R reviews describing human impacts on coastal and marine ecosystems in the Caribbean emphasize two major problems. First is the lack of information about processes controlling the productivity of diverse coastal ecosystems. Second is the potential long-term negative impact of human disturbances on the goods and services these ecosystems provide (Richards and Bohnsack 1990, Ogden 1997). The Cari...

The geostrophic method was applied to six north-south hydrographic profiles across the Caribbean Sea and one across the Yucatan Strait. An axis of flow exists in the southern third of the Caribbean Sea. It flows directly over the steep slope in the reference layer found by Defant's method. This condition is similar to that of the Gulf Stream. The baroclinic mass distribution extends to approxim...

Caribbean salt ponds are unique wetlands that have received little scientific attention. They are common features of dry Caribbean coastlines, but they are threatened by rapid coastal development. We compared hydrology and salinity of 17 salt ponds in the British Virgin Islands. Ponds were mostly hypersaline (>50 ppt), and they exhibited dramatic salinity fluctuations in response to rainfall an...

Using the proton transfer reaction mass spectrometry (PTR-MS) technique, acetonitrile was measured during the wet season in a Venezuelan woodland savanna. The site was located downwind of the Caribbean Sea and no biomass burning events were observed in the region. High boundary layer concentrations of 211±36 pmol/mol (median, ±standard deviation) were observed during daytime in the well mixed b...

It is widely accepted that coral reefs are in decline globally, due to climate change as well as more direct human impacts such as poor water quality and overharvesting [1-3]. Biological invasions are also seen as a major threat [4-6]; however, they may not all be negative. An invasion of Red Sea rabbitfishes is disrupting Mediterranean ecosystems by removing macro-algae - meanwhile, in contras...

Examination of substrata from the mesophotic reefs of Mona Island, Puerto Rico yielded 3 new species of cumaceans, all from the family Nannastacidae: Cumella achimae sp. nov., C. victoriae sp. nov. and Nannastacus craciuni sp. nov. The 3 new species bring the total of new cumacean taxa described from the mesophotic reefs of US Caribbean to 9, highlighting the potential of mesophotic reefs as a ...