While it was hypothesized that the animals could have traveled across the sea through matted vegetation, the recent research backed up some evidence that moving tectonic plates and shrinking glaciers from over millions of years accidentally created a path for wildlife to travel over the American mediterranean sea of the Atlantic Ocean, paving way to terrestrial faunal dispersals between South America and the Greater Antilles along the present-day Lesser Antilles arc.
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Ground-breaking Shark Research Conducted in St. Maarten
DCNA Nature reports on valuable research on sharks that has been taking place in the Dutch Caribbean. The research focused on tiger sharks, nurse sharks, and the endangered Caribbean reef sharks along the Saba Bank.
During the week of April 11, 2021, members from the Nature Foundation St. Maarten, the Dutch Caribbean Nature Alliance (DCNA), the Saba Conservation Foundation (SCF), and Beneath the Waves conducted multiple ‘scientific firsts’ as part of the “Shark Shakedown” project. The research expedition was a part of a wider research project into tiger sharks in the region funded by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF-NL) through the Biodiversity Funds and the Dutch National Postcode Lottery. researchers tagged eleven sharks, including for the first time a female pregnant tiger and endangered Caribbean reef shark in the Dutch Caribbean. The data will provide vital information for conservation stra
Published: 03 May 2021
PHILIPSBURG: - During the week of April 11, 2021, members from the Nature Foundation St. Maarten, the Dutch Caribbean Nature Alliance (DCNA), the Saba Conservation Foundation (SCF), and Beneath the Waves conducted multiple ‘scientific firsts’ as part of the “Shark Shakedown” project. The research expedition was a part of a wider research project into tiger sharks in the region funded by World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF-NL) through the Biodiversity Funds and the Dutch National Postcode Lottery. The researchers tagged eleven sharks, including for the first time a female pregnant tiger and an endangered Caribbean reef shark in the Dutch Caribbean. The data will provide vital information for conservation strategies not only in St. Maarten but for the wider Caribbean.
Published: 08 April 2021
Bonaire/PHILIPSBURG: - During the week of April 11, 2021, members from the Nature Foundation St. Maarten, the Dutch Caribbean Nature Alliance (DCNA), the Saba Conservation Foundation (SCF), and Beneath the Waves will be conducting shark research in the territorial waters of St. Maarten. This activity is a part of a wider research project into Tiger Sharks in the region funded by World Wild Fund for Nature the Netherlands (WWF-NL) through the Biodiversity Funds and the Dutch National Postcode Lottery. The goal of the week-long project is to gather data on sharks in Sint Maarten and for participants to be trained in ultrasonography technology to later determine whether the Saba Bank is a breeding area for tiger sharks in the Eastern Caribbean. The week-long project will be called the ‘Shark Shakedown’.
Published: 16 December 2020
PHILIPSBURG: -The Nature Foundation would like to extend its deepest condolences to the friends and family members of the woman who died on Orient Bay beach. It is very saddened to hear about this accident and that the cause of her death is due to a shark. “Human fatalities due to shark bites are very rare and none were recorded before this accident on St. Maarten. No one will know the reason why this shark biting occurred causing the young woman to lose her life, however, we do want to stress that sharks are not killing machines. Rare accidents like this one can happen, however, most sharks are harmless and an important contributor to the health of our marine ecosystem” stated the Nature Foundation.