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SAVE THE BLUES
Tuesday May 20th & Wednesday May 21st
at
GOVERNORS SQUARE
IS DONATING 10% OF ALL SALES
TO THE BLUE IGUANA RECOVERY PROGRAMME
PLEASE JOIN US IN SUPPORTING AN IMPORTANT CAUSE
REWARD FUND FOR THE BLUE IGUANAS 15 May 2008 Thanks to the heartfelt contributions from the community we have reached the $11,000 reward total in relation to reward offered by Cayman Crime Stoppers in regards to the fatal attacks on seven Grand Cayman Blue Iguanas on 3 May, 2008. Thank you for your support: Andrew Moon Andy Roenick Artifacts Cayman Lenscrafters Ltd Crystal Hennings David and Janet Robinson Divetech DMS Hay Electric Ltd Jennifer Hunter McGladrey & Pullen, Cayman Michael & Peggy Church Mike’s Ice Ltd Padraig Hoare Redsail Sports Ltd Simon Garnett Susan Dasher The Machine Shop Webster’s Tours Ltd We would also like to say a huge thank you to all who have contributed to the Blue Iguana Recovery Programme and to all the supporters and volunteers who continue to work tirelessly to fundraise for the Blue Iguanas. There are young Blue Iguanas that we must protect and need your help more than ever so please continue to give generously.
LAST CALL TO REMOVE BATS FROM THE ROOF 30 April 2008
Now is the time to remove bats from your roof, before the new generation is born in June. Phone the Wildlife Hotline at 917-BIRD, call the National Trust office at 940-0121 or contact info@caymanwildlife.org for free information and advice about removing bats from buildings safely and permanently. The procedure is cheap, easy and effective, but it cannot be done during the months of June, July, August, September, or October. Anyone planning to remove bats from the roof should do so immediately, within the next few weeks, or postpone plans until November.
“We understand that many people are afraid of bats and we want to help calm their fears.” stated Lois Blumenthal, Coordinator of the Caribbean Bat Conservation Project for Bat Conservation International (www.batcon.org ) and director of local bat conservation for the National Trust, “Even though bats are not dangerous and do not pose a health threat, they should still be removed from roof spaces to avoid odour problems.” Ms. Blumenthal further explained that baby bats do not fly for several months after birth. “They remain behind while their mothers go out to feed on insects. Often people first notice that the bats are in the roof during the summer when the noisier young ‘pups’ are present. When the mother bats return in the quiet early morning hours, these baby bats become very excited and squeaky. People hear this squeaking and they understandably want to get the bats out of the house. Because the babies aren’t flying yet, it is impossible to safely remove the bats until November.
“With the Cooperation of Caribbean Utilities Co Ltd (CUC), Ron Moser’s Machine Shop and extensive volunteer labour, there are now over 60 bat houses distributed in all the districts of Grand Cayman.” Ms. Blumenthal explained that all these bat houses provide alternative habitat so bats don’t try to live in people’s roof spaces.
Homeowners can remove bats themselves using the instructions provide by the National Trust or hire professionals like Truly Nolan Pest control. Mr. Ken Smith, owner of Truly Nolan, commented, “Our methods work with flying bats. Until the young bats learn to fly, there is no way to safely remove them from the roof. Attempts to plug the holes that bats are using can backfire and force bats to enter the living quarters of people as they try to find a way back outside.”
Contact the National Trust to arrange a free slide show about bats and their benefits. This slide show can be adapted to all ages, from pre-school to adults and features unusual full colour pictures of Cayman’s bats as well as bats from all over the world. Free information sheets are also available on www.caymanwildlife.org or from the office of the National Trust. PHOTO: Dr. Merlin Tuttle, Bat Conservation International - www.batcon.org
CABLE AND WIRELESS RENEWS SPONSORSHIP OF CAYMAN WILDLIFE RESCUE HOTLINE 22 April 2008 Cable & Wireless recently renewed its sponsorship of the Cayman Wildlife Rescue Hotline 917–BIRD, a vital link in the rescue and rehabilitation of injured, sick or orphaned wildlife.
“The public may contact one of our dedicated volunteers regarding a wildlife emergency for immediate care and support. We are pleased that Cable & Wireless has renewed its sponsorship of our hotline.” C&W Chief Executive Timothy Adam encouraged the public to use the hotline. “It’s available for Wildlife Emergencies 24/7 weekdays, weekends and holidays.” As development continues in Cayman, its wildlife is in jeopardy. Cayman has many endemic species found only here and it’s imperative that every individual is protected, the release noted. Cayman Wildlife Rescue rehabilitates rescued wildlife for release back into the wild. “We are completely staffed by volunteers and 100 per cent financed by donations from the public. Support from the community and local businesses will ensure we can continue our efforts,” said Ms Corbett. Cayman Wildlife Rescue encourages public to call its hotline 917–BIRD if they find any wildlife in trouble. Visit the website www.caymanwildliferescue.org for more information. Cayman Wildlife Rescue is a programme of the National Trust for the Cayman Islands. PHOTO: Alison Corbett, project manager of Cayman Wildlife Rescue and C&W Chief Executive Timothy Adam. Photo: Submitted
PLAYTIME FOR PARROTS-CAYMAN WILDLIFE RESCUE 17 April 2008
SUMMER CAMP 2008 16 April 2008
CAYMAN CRAB FLY REVISITED 10 April 2008 The National Trust is always pleased to assist visiting scientists, in the hopes that their research will lead to a broader understanding of Cayman's natural heritage. In 2006, a team of scientists from the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology in Germany contacted the Trust for help in locating Gecarcinus ruricola, the black and orange land crab. Further communication resulted in a visit by the scientists in January 2007. They were intent on re-discovering the Cayman Crab Fly, Drosophila endobranchia, which hadn't been seen since the 1960s. With the help of the National Trust, the Institute's scientists identified areas with suitable habitat for the crab, which in turn, is the only habitat for the Crab Fly. Flies were collected and transported back to Germany to be analyzed on a morphological level. The release announcing their report is included below: For the published article visit this link.
At home on a crab, with new evolutionary neighbors The members of Drosophilidae, a family consisting of about 3000 species, are often referred to as fruit flies although most of the members feed on microbes. As microbes can be found growing on a wide range of substrates, fruit flies can accordingly also be found in a multitude of habitats. One of the more bizarre choices of breeding substrates comes from Drosophila endobranchia. This species is one out of three known fruit flies that have found a home on (and inside) land-crabs. Although frequently mentioned in biology textbooks, the crab flies have somewhat surprisingly been neglected in active research since their description. D. endobranchia has actually not even been seen since its initial discovery in 1966. In January 2007, scientists from Bill Hansson’s group at the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology, Germany, managed to relocate these elusive flies on Grand Cayman in the Caribbean (the sole known home of this species), where small fragmented populations still persist in the few remaining patches of suitable habitats. Concomitant with the insects’ re-exploration, a long-standing question regarding D. endobranchia’s evolutionary position within the Drosophilidae, disputed since its discovery due to a conflicting set of morphological characteristics, was resolved, based on a new comprehensive molecular and morphological analysis. Surprisingly, the Cayman crab flies are quite closely related to the other Caribbean crab fly, Drosophila carcinophila, suggesting that something in their shared ancestry has made these flies more suitable for this most unconventional lifestyle. A well known species of the Drosophilidae family is the fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster, model organism for genetic studies since decades. There are also three members of the family, D. endobranchia, D. carcinophila, and Lissocephala powelli, which are known to fulfill all or parts of their life cycle on land crabs, and each of them in different areas of the globe. While Lissocephala powelli seems to be restricted to the Christmas Island in the Indian Ocean, the other two species appear at different locations of the Caribbean. D. endobranchia, the least described of the three, was last seen on the Cayman Islands in 1966. The phylogenetic position of this species, i.e. the place it occupies in the tree of life, has remained disputed. Therefore, Marcus Stensmyr and colleagues decided to relocate this species in the Cayman Islands in order to re-define the phylogeny of this organism with current molecular techniques and shed light on the evolutionary history of this interesting trait. A search for the Cayman crab flies in 2007 was successful, leading to the collection of 66 specimens. The phylogeny of this species was determined with the aid of molecular biology, which allowed the Max Planck researchers to place D. endobranchia within the canalinea species group, a little known Neotropical group of forest dwelling flies that belongs to the large repleta radiation that also includes D. carcinophila, the second Caribbean crab fly. “It is intriguing that two species in the same lineage evolved the same odd choice of breeding substrate,” says Marcus Stensmyr, “it makes us wonder which aspects of their shared ancestry allow them to survive and thrive in this most specialized environment”. ### The Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology in Jena, Germany, consists of five departments constituting five independent working areas. The Department of Evolutionary Neuroethology by Prof. Bill S. Hansson was inaugurated in April 2006. It concentrates on the functional and evolutionary analysis of arthropod chemosensory systems. In addition, two departments focus on plant biology: Molecular Ecology (headed by Prof. Ian T. Baldwin) and Biochemistry (Prof. Jonathan Gershenzon). The department of Bioorganic Chemistry (Prof. Wilhelm Boland) specializes in chemosynthesis protocols and analytical techniques, and the department of Entomology (Prof. David G. Heckel) focuses on insect genomics. Two independent Service Groups (Mass Spectrometry and Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy) support the scientists from all five departments with further analytical skills and measurement services.
CAVES NEED PROTECTION, SAYS EXPERT 4 March, 2008 According to visiting scientist, Dr. Merlin D. Tuttle of Bat Conservation International, caves in the Cayman Islands are a valuable resource with a variety of uses. “There are some very beautiful caves on all three Cayman Islands that have potential as tourism attractions as well as being valuable habitat for your nine species of bats. The islands are losing these resources at an alarming rate when house lots and roads are filled without first surveying for caves”, says Dr. Tuttle. During his visit last month Dr. Tuttle met with local officials and gave presentations on all three islands. His message emphasised the enormous insect-control benefits of retaining healthy bat populations and the unforeseen consequences of losing those bats. Hurricane Ivan severely depleted bird and bat populations on Grand Cayman and one consequence has been the loss of a large number of ficus trees in the years following the storm. While Dr. Tuttle was reluctant to be specific since he was not aware of any studies on the problem, the larvae of moths are in all likelihood the species destroying the trees and were once effectively controlled by bats. Dr. Tuttle commended the National Trust’s Bat Conservation Program, especially the Bat House Partnership with CUC and Ron Moser, but noted that the bat houses only provide habitat for one species. The other eight kinds of bats here need caves and forest habitat to survive. Different species of bats specialize in eating different types of insects – so loss of a cave-dwelling species like the Big-eared bat could result in population surges in certain large moths and beetles not controlled by the bat-house bats.
Dr. Tuttle’s visit was a part of the National Trust Visiting Scientist Programme, a programme jointly sponsored by the National Trust, Cayman Airways, Pirate’s Point Little Cayman, the Lockwood family and the Blumenthal family. Sponsors of the National Trust Bat Conservation Program include Cable & Wireless, Truly Nolan, Marriott Resorts, Ambassadors for the Environment, Cathy Church, Courtney Platt, the Darwin Initiative and the CI Dept. of Environment, Cayman Wildlife Rescue and California WebWise. For more on the Bat Conservation Program, to find out how you can help or for assistance with safe, humane and environmentally sound bat removal from roofs, contact the National Trust at 949-0121, the Wildlife Hotline at 917-BIRD or email info@nationaltrust.org.ky The National Trust for the Cayman Islands is a non-profit organisation that aims to preserve environmental and historic sites of significance in the Cayman Islands for present and future generations. For more information on the Trust and fundraising opportunities please contact the National Trust on 949-0121 or email info@nationaltrust.org.ky Photo caption: Dr. Merlin D. Tuttle, National Trust Visiting Scientist from Bat Conservation International with a slide of the Big-eared bat known to eat thousands of moths nightly in the Cayman Islands. Photo credit: Courtney Platt - www.courtneyplatt.com
GOLD SPONSORS OF THE NATIONAL TRUST 15 February, 2008 To launch the National Trust’s Corporate Membership programme Butterfield Bank, Greenlight Re and Walkers have joined the Trust as 2008 Gold Sponsors. In addition to standard membership benefits such as use of the National Trust library and Research Centre, discounts on all in-store merchandise and priority booking on National Trust activities, Gold Sponsors are entitled to additional benefits such as their logo on the National Trust website and on all Trust publications, individual memberships for employees and complimentary Trust presentations. As Gold Sponsors, Butterfield Bank, Greenlight Re and Walkers each receive a plaque acknowledging their efforts in supporting the National Trust for the Cayman Islands.
“We have a wish list of projects and programmes that need financial support such as Eldemire House, the Mastic Trail and the Blue Iguana Recovery Programme. Each month we fundraise for specific projects and this month we are raising money for Nurse Leila’s House and Uncle Sammy’s Pond, both in West Bay,” added Ms. Key. Butterfield Bank, Greenlight Re and Walkers are the first three organisations to enroll on the 2008 Corporate Membership programme and their support will enable the Trust to continue its efforts to preserve environmental and historical sites of importance in the Cayman Islands for present and future generations. It is hoped their involvement will encourage others organisations to join the National Trust. Butterfield Bank’s Monique Bush commented, “We are proud to assist the National Trust in their continued efforts toward the preservation and enhancement of our Island and people. We hope that our partnership will not only add valuable financial resources but will also provide opportunities to lend hands-on support throughout the year as well.” “Greenlight Re is proud to be associated with the National Trust for the Cayman Islands, and especially the Blue Iguana Recovery Program. We support Fred Burton’s vision to save this unique symbol of the Cayman Islands with funding and with our employee’s time and effort. We invite other members of the corporate community to get involved”, said Len Goldberg, CEO of Greenlight Re. Walkers' partner, Mark Lewis, stated "We are pleased to support the National Trust's Blue Iguana Recovery Programme. In 2003 we created a children's toy in the likeness of the Blue Iguana to promote Walkers and the Cayman Islands at overseas conferences. Our Blue Iguanas became so popular that they are now an integral part of Walkers' global marketing campaigns and are produced on a yearly basis as a tool for raising awareness about this endangered species. In addition to our annual donation, we also contribute a number of the Blue Iguana toys to the National Trust and National Gallery gift shops each year. All profits from the sale of the toys go towards educational arts and conservation programmes in the Cayman Islands. The Blue Iguana is an important part of our heritage and it is part of our responsibility to help ensure that this rare species will survive for generations to come." The National Trust for the Cayman Islands is a non-profit organisation that aims to preserve environmental and historic sites of significance in the Cayman Islands for present and future generations. For more information on membership and sponsorship opportunities please contact the National Trust on 949-0121 or email info@nationaltrust.org.ky Photo: Representatives from Butterfield Bank, Greenlight Re and Walkers receive their plaques from the National Trust
OFF THE WALL DIVERS SUPPORTS NATIONAL TRUST 8 February, 2008 Off the Wall Divers, a local dive operation based in Grand Cayman has recently shown their support for the National Trust for the Cayman Islands by becoming a bronze corporate member of the non-profit organisation and donating the free use of their boats for the various community activities put on by the Trust.
“It is important that the local dive industry enhance guest awareness and appreciation of the local marine environment and to participate in local conservation efforts. We are pleased to be a corporate member of the National Trust and hope many more will follow suit”, he added. Caroline Key, Development & Marketing Manager for the National Trust commented, “Off the Wall Divers have been firm supporters of the Trust for a number of years. It is thanks to help from companies such as theirs that we can hope to achieve our goal to preserve the Cayman Islands for present and future generations”. Off the Wall Divers also offer the free use of their boats for the National Trust mangrove tours which run throughout the month. To reserve a space please call the Trust on 949-0121 or visit www.nationaltrust.org.ky for a full calendar of events. In addition to mangrove tours, bird watching excursions and guided Mastic Trail hikes the National Trust also offers historic walking tours, cooking classes and guided tours of Mission House, a recreation of an 1800’s Caymanian homestead located in Bodden Town. The National Trust has also launched two new activities: ‘What is there to SEA in the GRASS?’, an interactive activity that includes a presentation at Trust House, South Sound, followed by a snorkel across a seagrass meadow, and ‘Creepy Crawly Flighty Friends’, where guests are invited to discover the insect world through the National Trust’s new digital microscope. The National Trust for the Cayman Islands is a non-profit organisation that aims to preserve environmental and historic sites of significance in the Cayman Islands for present and future generations. For more information on membership and sponsorship opportunities please contact the National Trust on 949-0121 or email info@nationaltrust.org.ky Photo: Danny Kupkowski, Off The Wall Divers
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Ms. Blumenthal explained that roof-dwelling bats are helpful to humans in many ways, including the control of mosquitoes, beetles and moths. “Bats have already lost most of their wild habitat, but only this one species has found homes in roof spaces. Fruit bats have never been found roosting in roofs and do not use bat houses. All bats living in roof spaces here are insect-eating bats. Species of bats are as different and varied as birds, and each fills a different role in the ecology. Most species of bats need forests and caves to survive and cannot live in bat houses, but the bat houses relieve the problem of the Velvety Free-tailed Bat trying to enter roofs. The Cayman Islands have nine entirely different species of bats, and they are our only native mammals. They are not rodents and are more closely related to monkeys than to mice.” 
Off the Wall Divers, owned by Mr. Danny Kupkowski, has been operational since 1991. In that time he has been a consistent supporter of the National Trust. “The preservation efforts of the National Trust are tireless and they offer many programs that educate the community on the importance of protecting the biodiversity of Cayman”, said Mr. Kupkowski.| |
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