m,ll Saint Lucia Biodiversity

Saint Lucia Biodiversity

This web page looks at the present knowledge of Saint Lucias's biodiversity. While there is no doubt that the Lesser Antillean mountainous islands are extremely biodiverse for their size and with a high rate of endemism, that does not necessarily mean we have a good knowledge of this biodiversity.
I evaluate below the level of knowledge and identify primary sources of information for the main groups of terrestrial and freshwater living organisms.
Please contact me if you know of additional resources or information.
rogergraveson@gmail.com
A. Procaryotes
Microscopic single-celled organisms that lack a nucleus
1. Bacteria - outside the scope of this study
2. Archaea are usually found in extreme habitats such as deep-sea vents. Their genetic machinery and cell wall structure differ from that of bacteria. A study was made of six representative pools at the Sulphur Springs. Archaea were found in all pools and were “almost exclustively Acidianus spp. and did not vary between sites". They are chemoautotrophs using oxidation or reduction (in anaerobic conditions) of elemental sulphur to provide energy.
Stout LM et al. Microbial diversity of boron-rich volcanic hot springs of St. Lucia, Lesser Antilles. FEMS Microbiol Ecol. 2009.
B. Eucaryotes
Organisms with a cell nucleus
1. Protista
Mainly single-celled aquatic or moist terrestrial organisms. Some are autotrophic, others are heterotrophic.
Plasmodial slime moulds are macroscopic and are formed by the fusion of single celled protists to form a giant cell. They look like a wet crust fungus but are actually animals which eat and move.
A study in Dominica identified 96 species. I am not aware f any study in Saint Lucia but a similar fauna would be likely.
Reference
2. Fungi including lichens
Fungi have been generally poorly studied in the Caribbean and virtually not at all in Saint Lucia.
It would make a fascinating research project.
My basic introduction
Lichens are fungi with autotrophic algae or cyanobacteria within the fungal structure.
We are fortunate that Howard F. Fox has published a checklist. of this difficult group
3. Invertebrate Animals
There is a incomplete information available on most types invertebrates in Saint Lucia.
Peck (2009) listed 182 species of beetles.
A major collection effort was made by Michael Ivie and his team in 2009 and in 2016 he reported that over 800 species of beetle had been identified with a significant rate of endemism, However I have not managed to find a research paper listing these species. Ivie estimated there could be 1400 beetle species in Saint Lucia.
Peck's paper Ivie's update
Online regional. information and published field books are availabl for butterflies, much less information on moths especially micromoths.
Dragonflies and Damselflies
Some research has been orientated towards studies of plant pests for example Scale insects
Bees
For arachnids there is an excellent book "The Spiders and Their Relatives of St. Vincent and the Grenadines by Mark DeSiva, Giraldo Alayón and Julia A. Horrock" this book documents 181 species, many of which may also be in Saint Lucia.
Didymocentrus lesueurii and Tityus insignis are both endemic scorpion species found in dry forest.
Crustaceans are poorly documented with the exception of decapdods (shrimps, prawns, cray fish and crabs).
There are 13 species of feshwater decapods. They all release eggs that hatch in seawater, and after development, migrate up rivers. Reference
Terrestrial crabs are also important decapods.
Guinotia dentata, locally called bak, lives in the interior of the island in forest close to rivers. It is the only decapod whose eggs and juvenile stages do not develop in the sea, thus it is fully terrestrial.
Other land and semi-terrestrial crabs migrate to the sea to lay eggs. There does not seem to be a single reference. However information using specific names such as fiddler crabs, blue land crab, hermit crab, black land crab, mangrove root crab (reference), ghost crabs is available online.
Malek described 9 species of river snails and 16 terrestrial species. River snails in particular have been studied because 2 species act as intermediate hosts for the bilharzia parasite.
Naesiotus luciaee is an endemic terrestrial snail.
Malek, Emile Abdel. “Freshwater and terrestrial snails of Saint Lucia, West Indies.” The Nautilus 100 (1986): 143-147.
In addition there are several slug species
4. Vertebrate Animals
Vertebrates are well-documented.
Amphibians and Reptiles report
Avifauna resource
Avifauna resource
Mammal report.
A study of fish that live in rivers is urgently required. Virtually all native river fish release eggs that develop in the sea and then migrate upstream as juveniles (twi-twi).
It is likely that we have the same as (or less than) the 17 species found in Martinique plus naturalized guppies and tilapia.
(Lim P, Meunier F-J, Keith P, Noël P, Atlas des poissons et des crustacés d'eau douce de la Martiniqu,e 2002).
5. Lower Plants
Algae are primarily aquatic.
Bryophytes (liverworts, hornworts and mosses) are mainly terrestrial plants that require wet conditions.
Limited studies have been made in Saint Lucia but great information is available from Martinique and Guadeloupe.
Saint Lucian bryophytes would make a very interesting research project but requires challenging collecting in cloud montane and montane rainforest.
Martinique has over 400 species of bryophtes and a similar flora would be expected here.
This document is a useful starting point from 2011. Recent additions.
6. Higher Plants - this website documents the wild vascular flora comprising almost 1500 species of ferns, conifers and flowering plant.