Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-l7hp2 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-27T15:57:11.897Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

The Black River Lower Morass: a threatened wetland in Jamaica

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 April 2009

L. D. Garrick
Affiliation:
192 Tichenor Avenue, South Orange, NJ 07079, USA.
Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.

The Black River Lower Morass is Jamaica's largest wetland, and is a refuge for two endangered species—the American crocodile and the West Indian manatee—as well as for a host of other plants and animals. It is internationally important for many birds and a vital economic resource for 20,000 people. Proposals for peat mining and drainage for agriculture now threaten this valuable area. The author has a long-standing interest in the wetland, having studied the American crocodile there since 1975.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Fauna and Flora International 1986

References

Asprey, G.F. and Robbins, R.G. 1953. The vegetation of Jamaica. Ecological Monographs 23(4), 359412.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Björk, S. 1983. Environmental feasibility study of peat mining in Jamaica. Unpublished manuscript. Prepared for the Petroleum Corporation of Jamaica (PCJ), Kingston.Google Scholar
Coke, L.B., Bertrand, R. and Batchelor, S. 1982. Macrophyte vegetation of the Negril Morass and Lower Black River Morass Jamaica. Unpublished manuscript. Appendix V to Björk, S. 1983.Google Scholar
Digerfeldt, G. and Enell, M. 1984. Paleoecological studies of the past development of the Negril and Black River Morasses, Jamaica. Unpublished manuscript. Appendix I to Björk, S. 1983.Google Scholar
Garrick, L.D. and Lang, J.W. 1977. Social signals and behaviors of adult alligators and crocodiles. Amer. Zool. 17(1), 225239.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hunte, W. 1978. The distribution of freshwater shrimps (Atyidae and Palaemonidae) in Jamaica. Zool. J. Linnean Soc. 64, 135150.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
NRCD and Traverse Group Incorporated. 1981. Final report. Environmental Feasibility Study of the Jamaica Peat Resources Utilization Project. Unpublished. (Natural Resources Conservation Department, Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment, PO Box 305, Kingston, 10, Jamaica.)Google Scholar
Svensson, S. 1983. Ornithological survey of the Negril and Black River Morasses, Jamaica. Unpublished manuscript. Appendix VI to Björk, S. 1983.Google Scholar
Wade, B. 1984. The Black River: waterway, wetlands and a way of life. Jamaica Journal 17(4), 1023.Google Scholar