Research

Wildlife and People in the Rupununi – A comprehensive assessment based on science and local knowledge. 2024. van Vliet, N., Ponta, N., LeBel, S., McKenna, L. and David, O., eds. 2024. Rome, FAO, CIRAD, CIFOR-ICRAF and WCS. https://doi.org/10.4060/cd0660en

Black Caiman - Yellow Spotted Amazon River Turtle - Jaguar - Ethnobotany

Black Caiman  

Melanosuchus niger: Long-term mark-recapture field study

1. Conduct a detailed ecological study of the Black Caiman.

2. Recommend protocols to resolve human/caiman conflicts.

3. Develop a cadre of indigenous naturalists to provide the basis for the continued study of crocodilian species, to educate local people on conservation and management issues, and to assist in the implementation of sound conservation practices.

4. Enhance our knowledge of the natural history and biology of black caiman through scientific publications and other media.

Academic Publications

Global Ecology and Conservation (2024) Nesting Trends and Predation Risks Among Yellow-Spotted River Turtles in Essequibo River Basin

Society for Conservation Biology (2022) Drivers of human–black caiman (Melanosuchus niger) conflict in Indigenous communities in the North Rupununi wetlands, southwestern Guyana

Herpetologica (2021) More bang for your croc: Wildlife tourism value of crocodilians in relation to consumptive values

Biotropica (2021) What do adult black caiman (Melanosuchus niger) actually eat?

Amphibia-Reptilia (2016) Growth rates of black caiman

Herpetological Review (2015) Notes on the diet of Melanosuchus niger

Journal of Zoology (2011) Acoustic signals of baby black caimans

Yellow-spotted Amazon River Turtle

Podocnemis unifilis: Community Monitoring and Head-start 

This is an on-going village project founded in 2011 by Caiman House Intern Jeff Slocum. Generously seeded and nurtured for many years by Exmoor Zoo and Linton Zoo (UK), and then sustained by Phoenix Zoo (US), our turtle head-starting and related youth programming is currently supported by the Sustainable Wildlife Management Programme, a beneficiary of the Center for International Forestry Research.

Here’s a February 2022 article about the project.

Goal: To reduce the annual losses of adults, hatchlings and nests; to found a community-based management strategy; to build on strong local interest in and enthusiasm for turtle conservation in Guyana.

Jaguar

Panthera onca: Population Survey 

Goal: to establish baseline population densities of jaguar and their prey in the Kanuku Mountains via camera-trapping techniques and capture-recapture analyses; to build capacity for community-based monitoring; to support identification of a critical corridor linking regional jaguar populations.

Matt Hallett, Principal Investigator 

This project is generously supported by Jacksonville Zoo (US)

Macushi Ethnobotany Project  

Working in collaboration with villagers and local experts, Lewis Daly PhD, a teaching Fellow in Social Anthropology at the University of London, has recorded data relating to varietal diversity of crops, the cultivation and processing of cassava, local fermentation technologies, medicinal plants, and the use of plant charms in shamanic ritual. Research outputs include a doctoral thesis, a number of academic papers and journalistic articles, linguistic materials, ecological lists, and — in the future — a published monograph on Macushi ecological knowledge. More generally, the project aims to promote education and the preservation of local ecological knowledge in the North Rupununi region.