The peopling of the Bahamas: A phylogeographical perspective

During the past 500 years, the Bahamas has been influenced by a wide array of settlers, including but not limited to, the Arawak Indians, Eleutherian Adventurers, British Loyalists, Creole slaves, liberated Africans as well as Chinese, Greek, Jewish, Lebanese, Jamaican and Haitian migrants. To date, however, only a few reports analyzing the genetic makeup and population dynamics of the Bahamas have been published, making this work pivotal in the endeavor to ascertain the genetic ancestry of these groups. As such, the current investigation was undertaken to genetically characterize six of the more densely populated islands throughout the Northwest (Grand Bahama and Abaco) and Central (Eleuthera, Exuma, Long Island and New Providence) Bahamas using different forensic marker systems. When autosomal STR markers are employed, the Bahamian collections were all found to receive differential contributions from the African, European, East Asian and Native American collections utilized in the analyses. Similar findings were also observed for two other Afro-Caribbean populations, Haiti and Jamaica, although the latter populace was found to share a greater proportion of its autosomal component with non-African sources than the former. On the contrary, analysis of the six Bahamian collections using high-resolution Y-chromosome markers identifies genetic signals emanating exclusively from Africans and Europeans, but this is likely the result of smaller sample sizes collected from each island and/or sex-biased gene flow from East Asian and Native American groups.

Exiles, the Humanities, and Globalization

Panel discussion on the subject of exile literature and a society defined by globalization. Panelists include: Chenjerai Hove- Zimbabwean poet Dr. Martin Tucker- Professor Emeritus at Long Island University and leading scholar in Exile Studies Dr Asher Milbauer- Founder of FIU Exiles Studies Program Dr Nandini Dhar- professor at FIU's English Department Event held at the Green Library, Modesto Maidique Campus, Florida International University on October 30, 2013

Acoustic telemetry studies of bonefish (Albula vulpes ) movement around Andros Island, Bahamas: Implications for species management

Bonefish (Albula spp.) support an economically important catch-and-release recreational fishery, as well as artisanal harvesting, in The Bahamas. Little is known about the large-scale movement patterns of bonefish, yet such information is essential for proper species conservation and management. ^ I used acoustic telemetry to determine large-scale movement patterns of bonefish around Andros, Bahamas, in conjunction with presumed spawning migrations. I conclude that bonefish travel long distances from shallow flats to pre-spawning aggregation sites in proximity to off-shore reef locations. Off-shore movement to deeper reef locations occurs around both new and full moons. This study has also confirmed anecdotal reports that the North Bight is an important spawning migration corridor for bonefish. ^ This information is critical for the protection of bonefish and identifies important habitats (e.g. migration corridors and pre-spawning aggregations) on Andros that warrant protection from coastal degradation or fishing pressures. ^

The Monitoring and Assessment Plan (MAP) Greater Everglades Wetlands Module- Landscape Pattern- Ridge, Slough, and Tree Island Mosaics: Year 1 Annual Report

In the current managed Everglades system, the pre-drainage, patterned mosaic of sawgrass ridges, sloughs and tree islands has been substantially altered or reduced largely as a result of human alterations to historic ecological and hydrological processes that sustained landscape patterns. The pre-compartmentalization ridge and slough landscape was a mosaic of sloughs, elongated sawgrass ridges (50-200m wide), and tree islands. The ridges and sloughs and tree islands were elongated in the direction of the water flow, with roughly equal area of ridge and slough. Over the past decades, the ridge-slough topographic relief and spatial patterning have degraded in many areas of the Everglades. Nutrient enriched areas have become dominated by Typha with little topographic relief; areas of reduced flow have lost the elongated ridge-slough topography; and ponded areas with excessively long hydroperiods have experienced a decline in ridge prevalence and shape, and in the number of tree islands (Sklar et al. 2004, Ogden 2005).

Loaxahatchee Impoundment Landscape Assessment (LILA): Tree Island Experiments and Management; May 1, 2005 to September 4, 2009: Final Report

Hydrologic modifications have negatively impacted the Florida Everglades in numerous significant ways. The compartmentalization of the once continuously flowing system into the Water Conservation Areas (WCAs) caused disruption of the slow natural flow of water south from Lake Okeechobee through the Everglades to Florida Bay. The ponding of water in the WCAs, the linking of water flow to controlled water levels, and the management of water levels for anthropogenic vs. ecological well-being has caused a reduction in the spatial heterogeneity of the Everglades leading to greater uniformity in topography and vegetation. These effects are noticeable as the degradation in structure of the Everglades Ridge and Slough environment and associated Tree Islands. In aquatic systems water flow is of fundamental importance in shaping the structure and function of the ecosystem. The organized patterns of parallel orientation of ridges, sloughs, and tear-drop shaped tree islands along historic flow paths attest to the importance of water movement in structuring this system. Our main objective was to operate and manage the LILA facility to provide a broad potential as a research platform for an integrated group of multidisciplinary, multi-agency scientists collaborating on multifunctional studies aimed primarily at determining the effects of CERP water management scenarios on the ecology of tree islands and ridge and slough habitats. We support Everglades water management, CERP, and the Long-Term Plan by defining hydrologic regimes that sustain healthy tree islands and ridge and slough ecosystems. Information gained through this project will help to reduce the uncertainty of predicting the tree island and ridge and slough ecosystem response to changes in hydrologic conditions. Additionally, we have developed the LILA site as a visual example of Everglades restoration programs in action.

Everglades Ridge, Slough, and Tree Island Mosaics: Year 2 Annual Report

Status and history of the Ridge-Slough Mosaic The Florida Everglades is a large subtropical wetland with diverse hydrologic, edaphic, and vegetative characteristics. Historically, a significant portion of this system was a slow moving river originating from the Kissimmee River floodplain, flowing into the vast but shallow Lake Okeechobee, and draining south-southwest over extensive peatlands into Florida Bay (McVoy 2011). Human-induced alterations to the hydrologic regime, including reduction, stabilization, and impoundment of water flow through diversion and compartmentalization of water via canals and levees have degraded pre-drainage vegetation patterns and microtopographic structure (Davis and Ogden 1994, Ogden 2005, McVoy 2011). The Everglades peatland emerged 5,000 years ago with the stabilization of sea level at approximately current elevations (Loveless 1959, Gleason and Stone 1994). This, combined with subtropical rainfalls, allowed a vast mass of water to slowly flow over a limestone bedrock platform 160 km long and 50 km wide at a near uniform descent totaling about 6 m, ultimately reaching Florida Bay (Stephens 1956, Gleason and Stone 1994, McVoy 2011). Vegetation quickly colonized the area, and peat, in the absence of adequate respiration, accumulated on the limestone bedrock to a depth of 3-3.7 m (Gleason and Stone 1994, McVoy et al. 2011). The “River of Grass” referenced by Douglas (1947) alludes to the dually intertwined processes of the historic riverine nature of the Everglades and the vast sawgrass (Cladium jamaicense) communities that have dominated the landscape for about the last 1,000 years (Bernhardt and Willard 2009).

Acoustic Telemetry Studies of Bonefish (Albula vulpes) Movement Around Andros Island, Bahamas: Implications for Species Management

Bonefish (Albula spp.) support an economically important catch-and-release recreational fishery, as well as artisanal harvesting, in The Bahamas. Little is known about the large-scale movement patterns of bonefish, yet such information is essential for proper species conservation and management. I used acoustic telemetry to determine large-scale movement patterns of bonefish around Andros, Bahamas, in conjunction with presumed spawning migrations. I conclude that bonefish travel long distances from shallow flats to pre-spawning aggregation sites in proximity to off-shore reef locations. Off-shore movement to deeper reef locations occurs around both new and full moons. This study has also confirmed anecdotal reports that the North Bight is an important spawning migration corridor for bonefish. This information is critical for the protection of bonefish and identifies important habitats (e.g. migration corridors and pre-spawning aggregations) on Andros that warrant protection from coastal degradation or fishing pressures.