations were reported for gender, age, residence, marital status, and education. Depression, its severity, and its outcomes were more common among females (except suicide which was more common among males), early and middle adolescents (among youth), and those with lower levels of education. Marriage emerged as both a risk and protective factor for depression score and prevalence, while several inequality relationships in Haiti were in contrast to typical trends. The risk of bias and few numbers of studies within relationship groups

  16. Spintharus flavidus in the Caribbean-a 30 million year biogeographical history and radiation of a 'widespread species'.

    PubMed

    Dziki, Austin; Binford, Greta J; Coddington, Jonathan A; Agnarsson, Ingi

    2015-01-01

    The Caribbean island biota is characterized by high levels of endemism, the result of an interplay between colonization opportunities on islands and effective oceanic barriers among them. A relatively small percentage of the biota is represented by 'widespread species,' presumably taxa for which oceanic barriers are ineffective. Few studies have explored in detail the genetic structure of widespread Caribbean taxa. The cobweb spider Spintharus flavidus Hentz, 1850 (Theridiidae) is one of two described Spintharus species and is unique in being widely distributed from northern N. America to Brazil and throughout the Caribbean. As a taxonomic hypothesis, Spintharus "flavidus" predicts maintenance of gene flow among Caribbean islands, a prediction that seems contradicted by known S. flavidus biology, which suggests limited dispersal ability. As part of an extensive survey of Caribbean arachnids (project CarBio), we conducted the first molecular phylogenetic analysis of S. flavidus with the primary goal of testing the 'widespread species' hypothesis. Our results, while limited to three molecular loci, reject the hypothesis of a single widespread species. Instead this lineage seems to represent a radiation with at least 16 species in the Caribbean region. Nearly all are short range endemics with several distinct mainland groups and others are single island endemics. While limited taxon sampling, with a single specimen from S. America, constrains what we can infer about the biogeographical history of the lineage, clear patterns still emerge. Consistent with limited overwater dispersal, we find evidence for a single colonization of the Caribbean about 30 million years ago, coinciding with the timing of the GAARLandia landbridge hypothesis. In sum, S. "flavidus" is not a single species capable of frequent overwater dispersal, but rather a 30 my old radiation of single island endemics that provides preliminary support for a complex and contested geological hypothesis.

  17. Diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of selected common HIV-related opportunistic infections in the Caribbean region.

    PubMed

    Kaplan, Jonathan E

    The Caribbean region, like other resource-limited areas, lacks many of the diagnostic and treatment modalities taken for granted in richer areas of the world. The Caribbean Guidelines for the Treatment of Opportunistic Infections in Adults and Adolescents Infected With the Human Immunodeficiency Virus provides guidelines for the region for preventing and treating more than 20 opportunistic diseases reflecting the variable availability of diagnostic and treatment resources. Elements of diagnosis and prevention of tuberculosis, Pneumocystis jiroveci pneumonia, and other common opportunistic conditions in this resource-limited setting were discussed by Jonathan E. Kaplan, MD, at the first CHART Caribbean Conference on the Clinical Management of HIV/AIDS in Montego Bay, Jamaica, in June 2004.

  18. Development and implementation of the Caribbean Laboratory Quality Management Systems Stepwise Improvement Process (LQMS-SIP) Towards Accreditation

    PubMed Central

    Alemnji, George; Edghill, Lisa; Wallace-Sankarsingh, Sacha; Albalak, Rachel; Cognat, Sebastien; Nkengasong, John; Gabastou, Jean-Marc

    2017-01-01

    Background Implementing quality management systems and accrediting laboratories in the Caribbean has been a challenge. Objectives We report the development of a stepwise process for quality systems improvement in the Caribbean Region. Methods The Caribbean Laboratory Stakeholders met under a joint Pan American Health Organization/US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention initiative and developed a user-friendly framework called ‘Laboratory Quality Management System – Stepwise Improvement Process (LQMS-SIP) Towards Accreditation’ to support countries in strengthening laboratory services through a stepwise approach toward fulfilling the ISO 15189: 2012 requirements. Results This approach consists of a three-tiered framework. Tier 1 represents the minimum requirements corresponding to the mandatory criteria for obtaining a licence from the Ministry of Health of the participating country. The next two tiers are quality improvement milestones that are achieved through the implementation of specific quality management system requirements. Laboratories that meet the requirements of the three tiers will be encouraged to apply for accreditation. The Caribbean Regional Organisation for Standards and Quality hosts the LQMS-SIP Secretariat and will work with countries, including the Ministry of Health and stakeholders, including laboratory staff, to coordinate and implement LQMS-SIP activities. The Caribbean Public Health Agency will coordinate and advocate for the LQMS-SIP implementation. Conclusion This article presents the Caribbean LQMS-SIP framework and describes how it will be implemented among various countries in the region to achieve quality improvement. PMID:28879149

  19. Correlates of Spirituality among African Americans and Caribbean Blacks in the United States: Findings from the National Survey of American Life

    PubMed Central

    Taylor, Robert Joseph; Chatters, Linda M.; Jackson, James S.

    2010-01-01

    The present study examined differences in reports of spirituality among African Americans, Caribbean Blacks (Black Caribbeans), and non-Hispanic whites using data from the National Survey of American Life (NSAL). Bivariate analyses indicated that African Americans were most likely to endorse statements regarding the importance of spirituality in their lives (“How important is spirituality in your life?”) and self-assessments of spirituality (“How spiritual would you say you are?”), followed by Caribbean Blacks and non-Hispanic whites. Regression analyses indicated that African Americans and Caribbean Blacks had significantly higher levels of spirituality than did non-Hispanic whites. However, there were no significant differences in spirituality between African Americans and Caribbean Blacks. Separate regression analyses for African Americans and Caribbean Blacks indicated distinctive patterns of sociodemographic and denominational correlates of spiritual sentiments. Findings are discussed in relation to available survey and ethnographic data on self-assessments of spirituality. PMID:21031157

  20. Diazotrophic diversity in the Caribbean coral, Montastraea cavernosa.

    PubMed

    Olson, Nathan D; Lesser, Michael P

    2013-12-01

    Previous research on the Caribbean coral Montastraea cavernosa reported the presence of cyanobacterial endosymbionts and nitrogen fixation in orange, but not brown, colonies. We compared the diversity of nifH gene sequences between these two color morphs at three locations in the Caribbean and found that the nifH sequences recovered from M. cavernosa were consistent with previous studies on corals where members of both the α-proteobacteria and cyanobacteria were recovered. A number of nifH operational taxonomic units (OTUs) were significantly more abundant in the orange compared to the brown morphs, and one specific OTU (OTU 17), a cyanobacterial nifH sequence similar to others from corals and sponges and related to the cyanobacterial genus Cyanothece, was found in all orange morphs of M. cavernosa at all locations. The nifH diversity reported here, from a community perspective, was not significantly different between orange and brown morphs of M. cavernosa.

  1. The 2009/2010 Caribbean drought: a case study.

    PubMed

    Peters, Everson J

    2015-10-01

    The impacts of drought in the Caribbean have not been as dramatic as in some other parts of world, but it is not exempt from the experiences of drought. As a result of the effects of a prolonged drought in 2009/2010, the agenda for the 21st Inter-Sessional Meeting of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) paid particular attention to the issue of drought. This paper reviews the management framework for responding to drought disasters in five CARICOM countries. The paper also reports on some of the effects of the 2009/2010 drought with particular reference to Grenada and the Grenadines. During the drought in these islands there were numerous bush fires with devastating effects on agriculture, severe water shortages that impacted on the tourism industry and other social effects. It is evident that there was inadequate preparation for the event. Greater planning and investment are therefore required to reduce future impacts. © 2015 The Author(s). Disasters © Overseas Development Institute, 2015.

  2. Risk taking in first and second generation Afro-Caribbean adolescents: an emerging challenge for school nurses.

    PubMed

    Jolly, Kim; Archibald, Cynthia; Liehr, Patricia

    2013-10-01

    School nurses are well positioned to address risk-taking behaviors for adolescents in their care. The purpose of this mixed-method exploratory study was to explore risk taking in Afro-Caribbean adolescents in South Florida, comparing first- to second-generation adolescents. Quantitative and qualitative data were collected from an immigrant group using the adolescent risk-taking instrument to evaluate risk-taking attitudes, behaviors, and self-described riskiest activities. One-hundred and six adolescents participated; 44% were first generation Afro-Caribbean. Data analysis included analysis of variance, frequencies, and content analysis. There were no differences in risk-taking attitudes; smaller percentages of first generation Afro-Caribbean adolescents reported sexual activity, substance use, and violence. Over one third of the sample, regardless of generational status, reported alcohol use, but did not note alcohol or other health-compromising behaviors as "riskiest" activities. It is important to better understand Afro-Caribbean adolescents' perspectives about risky behaviors, and school-based venues offer the best promise for reaching these adolescents.

  3. Crustal and upper mantle investigations of the Caribbean-South American plate boundary

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Bezada, Maximiliano J.

    The evolution of the Caribbean --- South America plate boundary has been a matter of vigorous debate for decades and many questions remain unresolved. In this work, and in the framework of the BOLIVAR project, we shed light on some aspects of the present state and the tectonic history of the margin by using different types of geophysical data sets and techniques. An analysis of controlled-source traveltime data collected along a boundary-normal profile at ˜65°W was used to build a 2D P-wave velocity model. The model shows that the Caribbean Large Igenous Province is present offshore eastern Venezuela and confirms the uniformity of the velocity structure along the Leeward Antilles volcanic belt. In contrast with neighboring profiles, at this longitude we see no change in velocity structure or crustal thickness across the San Sebastian - El Pilar fault system. A 2D gravity modeling methodology that uses seismically derived initial density models was developed as part of this research. The application of this new method to four of the BOLIVAR boundary-normal profiles suggests that the uppermost mantle is denser under the South American continental crust and the island arc terranes than under the Caribbean oceanic crust. Crustal rocks of the island arc and extended island arc terranes of the Leeward Antilles have a relatively low density, given their P-wave velocity. This may be caused by low iron content, relative to average magmatic arc rocks. Finally, an analysis of teleseismic traveltimes with frequency-dependent kernels produced a 3D P-wave velocity perturbation model. The model shows the structure of the mantle lithosphere under the study area and clearly images the subduction of the Atlantic slab and associated partial removal of the lower lithosphere under northern South America. We also image the subduction of a section of the Caribbean plate under South America with an east-southeast direction. Both the Atlantic and Caribbean subducting slabs penetrate the

  4. On the role of rising global temperatures on 2015-2016 Caribbean drought

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Herrera, D. A.; Ault, T.

    2016-12-01

    In 2015 the Caribbean faced one of the worst droughts ever recorded. On some islands, like Cuba, the event represents the worst in over 100 years. Although this exceptional drought has been linked primarily to the recent El Niño, it is unclear whether its severity could have been enhanced by anthropogenic climate change. In this work, an analysis of the role played by anthropogenic warming on the 2015-2016 drought in the Caribbean is presented, using high-resolution drought datasets based on the self-calibrated Palmer Drought Severity Index (scPDSI), with the Penman-Monteith approximation of evapotranspiration. This effort further uses statistically-downscaled reanalysis products that span 1950 to the near present to establish an historical baseline for characterizing and monitoring drought in real time. The relative contribution of global warming is estimated by comparing the scPDSI calculated using detrended temperatures, against the scPDSI computed with the observed trend while holding all other terms at their historical or climatological values. Results indicate that during 2015, 70% of the Caribbean was affected by mild drought (-2 to -3 scPDSI units), 43% by moderate drought (-4 to -3) and 14% by severe drought (<-4). Consequently, this event was the most regionally-widespread since at least 1950. In contrast, during the 1997 drought, 47% of the region was under mild drought, 25% moderate drought and 8% severe drought. The approximate relative contribution of warmth on the 2015-2016 event varies substantially along the Caribbean, ranging from 8-12% in Puerto Rico and Lesser Antilles, to 14-29 % in Cuba and the Hispaniola Island. The inherent insular nature of the Caribbean island make them especially vulnerable to drought because water cannot be collected, moved, and stored on large spatial scales, like it can in the US Southwest. These results underscore the likely role climate change is playing in exacerbating regional drought impacts by favoring higher

  5. Molecular Detection of Theileria spp. in Livestock on Five Caribbean Islands.

    PubMed

    Zhang, Jilei; Kelly, Patrick; Li, Jing; Xu, Chuanling; Wang, Chengming

    2015-01-01

    Theileria spp. are tick-transmitted, intracellular apicomplexan protozoan parasites infecting a wide range of animals. As there is very limited information on the prevalence of Theileria spp. in the Caribbean we used the recently described genus-specific pan-Theileria FRET-qPCR to identify infected animals in the region and a standard 18S rRNA gene PCR and sequencing to determine the species involved. We found Theileria spp. in 9% of the convenience samples of animals (n = 752) studied from five Caribbean islands. Donkeys (20.0%: 5/25) were most commonly infected, followed by sheep (17.4%, 25/144), cattle (6.8%; 22/325), goats (5.0%; 12/238), and horses (5.0%; 1/20). Six species of Theileria were identified: T. equi (donkeys, cattle, goats, and sheep), Theileria sp. OT3 (sheep and goats), Theileria sp. NG-2013a (cattle), Theileria sp. YW-2014 (donkeys), Theileria sp. B15a (goats), and Babesia vulpes or a closely related organism (sheep and goats). Only T. equi has been previously reported in the Caribbean. Our findings expand the known host ranges of Theileria spp. and the known distribution of the organisms around the world.

  6. Molecular Detection of Theileria spp. in Livestock on Five Caribbean Islands

    PubMed Central

    2015-01-01

    Theileria spp. are tick-transmitted, intracellular apicomplexan protozoan parasites infecting a wide range of animals. As there is very limited information on the prevalence of Theileria spp. in the Caribbean we used the recently described genus-specific pan-Theileria FRET-qPCR to identify infected animals in the region and a standard 18S rRNA gene PCR and sequencing to determine the species involved. We found Theileria spp. in 9% of the convenience samples of animals (n = 752) studied from five Caribbean islands. Donkeys (20.0%: 5/25) were most commonly infected, followed by sheep (17.4%, 25/144), cattle (6.8%; 22/325), goats (5.0%; 12/238), and horses (5.0%; 1/20). Six species of Theileria were identified: T. equi (donkeys, cattle, goats, and sheep), Theileria sp. OT3 (sheep and goats), Theileria sp. NG-2013a (cattle), Theileria sp. YW-2014 (donkeys), Theileria sp. B15a (goats), and Babesia vulpes or a closely related organism (sheep and goats). Only T. equi has been previously reported in the Caribbean. Our findings expand the known host ranges of Theileria spp. and the known distribution of the organisms around the world. PMID:26783522

  7. A new estimate for present-day Cocos-Caribbean Plate motion: Implications for slip along the Central American Volcanic Arc

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    DeMets, Charles

    Velocities from 153 continuously-operating GPS sites on the Caribbean, North American, and Pacific plates are combined with 61 newly estimated Pacific-Cocos seafloor spreading rates and additional marine geophysical data to derive a new estimate of present-day Cocos-Caribbean plate motion. A comparison of the predicted Cocos-Caribbean direction to slip directions of numerous shallow-thrust subduction earthquakes from the Middle America trench between Costa Rica and Guatemala shows the slip directions to be deflected 10° clockwise from the plate convergence direction, supporting the hypothesis that frequent dextral strike-slip earthquakes along the Central American volcanic arc result from partitioning of oblique Cocos-Caribbean plate convergence. Linear velocity analysis for forearc locations in Nicaragua and Guatemala predicts 14±2 mm yr-1 of northwestward trench-parallel slip of the forearc relative to the Caribbean plate, possibly decreasing in magnitude in El Salvador and Guatemala, where extension east of the volcanic arc complicates the tectonic setting.

  8. Recognizing and treating diseases in Caribbean trees

    Treesearch

    Deborah Jean Lodge

    2002-01-01

    Although the majority of tree problems in urban setting are not caused by disease organisms, there are some current and potential disease threats in the Caribbean. Symptoms are the expression of stress in the plant. Symptoms may appear to be identical in response to many different types of diseases and physical or chemical damage. It is therefore helpful to determine...

  9. Montane Forest Management in the Insular Caribbean.

    Treesearch

    F. H. Wadsworth

    1999-01-01

    Two Elevations-above 800m and above 300m- define the montane forests of the caribbean islands. Of the 36 islands considered, 27 have mountains above 300m and 14, above 800m. of the 233,000 km2 of the island, at least 118,000 km2 are above 300m m, and 60,000 km2 are above 800 m.

  10. London-born black Caribbean children are at increased risk of atopic dermatitis.

    PubMed

    Williams, H C; Pembroke, A C; Forsdyke, H; Boodoo, G; Hay, R J; Burney, P G

    1995-02-01

    Previous reports suggest that atopic dermatitis is more common in black Caribbean children born in the United Kingdom than in white children. It is unclear whether these differences are caused by selection bias or variations in the use of the word "eczema" in the groups studied. Our objective was to explore ethnic group differences in the prevalence of atopic dermatitis in London schoolchildren. A cross-sectional prevalence survey of 693 junior school children in three schools was performed. Atopic dermatitis was defined in three ways: (1) by a dermatologist, (2) by visible flexural dermatitis as recorded by an independent observer, and (3) by a history of flexural dermatitis according to the child's parents. The prevalence of atopic dermatitis according to examination by a dermatologist was 16.3% in black Caribbean children and 8.7% in white children. This increased risk was present for different methods of defining of a atopic dermatitis and persisted after adjustment for potential confounders. London-born black Caribbean children appear to be at an increased risk of having atopic dermatitis.

  11. 77 FR 23661 - Fisheries of the South Atlantic, Gulf of Mexico, and Caribbean; Southeast Data, Assessment, and...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2012-04-20

    ... . SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The South Atlantic, Gulf of Mexico, and Caribbean Fishery Management Councils; in conjunction with NOAA Fisheries, the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, and the Gulf States Marine... the South Atlantic, Gulf of Mexico, and Caribbean; Southeast Data, Assessment, and Review (SEDAR...

  12. The impacts of climate changes in the renewable energy resources in the Caribbean region

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Erickson III, David J

    2010-02-01

    Assessment of renewable energy resources such as surface solar radiation and wind current has great relevance in the development of local and regional energy policies. This paper examines the variability and availability of these resources as a function of possible climate changes for the Caribbean region. Global climate changes have been reported in the last decades, causing changes in the atmospheric dynamics, which affects the net solar radiation balance at the surface and the wind strength and direction. For this investigation, the future climate changes for the Caribbean are predicted using the parallel climate model (PCM) and it is coupledmore » with the numerical model regional atmospheric modeling system (RAMS) to simulate the solar and wind energy spatial patterns changes for the specific case of the island of Puerto Rico. Numerical results from PCM indicate that the Caribbean basin from 2041 to 2055 will experience a slight decrease in the net surface solar radiation (with respect to the years 1996-2010), which is more pronounced in the western Caribbean sea. Results also indicate that the easterly winds have a tendency to increase in its magnitude, especially from the years 2070 to 2098. The regional model showed that important areas to collect solar energy are located in the eastern side of Puerto Rico, while the more intense wind speed is placed around the coast. A future climate change is expected in the Caribbean that will result in higher energy demands, but both renewable energy sources will have enough intensity to be used in the future as alternative energy resources to mitigate future climate changes.« less

  13. Darker Skin Tone Increases Perceived Discrimination among Male but Not Female Caribbean Black Youth

    PubMed Central

    Caldwell, Cleopatra Howard

    2017-01-01

    Background: Among most minority groups, males seem to report higher levels of exposure and vulnerability to racial discrimination. Although darker skin tone may increase exposure to racial discrimination, it is yet unknown whether skin tone similarly influences perceived discrimination among male and female Caribbean Black youth. Objective: The current cross-sectional study tests the role of gender on the effects of skin tone on perceived discrimination among Caribbean Black youth. Methods: Data came from the National Survey of American Life-Adolescent Supplement (NSAL-A), 2003–2004, which included 360 Caribbean Black youth (ages 13 to 17). Demographic factors (age and gender), socioeconomic status (SES; family income, income to needs ratio, and subjective SES), skin tone, and perceived everyday discrimination were measured. Linear regressions were used for data analysis. Results: In the pooled sample, darker skin tone was associated with higher levels of perceived discrimination among Caribbean Black youth (b = 0.48; 95% Confidence Interval (CI) = 0.07–0.89). A significant interaction was found between gender and skin tone (b = 1.17; 95% CI = 0.49–1.86), suggesting a larger effect of skin tone on perceived discrimination for males than females. In stratified models, darker skin tone was associated with more perceived discrimination for males (b = 1.20; 95% CI = 0.69–0.72) but not females (b = 0.06; 95% CI = −0.42–0.55). Conclusion: Similar to the literature documenting male gender as a vulnerability factor to the effects of racial discrimination, we found that male but not female Caribbean Black youth with darker skin tones perceive more discrimination. PMID:29231903

  14. Education Theory and Practice: Caribbean Perspectives (Second Edition).

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bastick, Tony, Ed.

    Chapters in this collection provide the perspectives of Caribbean educators on a variety of issues related to the theory and practice of education. Section 1, "Professional Development," contains these chapters: (1) "Is There Still Room for the Model Teacher?" (Sonia Jones); (2) "Using an In-Service Programme To Develop as…

  15. Regional trends and controlling factors of fatal landslides in Latin America and the Caribbean

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Sepúlveda, S. A.; Petley, D. N.

    2015-04-01

    A database of landslides that caused loss of life in Latin America and the Caribbean in the period from 2004 and 2013 inclusive has been compiled using established techniques. This database indicates that in the ten year period a total of 11 631 people lost their lives across the region in 611 landslides. The geographical distribution of the landslides is very heterogeneous, with areas of high incidence in parts of the Caribbean (most notably Haiti), Central America, Colombia, and SE. Brazil. The number of landslides varies considerably between years; the El Niño/La Niña cycle emerges as a major factor controlling this variation, although the study period did not capture a large event. Analysis suggests that on a continental scale the mapped factors that best explain the observed distribution are topography, annual precipitation and population density. On a national basis we have compared the occurrence of fatality-inducing landslide occurrence with the production of research articles with a local author, which shows that there is a landslide research deficit in Latin America and the Caribbean. Understanding better the mechanisms, distributions causes and triggers of landslides in Latin America and the Caribbean must be an essential first step towards managing the hazard.

  16. 'Walk with your head high': African and African-Caribbean fatherhood, children's mental well-being and social capital.

    PubMed

    Williams, Robert; Hewison, Alistair; Wagstaff, Chris; Randall, Duncan

    2012-01-01

    The findings presented in this article were unanticipated and came to light during a study which investigated African and African-Caribbean fathers' views about preventive primary care services. This article reports findings which indicate that African and African-Caribbean fathers strive to enable and protect children's mental well-being and create social, cultural and symbolic forms of capital. It also seeks to identify implications for health and social care policy and practice in England. There is limited literature examining African and African-Caribbean fathers' health experiences in England. Consequently an exploratory research approach was required. This involved nine, in-depth, semi-structured qualitative group interviews undertaken with 46 African and African-Caribbean fathers. The data were analysed thematically using abductive reasoning, informed by Bourdieu's theoretical work. Fathers were striving to enable and protect children's mental well-being through providing authoritative, loving, affectionate fatherhood involving reasoning, good communication and promoting self-esteem. These practices were seen to be necessary if children were to prosper in a harsh social world characterised by structural hazards including racism, negative stereotypes and limited opportunities. The fathers reported their efforts to develop what Bourdieu has termed symbolic, cultural and social capital as means of promoting the mental well-being of their children and the children of others. The implications for theory, future research, public health policy and practice, in relation to the needs of African and African-Caribbean fathers and families, are also discussed, with specific focus on how to realise the potential of African and African-Caribbean fathers' positive contributions to family and community health.

  17. After the epidemic: Zika virus projections for Latin America and the Caribbean.

    PubMed

    Colón-González, Felipe J; Peres, Carlos A; Steiner São Bernardo, Christine; Hunter, Paul R; Lake, Iain R

    2017-11-01

    Zika is one of the most challenging emergent vector-borne diseases, yet its future public health impact remains unclear. Zika was of little public health concern until recent reports of its association with congenital syndromes. By 3 August 2017 ∼217,000 Zika cases and ∼3,400 cases of associated congenital syndrome were reported in Latin America and the Caribbean. Some modelling exercises suggest that Zika virus infection could become endemic in agreement with recent declarations from the The World Health Organisation. We produced high-resolution spatially-explicit projections of Zika cases, associated congenital syndromes and monetary costs for Latin America and the Caribbean now that the epidemic phase of the disease appears to be over. In contrast to previous studies which have adopted a modelling approach to map Zika potential, we project case numbers using a statistical approach based upon reported dengue case data as a Zika surrogate. Our results indicate that ∼12.3 (0.7-162.3) million Zika cases could be expected across Latin America and the Caribbean every year, leading to ∼64.4 (0.2-5159.3) thousand cases of Guillain-Barré syndrome and ∼4.7 (0.0-116.3) thousand cases of microcephaly. The economic burden of these neurological sequelae are estimated to be USD ∼2.3 (USD 0-159.3) billion per annum. Zika is likely to have significant public health consequences across Latin America and the Caribbean in years to come. Our projections inform regional and federal health authorities, offering an opportunity to adapt to this public health challenge.

  18. Physical Oceanography of the Caribbean Sea: Some Recent Observations

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wilson, D.; Johns, W. E.

    2001-12-01

    Recent oceanographic observations in the Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico (the Intra-Americas Sea) have contributed to our understanding of IAS circulation, the dynamics forcing the circulation, and the role of the IAS in hemispheric ocean processes. Specifically, recent results from several programs will be presented and discussed: The Windward Islands Passages Program, designed to measure upper ocean transport and water mass properties of the exchange between the Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, is entering its tenth year of observations. Mean transport estimates based on 10 to 20 sections now exist for the major passages between Trinidad and the Virgin Islands. Approximately 19 of the estimated 32 Sv in the Florida Straits enter through these passages, of which approximately 12 enter south of Dominica, 6 in the Grenada Passage. The Caribbean Inflow Variability Experiment is designed to continuously monitor the transport through the Grenada Passage. Plans are in place to monitor a submarine telephone cable between Grenada and Trinidad to estimate transport; at present several shipboard velocity sections and year-long pressure gauge records are available as part of the program. Dominant low-frequency signals in the cross-passage pressure difference are 30 - 60 days. The NOPP Year of the Ocean Drifting Buoy Program placed over 150 WOCE-style surface drifting buoys in the IAS during 1998 - 2000. Analysis of drifter tracks shows the best picture to date of IAS surface currents, including well-resolved gyres in the SW Caribbean (Panama-Colombia) region. Monitoring of Florida Straits transport via submarine cable is once again active, complemented by quarterly CD and transport cruises. Analyses of historical transport data (Baringer & Larson, 2001) have shown correlations between low frequency transport variability and climate indices (e. g., NAO). Additionally, full-depth velocity profiles across the straits are available weekly from the 38 kHz ADCP mounted on

  19. Population genomic analysis uncovers African and European admixture in Drosophila melanogaster populations from the south-eastern United States and Caribbean Islands.

    PubMed

    Kao, Joyce Y; Zubair, Asif; Salomon, Matthew P; Nuzhdin, Sergey V; Campo, Daniel

    2015-04-01

    Drosophila melanogaster is postulated to have colonized North America in the past several 100 years in two waves. Flies from Europe colonized the east coast United States while flies from Africa inhabited the Caribbean, which if true, make the south-east US and Caribbean Islands a secondary contact zone for African and European D. melanogaster. This scenario has been proposed based on phenotypes and limited genetic data. In our study, we have sequenced individual whole genomes of flies from populations in the south-east US and Caribbean Islands and examined these populations in conjunction with population sequences from the west coast US, Africa, and Europe. We find that west coast US populations are closely related to the European population, likely reflecting a rapid westward expansion upon first settlements into North America. We also find genomic evidence of African and European admixture in south-east US and Caribbean populations, with a clinal pattern of decreasing proportions of African ancestry with higher latitude. Our genomic analysis of D. melanogaster populations from the south-east US and Caribbean Islands provides more evidence for the Caribbean Islands as the source of previously reported novel African alleles found in other east coast US populations. We also find the border between the south-east US and the Caribbean island to be the admixture hot zone where distinctly African-like Caribbean flies become genomically more similar to European-like south-east US flies. Our findings have important implications for previous studies examining the generation of east coast US clines via selection. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  20. 76 FR 2672 - Caribbean Fishery Management Council; Public Meeting

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2011-01-14

    ... Caribbean Fishery Management Council (Council) in partnership with the Fisheries Leadership and... Fishery Management Council; Public Meeting AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National... Management of Data Poor Stocks.'' The intent of this workshop is to discuss tools that the region may find...

  1. 78 FR 14981 - Caribbean Fishery Management Council; Public Hearing

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2013-03-08

    ... Fishery Management Council; Public Hearing AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce. ACTION: Notice of a public hearing. SUMMARY: The Caribbean Fishery Management Council will hold a public hearing to obtain input from fishers, the general...

  2. Prevalence of dementia in African-Caribbean compared with UK-born White older people: two-stage cross-sectional study.

    PubMed

    Adelman, Simon; Blanchard, Martin; Rait, Greta; Leavey, Gerard; Livingston, Gill

    2011-08-01

    Preliminary studies in the UK, all using screening instruments of unknown cultural validity, indicate that there may be an increased prevalence of dementia in African-Caribbean people, possibly related to vascular risk factors and potentially amenable to preventative measures. To determine the prevalence of dementia in older people of African-Caribbean country of birth compared with their White UK-born counterparts. A total of 218 people of African-Caribbean country of birth and 218 White UK-born people aged ≥60 years were recruited from five general practices in North London. Those who screened positive for cognitive impairment using a culturally valid instrument were offered a standardised diagnostic interview. Two independent assessors diagnosed dementia according to standard operationalised criteria. African-Caribbean participants were 2 years younger, and those with dementia nearly 8 years younger than their White counterparts. The prevalence of dementia was significantly higher in the African-Caribbean (9.6%) than the White group (6.9%) after adjustment for the confounders age and socioeconomic status (odds ratio (OR) = 3.1, 95%CI 1.3-7.3, P = 0.012). There is an increased prevalence of dementia in older people of African-Caribbean country of birth in the UK and at younger ages than in the indigenous White population. These findings have implications for service provision and preventive interventions. Further research is needed to explore the role of vascular risk factors and social adversity in the excess of dementia in this population.

  3. The development of education indicators for measuring quality in the English-speaking Caribbean: how far have we come?

    PubMed

    Bowe, Anica G

    2015-02-01

    Education evaluation has become increasingly important in the English-speaking Caribbean. This has been in response to assessing the progress of four regional initiatives aimed at improving the equity, efficiency, and quality of education. Both special interest groups and local evaluators have been responsible for assessing the progress of education and providing an overall synthesis and summary of what is taking place in the English-speaking Caribbean. This study employed content analysis to examine the indicators used in these education evaluation studies since the declaration of the Caribbean Plan of Action 2000-2015 to determine these indicators' appropriateness to the Caribbean context in measuring education progress. Findings demonstrate that the English-speaking Caribbean has made strides in operationalizing quality input, process, and output indicators; however quality outcome indicators beyond test scores are yet to be realized in a systematic manner. This study also compared the types of collaborative partnerships in conducting evaluation studies used by special interest groups and local evaluators and pinpointed the one that appears most suitable for special interest groups in this region. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  4. Romantic Relationships among Unmarried African Americans and Caribbean Blacks: Findings from the National Survey of American Life

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lincoln, Karen D.; Taylor, Robert Joseph; Jackson, James S.

    2008-01-01

    This study investigated the correlates of relationship satisfaction, marriage expectations, and relationship longevity among unmarried African American and Black Caribbean (Caribbean Black) adults who are in a romantic relationship. The study used data from the National Survey of American Life, a national representative sample of African Americans…

  5. A Modernized National Spatial Reference System in 2022: Focus on the Caribbean Terrestrial Reference Frame

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Roman, D. R.

    2017-12-01

    In 2022, the National Geodetic Survey will replace all three NAD 83 reference frames the four new terrestrial reference frames. Each frame will be named after a tectonic plate (North American, Pacific, Caribbean and Mariana) and each will be related to the IGS frame through three Euler Pole parameters (EPPs). This talk will focus on practical application in the Caribbean region. A working group is being re-established for development of the North American region and will likely also result in analysis of the Pacific region as well. Both of these regions are adequately covered with existing CORS sites to model the EPPs. The Mariana region currently lacks sufficient coverage, but a separate project is underway to collect additional information to help in defining EPPs for that region at a later date. The Caribbean region has existing robust coverage through UNAVCO's COCONet and other data sets, but these require further analysis. This discussion will focus on practical examination of Caribbean sites to establish candidates for determining the Caribbean frame EPPs as well as an examination of any remaining velocities that might inform a model of the remaining velocities within that frame (Intra-Frame Velocity Model). NGS has a vested interest in defining such a model to meet obligations to U.S. citizens in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Beyond this, NGS aims to collaborate with other countries in the region through efforts with SIRGAS and UN-GGIM-Americas for a more acceptable regional model to serve everyone's needs.

  6. A Collaborative Effort Between Caribbean States for Tsunami Numerical Modeling: Case Study CaribeWave15

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Chacón-Barrantes, Silvia; López-Venegas, Alberto; Sánchez-Escobar, Rónald; Luque-Vergara, Néstor

    2018-04-01

    Historical records have shown that tsunami have affected the Caribbean region in the past. However infrequent, recent studies have demonstrated that they pose a latent hazard for countries within this basin. The Hazard Assessment Working Group of the ICG/CARIBE-EWS (Intergovernmental Coordination Group of the Early Warning System for Tsunamis and Other Coastal Threats for the Caribbean Sea and Adjacent Regions) of IOC/UNESCO has a modeling subgroup, which seeks to develop a modeling platform to assess the effects of possible tsunami sources within the basin. The CaribeWave tsunami exercise is carried out annually in the Caribbean region to increase awareness and test tsunami preparedness of countries within the basin. In this study we present results of tsunami inundation using the CaribeWave15 exercise scenario for four selected locations within the Caribbean basin (Colombia, Costa Rica, Panamá and Puerto Rico), performed by tsunami modeling researchers from those selected countries. The purpose of this study was to provide the states with additional results for the exercise. The results obtained here were compared to co-seismic deformation and tsunami heights within the basin (energy plots) provided for the exercise to assess the performance of the decision support tools distributed by PTWC (Pacific Tsunami Warning Center), the tsunami service provider for the Caribbean basin. However, comparison of coastal tsunami heights was not possible, due to inconsistencies between the provided fault parameters and the modeling results within the provided exercise products. Still, the modeling performed here allowed to analyze tsunami characteristics at the mentioned states from sources within the North Panamá Deformed Belt. The occurrence of a tsunami in the Caribbean may affect several countries because a great variety of them share coastal zones in this basin. Therefore, collaborative efforts similar to the one presented in this study, particularly between neighboring

  7. A Collaborative Effort Between Caribbean States for Tsunami Numerical Modeling: Case Study CaribeWave15

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Chacón-Barrantes, Silvia; López-Venegas, Alberto; Sánchez-Escobar, Rónald; Luque-Vergara, Néstor

    2017-10-01

    Historical records have shown that tsunami have affected the Caribbean region in the past. However infrequent, recent studies have demonstrated that they pose a latent hazard for countries within this basin. The Hazard Assessment Working Group of the ICG/CARIBE-EWS (Intergovernmental Coordination Group of the Early Warning System for Tsunamis and Other Coastal Threats for the Caribbean Sea and Adjacent Regions) of IOC/UNESCO has a modeling subgroup, which seeks to develop a modeling platform to assess the effects of possible tsunami sources within the basin. The CaribeWave tsunami exercise is carried out annually in the Caribbean region to increase awareness and test tsunami preparedness of countries within the basin. In this study we present results of tsunami inundation using the CaribeWave15 exercise scenario for four selected locations within the Caribbean basin (Colombia, Costa Rica, Panamá and Puerto Rico), performed by tsunami modeling researchers from those selected countries. The purpose of this study was to provide the states with additional results for the exercise. The results obtained here were compared to co-seismic deformation and tsunami heights within the basin (energy plots) provided for the exercise to assess the performance of the decision support tools distributed by PTWC (Pacific Tsunami Warning Center), the tsunami service provider for the Caribbean basin. However, comparison of coastal tsunami heights was not possible, due to inconsistencies between the provided fault parameters and the modeling results within the provided exercise products. Still, the modeling performed here allowed to analyze tsunami characteristics at the mentioned states from sources within the North Panamá Deformed Belt. The occurrence of a tsunami in the Caribbean may affect several countries because a great variety of them share coastal zones in this basin. Therefore, collaborative efforts similar to the one presented in this study, particularly between neighboring

  8. Medical tourism in the Caribbean region: a call to consider environmental health equity.

    PubMed

    Johnston, R; Crooks, V A

    2013-03-01

    Medical tourism, which is the intentional travel by private-paying patients across international borders for medical treatment, is a sector that has been targeted for growth in many Caribbean countries. The international development of this industry has raised a core set of proposed health equity benefits and drawbacks for host countries. These benefits centre on the potential investment in health infrastructure and opportunities for health labour force development while drawbacks focus on the potential for reduced access to healthcare for locals and inefficient use of limited public resources to support the growth of the medical tourism industry. The development of the medical tourism sector in Caribbean countries raises additional health equity questions that have received little attention in existing international debates, specifically in regard to environmental health equity. In this viewpoint, we introduce questions of environmental health equity that clearly emerge in relation to the developing Caribbean medical tourism sector These questions acknowledge that the growth of this sector will have impacts on the social and physical environments, resources, and waste management infrastructure in countries. We contend that in addition to addressing the wider health equity concerns that have been consistently raised in existing debates surrounding the growth of medical tourism, planning for growth in this sector in the Caribbean must take environmental health equity into account in order to ensure that local populations, environments, and ecosystems are not harmed by facilities catering to international patients.

  9. Undiscovered phosphate resources in the Caribbean region and their potential value for agricultural development

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Sheldon, Richard Porter; Davidson, D.F.; Riggs, S.R.; Burnett, W.C.

    1985-01-01

    The countries of the world's humid tropical regions lack the soil fertility necessary for high agricultural productivity. A recently developed agricultural technology that increases soil fertility can make tropical agriculture highly productive, but the technique requires large inputs into the soil of phosphorus and other fertilizers and soil amendments. Use of fertilizers derived from phosphate rock is increasing greatly throughout the world, and fertilizer raw materials are being produced more and more frequently from phosphate rock deposits close to the areas of use. An increased understanding of the origin of phosphate rock in ancient oceans has enabled exploration geologists to target areas of potential mineral resource value and to search directly for deposits. However, because of the difficulty of prospecting for mineral deposits in forested tropical regions, phosphate rock deposits are not being explored for in the countries of the humid tropics, including most countries of the Caribbean region. As a result, the countries of the Caribbean must import phosphate rock or phosphorus fertilizer products. In the present trade market, imports of phosphate are too low for the initiation of new agricultural technology in the Caribbean and Central American region. A newly proposed program of discovery and development of undiscovered phosphate rock deposits revolves around reconnaissance studies, prospecting by core drilling, and analysis of bulk samples. The program should increase the chance of discovering economic phosphate rock deposits. The search for and evaluation of phosphate rock resources in the countries of the Caribbean region would take about 5 years and cost an average of $15 million per country. The program is designed to begin with high risk-low cost steps and end with low risk-high cost steps. A successful program could improve the foreign exchange positions of countries in the Caribbean region by adding earnings from agricultural product exports and

  10. Building a collaborative network to understand regional forest dynamics and advance forestry initiatives in the Caribbean

    Treesearch

    Grizelle Gonzalez; Tamara Heartsill Scalley

    2016-01-01

    Herein we provide concluding remarks drawn from and inspired by the discussions of the 5 working groups of the 16th Caribbean Foresters Meeting (CFM) about the needs, challenges, and recommendations to advance forestry in the Caribbean region. We also list key considerations and potential future research directions as presented in the various manuscripts contained in...

  11. Areas of Unsolved Problems in Caribbean Active Tectonics

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Mann, P.

    2015-12-01

    I review some unsolved problems in Caribbean active tectonics. At the regional and plate scale: 1) confirm the existence of intraplate deformation zones of the central Caribbean plate that are within the margin of error of ongoing GPS measurements; 2) carry out field studies to evaluate block models versus models for distributed fault shear on the densely populated islands of Jamaica, Hispaniola, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands; 3) carry out paleoseismological research of key plate boundary faults that may have accumulated large strains but have not been previously studied in detail; 4) determine the age of onset and far-field effects of the Cocos ridge and the Central America forearc sliver; 4) investigate the origin and earthquake-potential of obliquely-sheared rift basins along the northern coast of Venezuela; 5) determine the age of onset and regional active, tectonic effects of the Panama-South America collision including the continued activation of the Maracaibo block; and 6) validate longterm rates on active subduction zones with improving, tomographic maps of subducted slabs. At the individual fault scale: 1) determine the mode of termination of large and active strike -slip faults and application of the STEP model (Septentrional, Polochic, El Pilar, Bocono, Santa Marta-Bucaramanaga); 2) improve the understanding of the earthquake potential on the Enriquillo-Plantain Garden fault zone given "off-fault" events such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake; how widespread is this behavior?; and 3) estimate size of future tsunamis from studies of historic or prehistoric slump scars and mass transport deposits; what potential runups can be predicted from this information?; and 4) devise ways to keep rapidly growing, circum-Caribbean urban populations better informed and safer in the face of inevitable and future, large earthquakes.

  12. ‘Fight TB with BCG’: Mass Vaccination Campaigns in the British Caribbean, 1951–6

    PubMed Central

    Altink, Henrice

    2014-01-01

    Based on a wide range of primary materials, including WHO reports and Colonial Office correspondence, this article examines the UNICEF/WHO-funded mass BCG campaigns that were carried out in seven Caribbean colonies between 1951 and 1956. It explores the reasons behind them, their nature and aftermath and also compares them to those in other non-European countries and discusses them within a context of decolonisation. In doing so, it not only adds to the scholarship on TB in non-European contexts, which had tended to focus on Africa and Asia, but also to the relatively new field of Caribbean medical history and the rapidly expanding body of work on international health, which has paid scant attention to the Anglophone Caribbean and the pre-independence period. PMID:25284891

  13. Caribbean Heat Threatens Health, Well-being and the Future of Humanity.

    PubMed

    Macpherson, Cheryl C; Akpinar-Elci, Muge

    2015-07-01

    Climate change has substantial impacts on public health and safety, disease risks and the provision of health care, with the poor being particularly disadvantaged. Management of the associated health risks and changing health service requirements requires adequate responses at local levels. Health-care providers are central to these responses. While climate change raises ethical questions about its causes, impacts and social justice, medicine and bioethics typically focus on individual patients and research participants rather than these broader issues. We broaden this focus by examining awareness among health-care providers in the Caribbean region, where geographic and socioeconomic features pose particular vulnerabilities to climate change. In focus groups, Caribbean providers described rises in mosquito-borne, flood-related, heat-related, respiratory and mental illnesses, and attributed these to local impacts of climate change. Their discussions showed that the significance of these impacts differs in different Caribbean nations, raising policy and social justice questions. Bioethics and public health ethics are situated to frame, inform and initiate public and policy dialog about values and scientific evidence associated with climate change. We urge readers to initiate such dialog within their own institutions about the context-dependent nature of the burdens of climate change, and values and policies that permit it to worsen.

  14. A global positioning measurement system for regional geodesy in the caribbean

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Renzetti, N. A.

    1986-11-01

    Low cost, portable receivers using signals from satellites of the Global Positioning System (GPS) will enable precision geodetic observations to be made on a large scale. A number of important geophysical questions relating to plate-motion kinematics and dynamics can be addressed with this measurement capability. We describe a plan to design and validate a GPS-based geodetic system, and to demonstrate its capability in California, Mexico and the Caribbean region. The Caribbean program is a prototype for a number of regional geodetic networks to be globally distributed. In 1985, efforts will be concentrated on understanding and minimizing error sources. Two dominant sources of error are uncertainties in the orbit ephemeris of the GPS satellites, and uncertainties in the correction for signal delay due to variable tropospheric water vapor. Orbit ephemeris uncertainties can be minimized by performing simultaneous satellite observations with GPS receivers at known (fiducial) points. Water vapor corrections can be made by performing simultaneous line-of-sight measurements of integrated water vapor content with ground-based water vapor radiometers. Specific experiments to validate both concepts are outlined. Caribbean measurements will begin in late 1985 or early 1986. Key areas of measurement are the northern strike-slip boundary, and the western convergent boundary. Specific measurement plans in both regions are described.

  15. Caribbean Heat Threatens Health, Well-being and the Future of Humanity

    PubMed Central

    Macpherson, Cheryl C.; Akpinar-Elci, Muge

    2015-01-01

    Climate change has substantial impacts on public health and safety, disease risks and the provision of health care, with the poor being particularly disadvantaged. Management of the associated health risks and changing health service requirements requires adequate responses at local levels. Health-care providers are central to these responses. While climate change raises ethical questions about its causes, impacts and social justice, medicine and bioethics typically focus on individual patients and research participants rather than these broader issues. We broaden this focus by examining awareness among health-care providers in the Caribbean region, where geographic and socioeconomic features pose particular vulnerabilities to climate change. In focus groups, Caribbean providers described rises in mosquito-borne, flood-related, heat-related, respiratory and mental illnesses, and attributed these to local impacts of climate change. Their discussions showed that the significance of these impacts differs in different Caribbean nations, raising policy and social justice questions. Bioethics and public health ethics are situated to frame, inform and initiate public and policy dialog about values and scientific evidence associated with climate change. We urge readers to initiate such dialog within their own institutions about the context-dependent nature of the burdens of climate change, and values and policies that permit it to worsen. PMID:26180551

  16. Shipwreck rates reveal Caribbean tropical cyclone response to past radiative forcing.

    PubMed

    Trouet, Valerie; Harley, Grant L; Domínguez-Delmás, Marta

    2016-03-22

    Assessing the impact of future climate change on North Atlantic tropical cyclone (TC) activity is of crucial societal importance, but the limited quantity and quality of observational records interferes with the skill of future TC projections. In particular, North Atlantic TC response to radiative forcing is poorly understood and creates the dominant source of uncertainty for twenty-first-century projections. Here, we study TC variability in the Caribbean during the Maunder Minimum (MM; 1645-1715 CE), a period defined by the most severe reduction in solar irradiance in documented history (1610-present). For this purpose, we combine a documentary time series of Spanish shipwrecks in the Caribbean (1495-1825 CE) with a tree-growth suppression chronology from the Florida Keys (1707-2009 CE). We find a 75% reduction in decadal-scale Caribbean TC activity during the MM, which suggests modulation of the influence of reduced solar irradiance by the cumulative effect of cool North Atlantic sea surface temperatures, El Niño-like conditions, and a negative phase of the North Atlantic Oscillation. Our results emphasize the need to enhance our understanding of the response of these oceanic and atmospheric circulation patterns to radiative forcing and climate change to improve the skill of future TC projections.

  17. Shipwreck rates reveal Caribbean tropical cyclone response to past radiative forcing

    PubMed Central

    Trouet, Valerie; Harley, Grant L.; Domínguez-Delmás, Marta

    2016-01-01

    Assessing the impact of future climate change on North Atlantic tropical cyclone (TC) activity is of crucial societal importance, but the limited quantity and quality of observational records interferes with the skill of future TC projections. In particular, North Atlantic TC response to radiative forcing is poorly understood and creates the dominant source of uncertainty for twenty-first-century projections. Here, we study TC variability in the Caribbean during the Maunder Minimum (MM; 1645–1715 CE), a period defined by the most severe reduction in solar irradiance in documented history (1610–present). For this purpose, we combine a documentary time series of Spanish shipwrecks in the Caribbean (1495–1825 CE) with a tree-growth suppression chronology from the Florida Keys (1707–2009 CE). We find a 75% reduction in decadal-scale Caribbean TC activity during the MM, which suggests modulation of the influence of reduced solar irradiance by the cumulative effect of cool North Atlantic sea surface temperatures, El Niño–like conditions, and a negative phase of the North Atlantic Oscillation. Our results emphasize the need to enhance our understanding of the response of these oceanic and atmospheric circulation patterns to radiative forcing and climate change to improve the skill of future TC projections. PMID:26951648

  18. Caribbean dry forest networking: an opportunity for conservation

    Treesearch

    K. Banda-Rodriguez; J. Weintritt; R.T. Pennington

    2016-01-01

    Seasonally dry tropical forest is the most threatened tropical forest in the world. Though its overall plant species diversity is lower than in neighboring biomes such as rain forest, species endemism can be high, and its conservation has often been neglected. Caribbean dry forests face diverse threats including tourism, agriculture, and climate change. The Latin...

  19. 77 FR 5775 - Caribbean Fishery Management Council; Public Meeting

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2012-02-06

    ... Caribbean Fishery Management Council's (Council) Outreach and Education Advisory Panel (OEAP) will hold a...--Miguel Rol[oacute]n --Goals and Objectives of the CFMC Outreach and Education Advisory Panel (OEAP... --Bulletin/Newsletter --Social Network Pages --Streaming of Council Meetings --Other Business The meeting is...

  20. Non-native seagrass Halophila stipulacea forms dense mats under eutrophic conditions in the Caribbean

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    van Tussenbroek, B. I.; van Katwijk, M. M.; Bouma, T. J.; van der Heide, T.; Govers, L. L.; Leuven, R. S. E. W.

    2016-09-01

    Seagrasses comprise 78 species and are rarely invasive. But the seagrass Halophila stipulacea, firstly recorded in the Caribbean in the year 2002, has spread quickly throughout the region. Previous works have described this species as invasive in the Caribbean, forming dense mats that exclude native seagrass species. During a reconnaissance field survey of Caribbean seagrass meadows at the islands of Bonaire and Sint Maarten in 2013, we observed that this species was only extremely dense at 5 out of 10 studied meadows. Compared to areas with sparse growth of H. stipulacea, these dense meadows showed consistently higher nutrient concentrations, as indicated by higher leaf tissue N contents of the seagrass Thalassia testudinum (dense when C:N < 22.5) and sediments (dense when %N > 11.3). Thus, the potential invasiveness of this non-native seagrass most likely depends on the environmental conditions, especially the nutrient concentrations.

  1. Early origins of the Caribbean plate from deep seismic profiles across the Nicaraguan Rise

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ott, B.; Mann, W. P.

    2012-12-01

    The offshore Nicaraguan Rise in the maritime zones of Honduras, Jamaica, Nicaragua and Colombia covers a combined area of 500,000 km2, and is one of the least known equatorial Cretaceous-Cenozoic carbonate regions remaining on Earth. The purpose of this study is to describe the Cretaceous to Recent tectonic and stratigraphic history of the deep water Nicaraguan Rise, and to better understand how various types of crustal blocks underlying the Eocene to Recent carbonate cover fused into a single, larger Caribbean plate known today from GPS studies. We interpreted 8700 km of modern, deep-penetration 2D seismic data kindly provided by the oil industry, tied to five wells that penetrated Cretaceous igneous basement. Based on these data, and integration with gravity, magnetic and existing crustal refraction data, we define four crustal provinces for the offshore Nicaraguan Rise: 1) Thicker (15-18 km) Late Cretaceous Caribbean ocean plateau (COP) with rough, top basement surface; 2) normal (6-8 km) Late Cretaceous COP with smooth top basement surface (B") and correlative outcrops in southern Haiti and Jamaica; 3) Precambrian-Paleozoic continental crust (20-22 km thick) with correlative outcrops in northern Central America; and 4) Cretaceous arc crust (>18 km thick) with correlative outcrops in Jamaica. These strongly contrasting basement belts strike northeastward to eastward, and were juxtaposed by latest Cretaceous-Paleogene northward and northwestward thrusting of Caribbean arc over continental crust in Central America, and the western Nicaraguan Rise (84 to 85 degrees west). A large Paleogene to recent, CCW rotation of the Caribbean plate along the Cayman trough faults and into its present day location explains why terranes in Central America and beneath the Nicaraguan Rise have their present, anomalous north-east strike. Continuing, present-day activity on some of these crustal block boundaries is a likely result of intraplate stresses imposed by the surrounding

  2. Caribbean small-island tourism styles and sustainable strategies

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    de Albuquerque, Klaus; McElroy, Jerome L.

    1992-09-01

    This article focuses on developing a sustainable tourism in small Caribbean islands, defined here as those that have populations of fewer than 500,000. Such islands share a very fragile ecology and a high dependence on tourism. They differ in their degree of tourist penetration and visitor density and the related degree of environmental degradation. To explain the link between tourism intensity and ecological vulnerability, the so-called “destination life-cycle model” is presented. This suggests that islands pass through three primary stages of tourist development low-density exploration, rapid growth and consolidation, and high-density maturation involving the substitution of man-made for natural attractions. A broad empirical test of the model is performed through a quantitative examination of the tourism characteristics and visitor densities of a cross section of 23 small Caribbean islands. The three basic stages or tourism styles are identified: low-impact emerging areas, high-density mass-market mature destinations, and rapidly growing intermediate islands in between. Some broad strategies consistent with the systems framework for a sustainable tourism with moderate densitites are briefly explored.

  3. Melioidosis in Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean

    PubMed Central

    Sanchez-Villamil, Javier I.; Torres, Alfredo G.

    2018-01-01

    Burkholderia pseudomallei is the causative agent of melioidosis, an endemic disease in tropical areas around the world. Cumulative human cases have demonstrated that melioidosis is prevalent and increasingly recognized in the American continent. Even though the first reports of melioidosis in Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean Islands date back to the late 1940s, the potential of the disease as a public health concern in the region has not been fully appreciated. Unfortunately, recent studies predicting the global distribution of the disease and the demonstration of melioidosis endemicity in Puerto Rico have not increased recognition of the disease by health professionals in this region. Furthermore, a lack of both diagnostic capacity and awareness of the disease has resulted in a limited number of studies that have attempted to accurately determine its prevalence and geographical distribution. In this review, a summary of reported cases in the countries of this region are presented, as well as recommendations to increase the diagnosis and awareness of the disease as an important public health problem in Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean islands. PMID:29780897

  4. Genetic Diversity in the Lesser Antilles and Its Implications for the Settlement of the Caribbean Basin

    PubMed Central

    Benn Torres, Jada; Vilar, Miguel G.; Torres, Gabriel A.; Gaieski, Jill B.; Bharath Hernandez, Ricardo; Browne, Zoila E.; Stevenson, Marlon; Walters, Wendell; Schurr, Theodore G.

    2015-01-01

    Historical discourses about the Caribbean often chronicle West African and European influence to the general neglect of indigenous people’s contributions to the contemporary region. Consequently, demographic histories of Caribbean people prior to and after European contact are not well understood. Although archeological evidence suggests that the Lesser Antilles were populated in a series of northward and eastern migratory waves, many questions remain regarding the relationship of the Caribbean migrants to other indigenous people of South and Central America and changes to the demography of indigenous communities post-European contact. To explore these issues, we analyzed mitochondrial DNA and Y-chromosome diversity in 12 unrelated individuals from the First Peoples Community in Arima, Trinidad, and 43 unrelated Garifuna individuals residing in St. Vincent. In this community-sanctioned research, we detected maternal indigenous ancestry in 42% of the participants, with the remainder having haplotypes indicative of African and South Asian maternal ancestry. Analysis of Y-chromosome variation revealed paternal indigenous American ancestry indicated by the presence of haplogroup Q-M3 in 28% of the male participants from both communities, with the remainder possessing either African or European haplogroups. This finding is the first report of indigenous American paternal ancestry among indigenous populations in this region of the Caribbean. Overall, this study illustrates the role of the region’s first peoples in shaping the genetic diversity seen in contemporary Caribbean populations. PMID:26447794

  5. The Relationship Between Metabolic Risk Factors and Incident Cardiovascular Disease in Europeans, South Asians, and African Caribbeans

    PubMed Central

    Tillin, Therese; Hughes, Alun D.; Mayet, Jamil; Whincup, Peter; Sattar, Naveed; Forouhi, Nita G.; McKeigue, Paul M.; Chaturvedi, Nish

    2013-01-01

    Objectives This study sought to determine whether ethnic differences in diabetes, dyslipidemia, and ectopic fat deposition account for ethnic differences in incident cardiovascular disease. Background Coronary heart disease risks are elevated in South Asians and are lower in African Caribbeans compared with Europeans. These ethnic differences map to lipid patterns and ectopic fat deposition. Methods Cardiovascular risk factors were assessed in 2,049 Europeans, 1,517 South Asians, and 630 African Caribbeans from 1988 through 1991 (mean age: 52.4 ± 6.9 years). Fatal and nonfatal events were captured over a median 20.5-year follow-up. Subhazard ratios (SHR) were calculated using competing risks regression. Results Baseline diabetes prevalence was more than 3 times greater in South Asians and African Caribbeans than in Europeans. South Asians were more and African Caribbeans were less centrally obese and dyslipidemic than Europeans. Compared with Europeans, coronary heart disease incidence was greater in South Asians and less in African Caribbeans. The age- and sex-adjusted South Asian versus European SHR was 1.70 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.52 to 1.91, p < 0.001) and remained significant (1.45, 95% CI: 1.28 to 1.64, p < 0.001) when adjusted for waist-to-hip ratio. The African Caribbean versus European age- and sex-adjusted SHR of 0.64 (95% CI: 0.52 to 0.79, p < 0.001) remained significant when adjusted for high-density lipoprotein and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (0.74, 95% CI: 0.60 to 0.92, p = 0.008). Compared with Europeans, South Asians and African Caribbeans experienced more strokes (age- and sex-adjusted SHR: 1.45 [95% CI: 1.17 to 1.80, p = 0.001] and 1.50 [95% CI: 1.13 to 2.00, p = 0.005], respectively), and this differential was more marked in those with diabetes (age-adjusted SHR: 1.97 [95% CI: 1.16 to 3.35, p = 0.038 for interaction] and 2.21 [95% CI: 1.14 to 4.30, p = 0.019 for interaction]). Conclusions Ethnic differences in measured metabolic

  6. After the epidemic: Zika virus projections for Latin America and the Caribbean

    PubMed Central

    Hunter, Paul R.; Lake, Iain R.

    2017-01-01

    Background Zika is one of the most challenging emergent vector-borne diseases, yet its future public health impact remains unclear. Zika was of little public health concern until recent reports of its association with congenital syndromes. By 3 August 2017 ∼217,000 Zika cases and ∼3,400 cases of associated congenital syndrome were reported in Latin America and the Caribbean. Some modelling exercises suggest that Zika virus infection could become endemic in agreement with recent declarations from the The World Health Organisation. Methodology/Principal findings We produced high-resolution spatially-explicit projections of Zika cases, associated congenital syndromes and monetary costs for Latin America and the Caribbean now that the epidemic phase of the disease appears to be over. In contrast to previous studies which have adopted a modelling approach to map Zika potential, we project case numbers using a statistical approach based upon reported dengue case data as a Zika surrogate. Our results indicate that ∼12.3 (0.7–162.3) million Zika cases could be expected across Latin America and the Caribbean every year, leading to ∼64.4 (0.2–5159.3) thousand cases of Guillain-Barré syndrome and ∼4.7 (0.0–116.3) thousand cases of microcephaly. The economic burden of these neurological sequelae are estimated to be USD ∼2.3 (USD 0–159.3) billion per annum. Conclusions/Significance Zika is likely to have significant public health consequences across Latin America and the Caribbean in years to come. Our projections inform regional and federal health authorities, offering an opportunity to adapt to this public health challenge. PMID:29091713

  7. Adolescent Literacies in Latin America and the Caribbean

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bartlett, Lesley; Lopez, Dina; Mein, Erika; Valdiviezo, Laura A.

    2011-01-01

    In 2000, approximately 36 million youth and adults living in Latin America and the Caribbean were reported to be unable to read or write basic texts. Of these, 20 million were women. According to official statistics, some countries in Central America (Guatemala, Nicaragua, El Salvador, and Honduras) have a youth and adult literacy rate of 80% or…

  8. Leading countries in mental health research in Latin America and the Caribbean.

    PubMed

    Razzouk, Denise; Zorzetto, Ricardo; Dubugras, Maria Thereza; Gerolin, Jerônimo; Mari, Jair de Jesus

    2007-06-01

    The prevalence and burden of mental disorders have been growing in Latin-American and the Caribbean countries and research is an important tool for changing this scenario. The objective of this paper is to describe the development of mental health research in Latin American and the Caribbean countries from 1995 to 2005. The indicators of productivity were based on the ISI Essential Science Indicators database. We compared the number of papers and citations, as well as the number of citations per paper between 1995 and 2005 for each country ranked in the Essential Science Indicators. Eleven Latin-American countries were ranked in the ISI database and six of them demonstrated a higher level of development in mental health research: Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, and Venezuela. Mexico produced the largest number of papers, while Brazil showed a larger number of citations per paper. Mental health research is still incipient in Latin American and the Caribbean countries, and many challenges remain to be overcome. Also, it is necessary to establish the research priorities, to allocate more funding, and to improve researchers training in research method and design.

  9. Mass coral bleaching in 2010 in the southern Caribbean.

    PubMed

    Alemu I, Jahson Berhane; Clement, Ysharda

    2014-01-01

    Ocean temperatures are increasing globally and the Caribbean is no exception. An extreme ocean warming event in 2010 placed Tobago's coral reefs under severe stress resulting in widespread coral bleaching and threatening the livelihoods that rely on them. The bleaching response of four reef building taxa was monitored over a six month period across three major reefs systems in Tobago. By identifying taxa resilient to bleaching we propose to assist local coral reef managers in the decision making process to cope with mass bleaching events. The bleaching signal (length of exposure to high ocean temperatures) varied widely between the Atlantic and Caribbean reefs, but regardless of this variation most taxa bleached. Colpophyllia natans, Montastraea faveolata and Siderastrea siderea were considered the most bleaching vulnerable taxa. Interestingly, reefs with the highest coral cover showed the greatest decline reef building taxa, and conversely, reefs with the lowest coral cover showed the most bleaching but lowest change in coral cover with little algal overgrowth post-bleaching.

  10. Mass Coral Bleaching in 2010 in the Southern Caribbean

    PubMed Central

    Alemu I, Jahson Berhane; Clement, Ysharda

    2014-01-01

    Ocean temperatures are increasing globally and the Caribbean is no exception. An extreme ocean warming event in 2010 placed Tobago's coral reefs under severe stress resulting in widespread coral bleaching and threatening the livelihoods that rely on them. The bleaching response of four reef building taxa was monitored over a six month period across three major reefs systems in Tobago. By identifying taxa resilient to bleaching we propose to assist local coral reef managers in the decision making process to cope with mass bleaching events. The bleaching signal (length of exposure to high ocean temperatures) varied widely between the Atlantic and Caribbean reefs, but regardless of this variation most taxa bleached. Colpophyllia natans, Montastraea faveolata and Siderastrea siderea were considered the most bleaching vulnerable taxa. Interestingly, reefs with the highest coral cover showed the greatest decline reef building taxa, and conversely, reefs with the lowest coral cover showed the most bleaching but lowest change in coral cover with little algal overgrowth post-bleaching. PMID:24400078

  11. Native predators do not influence invasion success of pacific lionfish on Caribbean reefs.

    PubMed

    Hackerott, Serena; Valdivia, Abel; Green, Stephanie J; Côté, Isabelle M; Cox, Courtney E; Akins, Lad; Layman, Craig A; Precht, William F; Bruno, John F

    2013-01-01

    Biotic resistance, the process by which new colonists are excluded from a community by predation from and/or competition with resident species, can prevent or limit species invasions. We examined whether biotic resistance by native predators on Caribbean coral reefs has influenced the invasion success of red lionfishes (Pterois volitans and Pterois miles), piscivores from the Indo-Pacific. Specifically, we surveyed the abundance (density and biomass) of lionfish and native predatory fishes that could interact with lionfish (either through predation or competition) on 71 reefs in three biogeographic regions of the Caribbean. We recorded protection status of the reefs, and abiotic variables including depth, habitat type, and wind/wave exposure at each site. We found no relationship between the density or biomass of lionfish and that of native predators. However, lionfish densities were significantly lower on windward sites, potentially because of habitat preferences, and in marine protected areas, most likely because of ongoing removal efforts by reserve managers. Our results suggest that interactions with native predators do not influence the colonization or post-establishment population density of invasive lionfish on Caribbean reefs.

  12. Spirituality and Subjective Religiosity among African Americans, Caribbean Blacks and Non-Hispanic Whites

    PubMed Central

    Chatters, Linda M.; Taylor, Robert Joseph; Bullard, Kai McKeever; Jackson, James S.

    2010-01-01

    Patterns and correlates of self-perceptions of spirituality and subjective religiosity are examined using data from the National Survey of American Life, a nationally representative study of African Americans, Caribbean Blacks and non-Hispanic Whites. Demographic and denominational correlates of patterns of subjective religiosity and spirituality (i.e., religious only, spiritual only, both religious/spiritual and neither religious/spiritual) are examined. In addition, the study of African Americans and Caribbean Blacks permits the investigation of possible ethnic variation in the meaning and conceptual significance of these constructs within the U.S. Black population. African Americans and Caribbean Blacks are more likely than Non-Hispanic Whites to indicate that they are “both religious and spiritual” and less likely to indicate that they are “spiritual only” or “neither spiritual nor religious.” Demographic and denominational differences in the patterns of spirituality and subjective religiosity are also indicated. Study findings are discussed in relation to prior research in this field and noted conceptual and methodological issues deserving further study. PMID:21052481

  13. CARIBE WAVE/LANTEX Caribbean and Western Atlantic Tsunami Exercises

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    von Hillebrandt-Andrade, C.; Whitmore, P.; Aliaga, B.; Huerfano Moreno, V.

    2013-12-01

    Over 75 tsunamis have been documented in the Caribbean and Adjacent Regions over the past 500 years. While most have been generated by local earthquakes, distant generated tsunamis can also affect the region. For example, waves from the 1755 Lisbon earthquake and tsunami were observed in Cuba, Dominican Republic, British Virgin Islands, as well as Antigua, Martinique, Guadalupe and Barbados in the Lesser Antilles. Since 1500, at least 4484 people are reported to have perished in these killer waves. Although the tsunami generated by the 2010 Haiti earthquake claimed only a few lives, in the 1530 El Pilar, Venezuela; 1602 Port Royale, Jamaica; 1918 Puerto Rico; and 1946 Samaná, Dominican Republic tsunamis the death tolls ranged to over a thousand. Since then, there has been an explosive increase in residents, visitors, infrastructure, and economic activity along the coastlines, increasing the potential for human and economic loss. It has been estimated that on any day, upwards of more than 500,000 people could be in harm's way just along the beaches, with hundreds of thousands more working and living in the tsunamis hazard zones. Given the relative infrequency of tsunamis, exercises are a valuable tool to test communications, evaluate preparedness and raise awareness. Exercises in the Caribbean are conducted under the framework of the UNESCO IOC Intergovernmental Coordination Group for the Tsunami and other Coastal Hazards Warning System for the Caribbean and Adjacent Regions (CARIBE EWS) and the US National Tsunami Hazard Mitigation Program. On March 23, 2011, 34 countries and territories participated in the first CARIBE WAVE/LANTEX regional tsunami exercise, while in the second exercise on March 20, 2013 a total of 45 countries and territories participated. 481 organizations (almost 200 more than in 2011) also registered to receive the bulletins issued by the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center (PTWC), West Coast and Alaska Tsunami Warning Center and/or the Puerto Rico

  14. 'The full has never been told': building a theory of sexual health for heterosexual Black men of Caribbean descent.

    PubMed

    Crowell, Candice N; Delgado-Romero, Edward A; Mosley, Della V; Huynh, Sophia

    2016-08-01

    Research on Black sexual health often fails to represent the heterogeneity of Black ethnic groups. For people of Caribbean descent in the USA, ethnicity is a salient cultural factor that influences definitions and experiences of sexual health. Most research on people of Caribbean descent focuses on the relatively high rate of STIs, but sexual health is defined more broadly than STI prevalence. Psychological and emotional indicators and the voice of participants are important to consider when exploring the sexual health of a minority culture. The purpose of this study was to qualitatively explore how heterosexual Black men of Caribbean descent define and understand sexual health for themselves. Eleven men who self-identified as Black, Caribbean and heterosexual participated in three focus groups and were asked to define sexual health, critique behaviours expertly identified as healthy and address what encourages and discourages sexual health in their lives. Findings point to six dimensions of sexual health for heterosexual Black men of Caribbean descent. These include: heterosexually privileged, protective, contextual, interpersonal, cultural and pleasurable dimensions. There were some notable departures from current expert definitions of sexual health. Recommendations for further theory development are provided.

  15. Measurement Invariance of the UTAUT Constructs in the Caribbean

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Thomas, Troy D.; Singh, Lenandlar; Gaffar, Kemuel; Thakur, Dhanaraj; Jackman, Grace-Ann; Thomas, Michael; Gajraj, Roger; Allen, Claudine; Tooma, Keron

    2014-01-01

    This article employs confirmatory factor analysis to evaluate the factorial validity and the cross-national comparability of the UTAUT constructs with respect to mobile learning in higher education in four Caribbean countries. Except for the measurement of one factor, the UTAUT constructs exhibit adequate reliability and validity. Though full…

  16. Characterization and effects of cold fronts in the Colombian Caribbean Coast and their relationship to extreme wave events

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ortiz-Royero, J. C.; Otero, L. J.; Restrepo, J. C.; Ruiz, J.; Cadena, M.

    2013-07-01

    Extreme ocean waves in the Caribbean Sea are commonly related to the effects of storms and hurricanes during the months of June through November. The collapse of 200 m of the Puerto Colombia pier in March 2009 revealed the effects of meteorological phenomena other than storms and hurricanes that may be influencing the extreme wave regime in the Colombian Caribbean. The marked seasonality of these atmospheric fronts was established by analyzing the meteorological-marine reports of Instituto de Hidrología, Meteorología y Estudios Ambientales of Colombia (IDEAM, based on its initials in Spanish) and Centro de Investigación en Oceanografía y Meteorología of Colombia (CIOH, based on its initials in Spanish). The highest occurrences were observed during the months of January, February, and March, with 6 fronts occurring per year. An annual trend was not observed, although the highest number of fronts occurred in 2010 (20 in total). An annual strong relationship between the maximum average wave values and the cold fronts, in the central zone of the Colombian Caribbean during the first three months of the year was established. In addition, the maximum values of the significant height produced by the passage of cold fronts during the last 16 yr were identified. Although the Colombian Caribbean has been affected by storms and hurricanes in the past, this research allows us to conclude that, there is a strong relationship between cold fronts and the largest waves in the Colombian Caribbean during the last 16 yr, which have caused damage to coastal infrastructure. We verified that the passage of a cold front corresponded to the most significant extreme wave event of the last two decades in the Colombian Caribbean, which caused the structural collapse of the Puerto Colombia pier, located near the city of Barranquilla, between 5 and 10 March 2009. This information is invaluable when evaluating average and extreme wave regimes for the purpose of informing the design of

  17. Hazardous Waste Cleanup: Omark Caribbean Incorporated in Bayamon, Puerto Rico

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    Omark Caribbean, Inc., a subsidiary of Oregon Saw Chain Division, is located at 88-90 Street D, Minillas Industrial Park in Bayamon, Puerto Rico. According to a topography map, the Rio Bayamon is located approximately 500 feet from the facility.

  18. Assistance Focus: Latin America and the Caribbean Region

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    The Clean Energy Solutions Center, an initiative of the Clean Energy Ministerial, helps countries throughout the world create policies and programs that advance the deployment of clean energy technologies. Through the Solutions Center's no-cost Ask an Expert service, a team of international experts has delivered assistance to countries in all regions of the world, including Latin America and the Caribbean.

  19. A founder mutation in presenilin 1 causing early-onset Alzheimer disease in unrelated Caribbean Hispanic families.

    PubMed

    Athan, E S; Williamson, J; Ciappa, A; Santana, V; Romas, S N; Lee, J H; Rondon, H; Lantigua, R A; Medrano, M; Torres, M; Arawaka, S; Rogaeva, E; Song, Y Q; Sato, C; Kawarai, T; Fafel, K C; Boss, M A; Seltzer, W K; Stern, Y; St George-Hyslop, P; Tycko, B; Mayeux, R

    2001-11-14

    Genetic determinants of Alzheimer disease (AD) have not been comprehensively examined in Caribbean Hispanics, a population in the United States in whom the frequency of AD is higher compared with non-Hispanic whites. To identify variant alleles in genes related to familial early-onset AD among Caribbean Hispanics. Family-based case series conducted in 1998-2001 at an AD research center in New York, NY, and clinics in the Dominican Republic. Among 206 Caribbean Hispanic families with 2 or more living members with AD who were identified, 19 (9.2%) had at least 1 individual with onset of AD before the age of 55 years. The entire coding region of the presenilin 1 gene and exons 16 and 17 of the amyloid precursor protein gene were sequenced in probands from the 19 families and their living relatives. A G-to-C nucleotide change resulting in a glycine-alanine amino acid substitution at codon 206 (Gly206Ala) in exon 7 of presenilin 1 was observed in 23 individuals from 8 (42%) of the 19 families. A Caribbean Hispanic individual with the Gly206Ala mutation and early-onset familial disease was also found by sequencing the corresponding genes of 319 unrelated individuals in New York City. The Gly206Ala mutation was not found in public genetic databases but was reported in 5 individuals from 4 Hispanic families with AD referred for genetic testing. None of the members of these families were related to one another, yet all carriers of the Gly206Ala mutation tested shared a variant allele at 2 nearby microsatellite polymorphisms, indicating a common ancestor. No mutations were found in the amyloid precursor protein gene. The Gly206Ala mutation was found in 8 of 19 unrelated Caribbean Hispanic families with early-onset familial AD. This genetic change may be a prevalent cause of early-onset familial AD in the Caribbean Hispanic population.

  20. Kinematics of the Southwestern Caribbean from New Geodetic Observations

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ruiz, G.; La Femina, P. C.; Tapia, A.; Camacho, E.; Chichaco, E.; Mora-Paez, H.; Geirsson, H.

    2014-12-01

    The interaction of the Caribbean, Cocos, Nazca, and South American plates has resulted in a complex plate boundary zone and the formation of second order tectonic blocks (e.g., the North Andean, Choco and Central America Fore Arc blocks). The Panama Region [PR], which is bounded by these plates and blocks, has been interpreted and modeled as a single tectonic block or deformed plate boundary. Previous research has defined the main boundaries: 1) The Caribbean plate subducts beneath the isthmus along the North Panama Deformed Belt, 2) The Nazca plate converges at very high obliquity with the PR and motion is assumed along a left lateral transform fault and the South Panama Deformed Belt, 3) The collision of PR with NW South America (i.e., the N. Andean and Choco blocks) has resulted in the Eastern Panama Deformed Belt, and 4) collision of the Cocos Ridge in the west is accommodated by crustal shortening, Central American Fore Arc translation and deformation across the Central Costa Rican Deformed Belt. In addition, there are several models that suggest internal deformation of this region by cross-isthmus strike-slip faults. Recent GPS observations for the PR indicates movement to the northeast relative to a stable Caribbean plate at rates of 6.9±4.0 - 7.8±4.8 mm a-1 from southern Costa Rica to eastern Panama, respectively (Kobayashi et al., 2014 and references therein). However, the GPS network did not have enough spatial density to estimate elastic strain accumulation across these faults. Recent installation and expansion of geodetic networks in southwestern Caribbean (i.e., Costa Rica, Panama, and Colombia) combined with geological and geophysical observations provide a new input to investigate crustal deformation processes in this complex tectonic setting, specifically related to the PR. We use new and existing GPS data to calculate a new velocity field for the region and to investigate the kinematics of the PR, including elastic strain accumulation on the

  1. Structural response of Caribbean dry forests to hurricane winds: a case study from Guanica Forest, Puerto Rico.

    Treesearch

    Skip J. Van Bloem; Ariel E. Lugo; Peter G. Murphy

    2006-01-01

    Tropical dry forests in the Caribbean have an uniquely short, shrubby structure with a high proportion of multiple-stemmed trees compared to dry forests elsewhere in the Neotropics. Previous studies have shown that this structure can arise without the loss of main stems from cutting, grazing, or other human intervention. The Caribbean has a high frequency of hurricanes...

  2. 77 FR 76458 - Fisheries of the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, and South Atlantic; Spiny Lobster Fishery of Puerto...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2012-12-28

    ... the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, and South Atlantic; Spiny Lobster Fishery of Puerto Rico and the U.S... berried Caribbean spiny lobster for non-lethal sampling (tagging) during the course of their normal fishing activities. This non-lethal sampling would include implanting a tag on each spiny lobster before...

  3. The Major Project in the Field of Education in the Latin American and Caribbean Region. OREALC Bulletin 17.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization, Santiago (Chile). Regional Office for Education in Latin America and Caribbean.

    Four articles comprise this issue of the bulletin. "The Situation of Teachers in the English-Speaking Caribbean" (A. B. Alleyne) examines the position of Caribbean teachers with respect to salaries, social security, the teacher shortage, the adequacy of educational objectives and policies, preparation for the profession, and further…

  4. Church-Based Social Support Among Caribbean Blacks in the United States

    PubMed Central

    Nguyen, Ann W.; Taylor, Robert Joseph; Chatters, Linda M.

    2016-01-01

    An emerging body of research notes the importance of church-based social support networks in the daily lives of Americans. However, few studies examine church-based support, and especially among ethnic subgroups within the U.S. Black population, such as Caribbean Blacks. This study uses data from the National Survey of American Life (NSAL) to examine demographic and religious participation (e.g., attendance, interaction) correlates of church-based social support (e.g., receipt of emotional support, receipt of general support, provision of support to others, and negative interaction) among Caribbean Blacks residing in the U.S. Multiple regression analyses indicated that religious participation was associated with all four dependent variables. Church attendance was positively associated with receiving emotional support, general social support, and providing support to others, but was not associated with negative interaction. Frequency of interaction with fellow congregants was positively associated with receiving emotional support, receiving general support, providing support to others and negative interaction. Demographic findings indicated that women provided more support to church members and experienced more negative interactions with members than did men. Education was positively associated with frequency of support; household income was negatively associated with receiving emotional support and providing social support to others. Findings are discussed in relation to the role of church-based support networks in the lives of Caribbean Black immigrants and communities. PMID:27942078

  5. Molecules and fossils reveal punctuated diversification in Caribbean “faviid” corals

    PubMed Central

    2012-01-01

    Background Even with well-known sampling biases, the fossil record is key to understanding macro-evolutionary patterns. During the Miocene to Pleistocene in the Caribbean Sea, the fossil record of scleractinian corals shows a remarkable period of rapid diversification followed by massive extinction. Here we combine a time-calibrated molecular phylogeny based on three nuclear introns with an updated fossil stratigraphy to examine patterns of radiation and extinction in Caribbean corals within the traditional family Faviidae. Results Concatenated phylogenetic analysis showed most species of Caribbean faviids were monophyletic, with the exception of two Manicina species. The time-calibrated tree revealed the stem group originated around the closure of the Tethys Sea (17.0 Ma), while the genus Manicina diversified during the Late Miocene (8.20 Ma), when increased sedimentation and productivity may have favored free-living, heterotrophic species. Reef and shallow water specialists, represented by Diploria and Favia, originate at the beginning of the Pliocene (5 – 6 Ma) as the Isthmus of Panama shoaled and regional productivity declined. Conclusions Later origination of the stem group than predicted from the fossil record corroborates the hypothesis of morphological convergence in Diploria and Favia genera. Our data support the rapid evolution of morphological and life-history traits among faviid corals that can be linked to Mio-Pliocene environmental changes. PMID:22831179

  6. The Teacher as a Professional in the Caribbean Today.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    World Confederation of Organizations of the Teaching Profession, Morges (Switzerland).

    The changing patterns of Caribbean society have affected and will continue to influence the concept of professionalism as it is applied to teaching. Teachers' organizations should promote the professional development of their members, as implied through acceptance of standards of personal conduct, competence on the job, and commitment to student…

  7. 75 FR 32081 - National Caribbean-American Heritage Month, 2010

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2010-06-07

    .... During National Caribbean-American Heritage Month, we pay tribute to the diverse cultures and... community, many who continue to mourn the loss of loved ones as they help rebuild their homeland. These... fabric of our culture, and we are proud they are part of the American family. NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK...

  8. An intersectional approach for understanding the vulnerabilities of English-speaking heterosexual Caribbean youth to HIV/AIDS and sexually transmitted infections: Prevention and intervention strategies

    PubMed Central

    Sutherland, Marcia Elizabeth

    2016-01-01

    Caribbean youth comprise about 30 percent of the English-speaking Caribbean population, and about 81,000 Caribbean and Latin American youth are HIV infected. AIDS is the leading cause of death for 15- to 24-year-old English-speaking Caribbean youth. This article relies on intersectionality theory in the assessment of the macro-level, or structural variables, and micro-level, or individual level, variables that influence the risk-taking sexual behaviors of heterosexual English-speaking Caribbean youth and increase their vulnerability to HIV/sexually transmitted infections. This article offers macro- and micro-level prevention/intervention strategies for reducing the prevalence of sexually transmitted infections in English-speaking Caribbean youth, including the promotion of condom use, voluntary male circumcision, and HIV testing and counseling. Suggestions are offered for future research investigations to explore the contributing factors to youth’s vulnerability to sexually transmitted infections and to empirically verify the relationship between and among variables that account for desired outcomes, including decreases in risky sexual behaviors. PMID:28070411

  9. An intersectional approach for understanding the vulnerabilities of English-speaking heterosexual Caribbean youth to HIV/AIDS and sexually transmitted infections: Prevention and intervention strategies.

    PubMed

    Sutherland, Marcia Elizabeth

    2016-07-01

    Caribbean youth comprise about 30 percent of the English-speaking Caribbean population, and about 81,000 Caribbean and Latin American youth are HIV infected. AIDS is the leading cause of death for 15- to 24-year-old English-speaking Caribbean youth. This article relies on intersectionality theory in the assessment of the macro-level, or structural variables, and micro-level, or individual level, variables that influence the risk-taking sexual behaviors of heterosexual English-speaking Caribbean youth and increase their vulnerability to HIV/sexually transmitted infections. This article offers macro- and micro-level prevention/intervention strategies for reducing the prevalence of sexually transmitted infections in English-speaking Caribbean youth, including the promotion of condom use, voluntary male circumcision, and HIV testing and counseling. Suggestions are offered for future research investigations to explore the contributing factors to youth's vulnerability to sexually transmitted infections and to empirically verify the relationship between and among variables that account for desired outcomes, including decreases in risky sexual behaviors.

  10. Hf-Nd isotope constraints on the origin of the Cretaceous Caribbean plateau and its relationship to the Galápagos plume

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Thompson, P. M. E.; Kempton, P. D.; White, R. V.; Kerr, A. C.; Tarney, J.; Saunders, A. D.; Fitton, J. G.; McBirney, A.

    2004-01-01

    Formation of the Cretaceous Caribbean plateau, including the komatiites of Gorgona, has been linked to the currently active Galápagos hotspot. We use Hf-Nd isotopes and trace element data to characterise both the Caribbean plateau and the Galápagos hotspot, and to investigate the relationship between them. Four geochemical components are identified in the Galápagos mantle plume: two 'enriched' components with ɛHf and ɛNd similar to enriched components observed in other mantle plumes, one moderately enriched component with high Nb/Y, and a fourth component which most likely represents depleted MORB source mantle. The Caribbean plateau basalt data form a linear array in Hf-Nd isotope space, consistent with mixing between two mantle components. Combined Hf-Nd-Pb-Sr-He isotope and trace element data from this study and the literature suggest that the more enriched Caribbean end member corresponds to one or both of the enriched components identified on Galápagos. Likewise, the depleted end member of the array is geochemically indistinguishable from MORB and corresponds to the depleted component of the Galápagos system. Enriched basalts from Gorgona partially overlap with the Caribbean plateau array in ɛHf vs. ɛNd, whereas depleted basalts, picrites and komatiites from Gorgona have a high ɛHf for a given ɛNd, defining a high- ɛHf depleted end member that is not observed elsewhere within the Caribbean plateau sequences. This component is similar, however, in terms of Hf-Nd-Pb-He isotopes and trace elements to the depleted plume component recognised in basalts from Iceland and along the Reykjanes Ridge. We suggest that the Caribbean plateau represents the initial outpourings of the ancestral Galápagos plume. Absence of a moderately enriched, high Nb/Y component in the older Caribbean plateau (but found today on the island of Floreana) is either due to changing source compositions of the plume over its 90 Ma history, or is an artifact of limited sampling. The

  11. Towards an Earthquake and Tsunami Early Warning in the Caribbean

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Huerfano Moreno, V. A.; Vanacore, E. A.

    2017-12-01

    The Caribbean region (CR) has a documented history of large damaging earthquakes and tsunamis that have affected coastal areas, including the events of Jamaica in 1692, Virgin Islands in 1867, Puerto Rico in 1918, the Dominican Republic in 1946 and Haiti in 2010. There is clear evidence that tsunamis have been triggered by large earthquakes that deformed the ocean floor around the Caribbean Plate boundary. The CR is monitored jointly by national/regional/local seismic, geodetic and sea level networks. All monitoring institutions are participating in the UNESCO ICG/Caribe EWS, the purpose of this initiative is to minimize loss of life and destruction of property, and to mitigate against catastrophic economic impacts via promoting local research, real time (RT) earthquake, geodetic and sea level data sharing and improving warning capabilities and enhancing education and outreach strategies. Currently more than, 100 broad-band seismic, 65 sea levels and 50 GPS high rate stations are available in real or near real-time. These real-time streams are used by Local/Regional or Worldwide detection and warning institutions to provide earthquake source parameters in a timely manner. Currently, any Caribbean event detected to have a magnitude greater than 4.5 is evaluated, and sea level is measured, by the TWC for tsumanigenic potential. The regional cooperation is motivated both by research interests as well as geodetic, seismic and tsunami hazard monitoring and warning. It will allow the imaging of the tectonic structure of the Caribbean region to a high resolution which will consequently permit further understanding of the seismic source properties for moderate and large events and the application of this knowledge to procedures of civil protection. To reach its goals, the virtual network has been designed following the highest technical standards: BB sensors, 24 bits A/D converters with 140 dB dynamic range, real-time telemetry. Here we will discuss the state of the PR

  12. Marine climate influences on interannual variability of tropical cyclones in the eastern Caribbean: 1979-2008

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Jury, Mark R.

    2015-04-01

    Interannual variability of tropical cyclones (TCs) in the eastern Caribbean is studied using MIT-Hurdat fields during the July-October season from 1979 to 2008. TC intensity shows local climate sensitivity particularly for upper ocean currents, salinity and mixed-layer depth, and 200-850 mb wind shear. Remote influences from the Southern Oscillation, Saharan dust, and the South American monsoon are also identified as important. Ocean currents diminish along the coast of South America, so interbasin transfer between the North Brazil and Caribbean Currents declines in seasons of frequent and intense TCs. This is related to a dipole pattern in the sea surface height formed mainly by reduced trade wind upwelling northeast of Venezuela. A low-salinity plume from the Orinoco River spreads across the eastern Caribbean. It is the weaker currents and shallower mixed layer that conspire with surplus heat to build thermodynamic energy available for TC intensification.

  13. Caribbean mangroves adjust to rising sea level through biotic controls on change in soil elevation

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    McKee, K.L.; Cahoon, D.R.; Feller, Ilka C.

    2007-01-01

    Aim The long-term stability of coastal ecosystems such as mangroves and salt marshes depends upon the maintenance of soil elevations within the intertidal habitat as sea level changes. We examined the rates and processes of peat formation by mangroves of the Caribbean Region to better understand biological controls on habitat stability. Location Mangrove-dominated islands on the Caribbean coasts of Belize, Honduras and Panama were selected as study sites. Methods Biological processes controlling mangrove peat formation were manipulated (in Belize) by the addition of nutrients (nitrogen or phosphorus) to Rhizophora mangle (red mangrove), and the effects on the dynamics of soil elevation were determined over a 3-year period using rod surface elevation tables (RSET) and marker horizons. Peat composition and geological accretion rates were determined at all sites using radiocarbon-dated cores. Results The addition of nutrients to mangroves caused significant changes in rates of mangrove root accumulation, which influenced both the rate and direction of change in elevation. Areas with low root input lost elevation and those with high rates gained elevation. These findings were consistent with peat analyses at multiple Caribbean sites showing that deposits (up to 10 m in depth) were composed primarily of mangrove root matter. Comparison of radiocarbon-dated cores at the study sites with a sea-level curve for the western Atlantic indicated a tight coupling between peat building in Caribbean mangroves and sea-level rise over the Holocene. Main conclusions Mangroves common to the Caribbean region have adjusted to changing sea level mainly through subsurface accumulation of refractory mangrove roots. Without root and other organic inputs, submergence of these tidal forests is inevitable due to peat decomposition, physical compaction and eustatic sea-level rise. These findings have relevance for predicting the effects of sea-level rise and biophysical processes on tropical

  14. Asthma in Black African, Black Caribbean and South Asian adolescents in the MRC DASH study: a cross sectional analysis

    PubMed Central

    2010-01-01

    Background Ethnic differences in the prevalence of asthma among children in the UK are under-researched. We aimed to determine the ethnic differences in the prevalence of asthma and atopic asthma in children from the main UK ethnic groups, and whether differences are associated with differential distributions in social and psychosocial risk factors. Methods 6,643 pupils aged 11-13 years, 80% ethnic minorities. Outcomes were asthma/wheeze with (atopic) and without hay fever/eczema. Risk factors examined were family history of asthma, length of residence in the UK, socioeconomic disadvantage, tobacco exposure, psychological well-being, and body mass index (BMI). Results There was a pattern of lower prevalence of asthma in Black African boys and girls, and Indian and Bangladeshi girls compared to White UK. The overall prevalence was higher in Mixed Black Caribbean/White boys, with more atopic asthma in Black Caribbean boys and Mixed Black Caribbean/White boys due to more hayfever. Poor psychological well-being and family history of asthma were associated with an increased risk of asthma within each ethnic group. UK residence for ≤ 5 years was protective for Black Caribbeans and Black Africans. Increased BMI was associated with an increased reporting of asthma for Black Africans. Adjustments for all variables did not remove the excess asthma reported by Black Caribbean boys (atopic) or Mixed Black Caribbean/White boys. Conclusion The protective effect of being born abroad accounted for ethnic differences in some groups, signalling a role for socio-environmental factors in patterning ethnic differences in asthma in adolescence. PMID:20334698

  15. Asthma in Black African, Black Caribbean and South Asian adolescents in the MRC DASH study: a cross sectional analysis.

    PubMed

    Whitrow, Melissa J; Harding, Seeromanie

    2010-03-25

    Ethnic differences in the prevalence of asthma among children in the UK are under-researched. We aimed to determine the ethnic differences in the prevalence of asthma and atopic asthma in children from the main UK ethnic groups, and whether differences are associated with differential distributions in social and psychosocial risk factors. 6,643 pupils aged 11-13 years, 80% ethnic minorities. Outcomes were asthma/wheeze with (atopic) and without hay fever/eczema. Risk factors examined were family history of asthma, length of residence in the UK, socioeconomic disadvantage, tobacco exposure, psychological well-being, and body mass index (BMI). There was a pattern of lower prevalence of asthma in Black African boys and girls, and Indian and Bangladeshi girls compared to White UK. The overall prevalence was higher in Mixed Black Caribbean/White boys, with more atopic asthma in Black Caribbean boys and Mixed Black Caribbean/White boys due to more hayfever. Poor psychological well-being and family history of asthma were associated with an increased risk of asthma within each ethnic group. UK residence for Caribbeans and Black Africans. Increased BMI was associated with an increased reporting of asthma for Black Africans. Adjustments for all variables did not remove the excess asthma reported by Black Caribbean boys (atopic) or Mixed Black Caribbean/White boys. The protective effect of being born abroad accounted for ethnic differences in some groups, signalling a role for socio-environmental factors in patterning ethnic differences in asthma in adolescence.

  16. [Nosocomial myiasis in Latin America and the Caribbean: an overlooked reality?].

    PubMed

    Sánchez-Sánchez, Rocío; Calderón-Arguedas, Ólger; Mora-Brenes, Nury; Troyo, Adriana

    2014-09-01

    Nosocomial myiasis is an infestation by fly larvae that occurs while a patient is hospitalized. To analyze the available information on nosocomial myiasis in Latin America and the Caribbean, a search was done for cases published in the last 52 years. Nine clinical cases were found for Brazil, Costa Rica, French Guiana, Honduras, and Jamaica. Two other publications mention 139 cases in El Salvador and some 32 in Colombia, respectively. The patients and environments described presented conditions that predispose to this type of infestation. Compulsory notification is not usually required for nosocomial myiasis in Latin America and the Caribbean, meaning that there is probably considerable underreporting. Awareness needs to be raised and registry improved of myiasis in the region to aid in adoption of better prevention measures, which will benefit patient care during hospitalization.

  17. Red Palm Mite Situation in the Caribbean and Florida

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    The red palm mite (Raoiella indica Hirst Tenuipalpidae), a pest of coconuts and ornamental palms in Asia and Africa, was reported in the Caribbean in 2004. By 2008, it had spread to at least twelve islands, two counties in Florida and to Venezuela. Red palm mite causes yellowing and leaf necrosis wi...

  18. Spanish? What Spanish? The Search for a 'Caribbean Standard.'

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hollingsworth, C.

    1978-01-01

    Variations in lexicon, phonology, morphology, and syntax of Spanish as spoken in Venezuela, Cuba, Mexico, and Castile have led to a diversity in the types of Spanish taught in Caribbean schools. The Programa Interamericano de Linguistica y Ensenanza de Idiomas is conducting a survey which will provide authoritative standards for Spanish teachers.…

  19. Combating women's over-representation among the poor in the Caribbean.

    PubMed

    Harris, B

    1994-01-01

    Ending women's overrepresentation among the poor in the Caribbean is not only a human right, but also a political and economic imperative. Caribbean women are central to agriculture, food production, marketing, and processing; moreover, they are the main providers of health, education, and other services. However, in both the Caribbean household and most wings of the Pan-African movement, women are infantalized and regarded as subordinate. If Pan-Africanism is to benefit from the talents and energies of women, it must make female oppression a major concern. The movement must take the lead in speaking out against harmful, degrading social practices such as female circumcision. Hopeful are two approaches to self-organization spearheaded by the Garvey wing of Pan-Africanism. Sistren, san education and theater collective in Jamaica that was initiated by female street cleaners in 1977, has shown working class women an alternative to oppression. Its socialist-feminist street theater, based on the concept that "the personal is political," is organized around personal testimonies that illustrate the link between private experience and social structures. Red Thread, organized in Guyana in 1985, is affiliated with the Working People's Alliance. In addition to supporting self-determination for women, Red Thread sides with the poor and powerless, is committed to multiracial policies, defends indigenous Amerindians evicted from their land by colonialists, and rejects the corruption and one-man leadership style of traditional political organizations. Poor women have been recruited in a nonpartisan manner through use of embroidery groups and income-generating projects.

  20. Reef flattening effects on total richness and species responses in the Caribbean.

    PubMed

    Newman, Steven P; Meesters, Erik H; Dryden, Charlie S; Williams, Stacey M; Sanchez, Cristina; Mumby, Peter J; Polunin, Nicholas V C

    2015-11-01

    There has been ongoing flattening of Caribbean coral reefs with the loss of habitat having severe implications for these systems. Complexity and its structural components are important to fish species richness and community composition, but little is known about its role for other taxa or species-specific responses. This study reveals the importance of reef habitat complexity and structural components to different taxa of macrofauna, total species richness, and individual coral and fish species in the Caribbean. Species presence and richness of different taxa were visually quantified in one hundred 25-m(2) plots in three marine reserves in the Caribbean. Sampling was evenly distributed across five levels of visually estimated reef complexity, with five structural components also recorded: the number of corals, number of large corals, slope angle, maximum sponge and maximum octocoral height. Taking advantage of natural heterogeneity in structural complexity within a particular coral reef habitat (Orbicella reefs) and discrete environmental envelope, thus minimizing other sources of variability, the relative importance of reef complexity and structural components was quantified for different taxa and individual fish and coral species on Caribbean coral reefs using boosted regression trees (BRTs). Boosted regression tree models performed very well when explaining variability in total (82·3%), coral (80·6%) and fish species richness (77·3%), for which the greatest declines in richness occurred below intermediate reef complexity levels. Complexity accounted for very little of the variability in octocorals, sponges, arthropods, annelids or anemones. BRTs revealed species-specific variability and importance for reef complexity and structural components. Coral and fish species occupancy generally declined at low complexity levels, with the exception of two coral species (Pseudodiploria strigosa and Porites divaricata) and four fish species (Halichoeres bivittatus, H

  1. Tsunami Ready Recognition Program for the Caribbean and Adjacent Regions Launched in 2015

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    von Hillebrandt-Andrade, C.; Hinds, K.; Aliaga, B.; Brome, A.; Lopes, R.

    2015-12-01

    Over 75 tsunamis have been documented in the Caribbean and Adjacent Regions over the past 500 years with 4,561 associated deaths according to the NOAA Tsunami Database. The most recent devastating tsunamis occurred in 1946 in Dominican Republic; 1865 died. With the explosive increase in residents, tourists, infrastructure, and economic activity along the coasts, the potential for human and economic loss is enormous. It has been estimated that on any day, more than 500,000 people in the Caribbean could be in harm's way just along the beaches, with hundreds of thousands more working and living in the tsunamis hazard zones. In 2005 the UNESCO Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission established the Intergovernmental Coordination Group for the Tsunami and other Coastal Hazards Warning System for the Caribbean and Adjacent Regions (ICG CARIBE EWS) to coordinate tsunami efforts among the 48 participating countries in territories in the region. In addition to monitoring, modeling and communication systems, one of the fundamental components of the warning system is community preparedness, readiness and resilience. Over the past 10 years 49 coastal communities in the Caribbean have been recognized as TsunamiReady® by the US National Weather Service (NWS) in the case of Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands and jointly by UNESCO and NWS in the case of the non US jurisdictions of Anguilla and the British Virgin Islands. In response to the positive feedback of the implementation of TsunamiReady, the ICG CARIBE EWS in 2015 recommended the approval of the guidelines for a Community Performance Based Recognition program. It also recommended the adoption of the name "Tsunami Ready", which has been positively consulted with the NWS. Ten requirements were established for recognition and are divided among Preparedness, Mitigation and Response elements which were adapted from the proposed new US TsunamiReady guidelines and align well with emergency management functions. Both a

  2. Native Predators Do Not Influence Invasion Success of Pacific Lionfish on Caribbean Reefs

    PubMed Central

    Hackerott, Serena; Valdivia, Abel; Green, Stephanie J.; Côté, Isabelle M.; Cox, Courtney E.; Akins, Lad; Layman, Craig A.; Precht, William F.; Bruno, John F.

    2013-01-01

    Biotic resistance, the process by which new colonists are excluded from a community by predation from and/or competition with resident species, can prevent or limit species invasions. We examined whether biotic resistance by native predators on Caribbean coral reefs has influenced the invasion success of red lionfishes (Pterois volitans and Pterois miles), piscivores from the Indo-Pacific. Specifically, we surveyed the abundance (density and biomass) of lionfish and native predatory fishes that could interact with lionfish (either through predation or competition) on 71 reefs in three biogeographic regions of the Caribbean. We recorded protection status of the reefs, and abiotic variables including depth, habitat type, and wind/wave exposure at each site. We found no relationship between the density or biomass of lionfish and that of native predators. However, lionfish densities were significantly lower on windward sites, potentially because of habitat preferences, and in marine protected areas, most likely because of ongoing removal efforts by reserve managers. Our results suggest that interactions with native predators do not influence the colonization or post-establishment population density of invasive lionfish on Caribbean reefs. PMID:23874565

  3. Family and friendship informal support networks and social anxiety disorder among African Americans and Black Caribbeans.

    PubMed

    Levine, Debra Siegel; Taylor, Robert Joseph; Nguyen, Ann W; Chatters, Linda M; Himle, Joseph A

    2015-07-01

    This study explores relationships between Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD) and quality and frequency of involvement with family and friends. Data are from a nationally representative sample of African American and Black Caribbean adults (n = 5191), the National Survey of American Life. SAD was assessed using the DSM-IV World Mental Health Composite International Diagnostic Interview. Findings indicated that among both populations, close supportive ties with family members and friends are protective against meeting criteria for SAD. Negative interactions with family (e.g., conflicts), however, are a risk factor for SAD among both African Americans and Black Caribbeans. For African Americans, an interaction indicates that the relationship between negative interaction and social anxiety is much stronger among African Americans who are not emotionally close to their families. For Caribbean Blacks, an interaction suggests that the odds of meeting criteria for SAD were higher among Black Caribbeans who had high negative interaction with family as well as low levels of friendship closeness. The cross-sectional nature of the study does not allow for causal attributions for findings. This study demonstrates that SAD may impact black ethnic subgroups differently, which has important implications for understanding the nature, etiology, and treatment of this disorder.

  4. Storminess trends in the Gulf and Mexican Caribbean

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Mendoza, E. T.; Ojeda, E.; Appendini, C. M.

    2016-12-01

    Numerous studies have focused on whether the attributes of tropical cyclones have varied, or how they are expected to vary in a warming climate and yet, a defined conclusion has not been reached. However, an increase in storm intensity, with the inherent increase of wave height and storm surge, will be responsible of heavy economic loss on coastal areas. This contribution analyzes possible variations in the long term storminess pattern observed in 10 nearshore locations along the southern coasts of the Gulf of Mexico and the Mexican Caribbean using modeled wave data from the last 30 years (Appendini et al., 2013). Storminess is studied in terms of wave energy content focusing on extreme event conditions. Wave storm events are obtained using the Peak Over Threshold method. The wave conditions during the events are separated into those caused by tropical cyclones (TC) and extratropical storm (ETS) events because they are expected to behave differently in response to changing climate conditions. In order to characterize the waves generated by these different phenomena the data set is inspected separating individual storm events into TC and ETS using the IBtracks information. The trend and Mann-Kendall test are performed for each node to account for possible trends in the frequency, mean and maximum significant wave heights, and the mean energy content (taken as E=integral(Hs*dt) of TC and ETS. For the TC and ETS events, the results of the MK test show an absence of significant temporal trends for the majority of the nodes even at the 90% confidence interval. The significant trends in the number of ETS events show differential results (negative trend in the northernmost node and positive trends in the two Caribbean nodes and the easternmost GoM node). Regarding the TC events, the two nodes located in the Caribbean Sea present significant temporal (positive) trends in the energy content of the events. However, this trend is related to an increase in the magnitude of

  5. Phylogeography of Pinus subsection Australes in the Caribbean Basin

    PubMed Central

    Jardón-Barbolla, Lev; Delgado-Valerio, Patricia; Geada-López, Gretel; Vázquez-Lobo, Alejandra; Piñero, Daniel

    2011-01-01

    Background and Aims Four species of Pinus subsection Australes occur in the Caribbean Basin: P. caribaea, P. cubensis, P. maestrensis and P. occidentalis. This study analyses the phylogeography of these species to assess possible colonization events from Central America to the islands and subsequent population expansions during glacial periods driven by both drier climate and larger emerged land areas. Methods Allele size data were obtained for plastid microsatellites for 314 individuals from 24 populations, covering the distribution range of subsection Australes in the Caribbean Basin. Key Results In total, 113 plastid haplotypes were identified. The highest genetic diversity was found in populations of P. caribaea. Overall, Caribbean Basin populations fit the isolation by distance model. Significant phylogeographical structure was found (RST = 0·671 > permuted RST = 0·101; P < 0·0001). The haplotype network and a Bayesian analysis of population structure (BAPS) indicated different Central American origins for P. caribaea var. bahamensis and P. caribaea var. caribaea plastids, with Central America populations in northern and south-eastern groups. Sudden expansion times for BAPS clusters were close to three glacial maxima. Conclusions Central America contains ancestral plastid haplotypes. Population expansion has played a major role in the distribution of genetic diversity in P. caribaea var. hondurensis. Two colonization events gave rise to the P. caribaea var. bahamensis and P. caribaea var. caribaea lineages. Plastid variation in the eastern species (P. cubensis, P. maestrensis and P. occidentalis) evolved independently from that in P. caribaea var. caribaea. Incomplete lineage sorting between P. cubensis and P. maestrensis is apparent. Inferred expansion times for P. caribaea var. bahamensis and for the eastern lineages correspond to glacial maxima, whereas those for P. caribaea var. hondurensis correspond to the beginning of the temperature decrease that

  6. Prevalence of Anemia in Latin America and the Caribbean.

    PubMed

    Mujica-Coopman, María F; Brito, Alex; López de Romaña, Daniel; Ríos-Castillo, Israel; Coris, Héctor; Olivares, Manuel

    2015-06-01

    In Latin America and the Caribbean, anemia has been a public health problem that affects mainly women of childbearing age and children under 6 years of age. However, the current prevalence of anemia in this region is unknown. To examine the latest available prevalence data on anemia in Latin America and the Caribbean. A systematic review was conducted in 2011 and updated in 2014. Studies determining the prevalence of anemia conducted in apparently healthy populations with national or regional representativeness were included in the review. The lowest prevalence rates of anemia among children under 6 years of age were found in Chile (4.0%), Costa Rica (4.0%), Argentina (7.6%), and Mexico (19.9%). In Nicaragua, Brazil, Ecuador, El Panama, and Honduras, anemia was a moderate public health problem, with prevalence ranging Salvador, Cuba, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Peru, from 20.1% to 37.3%. Anemia was a severe public health problem in Guatemala, Haiti, and Bolivia. The prevalence of anemia among women of childbearing age was lowest in Chile (5.1%). In Colombia, El Salvador, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Ecuador, Mexico, Peru, Honduras, and Argentina, anemia was a mild public health problem, with prevalence ranging from 7.6% to 18.7%. In Guatemala, Brazil, the Dominican Republic, and Bolivia, anemia was a moderate public health problem, with prevalence ranging from 21.4% to 38.3%. Panama and Haiti had the highest reported prevalence rates (40.0% and 45.5%, respectively), and anemia was considered a severe public health problem in those countries. Anemia remains a public health problem in children under 6 years of age and women of childbearing age in most Latin America and Caribbean countries for which data are available.

  7. Dirt, disease and death: control, resistance and change in the post-emancipation Caribbean.

    PubMed

    Pemberton, Rita

    2012-12-01

    This study examines how health facilities and services were used as an agency of worker control in the British Caribbean between 1838 and 1860. It argues that planter health strategies were based on flawed assumptions. The resultant policy of deprivation of access to medical services by the labouring population backfired within 16 years of freedom when a cholera epidemic rocked the region. It exposed the poor living conditions of the free villages and generated fear and panic among the local elite who were forced to make policy changes regarding health and sanitation. As a result the first steps towards the establishment of public health services in the British Caribbean were stimulated.

  8. The chemical cue tetrabromopyrrole from a biofilm bacterium induces settlement of multiple Caribbean corals

    PubMed Central

    Sneed, Jennifer M.; Sharp, Koty H.; Ritchie, Kimberly B.; Paul, Valerie J.

    2014-01-01

    Microbial biofilms induce larval settlement for some invertebrates, including corals; however, the chemical cues involved have rarely been identified. Here, we demonstrate the role of microbial biofilms in inducing larval settlement with the Caribbean coral Porites astreoides and report the first instance of a chemical cue isolated from a marine biofilm bacterium that induces complete settlement (attachment and metamorphosis) of Caribbean coral larvae. Larvae settled in response to natural biofilms, and the response was eliminated when biofilms were treated with antibiotics. A similar settlement response was elicited by monospecific biofilms of a single bacterial strain, Pseudoalteromonas sp. PS5, isolated from the surface biofilm of a crustose coralline alga. The activity of Pseudoalteromonas sp. PS5 was attributed to the production of a single compound, tetrabromopyrrole (TBP), which has been shown previously to induce metamorphosis without attachment in Pacific acroporid corals. In addition to inducing settlement of brooded larvae (P. astreoides), TBP also induced larval settlement for two broadcast-spawning species, Orbicella (formerly Montastraea) franksi and Acropora palmata, indicating that this compound may have widespread importance among Caribbean coral species. PMID:24850918

  9. Family and Friendship Networks and Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder Among African Americans and Black Caribbeans.

    PubMed

    Himle, Joseph A; Taylor, Robert Joseph; Nguyen, Ann W; Williams, Monnica T; Lincoln, Karen D; Taylor, Harry Owen; Chatters, Linda M

    2017-03-01

    Although there is a large literature on the influence of social support on mental health there is limited research on social support and OCD. This is especially the case for African Americans and Black Caribbeans. This study examines the relationship between family and friendship networks and the prevalence of OCD. The analysis is based on the National Survey of American Life a nationally representative sample of African Americans and Black Caribbeans. Variables included frequency of contact with family and friends, subjective closeness with family and friends, and negative interactions (conflict, criticisms) with family members. The results indicated that only negative interaction with family members was significantly associated with OCD prevalence. African Americans and Black Caribbeans with more frequent negative interactions with family members had a higher likelihood of having OCD. Subjective closeness and frequency of contact with family and friends was not protective of OCD. Overall the findings are consistent with previous work which finds that social support is an inconsistent protective factor of psychiatric disorders, but negative interactions with support network members is more consistently associated with mental health problems.

  10. Family and Friendship Networks and Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder Among African Americans and Black Caribbeans

    PubMed Central

    Himle, Joseph A.; Taylor, Robert Joseph; Nguyen, Ann W.; Williams, Monnica T.; Lincoln, Karen D.; Taylor, Harry Owen; Chatters, Linda M.

    2017-01-01

    Although there is a large literature on the influence of social support on mental health there is limited research on social support and OCD. This is especially the case for African Americans and Black Caribbeans. This study examines the relationship between family and friendship networks and the prevalence of OCD. The analysis is based on the National Survey of American Life a nationally representative sample of African Americans and Black Caribbeans. Variables included frequency of contact with family and friends, subjective closeness with family and friends, and negative interactions (conflict, criticisms) with family members. The results indicated that only negative interaction with family members was significantly associated with OCD prevalence. African Americans and Black Caribbeans with more frequent negative interactions with family members had a higher likelihood of having OCD. Subjective closeness and frequency of contact with family and friends was not protective of OCD. Overall the findings are consistent with previous work which finds that social support is an inconsistent protective factor of psychiatric disorders, but negative interactions with support network members is more consistently associated with mental health problems. PMID:28321149

  11. Socioeconomic Status, Occupational Characteristics, and Sleep Duration in African/Caribbean Immigrants and US White Health Care Workers

    PubMed Central

    Ertel, Karen A.; Berkman, Lisa F.; Buxton, Orfeu M.

    2011-01-01

    Study Objectives: o advance our understanding of the interplay of socioeconomic factors, occupational exposures, and race/ethnicity as they relate to sleep duration. We hypothesize that non Hispanic African/Caribbean immigrant employees in long term health care have shorter sleep duration than non Hispanic white employees, and that low education, low income, and occupational exposures including night work and job strain account for some of the African/Caribbean immigrant–white difference in sleep duration. Design: Cross sectional Setting: Four extended care facilities in Massachusetts, United States Participants: 340 employees in extended care facilities Measurements and Results: Sleep duration was assessed with wrist actigraphy for a mean of 6.3 days. In multivariable regression modeling controlling for gender and age, African/Caribbean immigrants slept 64.4 fewer minutes (95% CI: −81.0, −47.9) per night than white participants; additional control for education and income reduced the racial gap to 50.9 minutes (−69.2, −32.5); additional control for the occupational factors of hours worked per week and working the night shift reduced the racial gap to 37.7 minutes (−57.8, −17.6). Conclusions: his study provides support for the hypothesis that socioeconomic and occupational characteristics explain some of the African/ Caribbean immigrant–white difference in sleep duration in the United States, especially among health care workers. Citation: Ertel KA; Berkman LF; Buxton OM. Socioeconomic status, occupational characteristics, and sleep duration in African/Caribbean immi grants and US white health care workers. SLEEP 2011; 34(4):509-518. PMID:21461330

  12. Caribbean Fruit Fly (Diptera: Tephritidae) and Small Fruit in Florida

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    Tephritid fruit flies are among the most important pests of fruits and vegetables worldwide. The Caribbean fruit fly, Anastrepha suspensa (Loew), is a tephritid pest that became established in Florida following introduction in 1965. Populations of this fruit fly also occur in Puerto Rico and Cuba, ...

  13. Pursuing CPD in the Caribbean: Individual Quest versus Organizational Goal

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Gosine-Boodoo, Meerabai; Mc Nish, Mark

    2009-01-01

    This study explores Caribbean librarians' perceptions on continuing professional development (CPD) as it relates to employer support, personal interest and motivation. CPD literature was reviewed and a questionnaire designed. Hypotheses were tested based upon the following questions: do clearly defined CPD policies motivate librarians to pursue…

  14. Midlife and Older Women in Latin America and the Caribbean.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    American Association of Retired Persons, Washington, DC.

    Part I of this publication contains a background paper, "The Health and Socioeconomic Situation of Midlife and Older Women in Latin America and the Caribbean" (Sennott-Miller). Part II includes and introduction and the following presentations: "Opening Statement" (Crooks); "Empowering Older Women: An Agenda for the…

  15. Racial and Ego Identity Development in Black Caribbean College Students

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sanchez, Delida

    2013-01-01

    This study explored the relationships between racial identity attitudes and ego identity statuses among 255 Black Caribbean college students in the Northeast United States. Findings indicated that racial identity attitudes were predictive of ego identity statuses. Specifically, preencounter racial identity attitudes were predictive of lower scores…

  16. Freshwater resources in the insular Caribbean: an environmental perspective

    Treesearch

    T. Heartsill Scalley

    2012-01-01

    From islands with no permanent flowing streams to those with navigable inland waters, the insular Caribbean contains a great range of conditions regarding the access to freshwater resources. Because of the variation in topography and size, the ability of islands to retain freshwater also varies widely. The usage of freshwater in this region is being led by two major...

  17. Regional variation in Caribbean dry forest tree species composition

    Treesearch

    Janet Franklin; Julie Ripplinger; Ethan H. Freid; Humfredo Marcano-Vega; David W. Steadman

    2015-01-01

    How does tree species composition vary in relation to geographical and environmental gradients in a globally rare tropical/subtropical broadleaf dry forest community in the Caribbean? We analyzed data from 153 Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) plots from Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands (USVI), along with 42 plots that we sampled in the Bahamian Archipelago (...

  18. Women of the World: Latin America and the Caribbean.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Chaney, Elsa M.

    The first in a series of five handbooks designed to present and analyze statistical data on women in various regions of the world, this handbook focuses on women in 21 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean. Beginning with an overview of population characteristics of the regions, the analysis continues with a description of women's literacy…

  19. 50 CFR 622.458 - Caribbean spiny lobster import prohibitions.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-10-01

    ..., AND SOUTH ATLANTIC Spiny Lobster Fishery of Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands § 622.458.... Virgin Islands, and a more restrictive minimum size limit that applies to Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. (1) No person may import a Caribbean spiny lobster with less than a 6-ounce (170-gram) tail...

  20. African Dust Blows over the Caribbean

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    2002-01-01

    Shuttle astronauts frequently track Saharan dust storms as they blow from north Africa across the Atlantic Ocean. Dust palls blowing from Africa take about a week to cross the Atlantic. Recently, researchers have linked Saharan dust to coral disease, allergic reactions in humans, and red tides. The top photograph, a classic image showing African dust over the Caribbean, was taken at a time when few scientists had considered the possibility. The image was taken by Space Shuttle astronauts on July 11, 1994 (STS065-75-47). This photograph looks southwest over the northern edge of a large trans-Atlantic dust plume that blew off the Sahara desert in Africa. In this view, Caicos Island in the Bahamas and the mountainous spines of Haiti are partly obscured by the dust. Closer to the foreground, (about 26 degrees north latitude), the skies are clear. The lower photograph (STS105-723-7) was taken by Space Shuttle astronauts while docked to the International Space Station on August 19, 2001. The spacecraft is over the Atlantic Ocean at roughly 45oN, 60oW. The astronauts were looking obliquely to the south; the boundaries of the dust plumes can be traced visually by the abrupt change from clear to hazy atmosphere-the hazy line marks the northern edge of the dust pall near the Caribbean. Images provided by the Earth Sciences and Image Analysis Laboratory at Johnson Space Center. Additional images taken by astronauts and cosmonauts can be viewed at the NASA-JSC Gateway to Astronaut Photography of Earth.

  1. Coral Reef and Coastal Ecosystems Decision Support Workshop April 27-29, 2010 Caribbean Coral Reef Institute, La Parguera, Puerto Rico

    EPA Science Inventory

    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Caribbean Coral Reef Institute (CCRI) hosted a Coral Reef and Coastal Ecosystems Decision Support Workshop on April 27-28, 2010 at the Caribbean Coral Reef Institute in La Parguera, Puerto Rico. Forty-three participants, includin...

  2. Tectonic escape of the Caribbean plate since the Paleocene: a consequence of the Chicxulub meteor impact?

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Rangin, C.; Martinez-Reyes, J.; Crespy, A.; Zitter, T. A. C.

    2012-04-01

    The debate for Pacific exotic origin versus in situ inter American plate Atlantic origin of the Caribbean plate is active in the scientific community since decades. Independently of the origin of this plate, its fast motion towards the east at a present rate of 2cm/yr is accepted to have been initiated during the early-most Cenozoic. The Paleocene is a key period in the global evolution of Central America mainly marked also by the Chicxulub multiring meteor impact in Yucatan. We question here the genetic relationship between this impact event and the incipient tectonic escape of the Caribbean plate. The mostly recent published models suggest this impact has affected the whole crust down to the Moho, the upper mantle being rapidly and considerably uplifted. The crust was then fragmented 600km at least from the point of impact, and large circular depressions were rapidly filled by clastic sediments from Cantarell to Western Cuba via Chiapas and Belize. North of the impact, the whole Gulf of Mexico was affected by mass gravity sliding, initiated also during the Paleocene in Texas, remaining active in this basin up to present time. South of the impact, in the Caribbean plate, the Yucatan basin was rapidly opened, indicating a fast escape of the crustal material towards the unique free boundary, the paleo-Antilles subduction zone. Shear waves velocity data below the Caribbean plate suggest this crustal tectonic escape was enhanced by the fast eastward flowing mantle supporting a fragmented and stretched crust. The proposed model suggests Chicxulub impact (but also the hypothetic Beata impact) have fragmented brittle crust, then easily drifted towards the east. This could explain the Paleogene evolution of the Caribbean plate largely stretched during its early evolution. Geologically, this evolution could explain the absence of evident Paleogene oblique subduction along the Caribbean plate northern and southern margins, marked only by Mid Cretaceous dragged volcanic

  3. Student Engagement in the Caribbean Region: Exploring Its Role in the Motivation and Achievement of Jamaican Middle School Students

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Martin, Tamica G.; Martin, Andrew J.; Evans, Paul

    2017-01-01

    Using an expectancy-value framework, the present investigation is the first to explore the generality of this theorizing and research in the emerging regional context of the Caribbean. Given high underachievement in the Caribbean region, we addressed the need to better understand the role of engagement in students' academic motivation and…

  4. Hazardous Waste Cleanup: Buckeye Caribbean Terminals Incorporated in Yabucoa, Puerto Rico

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    The Buckeye Caribbean Terminals, Inc. (formerly Shell Chemical Yabucoa, Inc.) is located on Road 901 about two miles east of the town of Yabucoa, Puerto Rico. Petroleum refining operations have been in progress at the site since May 1971.

  5. Bioethics and Public Health Collaborate to Reveal Impacts of Climate Change on Caribbean Life

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Macpherson, C.; Akpinar-Elci, M.

    2011-12-01

    Interdisciplinary dialog and collaboration aimed at protecting health against climate change is impeded by the small number of scientists and health professionals skilled in interdisciplinary work, and by the view held by many that "climate change won't affect me personally". These challenges may be surmounted by discussions about the lived experience of climate change and how this threatens things we value. Dialog between bioethics and public health generated an innovative collaboration using the focus group method. The main limitation of focus groups is the small number of participants however the data obtained is generalizable to wider groups and is used regularly in business to enhance marketing strategies. Caribbean academicians from varied disciplines discussed how climate change affects them and life in the Caribbean. Caribbean states are particularly vulnerable to climate change because their large coastal areas are directly exposed to rising sea levels and their development relies heavily on foreign aid. The Caribbean comprises about half of the 39 members of the Association of Small Island States (AOSIS), and small island states comprise about 5% of global population [1]. Participants described socioeconomic and environmental changes in the Caribbean that they attribute to climate change. These include extreme weather, unusual rain and drought, drying rivers, beach erosion, declining fish catches, and others. The session exposed impacts on individuals, businesses, agriculture, and disaster preparedness. This data helps to reframe climate change as a personal reality rather than a vague future concern. It is relevant to the design, implementation, and sustainability of climate policies in the Caribbean and perhaps other small island states. The method and interdisciplinary approach can be used in other settings to elicit dialog about experiences and values across sectors, and to inform policies. Those who have experienced extreme weather are more concerned

  6. Factors Caribbean Overseas Students Perceive Influence Their Academic Self-Efficacy

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Edwards-Joseph, Arline; Baker, Stanley

    2014-01-01

    This study investigated factors that influenced the academic self-efficacy of Caribbean overseas students attending universities in the United States, and the themes that emerged from their perceptions of variables impacting their academic self-efficacy. Seven major themes (educational background, faith in God, finances, age and maturity,…

  7. Risk and presenting features of prostate cancer amongst African-Caribbean, South Asian and European men in North-east London.

    PubMed

    Chinegwundoh, Frank; Enver, Mohamed; Lee, Angela; Nargund, Vinod; Oliver, Tim; Ben-Shlomo, Yoav

    2006-12-01

    To determine whether there are ethnic differences in the incidence and presenting features of all patients with prostate cancer presenting in North-east London, UK. All newly diagnosed men with prostate cancer between 1999 and 2000 who were resident in the East London and City Health Authority were identified from various sources. Key clinical features were extracted from hospital records. The age-adjusted incidence rates for European, South Asian and African-Caribbean patients were calculated using census denominator data. For men aged >50 years the annual age-adjusted incidence rates (95% confidence interval) were 213 (186-240), 647 (504-789) and 199 (85-310) for the European, African-Caribbean and South Asian patients, respectively. African-Caribbean men had a three times greater risk (risk ratio 3.07, 2.40-3.93, P < 0.001) than European men. South Asian men had a lower risk of prostate cancer but this could have been compatible with chance. There was no evidence of marked ethnic differences for prostate-specific antigen levels, clinical staging and Gleason scores. The greater risk of prostate cancer for African-Caribbean men in South-east England is consistent with data from the USA and the Caribbean. Future work needs to determine whether this risk differs according to country of origin, and which genetic and/or environmental risk factors might be important in explaining these observations.

  8. Marital Satisfaction Among African Americans and Black Caribbeans: Findings From the National Survey of American Life*

    PubMed Central

    Bryant, Chalandra M.; Taylor, Robert Joseph; Lincoln, Karen D.; Chatters, Linda M.; Jackson, James S.

    2010-01-01

    This study examines the correlates of marital satisfaction using data from a national probability sample of African Americans (N = 962) and Black Caribbeans (N = 560). Findings reveal differences between African Americans and Black Caribbeans, and men and women within those groups, in the predictors of marital satisfaction. Black Caribbean women reported overall higher levels of marital satisfaction than African American women. The findings amply demonstrate the significance of ethnic diversity within the Black population in the United States. Difficulties with finances (budgeting, credit issues, and debt management) are one of the key issues that generate conflict in marriages; stress generated as a result of financial problems can lower marital satisfaction. Because these issues are salient for couples at any given time in the family life cycle, counseling at critical points in the marriage (birth of children, launching of children from home, and retirement) may be helpful. PMID:21151891

  9. From transpressional to transtensional tectonics in Northern Central America controlled by Cocos - Caribbean subduction coupling change

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Alonso-Henar, Jorge; Alvarez-Gomez, José Antonio; Jesús Martinez-Diaz, José

    2017-04-01

    The Central American Volcanic Arc (CAVA) is located at the western margin of the Caribbean plate, over the Chortís Block, spanning from Guatemala to Costa Rica. The CAVA is associated to the subduction of the Cocos plate under the Caribbean plate at the Middle America Trench. Our study is focused in the Salvadorian CAVA segment, which is tectonically characterized by the presence of the El Salvador Fault Zone (ESFZ), part of the western boundary of a major block forming the Caribbean plate (the Chortis Block). The structural evolution of the western boundary of the Chortis Block, particularly in the CAVA crossing El Salvador remains unknown. We have done a kinematic analysis from seismic and fault slip data and combined our results with a review of regional previous studies. This approach allowed us to constrain the tectonic evolution and the forces that control the deformation in northern Central America. Along the active volcanic arc we identified active transtensional deformation. On the other hand, we have identified two deformation phases in the back arc region: A first one of transpressional wrenching close to simple shearing (Miocene); and a second one characterized by almost E-W extension. Our results reveal a change from transpressional to transtensional shearing coeval with a migration of the volcanism towards the trench in Late Miocene times. This strain change could be related with a coupled to decoupled transition on the Cocos - Caribbean subduction interface, which could be related to a slab roll-back of the Cocos Plate beneath the Chortis Block. The combination of different degrees of coupling on the subduction interface, together with a constant relative eastward drift of the Caribbean Plate, control the deformation style along the western boundary of the Chortis Block.

  10. Benefits and Costs of Loran-C Expansion into the Eastern Caribbean

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    1981-01-01

    This study assesses the benefits and costs to the marine community of various LORAN-C alternatives for possible expansion into the Eastern Caribbean. Also considered, but at a lesser level of detail, is the application of Differential Omega as an add...

  11. Attitudes towards homosexuals in seven Caribbean countries: implications for an effective HIV response.

    PubMed

    Beck, Eduard J; Espinosa, Kenika; Ash, Tanisha; Wickham, Peter; Barrow, Christine; Massiah, Ernest; Alli, Ben; Nunez, Cesar

    2017-12-01

    Between 2000 and 2015, the number of people newly infected with HIV in the Caribbean decreased by 76% and HIV-related deaths by 42%. The number of people living with HIV (PLHIV) on anti-retroviral therapy (ART) increased from near zero to 50% (44% to 57%) in 2015. In many Caribbean countries communities of men-who-have-sex-with-other-men (MSM) have higher incidence and prevalence of HIV. They are often stigmatized and subjected to both social and institutional discrimination. This study compared attitudes of the general public obtained through public opinion polls 2013-2014 towards homosexuals and willingness to socialize with them in seven Caribbean countries. Informants were asked if they "hate, tolerate or accept" homosexuals and if they would socialize with them. In St. Vincent 53% indicated they "hate" homosexuals, compared with 12% in Suriname; the converse was observed for those who "accept" homosexuals; 63% of St. Vincent informants would not socialize with homosexuals, compared with 25% in Suriname. Findings for the other 5 countries fell within these ranges. Women were more likely to accept and socialize with homosexuals, as were informants with a tertiary education and "passive" religious believers. These groups are less likely to adhere to a culture of "compulsory heterosexuality" or "hyper-masculinity" dominant among Caribbean men. The homophobic views expressed by these cultures result in stigma and discrimination by members of the "general" public towards MSM. This negatively affects the involvement of MSM in successful national HIV responses. Public messaging, communications campaigns and educational measures need to be employed to change the culture of "compulsory heterosexuality" or "hyper-masculinity" that result in stigma and discrimination of homosexuals to improve early access to services by MSM. Repeat use of well performed opinion polls is one method that can be employed to monitor progress over time in "key" and "general" populations.

  12. [Social protection in Latin America and the Caribbean: changes, contradictions, and limits].

    PubMed

    Viana, Ana Luiza d'Avila; Fonseca, Ana Maria Medeiros da; Silva, Hudson Pacifico da

    2017-07-27

    Recent studies suggest that governments in the majority of Latin American and Caribbean countries were able to expand social investments and introduce innovations in social protection policies in the last two decades with positive results in the actions' coverage and impact. However, the restrictions imposed by the current fiscal crisis and the rise of governments more ideologically aligned with the neoliberal discourse in various countries in the region point to a new retreat of the state from the social area, thereby compromising recent advances. The article aims to discuss the changes, contradictions, and limits of recent social protection standards in Latin America and the Caribbean. The discussion includes three items: a description of the history of social protection in the region, seeking to identify its principal historical periods and characteristics (benefits, target public, and financing); the social protection models that have been implemented in the region; and the specific case of health. We argue that although countries have adopted different solutions in the field of social protection, the policies' hybrid nature (with extensive private sector participation in the financing, supply, and management of services) and the prevalence of segmented models (with differential access according to individuals' social status) have been predominant traits in social protection in Latin America and the Caribbean, thus limiting the possibilities for greater equity and social justice.

  13. Description of the first Caribbean Oscarellidae (Porifera: Homoscleromorpha).

    PubMed

    Perez, Thierry; Ruiz, Cesar

    2018-01-07

    The sponge class Homoscleromorpha has a challenging taxonomy and its systematics is still a matter of debate. A significant effort has recently been deployed to better evaluate the diversity of these sponges, and each new exploration of cryptic habitats reveals new species. Although several undescribed or wrongly determined Oscarella-like sponges have been reported by different authors, the Oscarellidae family still lacks description of its true Caribbean representatives. The exploration of various submarine caves in the Lesser Antilles has allowed us to find and to formally describe the first two Oscarellidae of the Caribbean Sea, Oscarella filipoi sp. nov. and Oscarella zoranja sp. nov. Both new species are quite common in semi-dark habitats throughout the Lesser Antilles. Moreover, O. filipoi sp. nov. is the largest Oscarellidae ever observed world-wide. Both species harbor a sylleibid aquiferous system and a high density of ovoid to spherical choanocyte chambers. The molecular taxonomy clearly shows their affiliation to the Oscarella clade containing the type species of the Oscarellidae family. In addition to their growth forms, these two species differ in the shape of their mesohylar cells, and in the degree of development of their basal region. This latter trait is particularly remarkable in large specimens of O. filipoi which can have a very thick ectosome.

  14. First observations of the bigfin squid Magnapinna sp. in the Colombian Southern Caribbean.

    PubMed

    Guerrero-Kommritz, Jurgen; Cantera, Jaime; Puentes, Vladimir; Leon, Jorge

    2018-01-01

    Herein, first observations are reported of Magnapinna squids in the Colombian Southern Caribbean. Two specimens were observed by Remote Operated Vehicles (ROV) during exploratory drilling surveys for hydrocarbons at 1,883 and 2,294 m depth. These are the first observations of specimens of Magnapinna in the Southern Caribbean. Resumen La primera observación del calamar Magnapinna sp. en el caribe sur colombiano. Dos especímenes de calamares de aleta grande fueron observados con submarino de operación remota (ROV) durante un proyecto de perforación exploratoria de hidrocaburos a profundidades de 1,883 y de 2,294 m, respectivamente. Estas son las primeras observaciones de especímenes de Magnapinna en el Caribe Sur.

  15. Mental Health of African Americans and Caribbean Blacks in the United States: Results From the National Epidemiological Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions

    PubMed Central

    Okuda, Mayumi; Oquendo, Maria A.; Lawson, William B.; Wang, Shuai; Thomas, Yonette Felicity; Blanco, Carlos

    2013-01-01

    Objectives. Previous epidemiological studies have found lower mood, anxiety, and substance use disorder prevalence in Black Americans, in general, compared with White Americans. We estimated the prevalence and persistence of psychiatric disorders in African Americans, Caribbean Blacks, and non-Hispanic Whites. Methods. We drew data from wave 1 (2001–2002) of the National Epidemiological Survey of Alcohol and Related Conditions, a nationally representative sample of US adults, which included 7529 African Americans, 469 Caribbean Blacks, and 24 502 non-Hispanic Whites. Results. Blacks had equal or lower prevalence than Whites of lifetime (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] = 0.6 for African Americans; 0.3 for Caribbean Blacks) and 12-month (AOR = 0.7 for African Americans; 0.4 for Caribbean Blacks) Axis I psychiatric disorders, but higher prevalence of several personality disorders. Among Blacks, Caribbean Blacks had higher prevalence of 12-month psychotic disorders and lower lifetime prevalence of major depressive disorder, alcohol dependence, and drug abuse than African Americans. There were no differences in persistence of disorders between Caribbean Blacks and African Americans. Conclusions. This study yielded new data on prevalence of mental disorders in these groups, which has important implications for clinical work with US Blacks. PMID:23237171

  16. Challenges to Seventh-Day Adventist Tertiary Education in the Caribbean

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Gardner, Trevor George

    2010-01-01

    The article briefly summarizes seven challenges that faces the Seventh Day Adventist (SDA) tertiary institutions in the Caribbean. There is no exhaustive discussion of the challenges but each is clearly articulated. There is no attempt to address solution but the discussion of each challenge, however, provides opportunity for several inferences…

  17. Regional overview of Latin American and Caribbean energy production, consumption, and future growth. Report series No. 1

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Wu, K.

    1994-07-01

    The Latin American and Caribbean region - comprising Mexico, Central and South America, and the Caribbean - is relatively well endowed with energy resources, although the distribution of these resources is uneven across countries. The region produces more energy than it consumes, and the surplus energy, which amounts to 3.6 million barrels of oil equivalent per day (boe/d), is mostly oil. While the region`s total oil (crude and products) exports decreased from 4.4 million barrels per day (b/d) in 1981 to 3.8 million b/d in 1992, its net oil exports increased from about 1.6 million b/d in 1981 to 2.8more » million b/d in 1992. In 1993, the surplus oil in Latin America and the Caribbean remained at 2.8 million b/d. This report analyzes the key issues of the Latin American and Caribbean energy industry and presents the future outlook for oil, gas, coal, hydroelectricity, and nuclear power developments in the region. In addition, the status of biomass energy, geothermal, and other noncommercial energy in the region will be briefly discussed in the context of overall energy development. The rest of the report is organized as follows: Section II assesses the current situation of Latin American and Caribbean energy production and consumption, covering primary energy supply, primary energy consumption, downstream petroleum sector development, and natural gas utilization. Section III presents the results of our study of future energy growth in Latin America. Important hydrocarbons policy issues in the region are discussed in Section IV, and a summary and concluding remarks are provided in Section V.« less

  18. Socioeconomic status, occupational characteristics, and sleep duration in African/Caribbean immigrants and US White health care workers.

    PubMed

    Ertel, Karen A; Berkman, Lisa F; Buxton, Orfeu M

    2011-04-01

    o advance our understanding of the interplay of socioeconomic factors, occupational exposures, and race/ethnicity as they relate to sleep duration. We hypothesize that non Hispanic African/Caribbean immigrant employees in long term health care have shorter sleep duration than non Hispanic white employees, and that low education, low income, and occupational exposures including night work and job strain account for some of the African/Caribbean immigrant-white difference in sleep duration. Cross sectional Four extended care facilities in Massachusetts, United States 340 employees in extended care facilities Sleep duration was assessed with wrist actigraphy for a mean of 6.3 days. In multivariable regression modeling controlling for gender and age, African/Caribbean immigrants slept 64.4 fewer minutes (95% CI: -81.0, -47.9) per night than white participants; additional control for education and income reduced the racial gap to 50.9 minutes (-69.2, -32.5); additional control for the occupational factors of hours worked per week and working the night shift reduced the racial gap to 37.7 minutes (-57.8, -17.6). his study provides support for the hypothesis that socioeconomic and occupational characteristics explain some of the African/ Caribbean immigrant-white difference in sleep duration in the United States, especially among health care workers.

  19. Stigma toward mental illness in Latin America and the Caribbean: a systematic review.

    PubMed

    Mascayano, Franco; Tapia, Thamara; Schilling, Sara; Alvarado, Rubén; Tapia, Eric; Lips, Walter; Yang, Lawrence H

    2016-03-01

    Stigma toward individuals with mental disorders has been studied extensively. In the case of Latin America and the Caribbean, the past decade has been marked by a significant increase in information on stigma toward mental illness, but these findings have yet to be applied to mental health services in Latin America. The objective of this study was to conduct a systematic review of studies relating to stigma toward mental illness in Latin America and the Caribbean. The authors specifically considered differences in this region as compared with manifestations reported in Western European countries. A systematic search of scientific papers was conducted in the PubMed, MEDLINE, EBSCO, SciELO, LILACS, Imbiomed, and Bireme databases. The search included articles published from 2002 to 2014. Twenty-six studies from seven countries in Latin America and the Caribbean were evaluated and arranged into the following categories: public stigma, consumer stigma, family stigma, and multiple stigmas. We identified some results similar to those reported in high-income settings. However, some noteworthy findings concerning public and family stigma differed from those reported in Western European countries. Interventions designed to reduce mental illness-related stigma in this region may benefit from considering cultural dynamics exhibited by the Latino population.

  20. A Novel Admixture-Based Pharmacogenetic Approach to Refine Warfarin Dosing in Caribbean Hispanics.

    PubMed

    Duconge, Jorge; Ramos, Alga S; Claudio-Campos, Karla; Rivera-Miranda, Giselle; Bermúdez-Bosch, Luis; Renta, Jessicca Y; Cadilla, Carmen L; Cruz, Iadelisse; Feliu, Juan F; Vergara, Cunegundo; Ruaño, Gualberto

    2016-01-01

    This study is aimed at developing a novel admixture-adjusted pharmacogenomic approach to individually refine warfarin dosing in Caribbean Hispanic patients. A multiple linear regression analysis of effective warfarin doses versus relevant genotypes, admixture, clinical and demographic factors was performed in 255 patients and further validated externally in another cohort of 55 individuals. The admixture-adjusted, genotype-guided warfarin dosing refinement algorithm developed in Caribbean Hispanics showed better predictability (R2 = 0.70, MAE = 0.72mg/day) than a clinical algorithm that excluded genotypes and admixture (R2 = 0.60, MAE = 0.99mg/day), and outperformed two prior pharmacogenetic algorithms in predicting effective dose in this population. For patients at the highest risk of adverse events, 45.5% of the dose predictions using the developed pharmacogenetic model resulted in ideal dose as compared with only 29% when using the clinical non-genetic algorithm (p<0.001). The admixture-driven pharmacogenetic algorithm predicted 58% of warfarin dose variance when externally validated in 55 individuals from an independent validation cohort (MAE = 0.89 mg/day, 24% mean bias). Results supported our rationale to incorporate individual's genotypes and unique admixture metrics into pharmacogenetic refinement models in order to increase predictability when expanding them to admixed populations like Caribbean Hispanics. ClinicalTrials.gov NCT01318057.

  1. Patterns and correlates of grip strength change with age in Afro-Caribbean men.

    PubMed

    Forrest, Kimberly Y Z; Bunker, Clareann H; Sheu, Yahtyng; Wheeler, Victor W; Patrick, Alan L; Zmuda, Joseph M

    2012-05-01

    muscle strength is essential for physical functions and an indicator of morbidity and mortality in older adults. Among the factors associated with muscle strength loss with age, ethnicity has been shown to play an important role. to examine the patterns and correlates of muscle strength change with age in a population-based cohort of middle-aged and older Afro-Caribbean men. handgrip strength and body composition were measured in 1,710 Afro-Caribbean men. Data were also collected for demographic variables, medical history and lifestyle behaviours. the age range of the study population was 29-89 years. Grip strength increased below age 50 years, and decreased after age 50 years over 4.5-year follow-up. The average loss in grip strength was 2.2% (0.49% per year) for ages 50 years or older and 3.8% (0.64% per year) for ages 65 years or older. The significant independent predictors of grip strength loss included older age, a greater body mass index, lower initial arm lean mass and greater loss of arm lean mass. Afro-Caribbean men experience a significant decline in muscle strength with advanced age. The major independent factors associated with strength loss were similar to other ethnic groups, including age, body weight and lean mass.

  2. Genetic characteristics and molecular epidemiology of vancomycin-resistant Enterococci isolates from Caribbean countries

    PubMed Central

    Jayaratne, Padman; Wilson, Clyde; Golding, George R.; Nicholson, Alison M.; Lewis, Delores B.; Hermelijn, Sandra M.

    2017-01-01

    Emergence of vancomycin-resistant Enterococci (VRE) that first appeared on the stage about three decades ago is now a major concern worldwide as it has globally reached every continent. Our aim was to simply undertake a multinational study to delineate the resistance and virulence genes of clinical isolates of VRE isolates from the Caribbean. We employed both conventional (standard microbiological methods including use of E-test strips, chromogenic agar) and molecular methods (polymerase chain reactions–PCR, pulsed-field gel electrophoresis–PFGE and multilocus sequence typing–MLST) to analyze and characterize 245 Enterococci species and 77 VRE isolates from twelve hospitals from eight countries in the Caribbean. The PCR confirmed and demonstrated the resistance and virulence genes (vanA and esp) among all confirmed VRE isolates. The PFGE delineated clonally related isolates from patients from the same country and other countries in the region. The main sequence types of the VRE isolates from the region included STs 412, 750, 203, 736 and 18, all from the common ancestor for clonal complex 17 (CC17). Despite this common ancestor and association of outbreaks of this lineage clones, there has been no reports of outbreaks of infection by VRE in several hospitals in the Caribbean. PMID:29020115

  3. Phylogeography and molecular evolution of dengue 2 in the Caribbean basin, 1981-2000.

    PubMed

    Foster, Jerome E; Bennett, Shannon N; Carrington, Christine V F; Vaughan, Helen; McMillan, W Owen

    2004-06-20

    We sequenced the envelope (E) genes of 59 DEN-2 isolates collected from ten Caribbean islands, six South American countries, and two Central American countries between 1981 and 2000, a period characterized by hyperendemicity and increased incidence of severe dengue. Fifty-two isolates belonged to "American/Asian" subtype IIIb, possessing a characteristic polar residue at envelope aa position 390 (N [n = 48] or S [n = 4]) common to that group. Six isolates from Trinidad (1981), Honduras (1991 [4]), and El Salvador (1987) fell into the "Native American" subtype V (D at aa 390), and one from Honduras (1986) belonged to "Asian" subtype I. The data suggest that after its first isolation in the Caribbean in 1981, genotype IIIb spread throughout the Americas and effectively replaced subtype V throughout the Caribbean basin. The strain also evolved into several distinct lineages, based on substitutions in the E glycoprotein (amino acids 91 and 131), two of which were still in circulation in 2000. Interestingly, a molecular clock did not fit the data well, suggesting that other sources of rate variation, such as differential selection or differences in effective population sizes, may exist among lineages. Our results indicate the importance of large temporal- and geographical-scale phylogenetic studies in understanding disease dynamics, particularly where replacements between regions can occur.

  4. Report of the experts' meeting on maritime transport in the Caribbean

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    2000-11-01

    A meeting of high-level experts in the area of maritime transport took place on 14 and 15 September 2000 at the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) Subregional Headquarters in Port-of-Spain, Trinidad and Tobago. The purpos...

  5. Simian immunodeficiency virus SIVagm.sab infection of Caribbean African green monkeys: a new model for the study of SIV pathogenesis in natural hosts.

    PubMed

    Pandrea, Ivona; Apetrei, Cristian; Dufour, Jason; Dillon, Nora; Barbercheck, Joseph; Metzger, Michael; Jacquelin, Béatrice; Bohm, Rudolf; Marx, Preston A; Barre-Sinoussi, Françoise; Hirsch, Vanessa M; Müller-Trutwin, Michaela C; Lackner, Andrew A; Veazey, Ronald S

    2006-05-01

    Caribbean-born African green monkeys (AGMs) were classified as Chlorocebus sabaeus by cytochrome b sequencing. Guided by these phylogenetic analyses, we developed a new model for the study of simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) infection in natural hosts by inoculating Caribbean AGMs with their species-specific SIVagm.sab. SIVagm.sab replicated efficiently in Caribbean AGM peripheral blood mononuclear cells in vitro. During SIVagm.sab primary infection of six Caribbean AGMs, the virus replicated at high levels, with peak viral loads (VLs) of 10(7) to 10(8) copies/ml occurring by day 8 to 10 postinfection (p.i.). Set-point values of up to 2 x 10(5) copies/ml were reached by day 42 p.i. and maintained throughout follow-up (through day 450 p.i.). CD4(+) T-cell counts in the blood showed a transient depletion at the peak of VL, and then returned to near preinfection values by day 28 p.i. and remained relatively stable during the chronic infection. Preservation of CD4 T cells was also found in lymph nodes (LNs) of chronic SIVagm.sab-infected Caribbean AGMs. No activation of CD4(+) T cells was detected in the periphery in SIV-infected Caribbean AGMs. These virological and immunological profiles from peripheral blood and LNs were identical to those previously reported in African-born AGMs infected with the same viral strain (SIVagm.sab92018). Due to these similarities, we conclude that Caribbean AGMs are a useful alternative to AGMs of African origin as a model for the study of SIV infection in natural African hosts.

  6. Phylogenetic evidence for an ancient rapid radiation of Caribbean sponge-dwelling snapping shrimps (Synalpheus)

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Morrison, C.L.; Rios, R.; Duffy, J.E.

    2004-01-01

    A common challenge in reconstructing phylogenies involves a high frequency of short internal branches, which makes basal relationships difficult to resolve. Often it is not clear whether this pattern results from insufficient or inappropriate data, versus from a rapid evolutionary radiation. The snapping shrimp genus Synalpheus, which contains in excess of 100 species and is a prominent component of coral-reef faunas worldwide, provides an example. Its taxonomy has long been problematic due to the subtlety of diagnostic characters and apparently widespread variability within species. Here we use partial mt COI and 16S rRNA sequences and morphological characters to reconstruct relationships among 31 species in the morphologically well-defined gambarelloides species group, a putative clade of obligate sponge associates that is mostly endemic to the Caribbean and contains the only known eusocial marine animals. Analysis of the combined data produced a single tree with good support for many terminal clades and for relationships with outgroups, but poor support for branches near the base of the gambarelloides group. Most basal branches are extremely short and terminal branches are long, suggesting a relatively ancient, but rapid radiation of the gambarelloides group. This hypothesis is supported by significant departure from a null model of temporally random cladogenesis. Calibration of divergence times among gambarelloides-group species using data from three geminate pairs of Synalpheus species separated by the isthmus of Panama suggests a major radiation between ???5 and 7 Mya, a few My before final closure of the Panamanian seaway during a period of spreading carbonate environments in the Caribbean; a second, smaller radiation occurred ???4 Mya. This molecular evidence for a rapid radiation among Caribbean marine organisms in the late Miocene/early Pliocene is strikingly similar to patterns documented from fossil data for several other Caribbean reef

  7. Assessment of the Initial Response from Tsunami Monitoring Services Provided to the Northeastern Caribbean

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Soto-Cordero, L.; Meltzer, A.

    2014-12-01

    A mag 6.4 earthquake offshore northern Puerto Rico earlier this year (1/13/14) is a reminder of the high risk of earthquakes and tsunamis in the northeastern Caribbean. Had the magnitude of this event been 0.1 larger (M 6.5) a tsunami warning would have been issued for the Puerto Rico-Virgin Islands (PRVI) region based on the West Coast Alaska Tsunami Warning Center (WCATWC) and Puerto Rico Seismic Network (PRSN) response procedures at the time. Such an alert level would have led local authorities to issue evacuation orders for all PRVI coastal areas. Since the number of deaths associated with tsunamis in the Caribbean region is greater than the total casualties from tsunamis in the entire US (including Hawaii and Alaska coasts) having an effective and redundant warning system is critical in order to save lives and to minimize false alarms that could result in significant economic costs and loss of confidence of Caribbean residents. We are evaluating three fundamental components of tsunami monitoring protocols currently in place in the northeastern Caribbean: 1) preliminary earthquake parameters (used to determine the potential that a tsunami will be generated and the basis of tsunami alert levels), 2) adequacy of the tsunami alert levels, and 3) tsunami message dissemination. We compiled a catalog of earthquake locations (2007-2014) and dissemination times from the PTWC, WCATWC and NEIC (final locations). The events were classified into 3 categories: local [17°-20°N, 63.5°-69°W], regional (Caribbean basin) and distant/teleseismic (Atlantic basin). A total of 104 local earthquakes, 31 regional and 25 distant events were analyzed. We found that in general preliminary epicentral locations have an accuracy of 40 km. 64% of local events were located with an accuracy of 20 km. The depth accuracy of local events shallower than 50 km, regional and distant earthquakes is usually smaller than 30 km. For deeper local events the error distribution shows more variability

  8. Intimate partner violence in the Caribbean: State, activist and media responses.

    PubMed

    DeShong, Halimah A F; Haynes, Tonya

    2016-01-01

    Violence in the Caribbean is a major public health and criminal justice problem. In some Caribbean countries, women's share of morbidity and mortality due to violence outstrips men's, which demonstrates a reversal in how gender and violence have been typically and globally understood. This morbidity and mortality among women is frequently a consequence of intimate partner violence (IPV). Using qualitative analysis and feminist discourse and narrative analysis on data from Guyana, St. Vincent and the Grenadines and Barbados, the authors of this paper contribute to the growing research on IPV. The central organising questions are how do state, activist and media responses reproduce and/or challenge asymmetrical relations of power and gender, and what does this mean for women's agency in the context of violent relationships. State, activist and media responses reveal how assumptions about gender and IPV contribute to a contradictory context in which women navigate their desired outcomes.

  9. Report of the Evaluation Meeting on the Caribbean Information System (Port-of-Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, July 6-8, 1983).

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America, Port-of-Spain (Trinadad). Caribbean Documentation Centre.

    This publication outlines the activities and impact of the Caribbean Information System for Economic and Social Planning (CARISPLAN), as reported by representatives of 16 Caribbean nations and various regional organizations. A copy of the meeting agenda and other introductory material are followed by brief summaries of reports from representatives…

  10. Small bowel morphology in British Indian and Afro-Caribbean subjects: evidence of tropical enteropathy.

    PubMed Central

    Wood, G M; Gearty, J C; Cooper, B T

    1991-01-01

    Distal duodenal biopsy specimens taken from 30 white, 35 Indian, and 20 Afro-Caribbean residents of West Birmingham during routine endoscopy for dyspepsia, were assessed by dissecting microscopy and morphometry. Finger-shaped villi were significantly less frequent in the Indian and Afro-Caribbean subjects than in the white subjects when assessed by dissecting microscopy (p less than 0.005), and both immigrant groups had decreased mucosal thickness (p less than 0.01), villous height (p less than 0.001), villous:crypt ratios (p less than 0.01) and enterocyte height (p less than 0.05) compared with the white group. In the Indian subjects, villous height and villous:crypt ratios correlated significantly with the time since the last visit to the Indian subcontinent (p less than 0.005). Serum alkaline phosphatase values were significantly higher in the Indian subjects compared with the whites (p less than 0.02), and serum globulins were increased in both the Afro-Caribbean and Indian subjects (p less than 0.01). There were no correlations between morphometric indices and body habitus or biochemical or haematological indices and the long term effect of the morphological changes is not clear. PMID:2013420

  11. The Association of Afro-Caribbean Immigrants' Feelings of Disconnection from the Community with the Metabolic Syndrome.

    PubMed

    Tull, Eugene S; Cort, Malcolm A; Yarandi, Hossein N

    2015-12-01

    Many immigrants can feel like outsiders in their adopted country. The objective of this study was to determine if psychosocial stress associated with feelings of disconnection from the community is associated with the metabolic syndrome (Met-S) among Afro-Caribbean immigrants. The frequency of the Met-S, based on International Diabetes Federation criteria, was determined for a population-based sample of 406 English-speaking Afro-Caribbean immigrants ages twenty and older in the Virgin Islands of the United States (USVI). Feelings of disconnection were assess with Roger's Life Attitude Inventory. Logistic regression analyses showed that a high level of disconnection was significantly associated with the Met-S [Odds Ratio = 1.64 (95% CI 1.10-2.44)] after adjusting for conventional risk factors and for body mass index. Afro-Caribbean immigrants in the USVI who express a high level of disconnection from the community have an increased risk for the Met-S.

  12. Many Hands, Few Jobs: Population, Unemployment and Emigration in Mexico and the Caribbean. Center for Immigration Studies Paper 2.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bouvier, Leon; Simcox, David E.

    Between 1940 and 1980, Mexico and other Caribbean nations grew by an annual average of three percent, doubling in population every 21 years. Mexico's population will reach 109 million and the Caribbean nations will top 250 million by 2000. The projected U.S. population in 2000 is 266 million. This dynamic growth has serious implications for Mexico…

  13. In the Shadow of the Cold War: The Caribbean and Central America in U.S. Foreign Policy. Revised Edition.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Malkasian, Mark; Davidson, Louise K.

    In this document, students examine the economic and military concerns that linked the history of the Caribbean and Central America to the United States. Organized into four chapters, the first chapter examines the history of U.S. relations with the Caribbean and Central America from the early 19th century to 1961. The second chapter focuses on the…

  14. Providing the Caribbean community with VIIRS-derived weather satellite and dust model output in preparation for African dust impacts

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kuciauskas, A. P.; Xian, P.; Hyer, E. J.; Oyola, M. I.; Campbell, J. R.

    2016-12-01

    The Naval Research Laboratory Marine Meteorology Division (NRL-MMD) predicts, monitors, and trains Caribbean agencies in preparing for and mitigating unhealthy episodes of Saharan-based dust. Of critical concern is the Saharan Air Layer (SAL), an elevated air mass of hot, dry, and often very dusty conditions that can be environmentally persistent and dangerous to the downstream Caribbean populace, resulting in respiratory illnesses; some of the world's highest asthma rates and associated premature deaths have been documented within the Caribbean islands. The SAL not only impacts the greater Caribbean, but also the Gulf of Mexico, northern South America, and southern and central US. One of the major responsibilities of the National Weather Service forecast office at San Juan, Puerto Rico (NWS-PR) is preparing the public within their area of responsibility for such events. The NRL-MMD has been at the forefront of implementing and demonstrating the positive impact of Suomi-VIIRS during SAL events. In preparation for SAL events, NRL-MMD is currently supporting the NWS-PR with near real time web-based products, primarily from VIIRS datasets. Preliminary studies have shown that VIIRS has demonstrated improvements in the assessment and prediction of dust intensities related to SAL passages. The upcoming launches of JPSS-1 and GOES-R are eagerly anticipated in possibly revolutionizing the R&D related toward further improvements in understanding Saharan dust dynamics and characteristics. Besides NWS-PR, NRL-MMD also collaborates with the Caribbean Institute for Meteorology and Hydrology (CIMH) in both providing and gathering in-situ measurements that stretch from the French Guyana northward through the West Indies island chain. Finally, NRL-MMD is involved with the Caribbean Aerosol Health Network (CAHN),an international network of health and environmental agencies whose mission is to improve the understanding of the impacts (e.g., air quality, health, climate, weather

  15. Improving the health status of Caribbean people: recommendations from the Triangulating on Health Equity summit.

    PubMed

    Sastre, Francisco; Rojas, Patria; Cyrus, Elena; De La Rosa, Mario; Khoury, Aysha H

    2014-09-01

    In 2011, Morehouse School of Medicine convened a summit in San Juan, Puerto Rico, to discuss issues related to the health status of people and communities in the Caribbean region. The summit provided a forum for transparent dialog among researchers, policymakers, and advocates from the Caribbean region and the United States. The summit's theme-improving the region's health outcomes through the adoption of effective practices linking health promotion and primary care, within the context of social and cultural determinants-called for a comprehensive and integrative model or a triangulation of methodologies to improve health outcomes. This article summarizes the recommendations of two workgroup sessions examining the challenges to improving health outcomes in the region and the opportunities to meet those challenges. The recommendations seek to develop action-oriented agendas that integrate research, practice, and policy. Outcomes of the summit highlight the importance of (a) community participation in planning interventions, (b) policymakers' commitment to prioritizing health, and (c) Caribbean governments' commitment to addressing the underlying social factors responsible for poor health outcomes. © The Author(s) 2014.

  16. Genetic diversity and population structure of native maize populations in Latin America and the Caribbean.

    PubMed

    Bedoya, Claudia A; Dreisigacker, Susanne; Hearne, Sarah; Franco, Jorge; Mir, Celine; Prasanna, Boddupalli M; Taba, Suketoshi; Charcosset, Alain; Warburton, Marilyn L

    2017-01-01

    This study describes the genetic diversity and population structure of 194 native maize populations from 23 countries of Latin America and the Caribbean. The germplasm, representing 131 distinct landraces, was genetically characterized as population bulks using 28 SSR markers. Three main groups of maize germplasm were identified. The first, the Mexico and Southern Andes group, highlights the Pre-Columbian and modern exchange of germplasm between North and South America. The second group, Mesoamerica lowland, supports the hypothesis that two separate human migration events could have contributed to Caribbean maize germplasm. The third, the Andean group, displayed early introduction of maize into the Andes, with little mixing since then, other than a regional interchange zone active in the past. Events and activities in the pre- and post-Columbian Americas including the development and expansion of pre-Columbian cultures and the arrival of Europeans to the Americas are discussed in relation to the history of maize migration from its point of domestication in Mesoamerica to South America and the Caribbean through sea and land routes.

  17. Genetic diversity and population structure of native maize populations in Latin America and the Caribbean

    PubMed Central

    Bedoya, Claudia A.; Dreisigacker, Susanne; Hearne, Sarah; Franco, Jorge; Mir, Celine; Prasanna, Boddupalli M.; Taba, Suketoshi; Charcosset, Alain; Warburton, Marilyn L.

    2017-01-01

    This study describes the genetic diversity and population structure of 194 native maize populations from 23 countries of Latin America and the Caribbean. The germplasm, representing 131 distinct landraces, was genetically characterized as population bulks using 28 SSR markers. Three main groups of maize germplasm were identified. The first, the Mexico and Southern Andes group, highlights the Pre-Columbian and modern exchange of germplasm between North and South America. The second group, Mesoamerica lowland, supports the hypothesis that two separate human migration events could have contributed to Caribbean maize germplasm. The third, the Andean group, displayed early introduction of maize into the Andes, with little mixing since then, other than a regional interchange zone active in the past. Events and activities in the pre- and post-Columbian Americas including the development and expansion of pre-Columbian cultures and the arrival of Europeans to the Americas are discussed in relation to the history of maize migration from its point of domestication in Mesoamerica to South America and the Caribbean through sea and land routes. PMID:28403177

  18. Migration as an Agent of Change in Caribbean Island Ecosystems.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Marshall, Dawn

    1982-01-01

    There is need to assess the impact of migration on the Caribbean ecosystems. As a 150-year-old institution, emigration is related to the carrying capacity of the islands and the need to export the surplus population when capacity is threatened. Emigration, however, is a deterrent to development and individual independence. (KC)

  19. Weather types across the Caribbean basin and their relationship with rainfall and sea surface temperature

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Moron, Vincent; Gouirand, Isabelle; Taylor, Michael

    2016-07-01

    Eight weather types (WTs) are computed over 98.75°W-56.25°W, 8.75°N-31.25°N using cluster analysis of daily low-level (925 hPa) winds and outgoing longwave radiation, without removing the mean annual cycle, by a k-means algorithm from 1979 to 2013. The WTs can be firstly interpreted as snapshots of the annual cycle with a clear distinction between 5 "wintertime" and 3 "summertime" WTs, which account together for 70 % of the total mean annual rainfall across the studied domain. The wintertime WTs occur mostly from late November to late April and are characterized by varying intensity and location of the North Atlantic subtropical high (NASH) and transient synoptic troughs along the northern edge of the domain. Large-scale subsidence dominates the whole basin but rainfall can occur over sections of the basin, especially on the windward shores of the troughs associated with the synoptic waves. The transition between wintertime and summertime WTs is rather abrupt, especially in May. One summertime WT (WT 4) is prevalent in summer, and almost exclusive around late July. It is characterized by strong NASH, fast Caribbean low level jet and rainfall mostly concentrated over the Caribbean Islands, the Florida Peninsula, the whole Central America and the tropical Eastern Pacific. The two remaining summertime WTs display widespread rainfall respectively from Central America to Bermuda (WT 5) and over the Eastern Caribbean (WT 6). Both WTs combine reduced regional scale subsidence and weaker Caribbean low-level jet relatively to WT 4. The relationships between WT frequency and El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) events are broadly linear. Warm central and eastern ENSO events are associated with more WT 4 (less WT 5-6) during boreal summer and autumn (0) while this relationship is reversed during boreal summer (+1) for central events only. In boreal winter, the largest anomalies are observed for two WTs consistent with negative (WT 2) and positive (WT 8) phases of the

  20. Creole Languages in Education and Their Role in Shaping Caribbean Identities: Models for Integrating English Lexifier Creoles into School Curricula in the Eastern Caribbean

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Zambrana, Pier Angeli LeCompte

    2017-01-01

    In this dissertation, I will identify and analyze the serious problems that have arisen in the Caribbean due to the imposition of European colonial languages as languages of instruction in the education systems of those territories of the region where the majority of the population speak a creole language. I will also identify and analyze the…

  1. Mini-review: Obesity in Caribbean Youth.

    PubMed

    Traboulay, E A; Hoyte, O P-A

    2015-06-01

    Our focus was on the determination of the growing number of youths of every race and ethnicity, diagnosed with obesity and its co-morbidities in the Caribbean. We reviewed the causes and strategies to combat obesity, and the implications of the fast food industry in enabling the escalation of obesity. We consulted several databases such as PubMed, MEDLINE, the Obesity Gene Map Database, and the USEPA Toxicity Reference Database. Organizations such as the World Health Organization (WHO), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) were used as information sources. Transgenerational effects and triggers like obesogens, pathogens, environmental stress, antibiotics and gut microbiota are some of the causes of obesity, and some of these triggers are imprinted epigenetically early in embryonic development, leading to lifelong obesity. With an estimated population of 42 million in the Caribbean, the economic cost of obesity, including medical, absenteeism, presenteeism, insurance, disability, direct and indirect cost, was estimated cost of 68.5 billion USD with 88.2 million quality-adjusted life years lost. Genome-wide association studies have established that genetics play a role in the aetiology of this "non-communicable" disease. While the development of personalized interventions according to genotype is futuristic, we must focus on effective nutrition and physical education classes in schools and establishing monitoring programmes using simple tools such as scales and tape measures as suggested intervention. A Pigovian tax to control the fast food industry is mandatory. Nevertheless, lifestyle adjustment, including alterations in diet and increased physical activity, continues to be a sound recommendation.

  2. Tsunami probability in the Caribbean Region

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Parsons, T.; Geist, E.L.

    2008-01-01

    We calculated tsunami runup probability (in excess of 0.5 m) at coastal sites throughout the Caribbean region. We applied a Poissonian probability model because of the variety of uncorrelated tsunami sources in the region. Coastlines were discretized into 20 km by 20 km cells, and the mean tsunami runup rate was determined for each cell. The remarkable ???500-year empirical record compiled by O'Loughlin and Lander (2003) was used to calculate an empirical tsunami probability map, the first of three constructed for this study. However, it is unclear whether the 500-year record is complete, so we conducted a seismic moment-balance exercise using a finite-element model of the Caribbean-North American plate boundaries and the earthquake catalog, and found that moment could be balanced if the seismic coupling coefficient is c = 0.32. Modeled moment release was therefore used to generate synthetic earthquake sequences to calculate 50 tsunami runup scenarios for 500-year periods. We made a second probability map from numerically-calculated runup rates in each cell. Differences between the first two probability maps based on empirical and numerical-modeled rates suggest that each captured different aspects of tsunami generation; the empirical model may be deficient in primary plate-boundary events, whereas numerical model rates lack backarc fault and landslide sources. We thus prepared a third probability map using Bayesian likelihood functions derived from the empirical and numerical rate models and their attendant uncertainty to weight a range of rates at each 20 km by 20 km coastal cell. Our best-estimate map gives a range of 30-year runup probability from 0 - 30% regionally. ?? irkhaueser 2008.

  3. Mini-review: Obesity in Caribbean Youth

    PubMed Central

    Traboulay, EA; Hoyte, OPA

    2015-01-01

    ABSTRACT Objective: Our focus was on the determination of the growing number of youths of every race and ethnicity, diagnosed with obesity and its co-morbidities in the Caribbean. We reviewed the causes and strategies to combat obesity, and the implications of the fast food industry in enabling the escalation of obesity. Methods: We consulted several databases such as PubMed, MEDLINE, the Obesity Gene Map Database, and the USEPA Toxicity Reference Database. Organizations such as the World Health Organization (WHO), Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), and the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) were used as information sources. Results: Transgenerational effects and triggers like obesogens, pathogens, environmental stress, antibiotics and gut microbiota are some of the causes of obesity, and some of these triggers are imprinted epigenetically early in embryonic development, leading to lifelong obesity. With an estimated population of 42 million in the Caribbean, the economic cost of obesity, including medical, absenteeism, presenteeism, insurance, disability, direct and indirect cost, was estimated at 68.5 billion USD with 88.2 million quality-adjusted life years lost. Conclusion: Genome-wide association studies have established that genetics play a role in the aetiology of this “non-communicable” disease. While the development of personalized interventions according to genotype is futuristic, we must focus on effective nutrition and physical education (PE) classes in schools and establishing monitoring programmes using simple tools such as scales and tape measures as suggested intervention. A Pigovian tax to control the fast food industry is mandatory. Nevertheless, lifestyle adjustment, including alterations in diet and increased physical activity, continues to be a sound recommendation. PMID:26426179

  4. The African, Caribbean and European (ACE) Pathways to Care study: a qualitative exploration of similarities and differences between African-origin, Caribbean-origin and European-origin groups in pathways to care for psychosis

    PubMed Central

    Ferrari, Manuela; Flora, Nina; Anderson, Kelly K; Tuck, Andrew; Archie, Suzanne; Kidd, Sean; McKenzie, Kwame

    2015-01-01

    Objectives This paper reports on a qualitative exploration of the reasons for differences in pathways to care and duration of untreated psychosis (DUP) in the African, Caribbean and European (ACE) Pathways to Care study from the perspective of respondents to the study and their families. Setting Ontario, Canada. Participants Thirty-four participants in total. Twenty-five young people who had experienced a first episode of psychosis and nine family members. Participants were part of the ACE Pathways to Care study. Design We implemented six focus groups. Furthermore, we implemented four in-depth interviews with two African-origin young women, one Caribbean-origin woman, and one European-origin woman with lived experience of psychosis. Results Factors that influenced help-seeking delays across the three groups were: personal awareness of symptoms, family members’ knowledge of psychotic symptoms and knowledge of mental health services. Youth and their family members described how stigma played a key role in pathways to care by stopping them from asking for help. The way in which stigma operated on the three groups’ members, from feeling ashamed to feeling guilty for their mental illnesses, helped to explain differences in DUP between the groups. Guilt feelings emerged as a prominent theme among members from the African and Caribbean groups and it was not discussed in the European focus group. Delay in entering into first-episode psychosis programmes was also influenced by the stigma perceived by young people in healthcare settings. This had an impact on the therapeutic relationships, disclosure of symptoms and overall trust in the healthcare system. Conclusions The findings of this paper suggest that stigma, especially internalised stigma, may operate in different ways in European-origin, African-origin and Caribbean-origin groups. These findings could inform the development of more equitable services for people in early stages of psychosis. PMID:25588783

  5. Meta-analysis and time series modeling allow a systematic review of primary HIV-1 drug-resistant prevalence in Latin America and Caribbean.

    PubMed

    Coelho, Antonio Victor Campos; De Moura, Ronald Rodrigues; Da Silva, Ronaldo Celerino; Kamada, Anselmo Jiro; Guimarães, Rafael Lima; Brandão, Lucas André Cavalcanti; Coelho, Hemílio Fernandes Campos; Crovella, Sergio

    2015-01-01

    Here we review the prevalence of HIV-1 primary drug resistance in Latin America and Caribbean using meta-analysis as well as time-series modeling. We also discuss whether there could be a drawback to HIV/AIDS programs due to drug resistance in Latin America and Caribbean in the next years. We observed that, although some studies report low or moderate primary drug resistance prevalence in Caribbean countries, this evidence needs to be updated. In other countries, such as Brazil and Argentina, the prevalence of drug resistance appears to be rising. Mutations conferring resistance against reverse transcriptase inhibitors were the most frequent in the analyzed populations (70% of all mutational events). HIV-1 subtype B was the most prevalent in Latin America and the Caribbean, although subtype C and B/F recombinants have significant contributions in Argentina and Brazil. Thus, we suggest that primary drug resistance in Latin America and the Caribbean could have been underestimated. Clinical monitoring should be improved to offer better therapy, reducing the risk for HIV-1 resistance emergence and spread, principally in vulnerable populations, such as men who have sex with men transmission group, sex workers and intravenous drug users.

  6. Changes to Yucatán Peninsula precipitation associated with salinity and temperature extremes of the Caribbean Sea during the Maya civilization collapse.

    PubMed

    Wu, Henry C; Felis, Thomas; Scholz, Denis; Giry, Cyril; Kölling, Martin; Jochum, Klaus P; Scheffers, Sander R

    2017-11-20

    Explanations of the Classic Maya civilization demise on the Yucatán Peninsula during the Terminal Classic Period (TCP; ~CE 750-1050) are controversial. Multiyear droughts are one likely cause, but the role of the Caribbean Sea, the dominant moisture source for Mesoamerica, remains largely unknown. Here we present bimonthly-resolved snapshots of reconstructed sea surface temperature (SST) and salinity (SSS) variability in the southern Caribbean from precisely dated fossil corals. The results indicate pronounced interannual to decadal SST and SSS variability during the TCP, which may be temporally coherent to precipitation anomalies on the Yucatán. Our results are best explained by changed Caribbean SST gradients affecting the Caribbean low-level atmospheric jet with consequences for Mesoamerican precipitation, which are possibly linked to changes in Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation strength. Our findings provide a new perspective on the anomalous hydrological changes during the TCP that complement the oft-suggested southward displacement of the Intertropical Convergence Zone. We advocate for a strong role of Caribbean SST and SSS condition changes and related ocean-atmosphere interactions that notably influenced the propagation and transport of precipitation to the Yucatán Peninsula during the TCP.

  7. First observations of the bigfin squid Magnapinna sp. in the Colombian Southern Caribbean

    PubMed Central

    Cantera, Jaime; Puentes, Vladimir; Leon, Jorge

    2018-01-01

    Abstract Herein, first observations are reported of Magnapinna squids in the Colombian Southern Caribbean. Two specimens were observed by Remote Operated Vehicles (ROV) during exploratory drilling surveys for hydrocarbons at 1,883 and 2,294 m depth. These are the first observations of specimens of Magnapinna in the Southern Caribbean. Resumen La primera observación del calamar Magnapinna sp. en el caribe sur colombiano. Dos especímenes de calamares de aleta grande fueron observados con submarino de operación remota (ROV) durante un proyecto de perforación exploratoria de hidrocaburos a profundidades de 1,883 y de 2,294 m, respectivamente. Estas son las primeras observaciones de especímenes de Magnapinna en el Caribe Sur. PMID:29765263

  8. Policy initiatives, culture and the prevention and control of chronic non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in the Caribbean.

    PubMed

    Samuels, T Alafia; Guell, Cornelia; Legetic, Branka; Unwin, Nigel

    2012-01-01

    To explore interactions between disease burden, culture and the policy response to non-communicable diseases (NCDs) within the Caribbean, a region with some of the highest prevalence rates, morbidity and mortality from NCDs in the Americas. We undertook a wide ranging narrative review, drawing on a variety of peer reviewed, government and intergovernmental literature. Although the Caribbean is highly diverse, linguistically and ethnically, it is possible to show how 'culture' at the macro-level has been shaped by shared historic, economic and political experiences and ties. We suggest four broad groupings of countries: the English-speaking Caribbean Community (CARICOM); the small island states that are still colonies or departments of colonial powers; three large-Spanish speaking countries; and Haiti, which although part of CARICOM is culturally distinct. We explore how NCD health policies in the region stem from and are influenced by the broad characteristics of these groupings, albeit played out in varied ways in individual countries. For example, the Port of Spain declaration (2007) on NCDs can be understood as the product of the co-operative and collaborative relationships with CARICOM, which are based on a shared broad culture. We note, however, that studies investigating the relationships between the formation of NCD policy and culture (at any level) are scarce. Within the Caribbean region it is possible to discern relationships between culture at the macro-level and the formation of NCD policy. However, there is little work that directly assesses the interactions between culture and NCD policy formation. The Caribbean with its cultural diversity and high burden of NCDs provides an ideal environment within which to undertake further studies to better understand the interactions between culture and health policy formation.

  9. A new species of Laetiporus (Basidiomycota, Polyporales) from the Caribbean basin

    Treesearch

    Mark T. Banik; Daniel L. Lindner; Beatriz Ortiz-Santana; Deborah J. Lodge

    2012-01-01

    Laetiporus caribensis is described as a new species, causing brown rot on hardwoods in the Caribbean basin. Laetiporus caribensis is distinguished from described species in the genus by smaller basidiospores. In addition, single spore isolates of L. caribensis are incompatible with those of the known species of...

  10. eHealth in Latin America and the Caribbean: Development and Policy Issues

    PubMed Central

    Risk, Ahmad

    2003-01-01

    This paper reviews trends and issues in health and in the information and communication technologies (ICT) market as they relate to the deployment of eHealth solutions in Latin America and the Caribbean. Heretofore designed for industrialized countries and large organizations, eHealth solutions are being proposed as an answer to a variety of health-system management problems and health care demands faced by all health organizations including those in developing societies. Particularly, eHealth is seen as especially useful in the operational support of the new health care models being implemented in many countries. The authors examine those developments vis-à-vis the characteristics of the Latin American and the Caribbean health-sector organizational preparedness and technological infrastructure, and propose policy and organizational actions to foster the development of eHealth solutions in the region. PMID:12746209

  11. Geophysical features influence the accumulation of beach debris on Caribbean islands.

    PubMed

    Schmuck, Alexandra M; Lavers, Jennifer L; Stuckenbrock, Silke; Sharp, Paul B; Bond, Alexander L

    2017-08-15

    Anthropogenic beach debris was recorded during beach surveys of 24 Caribbean islands during April 2014-April 2016. Beach debris was classified according to material type (e.g., polystyrene) and item use (e.g., fishing). Geophysical features (substrate type, beach direction, and human accessibility) of sample sites were recorded in order to investigate their relationship with debris density. Results suggest the density of macro debris (items >5mm) is highest on uninhabited, sandy beaches facing a leeward direction. Higher debris quantities on inaccessible beaches may be due to less frequent beach clean ups. Frequently accessed beaches exhibited lower macro, but higher micro debris (items 1-5mm) densities, possibly due to removal of macro debris during frequent beach clean ups. This suggests that while geophysical features have some influence on anthropogenic debris densities, high debris densities are occurring on all islands within the Caribbean region regardless of substrate, beach direction, or human accessibility. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  12. Estimation of CT-Derived Abdominal Visceral and Subcutaneous Adipose Tissue Depots from Anthropometry in Europeans, South Asians and African Caribbeans

    PubMed Central

    Eastwood, Sophie V.; Tillin, Therese; Wright, Andrew; Heasman, John; Willis, Joseph; Godsland, Ian F.; Forouhi, Nita; Whincup, Peter; Hughes, Alun D.; Chaturvedi, Nishi

    2013-01-01

    Background South Asians and African Caribbeans experience more cardiometabolic disease than Europeans. Risk factors include visceral (VAT) and subcutaneous abdominal (SAT) adipose tissue, which vary with ethnicity and are difficult to quantify using anthropometry. Objective We developed and cross-validated ethnicity and gender-specific equations using anthropometrics to predict VAT and SAT. Design 669 Europeans, 514 South Asians and 227 African Caribbeans (70±7 years) underwent anthropometric measurement and abdominal CT scanning. South Asian and African Caribbean participants were first-generation migrants living in London. Prediction equations were derived for CT-measured VAT and SAT using stepwise regression, then cross-validated by comparing actual and predicted means. Results South Asians had more and African Caribbeans less VAT than Europeans. For basic VAT prediction equations (age and waist circumference), model fit was better in men (R2 range 0.59-0.71) than women (range 0.35-0.59). Expanded equations (+ weight, height, hip and thigh circumference) improved fit for South Asian and African Caribbean women (R2 0.35 to 0.55, and 0.43 to 0.56 respectively). For basic SAT equations, R2 was 0.69-0.77, and for expanded equations it was 0.72-0.86. Cross-validation showed differences between actual and estimated VAT of <7%, and SAT of <8% in all groups, apart from VAT in South Asian women which disagreed by 16%. Conclusion We provide ethnicity- and gender-specific VAT and SAT prediction equations, derived from a large tri-ethnic sample. Model fit was reasonable for SAT and VAT in men, while basic VAT models should be used cautiously in South Asian and African Caribbean women. These equations will aid studies of mechanisms of cardiometabolic disease in later life, where imaging data are not available. PMID:24069381

  13. Ethnic density effects on health and experienced racism among Caribbean people in the US and England: A cross-national comparison

    PubMed Central

    Bécares, Laia; Nazroo, James; Jackson, James; Heuvelman, Hein

    2015-01-01

    Studies indicate an ethnic density effect, whereby an increase in the proportion of racial/ethnic minority people in an area is associated with reduced morbidity among its residents, though evidence is varied. Discrepancies may arise due to differences in the reasons for and periods of migration, and socioeconomic profiles of the racial/ethnic groups and the places where they live. It is important to increase our understanding of how these factors might promote or mitigate ethnic density effects. Cross-national comparative analyses might help in this respect, as they provide greater heterogeneity in historical and contemporary characteristics in the populations of interest, and it is when we consider this heterogeneity in the contexts of peoples’ lives that we can more fully understand how social conditions and neighbourhood environments influence the health of migrant and racial/ethnic minority populations. This study analysed two cross-sectional nationally representative surveys, in the US and in England, to explore and contrast the association between two ethnic density measures (black and Caribbean ethnic density) and health and experienced racism among Caribbean people. Results of multilevel logistic regressions show that nominally similar measures of ethnic density perform differently across health outcomes and measures of experienced racism in the two countries. In the US, increased Caribbean ethnic density was associated with improved health and decreased experienced racism, but the opposite was observed in England. On the other hand, increased black ethnic density was associated with improved health and decreased experienced racism of Caribbean English (results not statistically significant), but not of Caribbean Americans. By comparing mutually adjusted Caribbean and black ethnic density effects in the US and England, this study examined the social construction of race and ethnicity as it depends on the racialised and stigmatised meaning attributed to

  14. Estimation of CT-derived abdominal visceral and subcutaneous adipose tissue depots from anthropometry in Europeans, South Asians and African Caribbeans.

    PubMed

    Eastwood, Sophie V; Tillin, Therese; Wright, Andrew; Heasman, John; Willis, Joseph; Godsland, Ian F; Forouhi, Nita; Whincup, Peter; Hughes, Alun D; Chaturvedi, Nishi

    2013-01-01

    South Asians and African Caribbeans experience more cardiometabolic disease than Europeans. Risk factors include visceral (VAT) and subcutaneous abdominal (SAT) adipose tissue, which vary with ethnicity and are difficult to quantify using anthropometry. We developed and cross-validated ethnicity and gender-specific equations using anthropometrics to predict VAT and SAT. 669 Europeans, 514 South Asians and 227 African Caribbeans (70 ± 7 years) underwent anthropometric measurement and abdominal CT scanning. South Asian and African Caribbean participants were first-generation migrants living in London. Prediction equations were derived for CT-measured VAT and SAT using stepwise regression, then cross-validated by comparing actual and predicted means. South Asians had more and African Caribbeans less VAT than Europeans. For basic VAT prediction equations (age and waist circumference), model fit was better in men (R(2) range 0.59-0.71) than women (range 0.35-0.59). Expanded equations (+ weight, height, hip and thigh circumference) improved fit for South Asian and African Caribbean women (R(2) 0.35 to 0.55, and 0.43 to 0.56 respectively). For basic SAT equations, R(2) was 0.69-0.77, and for expanded equations it was 0.72-0.86. Cross-validation showed differences between actual and estimated VAT of <7%, and SAT of <8% in all groups, apart from VAT in South Asian women which disagreed by 16%. We provide ethnicity- and gender-specific VAT and SAT prediction equations, derived from a large tri-ethnic sample. Model fit was reasonable for SAT and VAT in men, while basic VAT models should be used cautiously in South Asian and African Caribbean women. These equations will aid studies of mechanisms of cardiometabolic disease in later life, where imaging data are not available.

  15. Communication from the National Forest Inventories Working Group of the 16th Caribbean Foresters meeting: proposal for a regional workshop

    Treesearch

    Humfredo Marcano-Vega; Carlton Roberts; Henri Valles; Jacqueline Andre; Kevin Boswell; Dennis Lemen; Floyd Liburd; Christian López

    2016-01-01

    We addressed the National Forests Inventories Working Group of the 16th Caribbean Foresters Meeting to propose a series of training modules regarding how to conduct national forest inventories and analyze the data collected. Improving regional capacity is crucial to ensuring the sustainable management of Caribbean forest ecosystems. We focused on the statistical and...

  16. Sargassum-associated mobile fauna communities in the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, and Sargasso Sea

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Martin, L.; Schell, J. M.; Goodwin, D.; Biggs, D.; Siuda, A. N.

    2016-02-01

    Sargassum natans and S. fluitans are entirely pelagic, offering a pseudo-benthic structural habitat for an associated community of mobile fauna. In turn, the mobile fauna community supports foraging seabirds, fish, and turtles. Recent satellite observations suggest Sargassum in the Sargasso Sea is seeded annually from the Gulf of Mexico. Furthermore, the Caribbean is in the midst of a Sargassum inundation that appears disconnected in origin from the Sargasso Sea and Gulf of Mexico. Sargassum and fauna were collected via dip net during spring and summer 2015 from the Gulf of Mexico, Sargasso Sea and Eastern Caribbean to study the impacts that region, aggregation pattern (isolated clump, windrow, mat), and Sargassum variety morphology have on mobile fauna community composition. Sargassum from all three regions shared five common (frequency >10%) species: flatworm spp., Portunus sayi, Litiopa melanostoma, Leander tenuicornis, and Latreutes fucorum). The Gulf presented the most unique species (9 unique / 16 total) followed by the Sargasso Sea (5 unique / 12 total) and the Caribbean (1 unique / 6 total). The majority of species unique to the Gulf of Mexico were juvenile fish while those in the Caribbean and Sargasso Sea were benthic-like species residing on the Sargassum itself. Differences in the morphological forms of Sargassum had a marked effect on fauna diversity and abundance. In all three regions, fewer individuals and species were found on the broad-leafed, less compact S. natans VIII than on the denser S. natans I and S. fluitans III. This study identifies the differences in macrofauna abundance and diversity between varieties of Sargassum and highlights the potential for dramatic community changes that could result from largescale Sargassum blooms and species shifts. Any shift in these keystone communities could result in negative cascading effects on seabirds, economically important fish populations, and juvenile turtles which use the seaweed as a nursery

  17. Population health status of South Asian and African-Caribbean communities in the United Kingdom.

    PubMed

    Calvert, Melanie; Duffy, Helen; Freemantle, Nick; Davis, Russell; Lip, Gregory Y H; Gill, Paramjit

    2012-04-25

    Population health status scores are routinely used to inform economic evaluation and evaluate the impact of disease and/or treatment on health. It is unclear whether the health status in black and minority ethnic groups are comparable to these population health status data. The aim of this study was to evaluate health-status in South Asian and African-Caribbean populations. Cross-sectional study recruiting participants aged ≥ 45 years (September 2006 to July 2009) from 20 primary care centres in Birmingham, United Kingdom.10,902 eligible subjects were invited, 5,408 participated (49.6%). 5,354 participants had complete data (49.1%) (3442 South Asian and 1912 African-Caribbean). Health status was assessed by interview using the EuroQoL EQ-5D. The mean EQ-5D score in South Asian participants was 0.91 (standard deviation (SD) 0.18), median score 1 (interquartile range (IQR) 0.848 to 1) and in African-Caribbean participants the mean score was 0.92 (SD 0.18), median 1 (IQR 1 to 1). Compared with normative data from the UK general population, substantially fewer African-Caribbean and South Asian participants reported problems with mobility, usual activities, pain and anxiety when stratified by age resulting in higher average health status estimates than those from the UK population. Multivariable modelling showed that decreased health-related quality of life (HRQL) was associated with increased age, female gender and increased body mass index. A medical history of depression, stroke/transient ischemic attack, heart failure and arthritis were associated with substantial reductions in HRQL. The reported HRQL of these minority ethnic groups was substantially higher than anticipated compared to UK normative data. Participants with chronic disease experienced significant reductions in HRQL and should be a target for health intervention.

  18. A Novel Admixture-Based Pharmacogenetic Approach to Refine Warfarin Dosing in Caribbean Hispanics

    PubMed Central

    Claudio-Campos, Karla; Rivera-Miranda, Giselle; Bermúdez-Bosch, Luis; Renta, Jessicca Y.; Cadilla, Carmen L.; Cruz, Iadelisse; Feliu, Juan F.; Vergara, Cunegundo; Ruaño, Gualberto

    2016-01-01

    Aim This study is aimed at developing a novel admixture-adjusted pharmacogenomic approach to individually refine warfarin dosing in Caribbean Hispanic patients. Patients & Methods A multiple linear regression analysis of effective warfarin doses versus relevant genotypes, admixture, clinical and demographic factors was performed in 255 patients and further validated externally in another cohort of 55 individuals. Results The admixture-adjusted, genotype-guided warfarin dosing refinement algorithm developed in Caribbean Hispanics showed better predictability (R2 = 0.70, MAE = 0.72mg/day) than a clinical algorithm that excluded genotypes and admixture (R2 = 0.60, MAE = 0.99mg/day), and outperformed two prior pharmacogenetic algorithms in predicting effective dose in this population. For patients at the highest risk of adverse events, 45.5% of the dose predictions using the developed pharmacogenetic model resulted in ideal dose as compared with only 29% when using the clinical non-genetic algorithm (p<0.001). The admixture-driven pharmacogenetic algorithm predicted 58% of warfarin dose variance when externally validated in 55 individuals from an independent validation cohort (MAE = 0.89 mg/day, 24% mean bias). Conclusions Results supported our rationale to incorporate individual’s genotypes and unique admixture metrics into pharmacogenetic refinement models in order to increase predictability when expanding them to admixed populations like Caribbean Hispanics. Trial Registration ClinicalTrials.gov NCT01318057 PMID:26745506

  19. Characterisation of nutrients wet deposition under influence of Saharan dust at Puerto-Rico in Caribbean Sea

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Desboeufs, Karine; Formenti, Paola; Triquet, Sylvain; Laurent, Benoit; Denjean, Cyrielle; Gutteriez-Moreno, Ian E.; Mayol-Bracero, Olga L.

    2015-04-01

    Large quantities of African dust are carried across the North Atlantic toward the Caribbean every summer by Trade Winds. Atmospheric deposition of dust aerosols, and in particular wet deposition, is widely acknowledged to be the major delivery pathway for nutrients to ocean ecosystems, as iron, phosphorus and various nitrogen species. The deposition of this dustis so known to have an important impact on biogeochemical processes in the Tropical and Western Atlantic Ocean and Caribbean including Puerto-Rico. However, very few data exists on the chemical composition in nutrients in dusty rain in this region. In the framework of the Dust-ATTAcK project, rainwater was collected at the natural reserve of Cape San Juan (CSJ) (18.38°N, 65.62°W) in Puerto-Ricobetween 20 June 2012 and 12 July 2012 during thedusty period. A total of 7 rainwater events were sampled during various dust plumes. Complementary chemical analyses on aerosols in suspension was also determined during the campaign. The results on dust composition showed that no mixing with anthropogenic material was observed, confirming dust aerosols were the major particles incorporated in rain samples. The partitioning between soluble and particulate nutrients in rain samples showed that phosphorous solubility ranged from 30 and 80%. The average Fe solubility was around 0.5%, in agreement with Fe solubility observed in rains collected in Niger during African monsoon. That means that the high solubility measurements previously observed in Caribbean was probably due to an anthropogenic influence. Atmospheric wet deposition fluxes of soluble and total nutrients (N, P, Si, Fe, Co, Cu, Mn, Ni, Zn) to Caribbean Sea were determined. Atmospheric P and N inputs were strongly depleted relative to the stoichiometry of phytoplankton Fe, N, P and Si requirements.The nitrogen speciation was also determined and showed the predominance of ammonium form. 3-D modeling was used to estimate the spatial extend of these fluxes over the

  20. "The Madness of the Carnival": Representations of Latin America and the Caribbean in the U.S. Homophile Press.

    PubMed

    Gleibman, Shlomo

    2017-01-01

    This essay examines representations of Latin America and the Caribbean in U.S. homophile periodicals from 1953 to 1964. The 120 items in ONE, Mattachine Review, and The Ladder that referenced this region depicted Latin America and the Caribbean as different from the United States in a number of ways, in particular as more sexually repressive or more sexually liberal. These representations typically conformed to the general homophile movement tendency to challenge U.S. anti-homosexual campaigns during the "Lavender Scare," while arguing for acceptance based on rights claims. The representations also were based on Cold War, colonial, racist, nationalist, and imperialist frameworks. The essay argues that although the magazines generally affirmed the dominant homophile discourses of respectability and domesticity, they also challenged these discourses by presenting Latin American and Caribbean cultures as gender-nonconforming and sexually promiscuous.

  1. Religious Coping among African Americans, Caribbean Blacks and Non-Hispanic Whites

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Chatters, Linda M.; Taylor, Robert Joseph; Jackson, James S.; Lincoln, Karen D.

    2008-01-01

    This study examined demographic predictors of attitudes regarding religious coping (i.e., prayer during stressful times and look to God for support, strength and guidance) within a national sample of African Americans, Caribbean Blacks, and non-Hispanic Whites (National Survey of American Life). The findings demonstrate significant Black-White…

  2. Non-Formal Education and Empowerment of Women: Insights from the Caribbean.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ellis, Patricia

    1995-01-01

    A survey of 16 nonformal education programs for women in the Caribbean indicated an emphasis on employment creation, small business management, leadership training, and awareness of gender issues. To an extent the programs increased awareness, developed skills, and changed attitudes and behavior. However, significant numbers of participants did…

  3. The Digital Divide: The View from Latin America and the Caribbean.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Rodriguez, Adolfo

    This paper discusses the digital divide from the perspective of Latin America and the Caribbean. Highlights include: new issues that make access to electronic resources difficult for users; differences in technological infrastructure among countries; how Internet users are distributed worldwide; Internet access in Africa; the number of students…

  4. Filling the gap : small inter-island Caribbean trading ships and their crews

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    1999-10-01

    The purpose of this research is to analyze the use of small vessels (less than 150 gross tons) within the Caribbean maritime industry, to examine their working environment and to assess the implications of that environment in respect to the seafarers...

  5. Mesoscale Variability of the Caribbean Sea from GEOSAT

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1991-03-01

    the basin. In other words, negatives Figre 11 GEOSAT detection values should be interpreted as "less positive", unless the strength of the negative...km to the southwest. On June 17, feature A has doubled its strength to +20 cm and is displaced 360 km to the west, indicating an approximate speed of...independently from the main flow of the Caribbean cui-rent. This cyclonic anomaly matches in position and strength the one that appeared in the models in

  6. Urban population growth and urbanization in the Caribbean.

    PubMed

    Hope, K R

    1985-01-01

    The structure, sources, consequences, and policy implications of urbanization and of the rapid growth of the urban population in the Caribbean are examined. In particular, a comparative analysis of the situation in Barbados, Guyana, Jamaica, and Trinidad and Tobago is presented. Data are from a variety of secondary sources, including those published by the United Nations and the World Bank. The need to reorient policies to favor rural rather than urban areas in order to reduce rural-urban migration is noted.

  7. Numerical Simulations of the 1991 Limón Tsunami, Costa Rica Caribbean Coast

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Chacón-Barrantes, Silvia; Zamora, Natalia

    2017-08-01

    The second largest recorded tsunami along the Caribbean margin of Central America occurred 25 years ago. On April 22nd, 1991, an earthquake with magnitude Mw 7.6 ruptured along the thrust faults that form the North Panamá Deformed Belt (NPDB). The earthquake triggered a tsunami that affected the Caribbean coast of Costa Rica and Panamá within few minutes, generating two casualties. These are the only deaths caused by a tsunami in Costa Rica. Coseismic uplift up to 1.6 m and runup values larger than 2 m were measured along some coastal sites. Here, we consider three solutions for the seismic source as initial conditions to model the tsunami, each considering a single rupture plane. We performed numerical modeling of the tsunami propagation and runup using NEOWAVE numerical model (Yamazaki et al. in Int J Numer Methods Fluids 67:2081-2107, 2010, doi: 10.1002/fld.2485 ) on a system of nested grids from the entire Caribbean Sea to Limón city. The modeled surface deformation and tsunami runup agreed with the measured data along most of the coastal sites with one preferred model that fits the field data. The model results are useful to determine how the 1991 tsunami could have affected regions where tsunami records were not preserved and to simulate the effects of the coastal surface deformations as buffer to tsunami. We also performed tsunami modeling to simulate the consequences if a similar event with larger magnitude Mw 7.9 occurs offshore the southern Costa Rican Caribbean coast. Such event would generate maximum wave heights of more than 5 m showing that Limón and northwestern Panamá coastal areas are exposed to moderate-to-large tsunamis. These simulations considering historical events and maximum credible scenarios can be useful for hazard assessment and also as part of studies leading to tsunami evacuation maps and mitigation plans, even when that is not the scope of this paper.

  8. Clinical nursing and midwifery research in Latin American and Caribbean countries: A scoping review.

    PubMed

    Iribarren, Sarah; Stonbraker, Samantha; Larsen, Brandon; Santos, Islane; Faria, Renata; Góes, Fernanda S N; Binfa, Lorena; Larson, Elaine

    2018-04-01

    To identify and describe published, nursing-led and midwifery-led, clinical research that has been conducted in Latin America and the Caribbean. Peer-reviewed published research may correspond to and elucidate country's realities, priorities, and needs. A 6-stage scoping review methodology was used to search scientific databases using an applied search strategy. Five databases were searched for articles published in English, Spanish, or Portuguese conducted in a Latin American or Caribbean country between January 1, 2006 and June 14, 2016. Articles were independently considered for inclusion by 2 researchers, data extracted, and study characteristics described. Of 6922 articles identified, 404 were included. The majority were conducted in Brazil (90.6%) followed by Chile (2.5%). Most were nurse-led (95.8%) and were implemented in hospitals (48.6%). Studies frequently explored patient knowledge or characterized patient populations (61.3%) and commonly assessed chronic disease (19.3%) or maternity/child health outcomes (15.9%). Findings revealed a large number of publications but an uneven geographical distribution of nurse-led clinical research and an evident gap of midwifery-related research in Latin America and the Caribbean. Results may be used to build research agendas to promote nursing and midwifery research capacity and further establish evidence-based practice. © 2018 John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd.

  9. The boreal winter Madden-Julian Oscillation's influence on summertime precipitation in the greater Caribbean

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Curtis, Scott; Gamble, Douglas W.

    2016-07-01

    Precipitation totals in the greater Caribbean are known to be affected by interannual variability. In particular, dry conditions in the spring-summer have been physically linked to the positive phase of North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) in the literature. In this study, it was found through regression analysis that an active Madden-Julian Oscillation (MJO) in winter geographically focused over the Maritime Continent contributes to a positive NAO in March via the generation of Rossby waves in the Northern Hemisphere. Specifically, a negative Pacific-North American pattern develops in the winter and transitions to an Atlantic pattern in spring. The positive NAO is a transient feature of this evolving wave train, but a center of significant positive 200 hPa geopotential heights is entrenched over the southeast U.S. throughout the February to May time period and is manifested as high pressure at the surface. The southern flank of this system increases the speeds of the trade winds and leads to a cooling of the Caribbean sea surface temperatures and, thus, convection suppression and reduced precipitation. Thus, this study advances our understanding of the climate of the greater Caribbean by using climate teleconnections to relate the MJO to rainfall in the region.

  10. Anxiety disorders among African Americans, blacks of Caribbean descent, and non-Hispanic whites in the United States

    PubMed Central

    Himle, Joseph A.; Baser, Raymond E.; Taylor, Robert Joseph; Campbell, Rosalyn Denise; Jackson, James S.

    2014-01-01

    The central aim of this study is to estimate prevalence, ages of onset, severity, and associated disability of anxiety disorders among African Americans, Caribbean Blacks, and non-Hispanic whites in the U.S. Results indicated that whites were at elevated risk for generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder, and social anxiety compared to Caribbean Blacks and African Americans. Black respondents were more likely to meet criteria for PTSD. When African American and Caribbean Black respondents met criteria for an anxiety disorder, they experienced higher levels of overall mental illness severity and functional impairment compared to whites. White respondents were at greater risk to develop generalized anxiety, social anxiety, and panic disorders late in life. Risk of developing PTSD endured throughout the life course for blacks whereas whites rarely developed PTSD after young adulthood. These results can be used to inform targeted interventions to prevent or remediate anxiety disorders among these diverse groups. PMID:19231131

  11. Geophysical interpretation of the Caribbean plate and Gulf of Mexico from reprocessed potential field data

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Garcia-Reyes, A.; Dyment, J.; Thebault, E.

    2016-12-01

    Despite of the Caribbean plate and Gulf of Mexico have been widely explored from the last 60 years, there is still no consensus about its nature and age of formation. The imaging of the acoustic basement which can help to better understand the composition of the upper crust, is dependent on seismic reflection and exploratory wells but both of them lack of sufficient penetration. Regarding the magnetic anomalies and possible contribution to decipher the age of the Caribbean seafloor, some authors have reported the lack of an identifiable pattern over the Caribbean Plate (Duncan and Hargraves, 1984, Pindell et al. many publications). Marine tracks widely spaced or with very short coverage, and low amplitude magnetic anomalies constitute a limitation in terms of mapping and interpretation. In this work we present a geophysical interpretation from recently reprocessed marine magnetic data (Garcia et al., 2015), satellite geomagnetic models, and new free-air gravity anomaly derived from altimetry (Sandwell et al., 2014), which is useful to better understand the structure and age of the seafloor and constrain its nature and formation. A marine magnetic anomaly map of the Caribbean region and the Gulf of Mexico to 0.18 degree spatial resolution is showed as resulting from a dedicated processing of the NGDC marine magnetic measurements over the Caribbean region, applied over 516 surveys that were acquired between epochs 1958 and 2012. The corrections applied include the main internal field using a CM4 model for epochs ranging between 1960 and 2002.5 and the IGRF-11 model outside the time range of the CM4 model, removal of outliers, correction by magnetic heading effect, analysis and improvement of the internal and external cross-overs and frequency analysis and separation. This processing allows us to integrate and to interpret the results along with the potential field data mentioned above and open the discussion about the meaning of the magnetic and gravity signatures of

  12. Warm Water Pools of the Western Caribbean and Eastern Tropical Pacific: Their Influence on Intraseasonal Rainfall Regimes and Tropical Storm Activity in Mexico

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Douglas, A. V.; Englehart, P. J.

    2007-05-01

    A dipole in tropical cyclone development between the Caribbean and the eastern tropical Pacific will be examined relative to its affect on southern Mexican rainfall. With the change over in the AMO and PDO in 1994 and 1998, respectively, tropical storm genesis has been increasing in the Caribbean while declining in the tropical east Pacific. This dipole in tropical cyclone development appears to be related to changes in the pre storm season heat content of the two ocean basins (data Scripps Institution of Oceanography). Preliminary work indicates that if the Caribbean is warmer than the Pacific by late May the dipole will be accentuated with a pronounced decrease in tropical storms in the east Pacific with an early and prolonged season in the Caribbean. In recent years there appears to have been an increase in the intensity and duration of midsummer drought (Canicula) in Mexico associated with changes in the PDO and AMO. These long term ocean oscillations appear to control the dipole in the strength of the Caribbean and East Pacific warm pools. Mid summer drought is a normal occurrence in much of Mexico and Central America, but the intensified droughts of the recent period have stressed the agricultural community of the region. Based on preliminary work, it appears that the recent increased frequency of midsummer drought can be linked to a shift in the warmest pool from the East Pacific to the Caribbean.

  13. Absolute Sea-level Changes Derived from Integrated Geodetic Datasets (1955-2016) in the Caribbean Sea

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Yang, L.; Wang, G.; Liu, H.

    2017-12-01

    Rising sea level has important direct impacts on coastal and island regions such as the Caribbean where the influence of sea-level rise is becoming more apparent. The Caribbean Sea is a semi-enclosed sea adjacent to the landmasses of South and Central America to the south and west, and the Greater Antilles and the Lesser Antilles separate it from the Atlantic Ocean to the north and east. The work focus on studying the relative and absolute sea-level changes by integrating tide gauge, GPS, and satellite altimetry datasets (1955-2016) within the Caribbean Sea. Further, the two main components of absolute sea-level change, ocean mass and steric sea-level changes, are respectively studied using GRACE, temperature, and salinity datasets (1955-2016). According to the analysis conducted, the sea-level change rates have considerable temporal and spatial variations, and estimates may be subject to the techniques used and observation periods. The average absolute sea-level rise rate is 1.8±0.3 mm/year for the period from 1955 to 2015 according to the integrated tide gauge and GPS observations; the average absolute sea-level rise rate is 3.5±0.6 mm/year for the period from 1993 to 2016 according to the satellite altimetry observations. This study shows that the absolute sea-level change budget in the Caribbean Sea is closed in the periods from 1955 to 2016, in which ocean mass change dominates the absolute sea-level rise. The absolute sea-level change budget is also closed in the periods from 2004 to 2016, in which steric sea-level rise dominates the absolute sea-level rise.

  14. Mental health services development in Latin America and the Caribbean: achievements, barriers and facilitating factors.

    PubMed

    Caldas de Almeida, J M

    2013-03-01

    Mental health services reforms in Latin America and the Caribbean in the last 20 years have led to a significant improvement of mental health services. They also contributed to the development of new evidence that may help the implementation of future reforms. These advances, however, were clearly insufficient to respond to the huge challenges countries of Latin American and the Caribbean face to improve mental health services. Insufficient funding, one of the most important barriers to mental health services development found in most countries, was related to the absence of a strong consensus among all stakeholders and the weakness of user and family associations. Other barriers were the lack of technical capacity of the coordination unit responsible for development of services in the ministries of health, resistance from professionals towards changing to new models of care and lack of human resources. Transition to democracy in some countries and natural disasters proved to be windows of opportunity for mental health services reform. Facilitating factors included alliance with the human rights defence movement, development of research capacity in Latin American and the Caribbean countries, and international cooperation.

  15. A shore-based preliminary survey of marine ribbon worms (Nemertea) from the Caribbean coast of Colombia

    PubMed Central

    Gonzalez-Cueto, Jaime; Quiroga, Sigmer; Norenburg, Jon

    2014-01-01

    Abstract A checklist of benthic ribbon worm species from the Caribbean coast of Colombia is presented, including synonyms, distributions, a photographic record, and the main morphologic characters of each species for a rapid identification. This is the first research focused broadly on nemerteans in Colombia. 54 specimens of nemerteans were hand-collected from the rocky littoral of two different localities, and identified according to personal experience and specialist literature. 13 species were found; of which 11 represent new records for the country. These species belong to eight different traditionally used families: Tubulanidae, Valenciniidae, Lineidae, Amphiporidae, Cratenemertidae, Emplectonematidae, Drepanophoridae and Ototyphlonemertidae. The most common and abundant species was Dushia atra. The biodiversity of nemerteans in Colombia seems to overlap with the nemertean fauna from Florida and Brazil, explained by the convergence of the North Brazil Current, Guiana Current, Caribbean Currents and the Panama-Colombia Contracurrent in the sampled region. The results of this work suggest that the Caribbean coast of Colombia is a region with a high diversity of nemerteans, and provide important taxonomic data for environmental assessments and future biological research. PMID:25317057

  16. GPS measurement of relative motion of the Cocos and Caribbean Plates and strain accumulation across the Middle America Trench

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Dixon, Timothy H.

    1993-10-01

    Global Positioning System (GPS) measurements in 1988 and 1991 on Cocos Island (Cocos plate), San Andres Island (Caribbean plate), and Liberia (Caribbean plate, mainland Costa Rica) provide an estimate of relative motion between the Cocos and Caribbean plates. The data for Cocos and San Andres Islands, both located more than 400 km from the Middle America Trench, define a velocity that is equivalent within two standard errors (7 mm/yr rate, 5 degrees azimuth) to the NUVEL-1 plate motion model. The data for Liberia, 120 km from the trench, define a velocity that is similar in azimuth but substantially different in rate from NUVEL-1. The discrepancy can be explained with a simple model of elastic strain accumulation with a subduction zone that is locked to a relatively shallow (20±5 km) depth.

  17. Resilience in Pre-Columbian Caribbean House-Building: Dialogue Between Archaeology and Humanitarian Shelter.

    PubMed

    Samson, A V M; Crawford, C A; Hoogland, M L P; Hofman, C L

    This paper responds to questions posed by archaeologists and engineers in the humanitarian sector about relationships between shelter, disasters and resilience. Enabled by an increase in horizontal excavations combined with high-resolution settlement data from excavations in the Dominican Republic, the paper presents a synthesis of Caribbean house data spanning a millennium (1400 BP- 450 BP). An analysis of architectural traits identify the house as an institution that constitutes and catalyses change in an emergent and resilient pathway. The "Caribbean architectural mode" emerged in a period of demographic expansion and cultural transition, was geographically widespread, different from earlier and mainland traditions and endured the hazards of island and coastal ecologies. We use archaeological analysis at the house level to consider the historical, ecological and regional dimensions of resilience in humanitarian action.

  18. Increasing Parent Involvement in Youth HIV Prevention: A Randomized Caribbean Study

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Baptiste, Donna R.; Kapungu, Chisina; Miller, Steve; Crown, Laurel; Henry, David; Da Costa Martinez, Dona; Jo-Bennett, Karen

    2009-01-01

    This article presents preliminary findings of a randomized HIV prevention study in Trinidad and Tobago in the Caribbean. The study centers on a family HIV workshop aimed at strengthening parenting skills that are empirically linked to reducing adolescent HIV exposure and other sexual risks. These skills include parental monitoring; educating youth…

  19. An Overview of Science Education in the Caribbean: Research, Policy and Practice.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sweeney, Aldrin E.

    2003-01-01

    Analyzes science education in the Caribbean and provides examples of science education policy and practice. Emphasizes large-scale national efforts in Barbados, Bermuda, and Jamaica. Discusses and provides recommendations for future directions in science education in these countries. (Contains 88 references.) (Author/NB)

  20. Soundscapes from a Tropical Eastern Pacific reef and a Caribbean Sea reef

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Staaterman, E.; Rice, A. N.; Mann, D. A.; Paris, C. B.

    2013-06-01

    Underwater soundscapes vary due to the abiotic and biological components of the habitat. We quantitatively characterized the acoustic environments of two coral reef habitats, one in the Tropical Eastern Pacific (Panama) and one in the Caribbean (Florida Keys), over 2-day recording durations in July 2011. We examined the frequency distribution, temporal variability, and biological patterns of sound production and found clear differences. The Pacific reef exhibited clear biological patterns and high temporal variability, such as the onset of snapping shrimp noise at night, as well as a 400-Hz daytime band likely produced by damselfish. In contrast, the Caribbean reef had high sound levels in the lowest frequencies, but lacked clear temporal patterns. We suggest that acoustic measures are an important element to include in reef monitoring programs, as the acoustic environment plays an important role in the ecology of reef organisms at multiple life-history stages.

  1. Cost containment through pharmaceutical procurement: a Caribbean case study.

    PubMed

    Huff-Rousselle, M; Burnett, F

    1996-01-01

    This article discusses the potential for health sector cost containment in developing countries through improved pharmaceutical procurement. By describing the specific example of the Eastern Caribbean Drug Service (ECDS), which provides a pooled procurement service to nine ministries of health in the small island nations of the Caribbean, it examines the elements of the procurement operation that allowed ECDS to reduce unit costs for pharmaceuticals by over 50 per cent during its first procurement cycle. The analysis of ECDS considers: (1) political will, institutional alliances, and the creation of a public sector monopsony; (2) pooling demand; (3) restricted international tendering and the pharmaceutical industry; (4) estimating demand and supplier guarantees; (5) reducing variety and increasing volume through standardizing pack sizes, dosage forms and strengths; (6) generic bidding and therapeutic alternative bidding; (7) mode of transport from foreign suppliers; (8) financing mechanisms, including choice of currency, foreign exchange, and terms of payment; (9) market conditions and crafting and enforcing supplier contracts; and, (10) the adjudication process, including consideration of suppliers' past performance, precision requirements in the manufacturing process, number of products awarded to suppliers, and issues of judgment. The authors consider the relevance of this agency's experience to other developing countries by providing a blueprint that can be adopted or modified to suit other situations.

  2. Depth distribution of benthic dinoflagellates in the Caribbean Sea

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Boisnoir, Aurélie; Pascal, Pierre-Yves; Cordonnier, Sébastien; Lemée, Rodolophe

    2018-05-01

    Monitoring of benthic dinoflagellates is usually conducted between sub-surface and 5 m depth, where these organisms are supposed to be in highest abundances. However, only few studies have focused on the small-scale depth distribution of benthic dinoflagellates. In the present study, abundances of dinoflagellates were evaluated on an invasive macrophyte Halophila stipulacea in two coastal sites in Guadeloupe (Caribbean Sea) along a depth gradient from sub-surface to 3 m at Gosier and until 20 m at Rivière Sens during the tropical wet and dry seasons. Species of genus Ostreopsis and Prorocentrum were the most abundant. Depth did not influence total dinoflagellate abundance but several genera showed particular depth-distribution preferences. The highest abundances of Ostreopsis and Gambierdiscus species were estimated preferentially in surface waters, whereas Coolia spp. were found in the same proportions but in deeper waters. Halophila stipulacea biomass was positively correlated with Ostreopsis spp. abundance. Our study suggests that sampling of benthic dinoflagellates should be conducted at different water depths taking into account the presence of the macroalgal substrate as well. In the Caribbean area, special attention should be addressed to the presence of H. stipulacea which tends to homogenize the marine landscape and represents a substrate for hosting dinoflagellate growth.

  3. Why was there increased moisture in the eastern Caribbean when Europe was cold? Evidence from Speleothems

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Winter, Amos; Vieten, Rolf-martin; Miller, Thomas; Mangini, Augusto; Scholz, Denis; Kushnir, Yochanan; Black, David

    2014-05-01

    We present evidence for the last 10,000 years from speleothems collected from the eastern Caribbean showing that this region was anomalously moist at the same time that Europe and the north Atlantic were unusually cold. The most noticeable period for this association was during the 8.2ka event when Greenland ice cores (GISP2) show that northern Europe and the north Atlantic were cooler by 3 - 6 deg C. The trigger for the 8.2ka event is thought to be pulsed melt water discharges from a multi-event drainage of proglacial lakes associated with the decaying Laurentide Ice Sheet margin. The melt water apparently slowed the thermohaline circulation decreasing warmth to northern Europe. At the same time moisture transfer to the northern latitudes may have slowed resulting in the observed lower latitude precipitation patterns. The eastern Caribbean seems to be especially sensitive to the changes in the strength of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC). Higher precipitation values may also have increased lowland flooding along the coastal areas of north eastern South America, already affected by early Holocene sea-level change, and are linked to social territory reshuffling which stimulated the earliest migrations into the Caribbean Archipelago shortly afterwards. Our age models based on precise MC ICPMS 230ThU dating indicate that the eastern Caribbean stalagmites all grew at about the same rate of 15 cm through the 8.2ka event, much faster than during any other growth period, except today when they are also growing at an accelerated rate.

  4. Unprecedented Proliferation of Novel Pelagic Sargassum Form has Implications for Ecosystem Function and Regional Diversity in the Caribbean

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Siuda, A. N.; Schell, J. M.; Goodwin, D. S.

    2016-02-01

    Pelagic Sargassum is a planktonic macroalgae comprised of two species, S. fluitans and S. natans, each exhibiting a variety of morphological forms; it is found throughout the North Atlantic, Caribbean Sea, and Gulf of Mexico. Drifting open ocean Sargassum provides essential habitat and food resources to organisms across multiple trophic levels, from resident shrimp to migratory sea turtles. Historic observations, including Sea Education Association's (SEA) 22-year field sampling dataset, indicate that S. natans-I and S. fluitans-III are most common and that S. natans-VIII is rare. Furthermore, SEA's long-term record shows very low pelagic Sargassum abundance in the Eastern Caribbean in contrast to the Sargasso Sea. During April 2014, Sargassum began washing ashore along Caribbean coastlines in unprecedented quantities. Shipboard observations of the recent inundation event occurred November 2014 to May 2015. In total, 30.5 kg of pelagic Sargassum was collected in 92.6% of surface neuston tows, sorted and weighed by morphological form. Notably, the predominant Sargassum form observed during the 2014/15 event is S. natans-VIII, a documented change in Sargassum diversity. Strong spatial patterns were also observed, with S. natans-VIII dominant in the Western Tropical Atlantic (87.3% wet weight) and Eastern Caribbean (95.3% wet weight) and S. natans-I most common in the South Sargasso Sea (87.5% wet weight). S. fluitans-III was observed in low abundance across all regions. These sudden assemblage and abundance changes, the biophysical mechanisms of which are not yet understood, have significant ecological consequences at multiple scales. Impacts to associated mobile fauna diversity and community structure, dependent fisheries and iconic species, and coastal ecosystem function will echo throughout the Caribbean, and should comprise focal areas of future research efforts across the region.

  5. A new estuarine species, Nereis garwoodi (Polychaeta: Nereididae), from Bahía Chetumal, Mexican Caribbean coast.

    PubMed

    González-Escalante, Luis E; Salazar-Vallejo, Sergio I

    2003-03-01

    Nereis garwoodi n. sp. is described on the basis of eight syntype specimens (six atokous and two heteronereis) collected in Bahía Chetumal, Mexican Caribbean coast, and the variability in the paragnath numbers in the pharynx is established using 180 specimens; paragnath numbers are I:10(SD = 1.9); II:30 (SD = 2.6); III:41 (SD = 5.2); IV:29 (SD = 3.5), V:1, VI:4, VII-VIII: > 30. Its eyes are big and its longest tentacular cirri reaches setiger 11. A revised key to species of Nereis recorded from the Grand Caribbean Sea is included.

  6. Human Rights and Curricular Policy in Latin America and the Caribbean

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Suarez, David F.

    2007-01-01

    Human rights have become increasingly salient for nations, organizations, and individuals since the end of World War II (Lauren 2003). Discussions of human rights now are common in formal education, including in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC). A variety of indicators suggest that countries in Latin America have integrated human rights into…

  7. Universities of the Caribbean Region--Struggles to Democratize. An Annotated Bibliography.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Waggoner, Barbara Ashton; Waggoner, George R.

    An annotated bibliography on universities in the Caribbean region for the period since World War II is presented. The focus is on access to universities. For book citations, each annotation contains the author's name, publication title, place of publication, publisher, date, and number of pages. Journal references consist of author, title of…

  8. Current status of Tomato chlorotic spot virus in Florida and the Caribbean

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    Damaging outbreaks of Tomato chlorotic spot virus (TCSV), an emerging thrips-vectored tospovirus, and several invasive species of thrips are significantly impacting vegetable and other crops in Florida and the Caribbean. Host and geographic ranges of TCSV are continuing to expand in this region. Dev...

  9. Chikungunya from the Caribbean: the importance of appropriate laboratory tests to confirm the diagnosis.

    PubMed

    Magurano, Fabio; Zammarchi, Lorenzo; Baggieri, Melissa; Fortuna, Claudia; Farese, Alberto; Benedetti, Eleonora; Fiorentini, Cristiano; Rezza, Giovanni; Nicoletti, Loredana; Bartoloni, Alessandro

    2015-04-01

    Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) appeared for the first time in the Western Hemisphere--the French West Indies--in December of 2013. From there, the virus has spread to other Caribbean islands. Following the diagnosis of first autochthonous CHIKV cases in the Caribbean island of Saint Martin, a large outbreak is ongoing in the Americas. As of September 12, 2014, a total of 706,093 suspected and 9803 confirmed CHIKV cases have been reported in the Americas. This case study highlights the possibility of false-negative immunochromatographic CHIKV immunoglobulin M (IgM) tests and the need of confirmatory tests for suspected cases. Moreover, a greater spread of virus together with the presence of a mosquito vector (Aedes albopictus) enhances the risk of autochthonous transmission in Europe.

  10. Cenozoic oblique collision of South American and Caribbean plates: New evidence in the Coastal Cordillera of Venezuela and Trinidad

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Speed, R.C.; Russo, R.M.; Foland, K.A.

    The hinterland of the Caribbean Mts. orogen in Trinidad and Venezuela contains schist and gneiss whole protoliths are wholly or partly of continental provenance. The hinterland lies between the foreland thrust belt and terranes. The terranes are alien to continental South America (SA) and may have proto-Caribbean or Caribbean plate origins. The hinterland rocks were widely thought to come from sediments and granitoids of Mesozoic protolithic ages and to be of Cretaceous metamorphic age. Such rocks are now know to be of at least two or more types, as follows: (1) low grade, protoliths of pre-Mesozoic basement and shelfal covermore » of uncertain age range, inboard locus, Oligocene to mid-Miocene metamorphic ages younging eastward (Caracas, Paria, and Northern Range belts), and (2) higher grade including high P/T, varies protoliths of uncertain age range, Cretaceous and ( )early Paleogene metamorphic ages (Tacagua, Araya, Margarita). The geometry, protoliths, structures, and metamorphic ages of type 1 parautochthoneity and an origin as a thickened wedge of crust-cored passive margin cover. The wedge grew by accretion between about 35 and 20 Ma during oblique transport toward the foreland. The diachroneity of metamorphism implies, as does the timing of foreland deformation, that the wedge evolved in a right-oblique collision between northern SA and terranes moving wholly or partly with the Caribbean plate since the Eocene. Type 2 rocks probably came with the terranes and are products of convergent zone tectonics, either in the proto-Caribbean plate. The hinterland boundaries are brittle thrusts that are out of sequence and imply progressive contraction from mid-Cenozoic to the present.« less

  11. Suspended sediment load in northwestern South America (Colombia): A new view on variability and fluxes into the Caribbean Sea

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Restrepo López, Juan Camilo; Orejarena R, Andrés F.; Torregroza, Ana Carolina

    2017-12-01

    Monthly averaged suspended sediment load data from seven rivers in northern Colombia (Caribbean alluvial plain) draining into the Caribbean Sea were analyzed to quantify magnitudes, estimate long-term trends, and evaluate variability patterns of suspended sediment load. Collectively these rivers deliver an average of around 146.3 × 106 t yr-1 of suspended sediments to the Colombian Caribbean coast. The largest sediment supply is provided by the Magdalena River, with a mean suspended sediment load of 142.6 × 106 t yr-1, or 38% of the total fluvial discharge estimated for the whole Caribbean littoral zone. Between 2000 and 2010, the annual suspended sediment load of these rivers increased by as much as 36%. Wavelet spectral analyses identified periods of intense variability between 1987-1990 and 1994-2002, where major oscillation processes appeared simultaneously. The semi-annual, annual and quasi-decadal bands are the main factors controlling suspended sediment load variability in fluvial systems, whereas the quasi-biennial and interannual bands constitute second-order sources of variability. The climatic and oceanographic drivers of the oscillations identified through wavelet spectral analyses define a signal of medium-long-term variability for the suspended sediment load, while the physiographic and environmental characteristics of the basins determine their ability to magnify, attenuate or modify this signal.

  12. Horizontal and vertical movements of Caribbean reef sharks (Carcharhinus perezi): conservation implications of limited migration in a marine sanctuary

    PubMed Central

    Howey, Lucy A.; Tolentino, Emily R.; Jordan, Lance K. B.; Ruppert, Jonathan L. W.; Brooks, Edward J.

    2017-01-01

    Despite the ecological and economic importance of the Caribbean reef shark (Carcharhinus perezi), little data exist regarding the movements and habitat use of this predator across its range. We deployed 11 pop-up satellite archival tags on Caribbean reef sharks captured in the northeast Exuma Sound, The Bahamas, to assess their horizontal and vertical movements throughout the water column. Sharks showed high site fidelity to The Bahamas suggesting Bahamian subpopulations remain protected within the Bahamian Shark Sanctuary. Depth data indicate that Caribbean reef sharks spent a significant proportion (72–91%) of their time above 50 m in narrow vertical depth bands, which varied considerably on an individual basis. This may be indicative of high site fidelity to specific bathymetric features. Animals exhibited three broadly categorized sporadic off-bank excursions (more than 50 m excursions) down to a depth of 436.1 m, which were more frequent during the night. These deeper excursions during night may be indicative of foraging in relation to prey on mesophotic reefs, as well as diel-vertically migrating prey from the deeper meso- and bathypelagic zones. These vertical movements suggest that Caribbean reef sharks can be significant vectors of ecosystem connectivity further warranting holistic multi-system management and conservation approaches. PMID:28386422

  13. Tectonic evolution of the Caribbean and northwestern South America: The case for accretion of two Late Cretaceous oceanic plateaus

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kerr, Andrew C.; Tarney, John

    2005-04-01

    It is widely accepted that the thickened oceanic crust of the Caribbean plate, its basaltic accreted margins, and accreted mafic terranes in northwestern South America represent the remnants of a single ca. 90 Ma oceanic plateau. We review geologic, geochemical, and paleomagnetic evidence that suggests that the Caribbean-Colombian oceanic plateau in fact represents the remnants of two different oceanic plateaus, both dated as ca. 90 Ma. The first of these plateaus, the Caribbean Plateau, formed ca. 90 Ma in the vicinity of the present-day Galapagos hotspot. Northeastward movement of the Farallon plate meant that this plateau collided with the proto Caribbean arc and northwestern South America <10 m.y. after the plateau's main phase of formation. Paleomagnetic evidence suggests that the second of these plateaus, the Gorgona Plateau, formed at 26° 30°S, possibly at the site of the present-day Sala y Gomez hotspot. Over the next ˜45 m.y., this plateau was carried progressively northeastward on the Farallon plate and collided in the middle Eocene with the proto Andean subduction zone in northwestern South America. The recognition of a second ca. 90 Ma Pacific oceanic plateau strengthens the link between plateau formation and global oceanic anoxic events.

  14. Horizontal and vertical movements of Caribbean reef sharks (Carcharhinus perezi): conservation implications of limited migration in a marine sanctuary.

    PubMed

    Shipley, Oliver N; Howey, Lucy A; Tolentino, Emily R; Jordan, Lance K B; Ruppert, Jonathan L W; Brooks, Edward J

    2017-02-01

    Despite the ecological and economic importance of the Caribbean reef shark ( Carcharhinus perezi ), little data exist regarding the movements and habitat use of this predator across its range. We deployed 11 pop-up satellite archival tags on Caribbean reef sharks captured in the northeast Exuma Sound, The Bahamas, to assess their horizontal and vertical movements throughout the water column. Sharks showed high site fidelity to The Bahamas suggesting Bahamian subpopulations remain protected within the Bahamian Shark Sanctuary. Depth data indicate that Caribbean reef sharks spent a significant proportion (72-91%) of their time above 50 m in narrow vertical depth bands, which varied considerably on an individual basis. This may be indicative of high site fidelity to specific bathymetric features. Animals exhibited three broadly categorized sporadic off-bank excursions (more than 50 m excursions) down to a depth of 436.1 m, which were more frequent during the night. These deeper excursions during night may be indicative of foraging in relation to prey on mesophotic reefs, as well as diel-vertically migrating prey from the deeper meso- and bathypelagic zones. These vertical movements suggest that Caribbean reef sharks can be significant vectors of ecosystem connectivity further warranting holistic multi-system management and conservation approaches.

  15. Gestational syphilis and stillbirth in Latin America and the Caribbean.

    PubMed

    Arnesen, Lauren; Martínez, Gerardo; Mainero, Luis; Serruya, Suzanne; Durán, Pablo

    2015-03-01

    To measure the association between gestational syphilis and stillbirth in Latin America and the Caribbean. In a retrospective study, data on stillbirth and gestational syphilis extracted from the Sistema Informático Perinatal database were analyzed for deliveries in 11 countries between January 1, 2009, and December 31, 2012. Potential confounders were examined, and binary logistic regression analysis was performed to assess the association between gestational syphilis and stillbirth. Among 368 151 deliveries, 3875 (1.1%) were by women with a positive syphilis test, and 1461 (0.4%) were stillbirths. Among the stillbirths, 29 (2.0%) were delivered by women with a positive syphilis test. After controlling for country, congenital anomalies, gestational age at labor, maternal age, and previous stillbirth, gestational syphilis was significantly associated with stillbirth (odds ratio 1.88, 95% confidence interval 1.25-2.83; P=0.002). Gestational syphilis contributes to stillbirth in Latin America and the Caribbean. Interventions targeting gestational syphilis are highly cost-effective and should be implemented across the region. Copyright © 2014 International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  16. School and Work: Does the Eastern Caribbean Education System Adequately Prepare Youth for the Global Economy? Skill Challenges in the Caribbean: Phase I Report. Report No. 38555

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    World Bank Publications, 2007

    2007-01-01

    As the global economy rapidly changes and new technologies are introduced, more highly skilled workers are required. In the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS), firms struggle to fill skilled positions due to a lack of qualified candidates, while the number of unemployed low skilled workers is growing. This paradox especially affects…

  17. Integrating Caribbean Seismic and Tsunami Hazard into Public Policy and Action

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    von Hillebrandt-Andrade, C.

    2012-12-01

    The Caribbean has a long history of tsunamis and earthquakes. Over the past 500 years, more than 80 tsunamis have been documented in the region by the NOAA National Geophysical Data Center. Almost 90% of all these historical tsunamis have been associated with earthquakes. Just since 1842, 3510 lives have been lost to tsunamis; this is more than in the Northeastern Pacific for the same time period. With a population of almost 160 million and a heavy concentration of residents, tourists, businesses and critical infrastructure along the Caribbean shores (especially in the northern and eastern Caribbean), the risk to lives and livelihoods is greater than ever before. Most of the countries also have a very high exposure to earthquakes. Given the elevated vulnerability, it is imperative that government officials take steps to mitigate the potentially devastating effects of these events. Nevertheless, given the low frequency of high impact earthquakes and tsunamis, in comparison to hurricanes, combined with social and economic considerations, the needed investments are not made and disasters like the 2010 Haiti earthquake occur. In the absence of frequent significant events, an important driving force for public officials to take action, is the dissemination of scientific studies. When papers of this nature have been published and media advisories issued, public officials demonstrate heightened interest in the topic which in turn can lead to increased legislation and funding efforts. This is especially the case if the material can be easily understood by the stakeholders and there is a local contact. In addition, given the close link between earthquakes and tsunamis, in Puerto Rico alone, 50% of the high impact earthquakes have also generated destructive tsunamis, it is very important that earthquake and tsunami hazards studies demonstrate consistency. Traditionally in the region, earthquake and tsunami impacts have been considered independently in the emergency planning

  18. [Reproduction of the pink shrimp Farfantepenaeus notialis (Decapoda: Penaeidae) in the Colombian Caribbean].

    PubMed

    Paramo, Jorge; Pérez, Daniel; Wolff, Matthias

    2014-06-01

    The shallow water pink shrimp (Farfantepenaeus notialis) is among the socioeconomically most important resources of the Caribbean. The lack of biological and fishery information is of great concern for the fisheries management authorities. The presented study therefore aimed at the investigation of the reproductive cycle, the size composition and the size at first maturity of this species as a basis for the ordination and management of this resource. The study was conducted from June 2012 to May 2013 off the coast of the Caribbean Sea of Colombia. A total of 5 356 individuals were collected, identified, classified and preserved for their subsequent analysis in the laboratory. Size, weight, sex and gonad stage were recorded for each specimen. Significant differences were found in sex ratio in all months sampled with a clear predominance of females. Mature females were found year-around, but two reproductive peaks were identified during the periods October-December and April-June. The mean catch total length size (MCS) for females and males was 148.00mm and 122.54mm, respectively. The mean size at maturity (LT50%) was 129.34mm for females and 97.77mm for males. MCS was always above LT50% for both sexes. Considering the large reduction in fishing effort in the Colombian Caribbean Sea over the last years, we could expect that the shrimp population is in a rebuilding process or perhaps it may be already restored.

  19. Faunal turnover in Neogene to Recent Caribbean reef corals and region environmental change

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Budd, A.F.; Johnson, K.G.; Stemann, T.A.

    1993-03-01

    Quantitative analyses of species richness and species extinction and origination rates in the Neogene to Recent Caribbean reef coral fauna show that a major episode of turnover occurred during middle to late Pliocene time (4--1 Ma). The data for the authors analyses consist of a new compilation of occurrences of 175 species and 49 genera in reef sequences in the Dominican Republic and Costa Rica and in 21 scattered sites ranging in age from 22 Ma to present. The results show that: (1) during turnover, more than 75% of all species living between 6--4 Ma (n = 82) became extinct;more » (2) during turnover, extinction and origination rates were equally and simultaneously high, and a relatively constant number of species was maintained in the fauna; (3) the taxonomic composition of Caribbean reefs remained relatively constant before (10--4 Ma) and after (1--0 Ma) turnover. Turnover therefore preceded the high frequency sea level oscillations of late Pleistocene time, and appears related to long-term, unidirectional changes in climate and/or ocean circulation across the Caribbean region in association with closure of the Isthmus of Panama. The observed correspondence between high origination and extinction rates indicates that the same environmental factors may have been associated with increases in both rates, and that local habitat differentiation and fragmentation may have been involved. Stability persisted in the region despite the severe environmental stresses associated with Pleistocene climate change.« less

  20. The African, Caribbean and European (ACE) Pathways to Care study: a qualitative exploration of similarities and differences between African-origin, Caribbean-origin and European-origin groups in pathways to care for psychosis.

    PubMed

    Ferrari, Manuela; Flora, Nina; Anderson, Kelly K; Tuck, Andrew; Archie, Suzanne; Kidd, Sean; McKenzie, Kwame

    2015-01-14

    This paper reports on a qualitative exploration of the reasons for differences in pathways to care and duration of untreated psychosis (DUP) in the African, Caribbean and European (ACE) Pathways to Care study from the perspective of respondents to the study and their families. Ontario, Canada. Thirty-four participants in total. Twenty-five young people who had experienced a first episode of psychosis and nine family members. Participants were part of the ACE Pathways to Care study. We implemented six focus groups. Furthermore, we implemented four in-depth interviews with two African-origin young women, one Caribbean-origin woman, and one European-origin woman with lived experience of psychosis. Factors that influenced help-seeking delays across the three groups were: personal awareness of symptoms, family members' knowledge of psychotic symptoms and knowledge of mental health services. Youth and their family members described how stigma played a key role in pathways to care by stopping them from asking for help. The way in which stigma operated on the three groups' members, from feeling ashamed to feeling guilty for their mental illnesses, helped to explain differences in DUP between the groups. Guilt feelings emerged as a prominent theme among members from the African and Caribbean groups and it was not discussed in the European focus group. Delay in entering into first-episode psychosis programmes was also influenced by the stigma perceived by young people in healthcare settings. This had an impact on the therapeutic relationships, disclosure of symptoms and overall trust in the healthcare system. The findings of this paper suggest that stigma, especially internalised stigma, may operate in different ways in European-origin, African-origin and Caribbean-origin groups. These findings could inform the development of more equitable services for people in early stages of psychosis. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not

  1. [Crustaceans associated to macroalgae in Bajo Pepito, Isla Mujeres, Mexican Caribbean].

    PubMed

    Campos Vázquez, C

    2000-01-01

    Crustaceans associated with macroalgae were collected for one year by scuba diving in Bajo Pepito, Isla Mujeres, mexican Caribbean. A total of 148 organisms were found: three orders, 11 families, 18 genera and 19 species in nine types of associations. The order with highest abundance was Isopoda (112), followed by Amphipoda (20) and Decapoda (16).

  2. The contributing role of tourism in the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the Caribbean.

    PubMed

    Orisatoki, R O; Oguntibeju, O O; Truter, E J

    2009-01-01

    The first confirmed case of HIV/AIDS in the Caribbean was reported in 1982, however a recent report by UNAIDS shows that the epidemic has risen to over 250,000 persons living with the virus with the highest prevalence rates shown to be in the Dominican Republic and Haiti. Various factors ranging from commercial sex trading to unsafe injection employed for drug abuse have been identified to play a contributing role in this increase. Also, the role and impact of tourism on the spread of HIV infection has been reported. Due to concerns shown by countries and territories who are dependent on tourism and that they rank amongst the most highly affected by HIV/AIDS in the region, this paper endeavours to examine the impact of HIV/AIDS and the contributing role of tourism to HIV/AIDS epidemic in the Caribbean.

  3. Exploring the Use of Information Communication Technologies by Selected Caribbean Extension Officers

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Strong, Robert; Ganpat, Wayne; Harder, Amy; Irby, Travis L.; Lindner, James R.

    2014-01-01

    Purpose: The purpose of this study was to describe selected Caribbean extension officers' technology preferences and examine factors that may affect their technology preferences. Design/methodology/approach: The sample consisted of extension officers (N = 119) participating in professional development training sessions in Grenada, Belize and Saint…

  4. Ethnic density effects on health and experienced racism among Caribbean people in the US and England: a cross-national comparison.

    PubMed

    Bécares, Laia; Nazroo, James; Jackson, James; Heuvelman, Hein

    2012-12-01

    Studies indicate an ethnic density effect, whereby an increase in the proportion of racial/ethnic minority people in an area is associated with reduced morbidity among its residents, though evidence is varied. Discrepancies may arise due to differences in the reasons for and periods of migration, and socioeconomic profiles of the racial/ethnic groups and the places where they live. It is important to increase our understanding of how these factors might promote or mitigate ethnic density effects. Cross-national comparative analyses might help in this respect, as they provide greater heterogeneity in historical and contemporary characteristics in the populations of interest, and it is when we consider this heterogeneity in the contexts of peoples' lives that we can more fully understand how social conditions and neighbourhood environments influence the health of migrant and racial/ethnic minority populations. This study analysed two cross-sectional nationally representative surveys, in the US and in England, to explore and contrast the association between two ethnic density measures (black and Caribbean ethnic density) and health and experienced racism among Caribbean people. Results of multilevel logistic regressions show that nominally similar measures of ethnic density perform differently across health outcomes and measures of experienced racism in the two countries. In the US, increased Caribbean ethnic density was associated with improved health and decreased experienced racism, but the opposite was observed in England. On the other hand, increased black ethnic density was associated with improved health and decreased experienced racism of Caribbean English (results not statistically significant), but not of Caribbean Americans. By comparing mutually adjusted Caribbean and black ethnic density effects in the US and England, this study examined the social construction of race and ethnicity as it depends on the racialised and stigmatised meaning attributed to it

  5. Temperature history of the Caribbean mixed layer as derived from sclerosponges

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Estrella, J.; Winter, A.; Sherman, C.; Mangini, A.; Ramírez, W.

    2011-12-01

    We present a high resolution record of the Caribbean mixed layer temperature at different depths derived from oxygen isotopic ratios obtained from the sclerosponge Ceratoporella nicholsoni. Sclerosponges precipitate their calcium carbonate skeleton in equilibrium with their surrounding environment and are capable of living at great depths (down to 200 m). The sponges for this project were collected off Puerto Rico and St. Croix in northeastern region of the Caribbean Sea. The record obtained closest to the surface (36 m) indicates a sudden rise in sea surface temperature that started in 1866 and ended in 1877 with a total rise of 0.5 °C. At this time the rise decelerated until it finally stopped in 1935. From there onwards the record shows a declining trend that lasts until present day. We found that up to 51 % of the temperature variability in this record can be attributed to the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation (Trenberth and Shea, 2006). Further work is taking place on sponges located at various depths to determine the rate of expansion of the mixed layer.

  6. Fossils reject climate change as the cause of extinction of Caribbean bats.

    PubMed

    Soto-Centeno, J Angel; Steadman, David W

    2015-01-22

    We combined novel radiocarbon dates of bat fossils with time-scaled ecological niche models (ENM) to study bat extinctions in the Caribbean. Radiocarbon-dated fossils show that late Quaternary losses of bat populations took place during the late Holocene (<4 ka) rather than late Pleistocene (>10 ka). All bat radiocarbon dates from Abaco (Bahamas) that represent extirpated populations are younger than 4 ka. We include data on six bat species, three of which are Caribbean endemics, and include nectarivores as well as insectivores. Climate-based ENMs from the Last Glacial Maximum to the present reflect overall stability in distributions, with suitable climatic habitat being present over time. In the absence of radiocarbon dates, bat extinctions had been presumed to take place during the last glacial-interglacial transition (ca. 10 ka). Now we see that extirpation of bats on these tropical islands is more complex than previously thought and primarily postdates the major climate changes that took place during the late Pleistocene-Holocene transition.

  7. Pharmacogenetic research activity in Central America and the Caribbean: a systematic review

    PubMed Central

    Céspedes-Garro, Carolina; Naranjo, María-Eugenia G; Rodrigues-Soares, Fernanda; LLerena, Adrián; Duconge, Jorge; Montané-Jaime, Lazara K; Roblejo, Hilda; Fariñas, Humberto; Campos, María de los A; Ramírez, Ronald; Serrano, Víctor; Villagrán, Carmen I; Peñas-LLedó, Eva M

    2016-01-01

    Aim: The present review was aimed at analyzing the pharmacogenetic scientific activity in Central America and the Caribbean. Materials & methods: A literature search for pharmacogenetic studies in each country of the region was conducted on three databases using a list of the most relevant pharmacogenetic biomarkers including ‘phenotyping probe drugs’ for major drug metabolizing enzymes. The review included 132 papers involving 47 biomarkers and 35,079 subjects (11,129 healthy volunteers and 23,950 patients). Results: The country with the most intensive pharmacogenetic research was Costa Rica. The most studied medical therapeutic area was oncology, and the most investigated biomarkers were CYP2D6 and HLA-A/B. Conclusion: Research activity on pharmacogenetics in Central American and the Caribbean populations is limited or absent. Therefore, strategies to promote effective collaborations, and foster interregional initiatives and research efforts among countries from the region could help for the rational clinical implementation of pharmacogenetics and personalized medicine. PMID:27633613

  8. Mangroves Enhance Reef Fish Abundance at the Caribbean Regional Scale.

    PubMed

    Serafy, Joseph E; Shideler, Geoffrey S; Araújo, Rafael J; Nagelkerken, Ivan

    2015-01-01

    Several studies conducted at the scale of islands, or small sections of continental coastlines, have suggested that mangrove habitats serve to enhance fish abundances on coral reefs, mainly by providing nursery grounds for several ontogenetically-migrating species. However, evidence of such enhancement at a regional scale has not been reported, and recently, some researchers have questioned the mangrove-reef subsidy effect. In the present study, using two different regression approaches, we pursued two questions related to mangrove-reef connectivity at the Caribbean regional scale: (1) Are reef fish abundances limited by mangrove forest area?; and (2) Are mean reef fish abundances proportional to mangrove forest area after taking human population density and latitude into account? Specifically, we tested for Caribbean-wide mangrove forest area effects on the abundances of 12 reef fishes that have been previously characterized as "mangrove-dependent". Analyzed were data from an ongoing, long-term (20-year) citizen-scientist fish monitoring program; coastal human population censuses; and several wetland forest information sources. Quantile regression results supported the notion that mangrove forest area limits the abundance of eight of the 12 fishes examined. Linear mixed-effects regression results, which considered potential human (fishing and habitat degradation) and latitudinal influences, suggested that average reef fish densities of at least six of the 12 focal fishes were directly proportional to mangrove forest area. Recent work questioning the mangrove-reef fish subsidy effect likely reflects a failure to: (1) focus analyses on species that use mangroves as nurseries, (2) consider more than the mean fish abundance response to mangrove forest extent; and/or (3) quantitatively account for potentially confounding human impacts, such as fishing pressure and habitat degradation. Our study is the first to demonstrate at a large regional scale (i.e., the Wider

  9. Mangroves Enhance Reef Fish Abundance at the Caribbean Regional Scale

    PubMed Central

    Serafy, Joseph E.; Shideler, Geoffrey S.; Araújo, Rafael J.; Nagelkerken, Ivan

    2015-01-01

    Several studies conducted at the scale of islands, or small sections of continental coastlines, have suggested that mangrove habitats serve to enhance fish abundances on coral reefs, mainly by providing nursery grounds for several ontogenetically-migrating species. However, evidence of such enhancement at a regional scale has not been reported, and recently, some researchers have questioned the mangrove-reef subsidy effect. In the present study, using two different regression approaches, we pursued two questions related to mangrove-reef connectivity at the Caribbean regional scale: (1) Are reef fish abundances limited by mangrove forest area?; and (2) Are mean reef fish abundances proportional to mangrove forest area after taking human population density and latitude into account? Specifically, we tested for Caribbean-wide mangrove forest area effects on the abundances of 12 reef fishes that have been previously characterized as “mangrove-dependent”. Analyzed were data from an ongoing, long-term (20-year) citizen-scientist fish monitoring program; coastal human population censuses; and several wetland forest information sources. Quantile regression results supported the notion that mangrove forest area limits the abundance of eight of the 12 fishes examined. Linear mixed-effects regression results, which considered potential human (fishing and habitat degradation) and latitudinal influences, suggested that average reef fish densities of at least six of the 12 focal fishes were directly proportional to mangrove forest area. Recent work questioning the mangrove-reef fish subsidy effect likely reflects a failure to: (1) focus analyses on species that use mangroves as nurseries, (2) consider more than the mean fish abundance response to mangrove forest extent; and/or (3) quantitatively account for potentially confounding human impacts, such as fishing pressure and habitat degradation. Our study is the first to demonstrate at a large regional scale (i.e., the Wider

  10. Seismic microzonation in Latin America and the Caribbean: social, cultural, economic and political aspects

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Murria, J.

    2009-04-01

    The lack of success, not to say failure, of seismic microzonation projects in the Latin America and Caribbean nations-and for that matter elsewhere in the world-should not be attributed to the lack of technical and scientific expertise of our engineers and scientists as there exists in our continent sufficient knowledge and information about the techniques and procedures that have been successfully used elsewhere in the world in the implementation of seismic microzonation projects. The main constrains to the implementation of seismic microzonation projects in Latin America and the Caribbean are of an economic, social, political, and cultural aspects rather than the purely scientific and engineering aspects. Another very important factor contributing to this lack of success has been the apparent failure of the scientific and technical community to convince decision makers (both official and private) that the sound implementation of seismic microzonation projects are a valid instrument to mitigate the negative effects that earthquakes have on the population, on the physical infrastructure and on the environment. An attempt will be made in this paper to analyze these "non technical" aspects and try to arrive at some conclusions as well as to some possible lines of action for the successful implementation of seismic microzonation projects in the seismic risk prone Latin American and Caribbean nations.

  11. Prodigal daughters: portraying lesbians in Hispanic Caribbean cinema.

    PubMed

    Martinez-Reyes, Consuelo

    2012-01-01

    During the last twenty years, Hispanic Caribbean cinema has slowly developed roles to represent lesbians. In order to draw a conceptual map and to examine the un/successfulness of this new lesbian "public image," I analyze both independent films that challenge the status quo by portraying openly lesbian characters and mainstream films that insist on denying autonomy to same-sex love. Whereas commercial markets may deem an openly lesbian role transgressive, queer female roles can be considered "appropriate." Gender-queering functions as a symbolically transitional stage toward lesbian visibility and inclusion.

  12. Belize--a last stronghold for manatees in the Caribbean

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    O'Shea, T.J.; Salisbury, C.A.

    1991-01-01

    Belize is a small country but it offers a safe haven for the largest number of manatees in the Caribbean. The authors' survey in 1989 revealed that there has been no apparent decline since the last study in 1977. However, there is no evidence for population growth either and as the Belize economy develops threats from fisheries, human pressure and declining habitat quality will increase. Recommendations are made to ensure that Belize safeguards its manatee populations.

  13. Pathways to First-Episode Care for Psychosis in African-, Caribbean-, and European-Origin Groups in Ontario

    PubMed Central

    Anderson, Kelly K; Flora, Nina; Ferrari, Manuela; Tuck, Andrew; Archie, Suzanne; Kidd, Sean; Tang, Taryn; Kirmayer, Laurence J; McKenzie, Kwame

    2015-01-01

    Objective: To compare the pathways to care and duration of untreated psychosis (DUP) for people of Black-African, Black-Caribbean, or White-European origin with first-episode psychosis (FEP). Methods: We recruited a sample of 171 patients with FEP of Black-African, Black-Caribbean, and White-European origin from hospital- and community-based early intervention services (EIS) in the cities of Toronto and Hamilton. We compared the 3 groups on DUP and key indicators of the pathway to care. Results: We observed differences in pathways to care across the 3 groups. Black-Caribbean participants had an increased odds of referral from an inpatient unit to EIS (OR 3.33; 95% CI 1.46 to 7.60) and a decreased odds of general practitioner involvement on the pathway to care (OR 0.17; 95% CI 0.07 to 0.46), as well as fewer total contacts (exp[β] 0.77; 95% CI 0.60 to 0.99) when compared with White-European participants. Black-African participants had an increased odds of contact with the emergency department at first contact (OR 3.78; 95% CI 1.31 to 10.92). The differences in the DUP between groups were not statistically significant. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that there are significant differences in the pathways to EIS for psychosis for people of African and Caribbean origin in our Canadian context. It is essential to gain a comprehensive understanding of the pathways that different population groups take to mental health services, and the reasons behind observed differences, to inform the development of equitable services, targeting patients in the critical early stages of psychotic disorder. PMID:26174526

  14. Pathways to First-Episode Care for Psychosis in African-, Caribbean-, and European-Origin Groups in Ontario.

    PubMed

    Anderson, Kelly K; Flora, Nina; Ferrari, Manuela; Tuck, Andrew; Archie, Suzanne; Kidd, Sean; Tang, Taryn; Kirmayer, Laurence J; McKenzie, Kwame

    2015-05-01

    To compare the pathways to care and duration of untreated psychosis (DUP) for people of Black-African, Black-Caribbean, or White-European origin with first-episode psychosis (FEP). We recruited a sample of 171 patients with FEP of Black-African, Black-Caribbean, and White-European origin from hospital- and community-based early intervention services (EIS) in the cities of Toronto and Hamilton. We compared the 3 groups on DUP and key indicators of the pathway to care. We observed differences in pathways to care across the 3 groups. Black-Caribbean participants had an increased odds of referral from an inpatient unit to EIS (OR 3.33; 95% CI 1.46 to 7.60) and a decreased odds of general practitioner involvement on the pathway to care (OR 0.17; 95% CI 0.07 to 0.46), as well as fewer total contacts (exp[β] 0.77; 95% CI 0.60 to 0.99) when compared with White-European participants. Black-African participants had an increased odds of contact with the emergency department at first contact (OR 3.78; 95% CI 1.31 to 10.92). The differences in the DUP between groups were not statistically significant. Our findings suggest that there are significant differences in the pathways to EIS for psychosis for people of African and Caribbean origin in our Canadian context. It is essential to gain a comprehensive understanding of the pathways that different population groups take to mental health services, and the reasons behind observed differences, to inform the development of equitable services, targeting patients in the critical early stages of psychotic disorder.

  15. Caribbean and Eastern Pacific Maritime Security: Regional Cooperation in Bridge and Insular States

    DTIC Science & Technology

    The international cocaine market has transformed the Caribbean Basin into the most violent region in the world. Against the onslaught of drugs and... violence , interstate security cooperation and intelligence sharing are increasingly prominent features of state security strategies. The evolution of

  16. Women and the Family. Women in the Caribbean Project, Volume 2.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Massiah, Joycelin, Ed.

    One in a series of documents emanating from a three-year project concerned with the role of women in the English-speaking Caribbean, this collection of papers examines family life and the domestic domain. The overall objectives of the project are to establish in the region a data base for teaching, research, and planning purposes and to develop…

  17. Ciguatera fish poisoning and sea surface temperatures in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies.

    PubMed

    Tester, Patricia A; Feldman, Rebecca L; Nau, Amy W; Kibler, Steven R; Wayne Litaker, R

    2010-10-01

    Ciguatera fish poisoning (CFP) is a circumtropical disease caused by ingestion of a variety of reef fish that bioaccumulate algal toxins. Distribution and abundance of the organisms that produce these toxins, chiefly dinoflagellates of the genus Gambierdiscus, are reported to correlate positively with water temperature. Consequently, there is growing concern that increasing temperatures associated with climate change could increase the incidence of CFP. This concern prompted experiments on the growth rates of six Gambierdiscus species at temperatures between 18 degrees C and 33 degrees C and the examination of sea surface temperatures in the Caribbean and West Indies for areas that could sustain rapid Gambierdiscus growth rates year-round. The thermal optimum for five of six Gambierdiscus species tested was >/=29 degrees C. Long-term SST data from the southern Gulf of Mexico indicate the number of days with sea surface temperatures >/=29 degrees C has nearly doubled (44 to 86) in the last three decades. To determine how the sea surface temperatures and Gambierdiscus growth data correlate with CFP incidences in the Caribbean, a literature review and a uniform, region-wide survey (1996-2006) of CFP cases were conducted. The highest CFP incidence rates were in the eastern Caribbean where water temperatures are warmest and least variable. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

  18. Masculinities fathering and health: the experiences of African-Caribbean and white working class fathers.

    PubMed

    Williams, Robert Alan

    2007-01-01

    There is a developing body of research that investigates the links between masculinities and men's health experiences, but the links between masculinities and the health of fathers has been a neglected focus for research in the UK. This paper presents some of the findings drawn from a parent study which investigated African-Caribbean and white working class fathers' experiences of fathering, health and social connectedness. Data are drawn from interviews with 13 men (6 African-Caribbean and 7 White working class) living in a city in the West Midlands area of the UK. In this paper, I analyse and discuss African-Caribbean and white working class fathers' stories about the meaning of health, the influences upon their health, and their health practices. It was found that for the African-Caribbean fathers specifically, anticipated or perceived racist prejudice, abuse or discrimination influenced their health experiences. However, the meaning of health for both ethnic groups of fathers was as functional capacity, that is health was an asset that allowed fathers to meet the obligations of paid work and fathering. These obligations were also associated with a restricted sense of personal agency for the men interviewed, and the associated constraints were linked to transgressive consumption of alcohol, food and tobacco. In addition, fathers were also involved in solitary ways of dealing with their vulnerability, vulnerability that was associated with fathers' health concerns, and other difficult life experiences. Fathers' solitary experiences of vulnerability were also mediated by hegemonic forms of masculinity. Nevertheless, the experience of fathering within the lifecourse influenced men's health experiences: reflexivity and challenges to both transgressive consumption and solitary experiences were linked to fathers' perceived obligations to children. The significance of gender, ethnicity and social class for theory and future research with working class fathers and boys

  19. The Effects of Aseismic Ridge Collision on Upper Plate Deformation: Cocos Ridge Collision and Deformation of the Western Caribbean

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    La Femina, P. C.; Govers, R. M. A.; Ruiz, G.; Geirsson, H.; Camacho, E.; Mora-Paez, H.

    2015-12-01

    The collision of the Panamanian isthmus with northwestern South America is thought to have initiated as early as Oligocene - Miocene time (23-25 Ma) based on geologic and geophysical data and paleogeographic reconstructions. This collision was driven by eastward-directed subduction beneath northwestern South America. Cocos - Caribbean convergence along the Middle America Trench, and Nazca - Caribbean oblique convergence along the South Panama Deformed Belt have resulted in complex deformation of the southwestern Caribbean since Miocene - Pliocene time. Subduction and collision of the aseismic Cocos Ridge is thought to have initiated <3.5 Ma and has been linked to: 1) late Miocene-Pliocene cessation of volcanism and uplift of the Cordillera de Talamanca, Costa Rica; 2) Quaternary migration of the volcanic arc toward the back-arc in Costa Rica; 3) Quaternary to present deformation within the Central Costa Rica Deformed Belt; 4) Quaternary to present shortening across the fore-arc Fila Costeña fold and thrust belt and back-arc North Panama Deformed Belt (NPDB); 5) Quaternary to present outer fore-arc uplift of Nicoya Peninsula above the seamount domain, and the Osa and Burica peninsulas above the ridge; and 6) Pleistocene to present northwestward motion of the Central American Fore Arc (CAFA) and northeastward motion of the Panama Region. We investigate the geodynamic effects of Cocos Ridge collision on motion of the Panama Region with a new geodynamic model. The model is compared to a new 1993-2015 GPS-derived three-dimensional velocity field for the western Caribbean and northwestern South America. Specifically, we test the hypotheses that the Cocos Ridge is the main driver for upper plate deformation in the western Caribbean. Our models indicate that Cocos Ridge collision drives northwest-directed motion of the CAFA and the northeast-directed motion of the Panama Region. The Panama Region is driven into the Caribbean across the NPDB and into northwestern South

  20. Survey of Library and Information Manpower Needs in the Caribbean. (Preliminary Version).

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Moore, Nick

    In order to provide a base for national information planning and the restructuring of existing training institutions, a detailed study was conducted of manpower needs--at professional, paraprofessional, and technician levels--for information systems and services in the Caribbean region. A paper setting out the basic principles underlying manpower…

  1. Caribbean and Central American Women's Feminist Inquiry through Theater-Based Action Research

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sánchez Ares, Rocío

    2015-01-01

    Feminist action research interrogates gendered dynamics in the development of a collective consciousness. A group of immigrant Latina women (Latinas) from the Caribbean and Central America employed community-based theater as an instrument to mobilize diverse audiences against discriminatory practices and policies. Based on their theater work, I…

  2. Developmental Characteristics of African American and Caribbean Black Adolescents' Attributions regarding Discrimination

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Seaton, Eleanor K.; Caldwell, Cleopatra H.; Sellers, Robert M.; Jackson, James S.

    2010-01-01

    The present study examined discrimination attributions in the psychological well-being of Black adolescents. Findings are based on a representative sample of 810 African American and 360 Caribbean Black youth, aged 13-17, who participated in the National Survey of American Life. Youth completed measures of perceived discrimination, discrimination…

  3. Caribbean parkinsonism and other atypical parkinsonian disorders.

    PubMed

    Tolosa, Eduardo; Calandrella, Daniela; Gallardo, Marisol

    2004-05-01

    Atypical parkinsonism (AP) is a term applied to disorders characterized by parkinsonism that evolves rapidly, with poor or transient response to levodopa, or has other associated features such as early falls and postural instability, early autonomic failure, supranuclear gaze palsy, pyramidal or cerebellar signs, alien hand syndrome or severe ideomotor apraxia. The most common AP are multiple system atrophy, progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) and corticobasal degeneration (CBD). Other APs include Caribbean parkinsonism (CP) and parkinsonism-dementia complex of Guam (PDC). In this review we provide an update in etiology, neuropathology, diagnosis and treatment of atypical parkinsonian disorders associated with protein tau deposit, also known as tauopathies.

  4. The geochemistry and tectonic setting of late Cretaceous Caribbean and Colombian volcanism

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kerr, Andrew C.; Tarney, John; Marriner, Giselle F.; Nivia, Alvaro; Klaver, Gerard Th.; Saunders, Andrew D.

    1996-03-01

    Late Cretaceous mafic volcanic sequences in Western Colombia and in the southern Caribbean have a striking coherence in their chemistry and compositional range which suggests they are part of the same magmatic province. The chemical characteristics of the majority of the mafic lavas are totally unlike those of island arc or marginal basin basalts, so the sequences cannot represent accreted arc terranes. On the other hand their trace element characteristics closely resemble those of Icelandic/Reykjanes Ridge basalts that represent an oceanic plateau formed by extensive decompression melting of an uprising deep mantle plume. The occurrence of komatiites on Gorgona and high-MgO picritic lavas in S.E. Colombia and on Curaçao, representing high temperature melts of the plume tail, confirms this analogy. Likewise, late stage rhyolites within the Colombian mafic volcanics may well be the equivalent of the extensive silicic magmas on Iceland and at Galapagos, possibly formed by remelting of the deep parts of the overthickened basaltic crust above the plume head. These volcanics, plus others around the Caribbean, including the floor of the Central Caribbean, probably all represent part of an oceanic plateau that formed rapidly at the Galapagos hotspot at 88 Ma, and that was too hot and buoyant to subduct beneath the margin of S. America as it migrated westwards with the opening of the South Atlantic, and so was imbricated along the continental margin. Minor arc-like volcanics, tonalites and hornblende leucogabbro veins may represent the products of subduction-flip of normal ocean crust against the buoyant plateau, or hydrous melts developed during imbrication/obduction.

  5. Caribbean Corals in Crisis: Record Thermal Stress, Bleaching, and Mortality in 2005

    PubMed Central

    Eakin, C. Mark; Morgan, Jessica A.; Heron, Scott F.; Smith, Tyler B.; Liu, Gang; Alvarez-Filip, Lorenzo; Baca, Bart; Bartels, Erich; Bastidas, Carolina; Bouchon, Claude; Brandt, Marilyn; Bruckner, Andrew W.; Bunkley-Williams, Lucy; Cameron, Andrew; Causey, Billy D.; Chiappone, Mark; Christensen, Tyler R. L.; Crabbe, M. James C; Day, Owen; de la Guardia, Elena; Díaz-Pulido, Guillermo; DiResta, Daniel; Gil-Agudelo, Diego L.; Gilliam, David S.; Ginsburg, Robert N.; Gore, Shannon; Guzmán, Héctor M.; Hendee, James C.; Hernández-Delgado, Edwin A.; Husain, Ellen; Jeffrey, Christopher F. G.; Jones, Ross J.; Jordán-Dahlgren, Eric; Kaufman, Les S.; Kline, David I.; Kramer, Philip A.; Lang, Judith C.; Lirman, Diego; Mallela, Jennie; Manfrino, Carrie; Maréchal, Jean-Philippe; Marks, Ken; Mihaly, Jennifer; Miller, W. Jeff; Mueller, Erich M.; Muller, Erinn M.; Orozco Toro, Carlos A.; Oxenford, Hazel A.; Ponce-Taylor, Daniel; Quinn, Norman; Ritchie, Kim B.; Rodríguez, Sebastián; Ramírez, Alberto Rodríguez; Romano, Sandra; Samhouri, Jameal F.; Sánchez, Juan A.; Schmahl, George P.; Shank, Burton V.; Skirving, William J.; Steiner, Sascha C. C.; Villamizar, Estrella; Walsh, Sheila M.; Walter, Cory; Weil, Ernesto; Williams, Ernest H.; Roberson, Kimberly Woody; Yusuf, Yusri

    2010-01-01

    Background The rising temperature of the world's oceans has become a major threat to coral reefs globally as the severity and frequency of mass coral bleaching and mortality events increase. In 2005, high ocean temperatures in the tropical Atlantic and Caribbean resulted in the most severe bleaching event ever recorded in the basin. Methodology/Principal Findings Satellite-based tools provided warnings for coral reef managers and scientists, guiding both the timing and location of researchers' field observations as anomalously warm conditions developed and spread across the greater Caribbean region from June to October 2005. Field surveys of bleaching and mortality exceeded prior efforts in detail and extent, and provided a new standard for documenting the effects of bleaching and for testing nowcast and forecast products. Collaborators from 22 countries undertook the most comprehensive documentation of basin-scale bleaching to date and found that over 80% of corals bleached and over 40% died at many sites. The most severe bleaching coincided with waters nearest a western Atlantic warm pool that was centered off the northern end of the Lesser Antilles. Conclusions/Significance Thermal stress during the 2005 event exceeded any observed from the Caribbean in the prior 20 years, and regionally-averaged temperatures were the warmest in over 150 years. Comparison of satellite data against field surveys demonstrated a significant predictive relationship between accumulated heat stress (measured using NOAA Coral Reef Watch's Degree Heating Weeks) and bleaching intensity. This severe, widespread bleaching and mortality will undoubtedly have long-term consequences for reef ecosystems and suggests a troubled future for tropical marine ecosystems under a warming climate. PMID:21125021

  6. Simplification of Caribbean reef-fish assemblages over decades of coral reef degradation.

    PubMed

    Alvarez-Filip, Lorenzo; Paddack, Michelle J; Collen, Ben; Robertson, D Ross; Côté, Isabelle M

    2015-01-01

    Caribbean coral reefs are becoming structurally simpler, largely due to human impacts. The consequences of this trend for reef-associated communities are currently unclear, but expected to be profound. Here, we assess whether changes in fish assemblages have been non-random over several decades of declining reef structure. More specifically, we predicted that species that depend exclusively on coral reef habitat (i.e., habitat specialists) should be at a disadvantage compared to those that use a broader array of habitats (i.e., habitat generalists). Analysing 3727 abundance trends of 161 Caribbean reef-fishes, surveyed between 1980 and 2006, we found that the trends of habitat-generalists and habitat-specialists differed markedly. The abundance of specialists started to decline in the mid-1980s, reaching a low of ~60% of the 1980 baseline by the mid-1990s. Both the average and the variation in abundance of specialists have increased since the early 2000s, although the average is still well below the baseline level of 1980. This modest recovery occurred despite no clear evidence of a regional recovery in coral reef habitat quality in the Caribbean during the 2000s. In contrast, the abundance of generalist fishes remained relatively stable over the same three decades. Few specialist species are fished, thus their population declines are most likely linked to habitat degradation. These results mirror the observed trends of replacement of specialists by generalists, observed in terrestrial taxa across the globe. A significant challenge that arises from our findings is now to investigate if, and how, such community-level changes in fish populations affect ecosystem function.

  7. The Political Economy of "Open Regionalism" and Education in Small (and Micro) States: The Construction of the Caribbean Educational Policy Space in CARICOM

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Jules, Tavis D.

    2014-01-01

    In this era of amplified regionalisation, the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean's (ECLAC) conceptualisation of 'open regionalism' is pertinent to examine the role of regional governance mechanisms in constructing what I call the "Caribbean Educational Policy Space." With the aid of a latent content analysis of…

  8. PEPFAR Transitions to Country Ownership: Review of Past Donor Transitions and Application of Lessons Learned to the Eastern Caribbean

    PubMed Central

    Vogus, Abigail; Graff, Kylie

    2015-01-01

    The US President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) has shifted from an emergency response to a sustainable, country-owned response. The process of transition to country ownership is already underway in the Eastern Caribbean; the Office of the US Global AIDS Coordinator (OGAC) has advised the region that PEPFAR funding is being redirected away from the Eastern Caribbean toward Caribbean countries with high disease burden to strengthen services for key populations. This article seeks to highlight and apply lessons learned from other donor transitions to support a successful transition of HIV programs in the Eastern Caribbean. Based on a rapid review of both peer-reviewed and gray literature on donor transitions to country ownership in family planning, HIV, and other areas, we identified 48 resources that addressed key steps in the transition process and determinants of readiness for transition. Analysis of the existing literature revealed 6 steps that could help ensure successful transition, including developing a clear roadmap articulated through high-level diplomacy; investing in extensive stakeholder engagement; and supporting monitoring and evaluation during and after the transition to adjust course as needed. Nine specific areas to assess a country’s readiness for transition include: leadership and management capacity, political and economic factors, the policy environment, identification of alternative funding sources, integration of HIV programs into the wider health system, the institutionalization of processes, the strength of procurement and supply chain management, identification of staffing and training needs, and engagement of civil society and the private sector. In the Caribbean, key areas requiring strengthening to ensure countries in the region can maintain the gains made under PEPFAR include further engaging civil society and the private sector, building the capacity of NGOs to take on essential program functions, and maintaining donor

  9. Climate Change in U.S. South Atlantic, Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean Fisheries Regions

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Roffer, M. A.; Hernandez, D. L.; Lamkin, J. T.; Pugliese, R.; Reichert, M.; Hall, C.

    2016-02-01

    A review of the recent evidence that climate change is affecting marine ecosystems in the U.S. fishery management zones of the South Atlantic, Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean regions will be presented. This will include affects on the living marine resources (including fish, invertebrates, marine mammals and turtles), fisheries, habitat and people. Emphasis will be given on the effects that impact managed species and the likely new challenges that they present to fishery managers. The evidence is being derived from the results of the "Climate Variability and Fisheries Workshop: Setting Research Priorities for the Gulf of Mexico, South Atlantic, and Caribbean Regions," October 26-28, 2015 in St. Petersburg Beach, Florida. Commonalities and regional differences will be presented in terms of how climate variability is likely to impact distribution, catch, catchability, socioeconomics, and management.

  10. Metabolic syndrome among Caribbean-born persons living in the U.S. Virgin Islands.

    PubMed

    Tull, Eugene S; Thurland, Anne; LaPorte, Ronald E

    2005-12-01

    To determine the frequency of the metabolic syndrome (MS) among four subpopulations in the United States Virgin Islands and to estimate the risk for the MS that is associated with waist circumference cutpoints among overweight and obese individuals. In a study undertaken from 1995 to 1999, data on demographic characteristics, anthropometric measurements, blood pressure measurements, and a blood sample were obtained from a population-based cohort of 893 Caribbean-born persons from four population subgroups who were living on Saint Croix (the largest island of the U.S. Virgin Islands) and who did not have a history of diagnosed diabetes. The four subpopulations were: (1) Hispanic white, (2) Hispanic black, (3) non-Hispanic black born in the U.S. Virgin Islands, and (4) non-Hispanic black born elsewhere in the Caribbean. Fasting blood samples were analyzed for glucose, insulin, triglycerides, and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C). National Cholesterol Education Program Adult Treatment Panel III guidelines were used to identify the MS. Insulin resistance was estimated by the homeostasis model assessment (HOMA-IR) method. The overall prevalence of the MS in the sample was 20.5% (95% confidence interval (CI) = 15.3%-25.7%). Persons who had classified themselves as both Hispanic and black had the highest frequency (27.8% (95% CI = 16.3%-39.3%)) of the MS and the highest HOMA-IR scores. After controlling for lifestyle factors and HOMA-IR, Hispanic ethnicity was independently associated with an increased risk of having the MS (odds ratio (OR) = 1.82, (95% CI = 1.07-3.07)), high triglycerides (OR = 3.66 (95% CI = 2.18-6.15)), and low HDL-C (OR = 1.60 (95% CI = 1.04-2.45)). A waist circumference of > 88 cm was associated with an increased risk of metabolic abnormalities among overweight and obese women. The frequency of the MS among Caribbean-born persons in the U. S. Virgin Islands is comparable to the frequency of the MS among the general population on the

  11. Depressive symptoms are doubled in older British South Asian and Black Caribbean people compared with Europeans: associations with excess co-morbidity and socioeconomic disadvantage.

    PubMed

    Williams, E D; Tillin, T; Richards, M; Tuson, C; Chaturvedi, N; Hughes, A D; Stewart, R

    2015-07-01

    Despite elevated risk profiles for depression among South Asian and Black Caribbean people in the UK, prevalences of late-life depressive symptoms across the UK's three major ethnic groups have not been well characterized. Data were collected at baseline and 20-year follow-up from 632 European, 476 South Asian and 181 Black Caribbean men and women (aged 58-88 years), of a community-based cohort study from north-west London. The 10-item Geriatric Depression Scale was interviewer-administered during a clinic visit (depressive symptoms defined as a score of ⩾4 out of 10), with clinical data (adiposity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, cognitive function) also collected. Sociodemographic, psychosocial, behavioural, disability, and medical history information was obtained by questionnaire. Prevalence of depressive symptoms varied by ethnic group, affecting 9.7% of White European, 15.5% of South Asian, and 17.7% of Black Caribbean participants. Compared with White Europeans, South Asian and Black Caribbean participants were significantly more likely to have depressive symptoms (odds ratio 1.79, 95% confidence interval 1.24-2.58 and 1.80, 1.11-2.92, respectively). Adjustment for co-morbidities had most effect on the excess South Asian odds, and adjustment for socioeconomic position had most effect on the elevated Black Caribbean odds. Higher prevalence of depressive symptoms observed among South Asian people were attenuated after adjustment for physical health, whereas the Black Caribbean increased prevalence was most explained by socioeconomic disadvantage. It is important to understand the reasons for these ethnic differences to identify opportunities for interventions to address inequalities.

  12. Learning Style and Ability Grouping in the High School System: Some Caribbean Findings.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Richardson, Arthur G.; Fergus, Eudora E.

    1993-01-01

    The Inventory of Learning Processes assessed the learning styles of Caribbean ninth graders (47 boys, 67 girls) in 2 ability groups. The higher ability group performed better in deep processing, fact retention, and methodical study. Girls performed better in methodical study. (SK)

  13. People's Participation in Development and the Management of Natural Resources. Report on the Caribbean Regional Workshop (Vieux Fort, St. Lucia, April 15-19, 1985).

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Vukasin, Helen L., Ed.

    This Caribbean Regional Workshop was organized to bring together representatives of private, voluntary, and community development organizations, governmental agencies, and other non-governmental organizations in the Eastern Caribbean who were concerned with environmental quality. The conference was intended to improve the level of citizen…

  14. Eastern Caribbean Circulation and Island Mass Effect on St. Croix, US Virgin Islands: A Mechanism for Relatively Consistent Recruitment Patterns

    PubMed Central

    Chérubin, Laurent Marcel; Garavelli, Lysel

    2016-01-01

    The northeastern Caribbean Sea is under the seasonal influence of the Trade Winds but also of the Orinoco/Amazon freshwater plume. The latter is responsible for intensification of the Caribbean Current in general and of its eddy activity in the northern part of the Caribbean Sea. More importantly, we show in this study that the front of the freshwater plume drives a northward flow that impinges directly on the island of St. Croix in the United States Virgin Islands. The angle of incidence of the incoming flow controls the nature of the wake on both sides and ends of the island, which changes from cyclonic to anticylonic wake flow, with either attached or shed eddies. Using an off-line bio-physical model, we simulated the dispersal and recruitment of an abundant Caribbean coral reef fish, the bluehead wrasse (Thalassoma bifasciatum) in the context of the wake flow variability around St. Croix. Our results revealed the role played by the consistent seasonal forcing of the wake flow on the recruitment patterns around the island at the interannual scale. The interannual variability of the timing of arrival and northward penetration of the plume instead controls the nature of the wake, hence the regional spatial recruitment patterns. PMID:26942575

  15. Eastern Caribbean Circulation and Island Mass Effect on St. Croix, US Virgin Islands: A Mechanism for Relatively Consistent Recruitment Patterns.

    PubMed

    Chérubin, Laurent Marcel; Garavelli, Lysel

    2016-01-01

    The northeastern Caribbean Sea is under the seasonal influence of the Trade Winds but also of the Orinoco/Amazon freshwater plume. The latter is responsible for intensification of the Caribbean Current in general and of its eddy activity in the northern part of the Caribbean Sea. More importantly, we show in this study that the front of the freshwater plume drives a northward flow that impinges directly on the island of St. Croix in the United States Virgin Islands. The angle of incidence of the incoming flow controls the nature of the wake on both sides and ends of the island, which changes from cyclonic to anticylonic wake flow, with either attached or shed eddies. Using an off-line bio-physical model, we simulated the dispersal and recruitment of an abundant Caribbean coral reef fish, the bluehead wrasse (Thalassoma bifasciatum) in the context of the wake flow variability around St. Croix. Our results revealed the role played by the consistent seasonal forcing of the wake flow on the recruitment patterns around the island at the interannual scale. The interannual variability of the timing of arrival and northward penetration of the plume instead controls the nature of the wake, hence the regional spatial recruitment patterns.

  16. Chemical defenses and resource trade-offs structure sponge communities on Caribbean coral reefs.

    PubMed

    Loh, Tse-Lynn; Pawlik, Joseph R

    2014-03-18

    Ecological studies have rarely been performed at the community level across a large biogeographic region. Sponges are now the primary habitat-forming organisms on Caribbean coral reefs. Recent species-level investigations have demonstrated that predatory fishes (angelfishes and some parrotfishes) differentially graze sponges that lack chemical defenses, while co-occurring, palatable species heal, grow, reproduce, or recruit at faster rates than defended species. Our prediction, based on resource allocation theory, was that predator removal would result in a greater proportion of palatable species in the sponge community on overfished reefs. We tested this prediction by performing surveys of sponge and fish community composition on reefs having different levels of fishing intensity across the Caribbean. A total of 109 sponge species was recorded from 69 sites, with the 10 most common species comprising 51.0% of sponge cover (3.6-7.7% per species). Nonmetric multidimensional scaling indicated that the species composition of sponge communities depended more on the abundance of sponge-eating fishes than geographic location. Across all sites, multiple-regression analyses revealed that spongivore abundance explained 32.8% of the variation in the proportion of palatable sponges, but when data were limited to geographically adjacent locations with strongly contrasting levels of fishing pressure (Cayman Islands and Jamaica; Curaçao, Bonaire, and Martinique), the adjusted R(2) values were much higher (76.5% and 94.6%, respectively). Overfishing of Caribbean coral reefs, particularly by fish trapping, removes sponge predators and is likely to result in greater competition for space between faster-growing palatable sponges and endangered reef-building corals.

  17. Chemical defenses and resource trade-offs structure sponge communities on Caribbean coral reefs

    PubMed Central

    Loh, Tse-Lynn; Pawlik, Joseph R.

    2014-01-01

    Ecological studies have rarely been performed at the community level across a large biogeographic region. Sponges are now the primary habitat-forming organisms on Caribbean coral reefs. Recent species-level investigations have demonstrated that predatory fishes (angelfishes and some parrotfishes) differentially graze sponges that lack chemical defenses, while co-occurring, palatable species heal, grow, reproduce, or recruit at faster rates than defended species. Our prediction, based on resource allocation theory, was that predator removal would result in a greater proportion of palatable species in the sponge community on overfished reefs. We tested this prediction by performing surveys of sponge and fish community composition on reefs having different levels of fishing intensity across the Caribbean. A total of 109 sponge species was recorded from 69 sites, with the 10 most common species comprising 51.0% of sponge cover (3.6–7.7% per species). Nonmetric multidimensional scaling indicated that the species composition of sponge communities depended more on the abundance of sponge-eating fishes than geographic location. Across all sites, multiple-regression analyses revealed that spongivore abundance explained 32.8% of the variation in the proportion of palatable sponges, but when data were limited to geographically adjacent locations with strongly contrasting levels of fishing pressure (Cayman Islands and Jamaica; Curaçao, Bonaire, and Martinique), the adjusted R2 values were much higher (76.5% and 94.6%, respectively). Overfishing of Caribbean coral reefs, particularly by fish trapping, removes sponge predators and is likely to result in greater competition for space between faster-growing palatable sponges and endangered reef-building corals. PMID:24567392

  18. Distribution and Differentiation of Wild, Feral, and Cultivated Populations of Perennial Upland Cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) in Mesoamerica and the Caribbean

    PubMed Central

    Coppens d'Eeckenbrugge, Geo; Lacape, Jean-Marc

    2014-01-01

    Perennial forms of Gossypium hirsutum are classified under seven races. Five Mesoamerican races would have been derived from the wild race ‘yucatanense’ from northern Yucatán. ‘Marie-Galante’, the main race in the Caribbean, would have developed from introgression with G. barbadense. The racial status of coastal populations from the Caribbean has not been clearly defined. We combined Ecological Niche Modeling with an analysis of SSR marker diversity, to elucidate the relationships among cultivated, feral and wild populations of perennial cottons. Out of 954 records of occurrence in Mesoamerica and the Caribbean, 630 were classified into four categories cultivated, feral (disturbed and secondary habitats), wild/feral (protected habitats), and truly wild cotton (TWC) populations. The widely distributed three first categories cannot be differentiated on ecological grounds, indicating they mostly belong to the domesticated pool. In contrast, TWC are restricted to the driest and hottest littoral habitats, in northern Yucatán and in the Caribbean (from Venezuela to Florida), as confirmed by their climatic envelope in the factorial analysis. Extrapolating this TWC climatic model to South America and the Pacific Ocean points towards places where other wild representatives of tetraploid Gossypium species have been encountered. The genetic analysis sample comprised 42 TWC accessions from 12 sites and 68 feral accessions from 18 sites; at nine sites, wild and feral accessions were collected in close vicinity. Principal coordinate analysis, neighbor joining, and STRUCTURE consistently showed a primary divergence between TWC and feral cottons, and a secondary divergence separating ‘Marie-Galante’ from all other feral accessions. This strong genetic structure contrasts strikingly with the absence of geographic differentiation. Our results show that TWC populations of Mesoamerica and the Caribbean constitute a homogenous gene pool. Furthermore, the relatively low

  19. Substance Abuse and HIV/AIDS in the Caribbean.

    PubMed

    Angulo-Arreola, Iliana Alexandra; Bastos, Francisco I; Strathdee, Steffanie A

    The Caribbean and Central America represent a formidable challenge for researchers and policy makers in the HIV field, due to their pronounced heterogeneity in terms of social, economic, and cultural contexts and the different courses the HIV epidemic has followed in the region. Such contrasting contexts and epidemics can be exemplified by 2 countries that share the island of Hispaniola, the French Creole-speaking Haiti, and the Spanish-speaking Dominican Republic. Haiti has experienced the worst epidemics outside of sub-Saharan Africa. Following a protracted economic and social crisis, recently aggravated by a devastating earthquake, the local HIV epidemic could experience resurgence. The region, strategically located on the way between coca-producing countries and the profitable North American markets, has been a transshipment area for years. Notwithstanding, the impact of such routes on local drug scenes has been very heterogeneous and dynamic, depending on a combination of local mores, drug enforcement activities, and the broad social and political context. Injecting drug use remains rare in the region, but local drug scenes are dynamic under the influence of increasing mobility of people and goods to and from North and South America, growing tourism and commerce, and prostitution. The multiple impacts of the recent economic and social crisis, as well as the influence of drug-trafficking routes across the Caribbean and other Latin American countries require a sustained effort to track changes in the HIV risk environment to inform sound drug policies and initiatives to minimize drug-related harms in the region.

  20. Hurricanes, Coral Reefs and Rainforests: Resistance, Ruin and Recovery in the Caribbean

    Treesearch

    A. E. Lugo; C. S. Rogers; S. W Nixon

    2000-01-01

    The coexistence of hurricanes, coral reefs, and rainforests in the Caribbean demonstrates that highly structured ecosystems with great diversity can flourish in spite of recurring exposure to intense destructive energy. Coral reefs develop in response to wave energy and resist hurricanes largely by virtue of their structural strength. Limited fetch also protects some...

  1. Utilising "Low Tech" Analytical Frameworks to Analyse Dyslexic Caribbean Students' Classroom Narratives

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Blackman, Stacey

    2007-01-01

    The cognitions of Caribbean students with dyslexia are explored as part of an embedded multiple case study approach to teaching and learning at two secondary schools on the island of Barbados. This exploration employed "low tech" approaches to analyse what pupils had said in interviews using a Miles and Huberman (1994) framework.…

  2. Barriers to early diagnosis of symptomatic breast cancer: a qualitative study of Black African, Black Caribbean and White British women living in the UK.

    PubMed

    Jones, Claire E L; Maben, Jill; Lucas, Grace; Davies, Elizabeth A; Jack, Ruth H; Ream, Emma

    2015-03-13

    Understanding barriers to early diagnosis of symptomatic breast cancer among Black African, Black Caribbean and White British women in the UK. In-depth qualitative interviews using grounded theory methods to identify themes. Findings validated through focus groups. 94 women aged 33-91 years; 20 Black African, 20 Black Caribbean and 20 White British women diagnosed with symptomatic breast cancer were interviewed. Fourteen Black African and 20 Black Caribbean women with (n=19) and without (n=15) breast cancer participated in six focus groups. Eight cancer centres/hospital trusts in London (n=5), Somerset (n=1), West Midlands (n=1) and Greater Manchester (n=1) during 2012-2013. There are important differences and similarities in barriers to early diagnosis of breast cancer between Black African, Black Caribbean and White British women in the UK. Differences were influenced by country of birth, time spent in UK and age. First generation Black African women experienced most barriers and longest delays. Second generation Black Caribbean and White British women were similar and experienced fewest barriers. Absence of pain was a barrier for Black African and Black Caribbean women. Older White British women (≥70 years) and first generation Black African and Black Caribbean women shared conservative attitudes and taboos about breast awareness. All women viewed themselves at low risk of the disease, and voiced uncertainty over breast awareness and appraising non-lump symptoms. Focus group findings validated and expanded themes identified in interviews. Findings challenged reporting of Black women homogenously in breast cancer research. This can mask distinctions within and between ethnic groups. Current media and health promotion messages need reframing to promote early presentation with breast symptoms. Working with communities and developing culturally appropriate materials may lessen taboos and stigma, raise awareness, increase discussion of breast cancer and promote

  3. Barriers to early diagnosis of symptomatic breast cancer: a qualitative study of Black African, Black Caribbean and White British women living in the UK

    PubMed Central

    Jones, Claire E L; Maben, Jill; Lucas, Grace; Davies, Elizabeth A; Jack, Ruth H; Ream, Emma

    2015-01-01

    Objectives Understanding barriers to early diagnosis of symptomatic breast cancer among Black African, Black Caribbean and White British women in the UK. Design In-depth qualitative interviews using grounded theory methods to identify themes. Findings validated through focus groups. Participants 94 women aged 33–91 years; 20 Black African, 20 Black Caribbean and 20 White British women diagnosed with symptomatic breast cancer were interviewed. Fourteen Black African and 20 Black Caribbean women with (n=19) and without (n=15) breast cancer participated in six focus groups. Setting Eight cancer centres/hospital trusts in London (n=5), Somerset (n=1), West Midlands (n=1) and Greater Manchester (n=1) during 2012–2013. Results There are important differences and similarities in barriers to early diagnosis of breast cancer between Black African, Black Caribbean and White British women in the UK. Differences were influenced by country of birth, time spent in UK and age. First generation Black African women experienced most barriers and longest delays. Second generation Black Caribbean and White British women were similar and experienced fewest barriers. Absence of pain was a barrier for Black African and Black Caribbean women. Older White British women (≥70 years) and first generation Black African and Black Caribbean women shared conservative attitudes and taboos about breast awareness. All women viewed themselves at low risk of the disease, and voiced uncertainty over breast awareness and appraising non-lump symptoms. Focus group findings validated and expanded themes identified in interviews. Conclusions Findings challenged reporting of Black women homogenously in breast cancer research. This can mask distinctions within and between ethnic groups. Current media and health promotion messages need reframing to promote early presentation with breast symptoms. Working with communities and developing culturally appropriate materials may lessen taboos and stigma

  4. Seismological observations at the Northern Andean region of Colombia: Evidence for a shallowly subducting Caribbean Slab and an extensional regime in the upper plate

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Monsalve, G.; Cardona, A.; Yarce, J.; Alvira, D.; Poveda, E.

    2013-05-01

    A number of seismological observations, among which we can mention teleseismic travel time residuals, P to S receiver functions and Pn velocity quantification, suggest a clear distinction between the seismic structure of the crust and uppermost mantle between the plains on the Caribbean coast of Colombia and the mountains at the Northern Andean region. Absolute and relative travel time residuals indicate the presence of a seismically fast material in the upper mantle beneath northern Colombia; preliminary results of Pn studies show a region of relatively slow Pn velocities (between 7.8 and 7.9 km/s) underneath the Caribbean coast, contrasting with values greater than 8 km/s beneath the Central and Western cordilleras of Colombia, and the Pacific coast; receiver functions suggest a significantly thinner crust beneath the Caribbean coast, with a crustal thickness between 25 and 30 km, than beneath the Northern Andean zone at the cordilleras of Colombia, where it exceeds 40 km and reaches about 57 km at the location of Bogota. Besides the obviuos discrepancies that appear in response to different topography, we think that the seismological observations are a consequence of the presence of two very distinct slab segments beneath Colombia and contrasting behaviors of the upper plate, which correspond to Caribbean and Nazca subductions. Our seismic observations can be explained by a shallowly subducting Caribbean Plate, in the absence of an asthenospheric wedge, that steepens at about the location of the Bucaramanga nest, and a thinned continental crust that reflects an extensional component linked to oblique convergence of the Caribbean, which contrasts with the crustal thickening in the Andean Cordillera linked to crustal shortening and Nazca plate subuction. These new data are consistent with the idea of of a relatively warm Nazca slab of Neogene age which seems to have a relatively frontal convergence, and a colder, more buoyant Caribbean slab which represents an

  5. Feasibility Study: Colombian Caribbean Folk Dances to Increase Physical Fitness and Health-Related Quality of Life in Older Women.

    PubMed

    Pacheco, Ernesto; Hoyos, Diana P; Watt, Willinton J; Lema, Lucía; Arango, Carlos M

    2016-04-01

    The objectives of the study were to describe the feasibility of an intervention in older women based on folk dances of the Colombian Caribbean region, and to analyze the effects of the intervention on physical fitness and health-related quality of life (HRQoL). A pilot study was conducted in a sample of 27 participants, 15 in the intervention group (IG) and 12 in the comparison group (CG). Caribbean Colombian dance rhythms were introduced as an intervention that lasted 12 weeks. Recruitment and retention was not optimal. Treatment fidelity components indicated that intervention was administered as intended. IG participants showed positive and statistically significant changes in some components of physical fitness. No significant changes were observed in HRQoL indicators for either group. In conclusion, the intervention was feasible, but recruitment and retention was challenging. Folk dances of the Colombian Caribbean region provoked significant results in physical fitness but not in HRQoL.

  6. Modeled differences of coral life-history traits influence the refugium potential of a remote Caribbean reef

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Davies, Sarah W.; Strader, Marie E.; Kool, Johnathan T.; Kenkel, Carly D.; Matz, Mikhail V.

    2017-09-01

    Remote populations can influence connectivity and may serve as refugia from climate change. We investigated two reef-building corals ( Pseudodiploria strigosa and Orbicella franksi) from the Flower Garden Banks (FGB), the most isolated, high-latitude Caribbean reef system, which, until recently, retained high coral cover. We characterized coral size-frequency distributions, quantified larval mortality rates and onset of competence ex situ, estimated larval production, and created detailed biophysical models incorporating these parameters to evaluate the source-sink dynamics at the FGB from 2009 to 2012. Estimated mortality rates were similar between species, but pre-competency differed dramatically; P. strigosa was capable of metamorphosis within 2.5 d post-fertilization (dpf) and was competent at least until 8 dpf, while O. franksi was not competent until >20 dpf and remained competent up to 120 dpf. To explore the effect of such contrasting life histories on connectivity, we modeled larval dispersal from the FGB assuming pelagic larval durations (PLD) of either 3-20 d, approximating laboratory-measured pre-competency of P. strigosa, or 20-120 d, approximating pre-competency observed in O. franksi. Surprisingly, both models predicted similar probabilities of local retention at the FGB, either by direct rapid reseeding or via long-term persistence in the Loop Current with larvae returning to the FGB within a month. However, our models predicted that short PLDs would result in complete isolation from the rest of the Caribbean, while long PLDs allowed for larval export to more distant northern Caribbean reefs, highlighting the importance of quantifying larval pre-competency dynamics when parameterizing biophysical models to predict larval connectivity. These simulations suggest that FGB coral populations are likely to be largely self-sustaining and highlight the potential of long-PLD corals, such as endangered Orbicella, to act as larval sources for other degraded

  7. Modeling regional coral reef responses to global warming and changes in ocean chemistry: Caribbean case study

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Buddemeier, R.W.; Lane, D.R.; Martinich, J.A.

    2011-01-01

    Climatic change threatens the future of coral reefs in the Caribbean and the important ecosystem services they provide. We used a simulation model [Combo ("COral Mortality and Bleaching Output")] to estimate future coral cover in the part of the eastern Caribbean impacted by a massive coral bleaching event in 2005. Combo calculates impacts of future climate change on coral reefs by combining impacts from long-term changes in average sea surface temperature (SST) and ocean acidification with impacts from episodic high temperature mortality (bleaching) events. We used mortality and heat dose data from the 2005 bleaching event to select historic temperature datasets, to use as a baseline for running Combo under different future climate scenarios and sets of assumptions. Results suggest a bleak future for coral reefs in the eastern Caribbean. For three different emissions scenarios from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC; B1, A1B, and A1FI), coral cover on most Caribbean reefs is projected to drop below 5% by the year 2035, if future mortality rates are equivalent to some of those observed in the 2005 event (50%). For a scenario where corals gain an additional 1-1. 5??C of heat tolerance through a shift in the algae that live in the coral tissue, coral cover above 5% is prolonged until 2065. Additional impacts such as storms or anthropogenic damage could result in declines in coral cover even faster than those projected here. These results suggest the need to identify and preserve the locations that are likely to have a higher resiliency to bleaching to save as many remnant populations of corals as possible in the face of projected wide-spread coral loss. ?? 2011 The Author(s).

  8. The Caribbean conundrum of Holocene sea level.

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Jackson, Luke; Mound, Jon

    2014-05-01

    In the tropics, pre-historic sea-level curve reconstruction is often problematic because it relies upon sea-level indicators whose vertical relationship to the sea surface is poorly constrained. In the Caribbean, fossil corals, mangrove peats and shell material dominate the pre-historic indicator record. The common approach to reconstruction involves the use of modern analogues to these indicators to establish a fixed vertical habitable range. The aim of these reconstructions is to find spatial variability in the Holocene sea level in an area gradually subsiding (< 1.2 mm yr-1) due the water loading following the deglaciation of the Laurentide ice sheet. We construct two catalogues: one of published Holocene sea-level indicators and the other of published, modern growth rates, abundance and coverage of mangrove and coral species for different depths. We use the first catalogue to calibrate 14C ages to give a probabilistic age range for each indicator. We use the second catalogue to define a depth probability distribution function (pdf) for mangroves and each coral species. The Holocene indicators are grouped into 12 sub-regions around the Caribbean. For each sub-region we apply our sea-level reconstruction, which involves stepping a fixed-length time window through time and calculating the position (and rate) of sea-level (change) using a thousand realisations of the time/depth pdfs to define an envelope of probable solutions. We find that the sub-regional relative sea-level curves display spatio-temporal variability including a south-east to north-west 1500 year lag in the arrival of Holocene sea level to that of the present day. We demonstrate that these variations are primarily due to glacial-isostatic-adjustment induced sea-level change and that sub-regional variations (where sufficient data exists) are due to local uplift variability.

  9. Insulin Resistance and Truncal Obesity as Important Determinants of the Greater Incidence of Diabetes in Indian Asians and African Caribbeans Compared With Europeans

    PubMed Central

    Tillin, Therese; Hughes, Alun D.; Godsland, Ian F.; Whincup, Peter; Forouhi, Nita G.; Welsh, Paul; Sattar, Naveed; McKeigue, Paul M.; Chaturvedi, Nish

    2013-01-01

    OBJECTIVE To determine the extent of, and reasons for, ethnic differences in type 2 diabetes incidence in the U.K. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS Population-based triethnic cohort. Participants were without diabetes, aged 40–69 at baseline (1989–1991), and followed-up for 20 years. Baseline measurements included fasting and postglucose bloods, anthropometry, and lifestyle questionnaire. Incident diabetes was identified from medical records and participant recall. Ethnic differences in diabetes incidence were examined using competing risks regression. RESULTS Incident diabetes was identified in 196 of 1,354 (14%) Europeans, 282 of 839 (34%) Indian Asians, and 100 of 335 (30%) African Caribbeans. All Indian Asians and African Caribbeans were first-generation migrants. Compared with Europeans, age-adjusted subhazard ratios (SHRs [95% CI]) for men and women, respectively, were 2.88 (95%, 2.36–3.53; P < 0.001) and 1.91 (1.18–3.10; P = 0.008) in Indian Asians, and 2.23 (1.64–3.03; P < 0.001) and 2.51 (1.63–3.87; P < 0.001) in African Caribbeans. Differences in baseline insulin resistance and truncal obesity largely attenuated the ethnic minority excess in women (adjusted SHRs: Indian Asians 0.77 [0.49–1.42]; P = 0.3; African Caribbeans 1.48 [0.89–2.45]; P = 0.13), but not in men (adjusted SHRs: Indian Asians 1.98 [1.52–2.58]; P < 0.001 and African Caribbeans, 2.05 [1.46–2.89; P < 0.001]). CONCLUSIONS Insulin resistance and truncal obesity account for the twofold excess incidence of diabetes in Indian Asian and African Caribbean women, but not men. Explanations for the excess diabetes risk in ethnic minority men remains unclear. Further study requires more precise measures of conventional risk factors and identification of novel risk factors. PMID:22966089

  10. Macroalgae Has No Effect on the Severity and Dynamics of Caribbean Yellow Band Disease

    PubMed Central

    Vu, Ivana; Smelick, Gillian; Harris, Sam; Lee, Sarah C.; Weil, Ernesto; Whitehead, Robert F.; Bruno, John F.

    2009-01-01

    By removing herbivores and promoting increases in macroalgae, overfishing is thought to indirectly cause coral disease and mortality. We performed three field manipulations to test the general hypothesis that overfishing and the subsequent alteration of coral reef trophic dynamics are a cause of coral epizootics. Specifically, we asked whether the presence of macroalgae can influence within- and among-colony spread rates of Caribbean Yellow Band Disease in Montastraea faveolata. Macroalgae were placed next to infected and healthy, adult and small coral colonies to measure effects on disease spread rate, coral growth and coral survival. Surprisingly, the addition of macroalgae did not affect disease severity or coral fitness. Our results indicate that macroalgae have no effect on the severity and dynamics of Caribbean Yellow Band Disease and that fisheries management alone will not mitigate the effects of this important epizootic. PMID:19223986

  11. HIV seroprevalence among male prison inmates in the six countries of the Organization of Eastern Caribbean states in the Caribbean (OECS).

    PubMed

    Boisson, E V; Trotman, C

    2009-03-01

    To determine HIV prevalence among male prison inmates in the six OECS countries in the Caribbean. Six unlinked, anonymous point prevalence surveys of a total of 1288 male inmates were conducted during a one-year period, August 2004 - August 2005. An oral fluid sample was collected and an interviewer-administered questionnaire and consent form was completed for each survey participant. The overall HIV prevalence was 2.8% (range 2.0-4.1%). Only 39% of all inmates had previously been tested, compared to 67% of the HIV-positive inmates. Of all inmates who previously tested, 61% had their last test less than two years ago, 45% had done so while in prison and 39% had done so in a hospital. Most of those who had not previously been tested had no particular reason for not doing so (57%); 24% of them felt it was not necessary or they were not at risk. HIV prevalence among male prison inmates was three times higher than the estimated OECS population prevalence in 2003, slightly higher than the prevalence among incarcerated males in the United States of America and Canada, and lower than that in other Caribbean countries in earlier years. Health information on prison populations is important as this is a vulnerable group, with frequent movement in and out of the general population. Preventative services, voluntary counselling and testing, and appropriate care and treatment should be available to all inmates as this is an opportunity for many who may not otherwise access these services.

  12. Identifying active interplate and intraplate fault zones in the western Caribbean plate from seismic reflection data and the significance of the Pedro Bank fault zone in the tectonic history of the Nicaraguan Rise

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ott, B.; Mann, P.

    2015-12-01

    The offshore Nicaraguan Rise in the western Caribbean Sea is an approximately 500,000 km2 area of Precambrian to Late Cretaceous tectonic terranes that have been assembled during the Late Cretaceous formation of the Caribbean plate and include: 1) the Chortis block, a continental fragment; 2) the Great Arc of the Caribbean, a deformed Cretaceous arc, and 3) the Caribbean large igneous province formed in late Cretaceous time. Middle Eocene to Recent eastward motion of the Caribbean plate has been largely controlled by strike-slip faulting along the northern Caribbean plate boundary zone that bounds the northern margin of the Nicaraguan Rise. These faults reactivate older rift structures near the island of Jamaica and form the transtensional basins of the Honduran Borderlands near Honduras. Recent GPS studies suggest that small amount of intraplate motion within the current margin of error of GPS measurements (1-3 mm/yr) may occur within the center of the western Caribbean plate at the Pedro Bank fault zone and Hess Escarpment. This study uses a database of over 54,000 km of modern and vintage 2D seismic data, combined with earthquake data and results from previous GPS studies to define the active areas of inter- and intraplate fault zones in the western Caribbean. Intraplate deformation occurs along the 700-km-long Pedro Bank fault zone that traverses the center of the Nicaraguan Rise and reactivates the paleo suture zone between the Great Arc of the Caribbean and the Caribbean large igneous province. The Pedro Bank fault zone also drives active extension at the 200-km-long San Andres rift along the southwest margin of the Nicaraguan Rise. Influence of the Cocos Ridge indentor may be contributing to reactivation of faulting along the southwesternmost, active segment of the Hess Escarpment.

  13. Bullying, mental health, and parental involvement among adolescents in the Caribbean.

    PubMed

    Abdirahman, H A; Bah, T T; Shrestha, H L; Jacobsen, K H

    2012-08-01

    To examine the relationships between peer victimization, mental health, and parental involvement among middle school students in the Caribbean. Data from the Global School-based Student Health Survey (GSHS) conducted in the Cayman Islands, St Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines, and Trinidad and Tobago in 2007 were analysed using age- and gender-adjusted logistic regression models. About one-quarter of the 6780 participants reported having been bullied in the past month. Rates of bullying were similar for boys and girls, and younger children reported higher rates of peer victimization. Nearly 25% of students reported sadness and hopelessness, more than 10% reported loneliness and anxiety and more than 15% reported having seriously considered suicide in the past year. Bullied students were much more likely than non-bullied students to report mental health issues (p < 0.01). Students who felt that their parents were understanding and monitored their free time activities reported fewer mental health issues and were somewhat less likely to report being a victim of a bully. The strong association between bullying and poor mental health in the Caribbean emphasizes the need to develop and implement strategies for reducing bullying among children and adolescents.

  14. Black versus Black: The Relationship among African, African American, and African Caribbean Persons.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Jackson, Jennifer V.; Cothran, Mary E.

    2003-01-01

    Surveyed people of African descent regarding relationships among African, African-American, and African-Caribbean persons, focusing on contact and friendship, travel to countries of the diaspora, cross-cultural communication, thoughts and stereotypes, and education. Most respondents had contacts with the other groups, but groups had preconceived…

  15. Soil biological community structure in coffee (Coffea arabica L.) agroecosystems in the Caribbean

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    Coffee production in the Caribbean and Latin America is an important commodity in terms of economic, ecologic and social value. Coffee production in Puerto Rico was intensified in the 1960s, with the shift to higher-yield varieties, increased use of pesticides and fertilizers, increased mechanizati...

  16. Indirect effects of overfishing on Caribbean reefs: sponges overgrow reef-building corals

    PubMed Central

    Loh, Tse-Lynn; McMurray, Steven E.; Henkel, Timothy P.; Vicente, Jan

    2015-01-01

    Consumer-mediated indirect effects at the community level are difficult to demonstrate empirically. Here, we show an explicit indirect effect of overfishing on competition between sponges and reef-building corals from surveys of 69 sites across the Caribbean. Leveraging the large-scale, long-term removal of sponge predators, we selected overfished sites where intensive methods, primarily fish-trapping, have been employed for decades or more, and compared them to sites in remote or marine protected areas (MPAs) with variable levels of enforcement. Sponge-eating fishes (angelfishes and parrotfishes) were counted at each site, and the benthos surveyed, with coral colonies scored for interaction with sponges. Overfished sites had >3 fold more overgrowth of corals by sponges, and mean coral contact with sponges was 25.6%, compared with 12.0% at less-fished sites. Greater contact with corals by sponges at overfished sites was mostly by sponge species palatable to sponge predators. Palatable species have faster rates of growth or reproduction than defended sponge species, which instead make metabolically expensive chemical defenses. These results validate the top-down conceptual model of sponge community ecology for Caribbean reefs, as well as provide an unambiguous justification for MPAs to protect threatened reef-building corals. An unanticipated outcome of the benthic survey component of this study was that overfished sites had lower mean macroalgal cover (23.1% vs. 38.1% for less-fished sites), a result that is contrary to prevailing assumptions about seaweed control by herbivorous fishes. Because we did not quantify herbivores for this study, we interpret this result with caution, but suggest that additional large-scale studies comparing intensively overfished and MPA sites are warranted to examine the relative impacts of herbivorous fishes and urchins on Caribbean reefs. PMID:25945305

  17. Indirect effects of overfishing on Caribbean reefs: sponges overgrow reef-building corals.

    PubMed

    Loh, Tse-Lynn; McMurray, Steven E; Henkel, Timothy P; Vicente, Jan; Pawlik, Joseph R

    2015-01-01

    Consumer-mediated indirect effects at the community level are difficult to demonstrate empirically. Here, we show an explicit indirect effect of overfishing on competition between sponges and reef-building corals from surveys of 69 sites across the Caribbean. Leveraging the large-scale, long-term removal of sponge predators, we selected overfished sites where intensive methods, primarily fish-trapping, have been employed for decades or more, and compared them to sites in remote or marine protected areas (MPAs) with variable levels of enforcement. Sponge-eating fishes (angelfishes and parrotfishes) were counted at each site, and the benthos surveyed, with coral colonies scored for interaction with sponges. Overfished sites had >3 fold more overgrowth of corals by sponges, and mean coral contact with sponges was 25.6%, compared with 12.0% at less-fished sites. Greater contact with corals by sponges at overfished sites was mostly by sponge species palatable to sponge predators. Palatable species have faster rates of growth or reproduction than defended sponge species, which instead make metabolically expensive chemical defenses. These results validate the top-down conceptual model of sponge community ecology for Caribbean reefs, as well as provide an unambiguous justification for MPAs to protect threatened reef-building corals. An unanticipated outcome of the benthic survey component of this study was that overfished sites had lower mean macroalgal cover (23.1% vs. 38.1% for less-fished sites), a result that is contrary to prevailing assumptions about seaweed control by herbivorous fishes. Because we did not quantify herbivores for this study, we interpret this result with caution, but suggest that additional large-scale studies comparing intensively overfished and MPA sites are warranted to examine the relative impacts of herbivorous fishes and urchins on Caribbean reefs.

  18. Seismic hazard maps of Mexico, the Caribbean, and Central and South America

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Tanner, J.G.; Shedlock, K.M.

    2004-01-01

    The growth of megacities in seismically active regions around the world often includes the construction of seismically unsafe buildings and infrastructures due to an insufficient knowledge of existing seismic hazard and/or economic constraints. Minimization of the loss of life, property damage, and social and economic disruption due to earthquakes depends on reliable estimates of seismic hazard. We have produced a suite of seismic hazard estimates for Mexico, the Caribbean, and Central and South America. One of the preliminary maps in this suite served as the basis for the Caribbean and Central and South America portion of the Global Seismic Hazard Map (GSHM) published in 1999, which depicted peak ground acceleration (pga) with a 10% chance of exceedance in 50 years for rock sites. Herein we present maps depicting pga and 0.2 and 1.0 s spectral accelerations (SA) with 50%, 10%, and 2% chances of exceedance in 50 years for rock sites. The seismicity catalog used in the generation of these maps adds 3 more years of data to those used to calculate the GSH Map. Different attenuation functions (consistent with those used to calculate the U.S. and Canadian maps) were used as well. These nine maps are designed to assist in global risk mitigation by providing a general seismic hazard framework and serving as a resource for any national or regional agency to help focus further detailed studies required for regional/local needs. The largest seismic hazard values in Mexico, the Caribbean, and Central and South America generally occur in areas that have been, or are likely to be, the sites of the largest plate boundary earthquakes. High hazard values occur in areas where shallow-to-intermediate seismicity occurs frequently. ?? 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  19. "Bad Talk" Made Good: Language Variety in Four Caribbean British Children's Poets

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lockwood, Michael

    2014-01-01

    This article looks at how four British-based poets born in the Caribbean exploit the rich language repertoire available to them in their work for children and young people. Following initial consideration of questions of definition and terminology, poetry collections by James Berry, John Agard, Grace Nichols and Valerie Bloom are discussed, with a…

  20. The Barriers to Achievement for White/Black Caribbean Pupils in English Schools

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Haynes, Jo; Tikly, Leon; Caballero, Chamion

    2006-01-01

    Pupils of White and Black Caribbean descent make up the largest category of mixed heritage pupils in the United Kingdom. As a group they are at risk of underachieving and are proportionally over-represented in school exclusions. Yet little is known to date about the barriers to their achievement. The common-sense explanation for their…