Living World Articles submitted for publication are sent to two referees for Articles are accepted on the condition that they are submitted only to senior Articles may be emailed to: In general, we follow the Council of Science Editors Style Manual DocCSE.html). words. Nature Notes THE TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO FIELD NATURALISTS’ CLUB each and photographs. The Trinidad and Tobago Field Naturalists’ Club was founded on 10 July, 1891. Its name was incorporated by an Act of References should follow the Name and Year system. Some Parliament (Act 17 of 1991). The objects of the Club are to bring together persons interested in the study of natural history, the nature. December. Club. Mission Statement appreciation, heritage. Management Committee 2019 -2020 Editorial Committee President Renoir Auguste Amy Deacon (Assistant Editor) Secretary Danielle Morong Yasmin Comeau Assistant Secretary Laura Baboolal Treasurer Selwyn Gomes Members Dan Jaggernauth Palaash Narase (Representing the Publications Committee) Nicholas Mohammed Digital Graphic & Photograph Enquiries All enquiries concerning the Club should be addressed to: The Honorary Secretary Hard Copy: Prints (i.e. not slides or P.O. Republic of Trinidad and Tobago E-mail: [email protected] Website: www.ttfnc.org LIVING WORLD Journal of The Trinidad and Tobago Field Naturalists’ Club 2019 Inca clathrata quesneli Boos and Ratcliffe Published December, 2019 Living World is published by The Trinidad and Tobago Field Naturalists’ Club. All rights reserved. ISSN 1029-3299 Editorial The 2019 issue of Living World includes four Research Mohammed, Zolani Frank and Lanya Fanovich provide Papers, an unprecedented 12 Nature Notes, our annual report two new location records for freshwater turtles in Tobago from the Trinidad and Tobago Bird Status and Distribution and consider their status. Rakesh Bhukal and Kerresha Committee and one book review. Khan document the first records of the scorpion ofChactas Arneaud and Duncan start off with a list of mycorrhizal raymondhansi, in Tobago. Finally an update the species list species associated with the Moriche Palms. Mycorrhizal of Bats in Tobago, with the addition of Geoffroy’s Hairy- associations are an important and sometimes overlooked Legged Bat, Anoura geoffroyi, is provided by Luke Rostant, component of forest ecology; particularly so for a species Ralph Eshelman, Gary Morgan and Geoffrey Gomes. which is itself may be argued is a foundation species within In Trinidad Luke Rostant captured a Pawi chick the ecosystems it inhabits. An update of the populations in a camera trap, giving an insight into the early life of of Oilbirds in Trinidad is presented by Mike Rutherford. this Trinidad endemic. We have three notes relating to This is a very timely update and it is encouraging that the lepidoptera, Mike Rutherford describes the Life History Oilbird populations appear to be thriving. Not only were of the saturnid moth Citheronia hamifera, Matthew Cock we experiencing a dispersal from the popular cave at the helps with the field-identification of the Caligo butterflies; Asa Wright Nature Centre during 2019, but re-establishing and Matthew, together with Scott Alston-Smith describe the precise locations of the caves and determining the most the hesperiid butterfly Oxynthes corusca and its caterpillar. parsimonious fit between our current caves with those that Jo-Ann Sewlal adds a new family of spiders to the Trinidad Snow worked on in the 1950s, provides a platform for future and Tobago list on the basis of recent taxonomic work. Bob censuses. Matthew Cock provides an account of the three Thomas and Elsa Thomas describe frog Pristimantis urichi species of Donkey’s eyes, Junonia spp. In Trinidad and being eaten by a killifish, or Jumping Guabine, Rivulus Tobago. While all field naturalists, even the most unexposed, hartii. Renoir Auguste, Rainer Deo and Zakariyya Ali are familiar with the Donkey’s-eye butterfly, many of us present additional site records in Trinidad of the rare Gibba failed to realise that there were more than one species! Turtle Mesoclemmys gibba. Matthew, together with Perry Polar, Mike Rutherford, The report of the Trinidad and Tobago Bird Status and Giovanni Cafá and, Alan Buddie give us an account of the Distribution Committee by Martyn Kenefick records two Hypercompe trinitatis and its caterpillar in Trinidad. new species for Tobago, Plumbeous Kite and Band-Rumped The Nature Notes continue to represent a cross section of Swift, and provides photographic evidence for two species, fauna. In this issue we have four notes from Tobago. Lanya which if accepted by the South America Classification Fanovich, Aljoscha Wothke and Ryan Mohammed describe Committee of the American Ornithologists' Union would the distribution of the invasive brittlestar Ophiothela become the first accepted records for South America. mirabilis in coral reefs in Tobago- an account which is Ryam Mohammed brings the LW 2019 issue to a close particularly useful in understanding the eventual integration with a review of the book Life Along the Seashore of of the exotic species into the reef community. Ryan Trinidad and Tobago by Lorie Lee Lum and Julian Duncan. Cover Photograph The Oilbird Cave on Huevos island is currently home to 200 Oilbirds. This photograph was taken by Mike Rutherford while treading water and conducting an Oilbird Census in September 2019. See research article on page 7. ii A Preliminary Checklist of Endomycorrhizal Fungi Associated with Mauritia flexuosa L.f. (Arecaceae-Calamoideae) in Trinidad, W.I. Linton Lee Arneaud1 and Edgar Julian Duncan 1Department of Life Sciences, University of the West Indies, St Augustine, Trinidad and Tobago [email protected] ABSTRACT Endomycorrhizal fungi associated with the palm Mauritia flexuosa L. f. (Arecaceae-Calamoideae) were observed in situ and ex situ on the island of Trinidad, West Indies. Root endophytes varied between stage classes (seedling–adult) and amongst palms from different locations and individual species of endophyte were associated with more than one palm species. This suggests that palms with associated endophyte communities may have a greater chance of survival in stressful environments. Further studies on the relative abundance of endophytes and host specificity are warranted as different levels of endomycorrhizal associations and adaptations are expected. Key words: Arborescent palms, Aripo Savanna Environmentally Sensitive Area, Endophytes, Fungus, Symbiosis. INTRODUCTION Mauritia flexuosa is one of the most common and extension, its South American ecological range. This study widespread palms in the neotropics and plays a significant records a preliminary checklist of endomycorrhizal fungi role in the economies of neotropical countries of South associated with M. flexuosa on the island of Trinidad. America (Virapongse et al. 2017). Trinidad represents the northern limit of the range of distribution for M. flexuosa METHODOLOGY (Comeau et al. 2003). Although these palms have been Study site and field collection thoroughly studied (socioeconomic importance, livelihood, This study was conducted primarily in the savanna-forest ecology, conservation, management, and sustainability ecotone landscapes of the Aripo Savanna Environmentally (Virapongse et al. 2017), few records on root-endophyte Sensitive Area (ASESA), located in Trinidad, (10o35´30´´ associations with M. flexuosa can be found (Koolen et al. N, 61o12´0´´ W) altitude 45m (Fig.1). The ASESA 2012, Koolen et al. 2013). ecosystem is a series of open treeless areas of grass and Endophytes or endophytic fungi are known to exist in sedge marshland within an extensive area of forest. M. every plant species found thus far on the planet (Arnold et flexuosa palms are concentrated along the periphery of the al. 2001), however, there is not much information on their savannas and are most abundant along the fire-impacted associations with individual plant species. Furthermore, margins. little is known of endophyte associations in tropical trees All palms sampled were placed in stage classes following (Asita et al. 2018, Schroeder et al. 2018), especially Arneaud et al. (2017); new seedling (<0.25m), established palms (Froehlich and Petrini 2000). At present, there is seedling (0.25–0.5m), older seedling (0.5-1.0m, young no checklist of endomycorrhizal fungi associated with M. juvenile (1–3m), juvenile-1 (3–8m), young adult (8–12m), flexuosa; leaf-endophytic fungi associations have been adult-1 (12–22m), and adult-2 (>22m). documented in palms (Rodrigues 1994, Froehlich and In October 2012, approximately 15 ‘new seedlings’ were Petrini 2000, Arnold et al. 2001), but vaguely described taken from the ASESA (Savannas 1 and 3) and transplanted for M. flexuosa (Delgado et al. 2007, Vasquez et al. 2008, at each of Talparo (along a gully), Tunapuna (in pots), and Alvarez-Loayza et al. 2011). in a greenhouse in the Department of Life Sciences at the Root endophytes represent a group of understudied University of the West Indies in St. Augustine (also in pots). microorganisms (Faeth and Fagan 2002) and can be defined From these, only two palms survived in Talparo; the others as inconspicuous microbial organisms or endosymbionts died either within 15 months or upon reaching 1 metre. adapted to mutualistic associations inside root tissues In November 2014, a total of 30 established seedlings (Schulz and Boyle 2006, Kurissery et al. 2019). In many were collected from the ASESA (Savannas 1 and 3). From plant species, root endophytes are known to increase these, 15 were planted adjacent to the new wing of the water and nutrient absorption (Kurissery et al. 2019), Life Sciences Building, UWI (impeded soil), and 15 were protect against plant pathogens (Faeth and Fagan 2002), planted in Tunapuna (well-drained soil). On this occasion, and stimulate growth (Schulz and Boyle 2006). Results only one seedling survived at the UWI; in Tunapuna all from this study will provide baseline information relevant died. In January 2018, several fallen fruit and seeds taken to palm conservation and persistence in Trinidad, and by from the ASESA were planted (in a cluster) at the study 1 2 Living World, J.