Cacti and bats of Curaçao!Page 3

Biná Newsletter of the CARMABI foundation

Sponsoring Page 7

New! Annual memberships

Christoffelpark Page 10

5th Year number 4 October-December 2007

Cover Photo: Leptotila verreauxi (White-tipped Dove) after a cold rain shower. Photo by: L. Pors

Dear nature lovers,

First of all, the entire CARMABI staff and personnel would like to wish you a nature rich new year. We wish you all the best and of course hope that you will have a 2008 with delightful wildlife experiences. We are ready for the new year, with all the challenges it will bring for us, but first we want to close 2007 appropriately by offering you an overview of the latest happenings. This will of course be the last 2007 newsletter. Read the articles by Dr. Sophie Petit about the cacti and bats of our island and their importance to its ecology. Take a look at the sponsors who make sure that our organisation can go on with its many projects. Several changes can be seen on the CARMABI premises at Picadera Bay, of which the upgrading of the student dorms is one. The Christoffelpark is launching a new product, the new annual membership for citizens of the island. Members can enjoy admission to the park for a very modest price. Of course we need to know about the quality of the services we provide to our visitors so as to keep improving them. You can read about our latest survey in this newsletter.

Many of our readers asked about details of the CARMABI Clear Water Challenge 2007, which took place in November. To offer all of you an overview of everything that has happened before, during and after the Challenge we made a special edition of the newsletter with pictures, quotes and of course an overview, as complete as possible, of all the people who sponsored this major event. You will receive this extra edition together with this newsletter.

We are looking forward to 2008 and we hope you are too! We hope you enjoy this newsletter with its special edition as much as we do. Enjoy and we will meet you again in our next newsletter!

The editors.

2

Table of contentsEditors note... 2

CARMABI news... 3- The importance of columnar cacti to Curaçao’s culture and nature... 3- The importance of bats to Curaçao... 5- Sponsors... 7- Upgrading dorms at CARMABI... 9- Saba Bank mollusc research... 9

Christoffel corner... 10- New! Annual membership Christoffelpark.. 10 - Service quality control in Christoffelpark... 11- A colorful and green Christmas and lush beginning of 2008... 12

Particulars for this edition:

Photography:Mrs. M. da Costa Gomez

Mr. L. PorsMrs. Dr. S. Petit

Mr. Peter v/d WolfBanco di Caribe

Design:Mrs. M. da Costa Gomez

Editors:Ing. M. da Costa Gomez

Drs. L. PorsDr. A. Debrot

Editors note

3

CARMABI newsThe importance of columnar cacti to Curaçao’s culture and nature!

Biology of the cacti:Cacti occur mainly on the American continent. Curaçao has three species of columnar cacti: datu (Stenocereus griseus), kadushi (Subpilocereus repandus) and kadushi di pushi (Pilosocereus lanuginosus). All three species produce flowers, each of which opens for only one night, during the dry season, when most other native plants appears dry and even dead. They are thus extremely important to Curaçao’s native wildlife because they provide them with vital resources.

A lot of research has been done on datu and kadushi, which are the most abundant of the three species. They are self-incompatible, which means that the female part of each flower must be pollinated with pollen coming from another plant. Only animals can perform this service. In fact, nectar-feeding bats are responsible for all of the pollination of datu and 90% of the pollination of kadushi. Kadushi flowers sometimes stay open for a few hours after sunrise and may be visited by birds such as hummingbirds. Without the bats, however, there would be very few cactus fruits and seeds, and the cacti could not reproduce sexually.

Cacti grow very slowly. The very large cacti are certainly several hundred years old. They are particularly important to wildlife because they start producing flowers earlier in the season than small cacti, and make the link between seasons of abundance, filling gaps when few resources

By: Dr. Sophie Petit, University of South Australia and CARMABI

are available. The three species have different behaviors when it rains: datu stops flowering, kadushi continues to flower, and kadushi di pushi start flowering very rapidly. So at all times of the year, large cacti take care of our wildlife.

Importance of columnar cacti to nature:Cacti provide fruits and flowers to a range of animals including many species of birds, two species of bats, iguanas, and many species of insects such as bees. They are able to survive in the natural environment without artificial watering, and datu and kadushi produce most of their flowers and fruits during the dry season, when very few other resources are available for our wildlife. The flowers contain large amounts of nectar and the fruits are rich in water. Our precious nectar-feeding bats, Leptonycteris curasoae curasoae (which of course gets its name from Curaçao) and Glossophaga longirostris elongata (also a Curaçao native) are very important in the pollination of many significant Curaçao plants, and they depend on columnar cacti for their survival. The very large majority of their diet consists of cactus nectar, pollen, and fruits when they can get them. Without the cacti these bats could not survive on Curaçao.

The branches of the cacti are also filled with water, which is used by several animals including prikichi and the white-tailed deer. Within the branches, birds make their nests, iguanas rest, and

“Sophie Petit during her presentation at CARMABI last August 15th”

“A fruit of the Kadushi di pushi (Pilocer-eus lanuginosus), completely devoured by

birds.”

“Several moth species also visit the cacti flowers at night to join in the nectar

“festivities”. They do not play a major role in the pollination of the flowers however. ”

4

CARMABI newsother animals find some respite. Birds perch on their branches. For example the warawara often examines the surroundings by perching on cacti.

The shade of the cacti is very important to animals, but also to other plant species. Cacti often act as “nurse plants” in hot climates, meaning that their shade, and sometimes nutrients associated with their presence, help seedlings of other species to become established, which they may not be able to do when the soil is hot or poor. The regular dropping of cactus branches insures that soil will be produced, and soil is a rare commodity on Curaçao.

Cultural significance of cacti:Curaçaoans’ ancestors enjoyed the delicious dense and breezy shade of columnar cacti, and some of us enjoy it still today, if only for parking our car. A few people still make the famous kadushi soup, renowned to give plenty of energy to those who eat it. But the grandparents and great-grandparents of Curaçaoans also used cacti for many other things: door and window frames, rope, beds, boxes, torches, utensils, shampoo, and medicines were made with kadushi; syrup was made with datu fruits; hedges made of datu can still be seen in some places and are determining elements of the typical kunuku landscape (Rojer-Beenhakker 1990), and datu also had numerous medicinal uses (see “Green remedies and golden customs of our ancestors”, by D. Veeris, Triangel Publicaties, 1999). Cacti were of vital importance to Curaçaoans and the few large cacti that remain today were the very cacti that were

used and appreciated by the great great-grandparents of today’s Curaçaoans.

Conservation issues:Unfortunately, there is no legal protection currently for cacti. Urban development projects sometimes leave a few cacti standing, but the people who purchase the blocks of land then cut down the cacti. Goats eat the seedlings, and birds eat the fruits before they are ripe, thus causing a major crisis in the recruitment of young cacti. An unknown disease has been affecting kadushi, and the prikichi put a lot of pressure on the trees by grazing the branches. Because they are keepers of Curaçao’s biodiversity, cacti must not disappear. Where they are eliminated, biodiversity crashes. This biodiversity is important not only for cultural and ecological reasons, but also financial ones via tourism and the health of ecosystems. Large areas of cacti have disappeared in the last 20 years.

What can we do?On lease agreements for rental properties, vegetation clearance should not be permitted. Also, the protection of significant vegetation should be included in the legislation. An education campaign for the people of Curaçao should show that columnar cacti are the jewels of Curaçao; they gave life to our ancestors and to our wildlife. They are extremely slow growing and should be preserved at all costs, including in urban gardens. One established cactus is very precious and will never require watering. Please pass the word: columnar cacti are very important to Curaçao!

“This Kadushi (Subpilocereus repandus) is probably hundreds of years old.”

On the next page you can read an ar-ticle by Dr. Petit about the

importance of bats for the Curaçaoan ecology.

“Leptonycteris curasoae curasoae, loveably called lepto’s at CARMABI, females with young. The young clutch on their mothers bellies and fly along when she searches for nectar in the evening. The Lepto’s are the

largerst nectar eating species on the island. 1200 individuals approximately live on our

island. ”

The importance of bats to Curaçao!

5

CARMABI newsThe importance of bats to Curaçao!

Biology of the bats:Eight species of bats occur on Curaçao. All are from the sub-order Microchiroptera; flying foxes do not occur on the American continent. The bats of Curaçao belong to three ecological groups: insectivorous bats, nectar-feeding bats, and one species of fishing bat. Most bats live in caves and crevices, although some may also use tree roosts. In addition, two species have been observed in buildings on the island; others may occasionally use buildings as well. Sick bats, like any other sick wild animal, should not be handled, but bats do not attack people. They forage at night using their vision, smell, and a wonderful sonar system called echolocation. We cannot hear the sounds they make because the range of frequencies is not audible to humans; the sounds are reflected on surfaces (obstacles, prey such as mosquitoes); bats hear them and can find their way even in total darkness.

Our bats have only one young (pup) per year; because they are mammals, mothers feed their pups milk until the young are old enough to forage on their own. Family ties may remain strong even after the young become independent. Most species are very sensitive to disturbance, and they consist of only a few dozen or a few hundred individuals on the island. Bats are also affected by pollution and the removal of vegetation.

Importance of bats to Curaçao:Insectivorous bats include Mormoops megalophylla intermedia (the ghost-faced bat), Natalus tumidirostris (the funnel-

eared bat), Molossus molossus pygmaeus (the velvety free-tailed bat or Pallas’s mastiff bat), Myotis nesopolus nesopolus (Curaçao Myotis), and Pteronotus davyii (the naked-back bat). None of the populations is larger than a few hundred individuals, yet these insectivorous bats are very important to Curaçao. They capture insect pests such as flies, mosquitoes, and certain moths that are agricultural pests. Certain bat species can capture their own weight in insects each night and eat several hundred small insects in one hour. Although the heaviest of those bats weighs less than 30 g, each bat still represents the elimination of a significant number of pests. The species most likely to be found in a building is Molossus; one specimen was hit by a car in 2007, the only one seen in years. If a roost is found, please contact CARMABI; the bat’s special feature is to have a tail.

Curaçao has two species of nectar-feeding bats, belonging to the group of leaf-nosed bats: Glossophaga longirostris elongata (long-tongued bat) and Leptonycteris curasoae curasoae (long-nosed bat), which gets its name from the island. These bats also consume ripe fruits when they are available and disperse the seeds when the seeds are small enough to be ingested. Their role in the pollination of plants of significance, such as datu and kadushi, but also the calabash tree and agaves, among others, make them vital contributors to biodiversity on Curaçao. By allowing the formation of fruits on datu and kadushi, the bats make accessible resources that many animals use during the dry season.

“The Ghost-faced bat (Mormoops megalophylla intermedia).”

“The Funnel-eared bat (Natalus tumidirostris).”

“The Velvety free-tailed bat (Molossus molossus).”

6

CARMABI newsOnly Glossophaga is found in buildings. Leptonycteris has strict hot cave requirements and is also very shy.

The fishing bat, Noctilio leporinus (greater bulldog bat), is the largest on the island, weighing about 60 g. Its feeding techniques are remarkable and well worth observing: it captures small fish at the surface of the water using echolocation; it also eats insects in flight and other terrestrial animals like small crabs and scorpions. The bat’s ecological functions include the creation of a habitat for other creatures in its coastal roosts.

Artibeus jamaicensis, a fruit-eating bat, has not been seen since 1947 on Curaçao. It is likely that the two specimens captured were vagrant and that the species no longer occurs on the island.

Conservation issues:Bats constitute the largest native group of mammals by number of species for Curaçao, but their distribution and numbers have been declining over the last century. Based on their physical characteristics, several subspecies have been determined to be endemic to Curaçao (they occur only here). We are left with a few hundred individuals for the most abundant species; such low numbers are very alarming and the risk of extinction is not only real, but high. Bats are extremely sensitive to pesticides and other forms of pollution, so that contaminated insects or other food sources may poison them. Roost disturbance is also likely to be a factor affecting the survival of bats; bats have tiny stores of energy and disturbances not only stress them out but also deplete their energy. Critically,

the removal of native vegetation is very detrimental to bats. Not only are tree roosts destroyed, but the habitat in which specific insects live is destroyed as well. Finally, the destruction of cacti affects not only the general biodiversity of Curaçao, but also Glossophaga and Leptonycteris, bats that depend on the nectar of cactus flowers for survival.

What can we do?If bats must be removed from a building, it is necessary to give them the opportunity to leave during the night. Blocking all bat entrances should be done at night, when all bats are gone, and at a time when pups are not present. Information is available at: http://batcall.csu.edu.au/abs/absmain.htm and http://www.batcon.org/home/index.asp?idPage=51&idSubPage=47; the eviction may take a little patience. Exclusion should use a one-way device that allows the bats to leave but not to re-enter. Other methods are not ethical and will cause stress and pain to the bats, and are also likely to kill many. It has been reported that wind chimes placed at night in the buildings may encourage the bats to find another place to live. It is important to promote the retention of the native vegetation of Curaçao and to minimise disturbance to caves and other roosting sites. Bats are very precious to Curaçao and responsible for many good deeds, from which we benefit. Public education about bats is everyone’s responsibility; when you know, pass it on. The legal protection of bats should also be supported.

Students interested in making a presentation about the bats of Curaçao can dowload informationsheets in Dutch from our website www.carmabi.org.

“The Naked-back bat (Pteronotus davyii).”

“The Long-tongued bat (Glossophaga longirostris elongata).”

“The Greater bulldog bat (Noctilio leporinus).”

CARMABI news

7

CARMABI newsSponsors

Banco di Caribe sponsors 15.000 guilders a year for three years!

We were ecstatic when we received the news that Banco di Caribe will sponsor both the educational department and Christoffelpark for the coming three years. Banco di Caribe will sponsor the coming three years (including 2007) with 15.000 guilders a year. The first 15.000 guilders will be used for the implementation of the education program in the Kabouterbos which, as is well known, had to be removed from our annual educational program as a free program for schools. Classes still had the opportunity to come, but had to pay for the transportation and guide costs. Now, with the help of Banco di Caribe, 25 to 40 classes can participate in the program free of charge. The second part of the sponsoring will be used to develop 5 new educational information sheets in Dutch and Papiamentu with different themes such as: whales and dolphins, seashells on the beaches of Curaçao, the Curaçao

parakeet, birds of prey and environmental contamination on. The educational department of CARMABi has a long tradition of these sheets in which we supply ample information and pictures about the themes, in a format that is easily accessible for children ages 9 and up. The information sheets, are downloadable from our website and will also be available at Banco di Caribe. Both students and teachers use the sheets to prepare presentations, talks, lessons and lesson plans. The third part of the sponsoring is destined to be used for the development of an environmental friendly playground in the Christoffelpark, to make the park more family friendly. The sponsoring of the coming two years will also be used in that order, 2/3d for education and 1/3 for the Christoffelpark.We sincerely thank Banco di Caribe for this very impressive contribution to our work.

“Official presentation of the cheque and press conference at Banco di Caribe. From left to right: Mrs. Marielle Lebacks and Mr. Percy Virginia of BdC, Mr. Norbert Chaclin,

chairman of the Carmabi board, mrs. Michelle da Costa Gomez and Mrs. Karin

van Batenburg of Carmabi.”

Official opening of the presentation room at CARMABI in presence of sole sponsor S.E.L. Maduro & Sons (Curaçao) N.V.

8

CARMABI newsSponsors... continued

Official presentation of a Nafl.25.000 cheque from Stichting Sinkuentenario ABN AMRO Trust

Official presentation of mooring buoy sponsoring to the Curaçao Marine Park by DVB Bank America

“Maureen Kuenen receives one of the buoys from a representative of the DVB bank.”

“Members of the CARMABI board receive the cheque from Stichting Sinkuentenario. Mr. Renfred Rojer, mem-ber of the island council was present to show his support

for non-governmental funding of projects that are of interest to the community.”

“Representatives from Stichting Sinkuentario attended a presentation about the marine environment after

which they received a plaque honoring their support. This plaque will be displayed in the Marine Park Visitor

Center.”

9

CARMABI newsCARMABI newsUpgrading dorms at CARMABI!

For many years to come, scientists and students can now again use the lodging facilities at the CARMABI offices at Piscaderabay as a base for their research and other projects. After years of intensive use, it had become time to upgrade these facilities to a higher standard, and also to offer more lodging space to visiting scientists and students from all over the world. In the last three months of 2007 much construction noises could be heard on the CARMABI premises.Now, at the end of December, the dorms are almost finished and will be completely finished before the 30th, when 15 students of the University of Illinois will use them as a base for their winter course of Marine Biology. A total of 26 persons can stay in the CARMABI rooms, simultaneously. Most of the rooms

can host 2-4 persons. There is a new airconditioned working area for students in the building of CARMABI with a wireless internet connection. The lab facilities are also being thoroughly reviewed and several items are being renewed or serviced. A second storage container was bought and will shortly be placed next to the container sponsored by Curaçao Renaissance, to store lab materials that are not being used regularly. The addition of new storage space makes more effective use of the CARMABI buildings possible. For more information on prices of our facilities and reservations, please take a look at our website at www.carmabi.org.

Saba Bank mollusc research!CARMABI was host in the month of December to mr. Bart van Heugten from the Netherlands. A regular volunteer to the museum of natural history Naturalis in Leiden and assistant to NIOZ with a big interest in molluscs. He works on several mollusc identification projects, especially in studies dedicated to the coral banks in the Atlantic Ocean at depths of 200 -1500 meters. In December he started to work on the small mollusc species of the Antilles, and especially of the Saba Bank. This plateau located to the southwest of the island of Saba is being investigated by several scientists under coordination by Paul Hoetjes, senior policy advisor of the Dept. of Health and Environment. Several samples of sand were

collected from depths of 10-130 meters and transported to the CARMABI lab where mr. Van Heugten sifted them and started collecting and analyzing the different molluscs present in the sand with the help of microscopes. His main area of attention being the molluscs smaller than 1 cm. (Of 100.000 known mollusc species, 80% are smaller than 1 cm.)Several species have been identified by mr. van Heugten, but it is too soon to talk about possible new species. A whole identification process and analysis will have to be concluded. The collected molluscs are now on their way to Naturalis in Leiden, the Netherlands, to be further analyzed by a Caribbean mollusc specialist.

“Pusia variata and Hemitoma ostheimerae are two of the species that were identified

in the samples. .”

Pictures from: Marine Gastropods, K.M. de Jong & H.E. Coomans

10

Christoffel corner

11

New! Annual membership Christoffelpark After many requests and careful planning we can finally launch the new Christoffelpark annual membership. Starting this December all locals who are interested in buying this membership can fill in a form at the front desk of the park, which, together with a (digital) photograph and payment of the fee will be processed at CARMABI headquarters. The new member will receive a membership card with which he or she has unlimited access to the park during normal opening hours and opening days with no additional costs. Special activities and services are not included in the membership yet, but members also get a discount on certain activities. The amount of discount and conditions will be published before each activity.

Childeren are also eligible for annual membership at a very affordable price.Memberships for adults and childeren from 12 years and older cost Nafl. 45 a year. Childeren between 6 and 12 years of age pay Nafl. 25 a year. Childeren younger than 6 years old always visit the park for free. Interested? Send an email to info@carmabi.org to receive your form, or get it at the front desk of the Christoffelpark. Include a picture and payment and get your own membership card in just two weeks.

Questions? Mail us at info@carmabi.org or call us at 540-3604/ 522-8289/ 864-0363.

Opening Hours CHRISTOFFELPARK

Monday- Saturday7.30 AM -16.00 PM (no admittance after 14.30 PM)

Sunday6.00 AM - 15.00 PM (no admittance after 13.30 PM)

Interested in camping, team building, company celebrations and/or other nature activities for groups:

Call Cyrill Kooistra or Woti Samboe at 864-0363

11

Christoffel cornerService quality control in Christoffelpark

As we reported in our last newsletter, we have been working on a client survey to test the service quality of the park among our visitors. Mr. Evert Prins, an intern from the HAS Den Bosch designed the survey together with the management of the park and he executed this survey in the month of October. To be sure the survey would report exactly what we wanted to know, the first step was to inventarize how to categorize the services. The main themes were: “Activities, facilities and the provision of information”.A total of 70 visitors were surveyed in October and some interesting results came out. First of all the overall impression of the park was considered as good, with enough activities to fill an entire day. All though the variety of activities was not always clear enough to the visitors, the people who did know about these activities, like the pickup safari, enjoyed these inmensely and found this extra effort worth while. The reason many people did not know about the variety of activities in the park was due to a lack of clearcut information about these. When the front desk gives information about the park the activities are lost in the amount of information given. Visitors do not remember all this and therefor do not stay informed of the various options. However, the front desk scored high during the survey in terms of consumer orientation and provision of information. The amount of information given in the park itself concerning the history of the area and the flora and fauna that can be seen, was

not sufficient according to the visitors. They expected more signs with information about sites of interest and flyers and brochures about the flora and fauna in the park. One of the critical observations was about the expectations visitors have before coming to the park. Many people saw advertisements, articles and pictures of the park including fauna like the rare White-tailed deer. The expectations of spotting these animals on their own were very high and people were disappointed when after a full day visit, they could not report a single spotting of these animals. Allthough striking elements of flora and fauna are often used in the marketing of wildlife reserves, it can create false expectations and hence disappointment among visitors. When talking with the hosts in the park, the false expectations can be easily corrected by explaining the ecology of the species used in advertisements and other marketing efforts, but not all visitors come in contact with these hosts. The rare species can also be reliably sighted during guided tours which are available. Disappointment can lead to negative publicity so it is very important to be aware of these dangers. The most important result of this (small) survey is the fact that we have to keep developing better ways of providing information to our visitors about services provided in the park. And the best way to monitor visitor service provision is to take these surveys regularly in different seasons and during longer periods. The next survey is planned for February and March 2008.

“The carguides to the northern and southern routes in the park, have been introduced in July 2006. Visitors experience these guides as very usefull. One problem is the fact that

the guides are only available in English. Many Dutch visitors complain about the

lack of Dutch carguides. A point that we will handle in 2008.”

“The information given to visitors by the front desk at the Park entrance was consid-

ered sufficient.”

“Visitors expected more infromation about flora, fauna and history on signs throughout

the park”

12

Christoffel cornerA colorfull and green Christmas and lush beginning of 2008

“Male Dornasol (Chrysolampis mosquitus).”Source: De vogels van de Nederlandse

Antillen by Dr. K. H. Voous, March 1955

“Park rangers at work.”

“Hilu di Diabel.”

The rainy season has begun for real. Almost daily rain showers on the island transformed the “mondi” completely from barren scrub to lush forest. Although we feel the weather in the amount of visitors coming to the park, especially in the month of December, we are happy with the transformation in the park. A green park inmediately boosts the number of visitors to the park again. Wherever you hike or drive, the lush vegetation with flowers in all colors and sizes lives up the nature expectations.Many birds are working hard on their second or even third nests for the season. The bananaquit is especially fast. The Dornasol, the Ruby-topaz Hummingbird (Chrysolampis mosquitus), a presumed seasonal visitor to the island, can be admired all around the park. Even around the Savonet Plantation house, there are regular sightings of these birds, hovering over flowers of the Carawara spañó (Cordia sebestena), the Kibrahacha (Tabebuia chrysantha) and the Indju (Prosopis juliflora).Often you can see the males fighting in acrobatic “dances” through the air or chasing each other, while making high-pitched squeaky sounds. With the plants growing fast, we encounter several infrastructural problems in the park. Roads and trails overgrow quickly making it difficult to hike and drive. Since the beginning of October our park ranger teams are working almost full-time to keep the roads and trails accessible. With some additional part-time hands we are now working with two maintenance crews working the trails and roads. Anyone visiting the park at the

moment will encounter patches of orange robe-like patches on the ground or all over a tree. This organism is a parasitic plant. When it starts getting humid on the island these plants “spring” back to life and can envelope entire trees in a record of time. The “Hilu di Diabel” or Love vine (Cuscuta americana), as the plant is called, grows its roots into stems and vines of other plants, to extract the juices that the other plants produces. The Love Vine can not survive on its own due to the fact that it has no leaves with chlorophyll. When flowering, the plant gets small white flowers which are situated in bunches. The seeds are sticky and presumably stick to the bill of birds. The animals rub their bill against other plants and thus take care of the seed dispersal. In the dry period the plant dries up. The bright orange patches are no longer visible and when observed closely it is clear that what is left of the plants are brown dry strawy segments. When the next rain showers present themselves they will wake the seeds for a new set of vines.

Want to visit the park with the assistance of a guide? Please call and make your reservations. Hiking or exploring with one of our trained guides makes the experience all the more pleasant and interesting.Call (5999)864-0363 for your reservations or e-mail info@carmabi.org after you have taken a look at the regular activities we organize in the park on www.carmabi.org.