The Tribune

FREEPORT – Dr David W Steadman, curator of ornithology at Florida Museum of Natural History, and Janet Franklin, Professor in the School of Geographical Sciences and Urban Planning at Arizona State University, will be presenting the changes in biodiversity in the Bahamas at a public meeting to be held at the Rand Nature Centre tomorrow.

Steadman and Franklin’s research in recent years has focused on the Bahamas, and their studies have shown many changes in the biodiversity throughout the islands.

Artefacts found in various blue holes, but mainly Sawmill Sink in Abaco, show that many plants and animals that once existed in the Bahamas, are no longer part of the landscape.

The scientists will speak about their research on blue holes – which, due to the natural lack of oxygen, are excellent for preserving artefacts.

“The exciting and interesting thing about their research is how blue holes provide us with a window to the past – the conditions in the blue holes preserve the skeletons and decomposing plant material, providing us with information that would have been lost if the crocodiles and tortoises had not fallen into the blue holes,” said Lynn Gape, deputy executive at the Bahamas National Trust.

Additionally, the Bahamas is an excellent place to study blue holes and the artefacts present in them, due to the very high concentration of blue holes in the country.

In Andros alone, there are 178 known blue holes on land and at least 50 at sea.

Dean’s Blue Hole in Long Island is the deepest blue hole in the world, at 663 feet deep, and Ben’s Cave, and inland blue hole in Grand Bahama is said to have the longest cave system in the world, as passages in this cavern system stretch for thousands of miles.

The public meeting will begin at 7pm and is free to the public. Students are particularly encouraged to attend.

While at the Rand Nature Centre, the public is encouraged to join the Bahamas National Trust, to help support conservation of the environment.