UNASSIGNED: The Eastern Caribbean island of Dominica has experienced diverse negative effects from the North Atlantic hurricane season, including deadly storms like Hurricane Maria in 2017. Vulnerability is increased by geographic location, small island developing state (SIDS) status, and ecosystem characteristics. A variety of negative health effects including stress and anxiety are caused by powerful storms. The perspectives of middle-aged (the \"sandwich generation\") survivors in this post-storm milieu are understudied.
UNASSIGNED: This phenomenological qualitative study describes the perceptions of middle-aged (35-55 years) Dominicans, purposively recruited with gatekeeper assistance from communities stratified according to four natural hazard vulnerability categories designated by the Climate Resilience Execution Agency for Dominica (CREAD), regarding their lived experiences in the context of severe storms. Data was collected between June and August 2022, using primarily Zoom-based semi-structured, individual interviews (12 of 13), guided by the principles of saturation and maximum variation. Verbatim interview transcripts were thematically analyzed with constant comparison using an ATLAS.ti-supported hybrid deductive-inductive coding frame. Reflexivity and contact summary sheets were used to minimize bias.
UNASSIGNED: Ten women and three men from diverse CREAD vulnerability and sociodemographic backgrounds were recruited. Data condensation yielded three organizing themes: (i) \"The diverse health effects of severe storms\", (ii) \"Response to and recovery from severe storms\", and (iii) \"Preparedness and precaution for severe storms\". These themes encapsulated the health impacts of severe storms on Dominicans and elucidated the role of facilitating and barricading resilience factors.
UNASSIGNED: Severe storms produced direct and indirect mental, social, and physical health impacts on middle-aged Dominicans, including anxiety and burnout. Participants used faith-based, tangible community-based support, and emotional mechanisms to cope with and demonstrate resilience. Better risk communication and early warning systems would improve population readiness. Persistent dispirited attitudes toward storm preparedness among some participants suggest the need for targeted methods to enhance community involvement in disaster planning, including traditional approaches like \"coup-de-main\" (self-help).

Anoles are a widely distributed group of reptiles that are also increasing in popularity as a pet animal. These species have been described as paratenic and intermediate hosts for many parasites of veterinary and medical importance. However, while human and animals such as cats and dogs may often interact with anoles, little research has been conducted in terms of assessing the full potential of anoles to harbor parasites of public and veterinary health significance. The current study analyzed the parasites of anoles captured and dissected in St. Kitts, West Indies, to describe the parasitic population within these reptiles and evaluate the potential role of anoles as intermediate/paratenic hosts. From March until May of 2019, samples from 11 anoles were collected following humane euthanasia and evaluated grossly, histologically, and molecularly for the presence of parasites. Histologic evaluation revealed adult ascarids, oxyurids, and spirurids within the stomach, as well as intraluminal adult ascarids within the intestine, and encysted larval trematodes within the intestinal wall. Molecular analysis based on 18S rRNA and ITS2 DNA markers for nematodes and trematodes, respectively, identified Physaloptera sp. (99.4-99.8% identical with Physaloptera turgida, Physaloptera mirandai, Physaloptera retusa, Physaloptera rara) and Platynosomum illiciens (99.7% identical). Phylogenetic analysis of ITS 2 sequences of P. illiciens from this study cladded monophyletically with the same species from different geographic areas and hosts. Our study highlights the importance of understanding the role anoles play in the life cycles of less well-studied parasites, and the potential of these animals to act as intermediate or paratenic hosts.

Managing abandoned, lost and otherwise discarded fishing gear (ALDFG) is a critical challenge that can be aided by the establishment of strong provisions for the marking of gear. This study presents an analysis of implementation of the VGMFG in Eastern Caribbean states. It provides a socio-legal review of this issues and an analysis of compliance and implementation gaps. Empirical data was gathered through interviews with 56 fishers in 2 jurisdictions as well as 6 national and regional fisheries management experts. Antigua and Barbuda\'s Fisheries Regulations provided the strongest support to implementation of the VGMFG, while neither Dominica nor Grenada had weak regulatory support for gear marking. Both fishers and fisheries managers in the region confirmed compliance and implementation gaps in the establishment of gear marking schemes, while regional fisheries experts highlighted the limited human, financial and infrastructural capacity of departments to effectively implement such schemes along with other ALDFG management measures.

The ability to quantify nature\'s value for tourism has significant implications for natural resource management and sustainable development policy. This is especially true in the Eastern Caribbean, where many countries are embracing the concept of the Blue Economy. The utilization of user-generated content (UGC) to understand tourist activities and preferences, including the use of artificial intelligence and machine learning approaches, remains at the early stages of development and application. This work describes a new effort which has modelled and mapped multiple nature dependent sectors of the tourism industry across five small island nations. It makes broad use of UGC, while acknowledging the challenges and strengthening the approach with substantive input, correction, and modification from local experts. Our approach to measuring the nature-dependency of tourism is practical and scalable, producing data, maps and statistics of sufficient detail and veracity to support sustainable resource management, marine spatial planning, and the wider promotion of the Blue Economy framework.

This paper uses volcanic eruptions on the Caribbean islands of Montserrat and Saint Vincent to explore the role that British colonial rule in the past and near past (1800-2000) has played in response to and recovery from hazardous events, and in turn, the influence that the nature of the hazards has on these responses. It shows that systemic vulnerabilities to natural hazards have been created by inadequate aid responses and longer-term chronic problems and demonstrates that hazard impacts are compounded by them. Vulnerabilities could be reduced by analysing integrated hazard impacts to generate mitigative measures across hazards and identify actions that more closely match timescales of political decision-making. Incorporating local knowledge and experience into risk analysis will enable the most effective use of aid resources, ahead of emergencies. Finally, coupling aid for long-term development with emergency response would improve outcomes and adaptation to longer-term vulnerabilities in immediate rebuilding and short-term recovery.

Distributed in tropical and warm-temperate waters worldwide, Lobophora species are found across the Greater Caribbean (i.e., Caribbean sensu stricto, Gulf of Mexico, Florida, the Bahamas, and Bermuda). We presently discuss the diversity, ecology, biogeography, and evolution of the Greater Caribbean Lobophora species based on previous studies and an extensive number of samples collected across the eastern, southern, and to a lesser extent western Caribbean. A total of 18 Lobophora species are now documented from the Greater Caribbean, of which five are newly described (L. agardhii sp. nov., L. dickiei sp. nov., L. lamourouxii sp. nov., L. richardii sp. nov., and L. setchellii sp. nov.). Within the Greater Caribbean, the eastern Caribbean and the Central Province are the most diverse ecoregion and province (16 spp.), respectively. Observed distribution patterns indicate that Lobophora species from the Greater Caribbean have climate affinities (i.e., warm-temperate vs. tropical affinities). In total, 11 Lobophora species exclusively occur in the Greater Caribbean; six are present in the western Atlantic; two in the Indo-Pacific; and one in the eastern Pacific. Biogeographic analyses support that no speciation occurred across the Isthmus of Panama, and that the Greater Caribbean acted as a recipient region for species from the Indo-Pacific and as a region of diversification as well as a donor region to the North-eastern Atlantic. The Greater Caribbean is not an evolutionary dead end for Lobophora, but instead generates and exports diversity. Present results illustrate how sampling based on DNA identification is reshaping biogeographic patterns, as we know them.

This study measured the concentration of total mercury (THg) and selenium (Se), and calculated the Se:Hg molar ratios in the muscle, blubber, liver, and kidney of small cetaceans (false killer whale, Pseudorca crassidens; killer whale, Orcinus orca; Risso\'s dolphin, Grampus griseus; short-finned pilot whale, Globicephala macrorhynchus; and dolphins of the genus Stenella) taken for human consumption off St. Vincent, West Indies. Overall, 122 samples were analyzed; mean THg concentrations (μg/g dry weight) were highest in the liver (730), followed by the kidney (274), muscle (76.4), and blubber (4.57). To explain variability in muscle THg concentrations, carbon (δ13C) and nitrogen (δ15N) stable isotope ratios were analyzed to explore differences in dietary carbon source and relative trophic position, respectively, among species. There was no relationship between δ15N and THg concentration, but there was a positive relationship between δ13C and THg concentration. On average for each species, the Se:Hg molar ratios were >1 in blubber and <1 in muscle. All liver samples and the majority of kidney, muscle, and blubber samples exceeded the FAO/WHO human consumption advisory level of 1 μg/g wet weight. Based on our estimations, consuming only 6.6 g of muscle a week would exceed the MeHg provisional tolerable weekly intake of 1.6 μg MeHg/kg body weight/week for a 60 kg person. Given the high THg concentration in these cetaceans and the frequency at which these tissues are consumed, this is a potential human health issue that warrants further investigation.

Equines in the West Indies are used for recreational purposes, tourism industry, racing and agriculture or can be found in feral populations. Little is known in the Caribbean basin about the prevalence of some major equine infectious diseases, some with zoonotic potential, listed as reportable by the OIE. Our objective was to study the prevalence of antibodies for West Nile Virus (WNV), Equine Herpes Virus-1 and 4 (EHV-1 and EHV-4), Equine Influenza (EI), Equine Viral Arteritis (EVA) and Equine Infectious Anemia Virus (EIAV) using a retrospective serological convenience study. We used 180 equine serum samples, 140 from horses and 40 from donkeys in St. Kitts, Nevis, and Sint Eustatius, collected between 2006 and 2015 that were tested with ELISA kits and virus neutralization (for WNV and EVA). Combining ELISA with virus neutralization testing, 25 (13.8%) equine sera were WNV positive (a mixture of indigenous and imported equines) and 3 sera (1.6%) showed doubtful results. For EHV-1, 41 equines (23.7%), mean age 6.7 years, were seropositive. For EHV-4, 138 equines were found seropositive (82.8%), mean age 6.3 years. For EI, 49 equines (27.2%), mean age 7.5 years, were seropositive on ELISA, some previously vaccinated horses. No antibodies against EAV were found on virus neutralization testing, although one animal (0.6%), was EAV positive on ELISA. All samples were EIAV negative. The seroprevalence for EHV-1 and EHV-4 is similar to other parts of the world. For the first time in the study location serologic evidence of antibodies against WNV and EI is reported. This was found in both indigenous and imported animals, highlighting the need for developing proper surveillance plans based on complementary methods of virus detection. Further studies will be needed to define the prevalence, rates of transmission, characterize local virus strains, and study their impact on these populations.

In 2010, severe coral bleaching was observed across the southeastern Caribbean, including the island of Tobago, where coral reefs are subject to sedimentation and high nutrient levels from terrestrial runoff. Here we examine changes in corals\' colony size distributions over time (2010-2013), juvenile abundances and sedimentation rates for sites across Tobago following the 2010 bleaching event. The results indicated that since pre-bleaching coral cover was already low due to local factors and past disturbance, the 2010 event affected only particular susceptible species\' population size structure and increased the proportion of small sized colonies. The low density of juveniles (mean of 5.4±6.3 juveniles/m(-2)) suggests that Tobago\'s reefs already experienced limited recruitment, especially of large broadcasting species. The juvenile distribution and the response of individual species to the bleaching event support the notion that Caribbean reefs are becoming dominated by weedy non-framework building taxa which are more resilient to disturbances.

Physicians\' ability to provide care to patients living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) in the Eastern Caribbean is influenced by economic constraints, sociocultural norms that govern interpersonal interactions, and the pervasive stigma linked to the disease. Although the economic environment determines national capacity to acquire various treatment and monitoring technologies, Eastern Caribbean physicians respond to practicing in a resource-limited setting by making choices that are influenced by the collectivist ethos that governs interpersonal relationships. Through qualitative interviews, the study finds that the social stigma associated with the disease requires physicians to \"go the extra mile\" to provide care in ways that allow PLWHA to protect their privacy in small, closely networked societies.