International Journal of Bahamian Studies
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Red Lionfish (Pterois volitans) Invade San Salvador, Bahamas: No Early Effects on Coral and Fish Communities
Get PDFBiological invaders are a leading contributor to global losses of biodiversity. A recent invader to the waters surrounding San Salvador, Bahamas, the red lionfish, Pterois volitans, was first reported in 2006; by 2009 they were common in waters 2-40 m deep around the island. Our study collected data on coral communities and fish assemblages at three patch reef complexes (Rice Bay, Rocky Point, Lindsay Reef) in 2007, during the initial phase of the invasion, and compared the results to a nearly identical study done in 2001 before P. volitans colonized San Salvador. Prey selection and quantity of consumption by P. volitans were also examined. Coral and fish species richness, diversity, percent cover (corals) and abundance (fish) were similar in 2001 and 2007. Of the 5,078 fish recorded during our study on shallow patch reefs, only two were P. volitans, but they were more prevalent in deeper water along San Salvador’s “wall.” Captured P. volitans ranged in size from 19-32 cm, all longer than maturity length. Pallid goby (Coryphopterus eidolon), black cap basslet (Gramma melacara) and red night shrimp (Rynchocienetes rigens) were the most commonly identified stomach contents. The effects of the successful invasion and increasing population of P. volitans on San Salvador’s reef ecosystem are uncertain at this time; future monitoring of potential changes in coral and fish communities on the patch reefs of San Salvador is recommended to determine if population control measures need to be considered. Initial post-invasion data (2007), along with pre-invasion data (2001), are valuable benchmarks for future studies
A Range Extension of the Social Wasp Polistes Bahamensis (Hymenoptera: Vespidae)
Get PDFShort report on the discovery of the social wasp polistes Bahamensis located on Great Inagua
Art Music by Caribbean Composers: Bahamas
Get PDFThe cultural identity of the Bahamas owes much to its West African and British colonial heritages and to its physical proximity to the United States. A combination of African and European elements - rhyming spirituals, anthems, rushin' music at watch-night services, wake and setting-up songs; ringplays, fire dance, jump-in-dance, quadrille music (rake-‘n’-scrape music), goombay, and junkanoo - can be seen in musical traditions throughout the Caribbean, including art music
Dengue Fever: An Emerging Infectious Disease in The Bahamas
Get PDFDengue fever is an emerging infectious disease that is increasing in prevalence in many geographic regions, including the Caribbean. It is the most common arboviral (vector-borne) disease in the world, and infects more that 50 million people annually worldwide. The etiological agent of dengue fever is one of four serotypes of the Dengue virus (DENV1 – DENV4). The infection is transmitted via a human-mosquito-human route, when one or more species of the Aedes mosquito takes a blood meal from an infected host and then feeds on a person who is uninfected. There is no vaccine or cure for dengue fever. Dengue fever is a growing cause for concern in The Bahamas. This year the incidence of dengue fever reached epidemic proportions in The Bahamas. This article will explore the etiology and epidemiology of dengue fever, and offer some insight into how future the Bahamas can begin to develop strategies for the eradication of dengue fever
Corpus Linguistic Studies of Standard Bahamian English: A Comparative Study of Newspaper Usage
Get PDFWhile several studies have studied the unique features of Bahamian Creole, there have been to date no academic studies analysing Standard Bahamian English, the language of formal communication in the Bahamas. This study fills this gap in the literature. Using the methods of corpus linguistics, the study presents some of the unique features of Standard Bahamian English in comparison to other international variants of English, specifically British, American, and Jamaican English. For methodological purposes the texts analysed are limited to the genre of newspaper reportage. Features analysed include keywords and word counts
Climate Change and Caribbean Small Island States: The State of Play
Get PDFStudies have indicated that climate change is likely to have dramatic negative effects for Caribbean small island developing states. This article considers the main economic effects that climate change is anticipated to have in these vulnerable states, charts the progress of international negotiations at the 2009 Copenhagen conference, and provides a brief analysis of the impact of the Copenhagen Accord on Caribbean Small Island Developing States (SIDS).
Although climate change has traditionally been seen solely as an environmental issue, its economic effects on vulnerable developing nations, such as Caribbean SIDS, forces a re-definition of climate change to that of a more complex union of environmental and developmental issues for these states. By highlighting some of the anticipated economic effects of climate change for Caribbean SIDS, the author aims to provide a broader context for the issue of climate change for Caribbean SIDS
Another Look at a Bahamian Mystery: The Murder of Sir Harry Oakes
Get PDFStop me if you've heard this one:
The richest man in the Bahamas, no, the richest man in the British empire, is murdered in his bed. He has suffered a fatal head wound caused by a boat's winch lever. Or by bullets from a small-caliber gun. No, by a conch shell. Or by some blunt object close at hand, still unidentified.
The rich man's body is set afire in order to burn down his house and conceal the details of the crime. Or as a diversionary tactic, to confuse the authorities. No, in a voodoo ritual.
The killer is his son-in-law. Or his houseguest. Or a mafia hitman.
The reason for the murder: to eliminate a powerful opponent of casino gambling. Or to prevent this rich man from leaving the Bahamas with his businesses and wealth. Or to avenge the rich man's resentment of his daughter's choice of husband. Or to steal the enormous horde of gold reported to be hidden in his house.
The richest man in the Bahamas (if not the whole Empire) was Sir Harry Oakes, who earned his fortune from gold prospecting and spent the rest of his life avoiding the tax man. He was found murdered in the morning of 8 July 1943, having been killed sometime after midnight during a summer thunderstorm. His body, bearing four lethal head wounds and burns from the fire, was discovered the next morning by his close friend and houseguest, Harold Christie, an influential Bahamian estate agent.
Add to this cast of characters a smooth-operating Mauritian (Alfred de Marigny) married to Oakes' young daughter; a former King of England (the Duke of Windsor), now forced to serve this tiny colonial outpost; and the Duke's scandalous wife (the Duchess of Windsor), for whom he renounced his crown.
Also, factor in the war raging around the globe. France had recently fallen to the Nazis; German U-boats patrolled the Atlantic; and the shortages and other exigencies of wartime were the rule.
The trial of Alfred deMarigny, Oakes' son-in-law, made international news and his eventual acquittal left the case unsolved -- it remains unsolved today. Let us not forget the recurring legend of all the “unexplained killings of people directly, or indirectly, involved” with the Harry Oakes murder. (Marquis 6)
This may sound too good to be true. It may sound like the plot to a best-selling pot-boiler. And it all serves to explain the continuing interest in the murder of Sir Harry Oakes, often referred to, hyperbolically (and hyperbole is in no short supply in the coverage of the murder), as "the crime of the century." (deMarigny 41
Arendt’s Children in the Bahamian Context: The Children of Migrants Without Status
Get PDFIn this increasingly globalized world, with hundreds of millions of people living outside the country of their birth, and States guarding their sovereign right to control membership ever more closely, the number of children without secure citizenship status is on the rise. This article is a case study of non-citizen children in the Bahamas, focusing specifically on children born of Haitian parents without status, “Arendt’s children”. It examines how the Bahamas, a State party to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), fails to consider adequately the best interests of the Bahamian-born non-citizen child in its laws and policies. It analyses how the Bahamas’ ratification of relevant human rights treaties translates into practice at the domestic level and concludes with an examination of ways in which Arendt’s children might be integrated into the Bahamian polity
A Preliminary Investigation of the Prevalence of Corporal Punishment of Children and Selected Co-occurring Behaviours in Households on New Providence, The Bahamas
Get PDFThe purpose of this study was to examine the link between violence in homes, focusing on corporal punishment of children as a means of discipline, and other behaviours (including sexual abuse, illegal drug use, domestic violence, hitting of pets) which may be a cause for concern. This paper reports the results of a survey of 933 people and 12 case studies. Violence, physical or domestic, occurred in 62% of survey participants’ homes. The survey indicated that in respondents’ homes many children were physically hurt as a means of discipline. Children were spanked in 77% of homes with children, pets were hit in 25% of homes with pets, and domestic violence was found in 23% of homes. These findings suggest that those who use violence in their homes may not understand the wider and longer-term consequences of their actions for both victims and society. Case study participants seemed to view only severe physical violence as abuse. They also appeared reluctant to report abuse to the authorities which can hamper the efforts to curb violence in home