Clues in sediments show that once humans arrived on Great Abaco Island, they hunted large reptiles to extinction and burned the old hardwoods and palms, leading to new pine- and mangrove-dominated lands.
Caribbean
Posted inNews
Taíno Stilt Houses May Have Been an Adaptation to Climate Change
A coastal village in the Caribbean flourished during a period of increased hurricanes. Research suggests the Taíno designed their dwellings to persist through the greater storm surges.
Posted inNews
Empeora la Crisis Hídrica en el Caribe Oriental
Científicos, políticos y pobladores temen que la actual escasez de agua y los largos períodos de sequía puedan empeorar a medida que cambie el clima y que el Acuerdo de París se haya quedado corto.
Posted inScience Updates
By Land or Sea: How Did Mammals Get to the Caribbean Islands?
A multidisciplinary team is jointly investigating mammal evolution and subduction dynamics to unravel how flightless land mammals migrated to the Greater Antilles and other Caribbean islands.
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Saint Lucia Works to Release Itself from Sargassum’s Stranglehold
Nearly 10 years ago, Caribbean beaches experienced a sudden onslaught of Sargassum. Today residents continue to explore ways to mitigate the seaweed’s damage to local health and livelihoods.
Posted inNews
Scientists Support Local Activities to Rescue the Mesoamerican Reef
The reef’s report card analyzed 286 sites in Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, and Honduras. Communities, scientists, and governments are working to improve coral and ecosystem resilience.
Posted inNews
Severe Cyclones May Have Played a Role in the Maya Collapse
Sediment cores from the Great Blue Hole reveal that a series of extreme storms hit the region after 900. The storms may have irreparably damaged an already stressed Maya population.
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Worsening Water Crisis in the Eastern Caribbean
Scientists, policy makers, and residents are concerned that ongoing water shortages and longer periods of drought may worsen as the climate changes and that the Paris Agreement has fallen short.
Posted inNews
How Conflict Influenced Land Use in Colombia
Researchers use new maps and statistical techniques to infer how armed conflict influenced land cover in the understudied Caribbean region of the country.
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Satellite Data Reveal Growth and Decline of Sargassum
High nutrient levels in 2018 resulted in a nearly 9,000-kilometer belt of Sargassum, a seaweed critical to many marine animals but also a nuisance when it washes up on shorelines, new results reveal.