Papers by Eugene Ramcharan
Living World, Journal of the Trinidad and Tobago Field Naturalists' Club, 1988
The avifauna of Trinidad has been studied for over 100 years and is now generally well known (ffr... more The avifauna of Trinidad has been studied for over 100 years and is now generally well known (ffrench 1980). Few studies, however, have looked at habitat dependence of the individual species and fewer still (ffrench 1966, Bacon 1970) have concentrated on mangroves and associated marshes. ffrench (1966), considering the mangrove avifauna, mainly from the Caroni Swamp, recorded 94 species and Bacon (1970) found 137 species in the mangroves and marshes of the Caroni Swamp. Both studies listed all species present in the study areas without considering their dependence on the habitat for survival. Mangroves and adjacent marshes in Trinidad have undergone pronounced changes in their physical and biological character during the past 30 years as a result of reclamation and channelization. This paper is an attempt to describe the present status and distribution of all species of birds that depend on these habitats for their survival and has arisen out of a study to describe the living resour...
Understanding coastal evolution and recent sea level changes are important for small island state... more Understanding coastal evolution and recent sea level changes are important for small island states. A 2.25m core of wetland sediments lifted from the Graeme Hall Swamp in Barbados provides a 1,400 year record of sedimentological and vegetation change. Mineral and organic matter that are coincident with the development of a red mangrove community overtop basal carbonaceous sands. Despite its coastal location, geomorphological features preclude of chronology with sea level change.
The Nariva Swamp is an underexplored coastal wetland which lies in an axial depression on the Atl... more The Nariva Swamp is an underexplored coastal wetland which lies in an axial depression on the Atlantic coast. Floristic studies of the area employ both qualitative and quantitative aspects and reveal the presence of a plant succession sequence hithertofore undescribed for Trinidad and having a close approximation only in Suriname. The following six plant formation-types are described : Mangrove Woodland/Mixed Forest, Swamp Forest, Herbaceous Swamp, Herbaceous Marsh, Marsh Forest and Terrestrial
Quaternary International, 2004
Understanding how Holocene sea levels influenced coastal wetland development in the Caribbean wil... more Understanding how Holocene sea levels influenced coastal wetland development in the Caribbean will aid wetland management in the context of predicted sea level rise. Nine radiocarbon dates from the Maracas and Nariva Swamps on wave-dominated coasts from Trinidad, show sea level was-9 m approximately 7000 yr BP, and rose gradually to-2 m by 2000 yr BP. Since then there may have been isostatic readjustment. Wetlands developed with a transgression of dry upland habitats by rising seas and the facultative halophyte Rhizophora colonized the new brackish water environment. A freshwater plant community gradually replaced the Rhizophora as the marine influence decreased. At Maracas, higher sea levels caused wetland retreat as beach and lagoon habitats migrated inland. Sand ridges in Nariva Swamp indicate that, as in Maracas Swamp, sea level rise created beaches and lagoons, but that these landforms prograded as additional nearshore sediments were deposited. Basins were also filled with sediment delivered by streams that drain the watershed, and by mangrove peat accumulation.
Journal of Environmental Management, 2008
Site selection is a key activity for quarry expansion to support cement production, and is govern... more Site selection is a key activity for quarry expansion to support cement production, and is governed by factors such as resource availability, logistics, costs, and socioeconomic environmental factors. Adequate consideration of all the factors facilitates both industrial productivity and sustainable economic growth. This study illustrates the site selection process that was undertaken for the expansion of limestone quarry operations to support cement production in Barbados. First, alternate sites with adequate resources to support a 25-year development horizon were identified. Second, technical and socioeconomic environmental factors were then identified. Third, a database was developed for each site with respect to each factor. Fourth, a hierarchical model in analytic hierarchy process (AHP) framework was then developed. Fifth, the relative ranking of the alternate sites was then derived through pair wise comparison in all the levels and through subsequent synthesizing of the results across the hierarchy through computer software (Expert Choice). The study reveals that an integrated framework using the AHP can help select a site for the quarry expansion project in Barbados.
Journal of Coastal Research, 2006
ABSTRACT Studies on Holocene sea level change along the coast of northeastern South America can a... more ABSTRACT Studies on Holocene sea level change along the coast of northeastern South America can assist in understanding how the region's coastal environments might respond to future sea level change. A freshwater wetland along a wave-dominated pocket bay yielded a 980-cm-long sediment core, which records sediment and vegetation change over the past 7000 years. Above basal sand, peaty mud < 450-cm depth is overlain by mangrove peat extending < 100 cm and dark, peaty freshwater mud < 35 cm. Three radiocarbon dates provide a chronological framework and estimate rates of sedimentation. Loss-on-ignition analysis shows a shift from basal silicates to organic matter at 4000 YBP that indicates a reduction in marine influences and the establishment of a mangrove habitat. Rhizophora dominates the fossil pollen record. Spores of the tree ferns Cnernidaria and Cyathea indicate an adjacent humid forest whereas Polypodium-type spores and Cyperaceae pollen in the upper part of the core indicate freshwater conditions. The reduction in the sedimentation rate from 1.99 min y(-1) before 4000 YBP to 1.05 min y-1 after 4000 YBP reflects reduced delivery of external sediments to the wetland and the addition of authocthonous organic matter, whereas the further reduction to 0.61 mm y(-1) after 3000 YBP suggests declining rates of peat formation and reduced sediment inputs from the forested watershed. We conclude that the stratigraphy and plant succession was the result of long-term building of a beach ridge. Brackish water peat and then freshwater peat formed behind the bar.
Impact Assessment and Project Appraisal, 2005
Site selection is a key activity for quarry expansion to support cement production, and is govern... more Site selection is a key activity for quarry expansion to support cement production, and is governed by factors such as resource availability, logistics, costs, and socio-environmental factors. Adequate consideration of all factors facilitates both industrial productivity and sustainable economic growth. This study illustrates the site selection process that was undertaken for the expansion of limestone quarry operations to support cement production in Barbados. First, alternate sites with adequate resources to support a 25-year development horizon were identified. Second, socio-environmental conditions were described and potential impacts identified. Third, a comparative matrix was constructed to evaluate relative site characteristics with respect to physical, ecological, socio-cultural and economic factors. The study shows that environmental factors were essential to the final site recommendation.
Canadian Journal of Botany, 1973
The closely related genera Rhynchosia and Eriosema have tricolporate pollen. Twenty-two species o... more The closely related genera Rhynchosia and Eriosema have tricolporate pollen. Twenty-two species of Rhynchosia and nine species of Eriosema were examined with the light microscope. Most of the species have isopolar-type grains, but 11 species have the hitherto rarely described heteropolar-type pollen, i.e. on a single grain, the ends of the colpi subtend a greater area at one pole than at the opposite pole. Duplicate examination of 13 species indicates that polarity types are constant within those species. While the genera cannot be separated on the basis of pollen morphology alone, there are some pollen characters which embrace most species in any one genus. Eriosema species are mostly heteropolar (67%) and Rhynchosia are predominantly isopolar (77%). The lumina of the reticulum of Rhynchosia tend to be smaller than those of Eriosema and, with one exception, the muri of Eriosema have acute tops while those of Rhynchosia are obtuse. Scanning electron micrographs illustrate pollen mor...
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Papers by Eugene Ramcharan