By Terry Nisbett
I always thought that Redonda was just a huge rock probably used by fishermen as a landmark for determining fishing grounds and for navigating while at sea. It actually looks like a rock at least when viewing it from Nevis. I never thought of it as an island. But of course it is an island. Recently, I was surprised to learn that it has its own island environment with its creatures and vegetation, actually its own fauna and flora. I guess I am more used to seeing Booby Island which very visibly has green parts indicating vegetation. Redonda, in case some are unaware of its existence, is an island between Nevis and Montserrat, but it belongs to Antigua and Barbuda. From Nevis, it is visible from Maddens and other parts as you move eastwards.
What ended my ignorance of its environment was reading that it has a population of goats and black rats both of which are not native to the island. These two groups of animals have in fact threatened the island vegetation and in the case of the rats, they are also a threat to some species of wildlife which may even be unique to Redonda. Those familiar with the eating habits of goats would be aware that they could eat grass and plants down to the topsoil and the leaves from trees up to as far as they could reach standing on their hind legs and stretching their necks. Apparently, the vegetation on Redonda did not stand a chance against the goats so there are few trees left. In fact, the goats have apparently become victims of their own appetite. They have nibbled away their food supply and are now dying of starvation.
Well, how did goats come to be roaming on Redonda? As usually happens with goats, it is felt that humans took them there most likely as a source of food; which raises the other question of the reason for humans being on Redonda. The island was a source of phosphates found in the guano of the birds which lived and nested there. Encyclopaedia Britannica relates that “labourers from Montserrat mined the guano” beginning in1860 and continuing until the start of World War I. So Redonda had economic value at that time. That explains the human presence on Redonda which led to the goat population. The rats probably also hitched a ride among the possessions of the miners. According to the Antigua and Barbuda Marine Guide the island was occupied by about 120 guano miners and the guide also indicates that the “remnants of the Post Office which served the miners still survive.” This conjures up a picture of a little community on Redonda.
The current interest on the island is the damage being inflicted by the goats and black rats which are considered invasive species with regard to Redonda. Some species found only on the island could become extinct if the rat population is not removed. In an effort to save the fauna from extinction, Antigua-Barbuda intends to embark on a program of ridding Redonda of the approximately 5,000 black rats living there. With the rats gone, the bird population will increase and the other threatened species are likely to recover. The Redonda Restoration Project will try to move the goats off and resettle them in Antigua. The conservation efforts directed at Redonda serve to show how we can be unaware of the importance and value of the uninhabited islands around us. Who knew that Redonda had species of lizards found only on that island? It is not an island one would associate with biodiversity. Yet according to The Guardian newspaper, even the goats are considered a valuable breed bringing some difference that could be mixed in the genetic pool of existing goats in Antigua-Barbuda to make the local goats more drought resistant. The Redonda goats have been isolated from other breeds probably for nearly a century and are considered a rare breed.
Similarly, conservation efforts are underway on Mona Island, a much larger island than Redonda located between Puerto Rico and Hispaniola. The concerns are the same. Invasive species are threatening the biodiversity of the island. Wild pigs, wild cats, goats and rats are identified as threatening native species such as birds, iguanas, the Mona boa snake and a particular type of cactus known as Higo Chumbo. The pigs are also blamed for destroying turtle nests and eating the eggs and hatchlings of the hawksbill turtles which nest on the island. Threats to extinction or decline in the population of species generally occur when the feral cats, pigs and other introduced animals attack the nests and the young of the native species such as the iguana. A fence was built to protect the turtle nests from the pigs and conservationists had to raise some iguanas and release them when they were old enough to fend for themselves.
This brings us to wonder what is happening on other uninhabited islands around us. I wonder what is the state of biodiversity on Booby Island? Does the island need any conservation efforts? Unfortunately, these issues are often brought to our attention by researchers from universities or other organisations with the expertise and the funding to undertake research. Clearly we are taking the islands here, within our view day after day, very much for granted.
