Terrestrial Mollusc Survey of Trinidad & Tobago from 2014-2017

Occurrence
Version 1.2 published by Test Organization #1 on Jan 18, 2022 Test Organization #1
Home:
https://sta.uwi.edu/fst/lifesciences/uwi-zoology-museum
Publication date:
18 January 2022
Published by:
Test Organization #1
License:
CC-BY 4.0

Download the latest version of this resource data as a Darwin Core Archive (DwC-A) or the resource metadata as EML or RTF:

Data as a DwC-A file download 743 records in English (33 KB)  - Update frequency: unknown
Metadata as an EML file download in English (26 KB)
Metadata as an RTF file download in English (15 KB)

Description

This dataset contains information about the mollusc specimens collected from a variety of mainly terrestrial but also some freshwater habitats at 111 sites throughout the twin-island Republic of Trinidad & Tobago. The survey was conducted by Mike G. Rutherford for the purposes of gathering data for his PhD study. At the time, he was curator of The University of the West Indies Zoology Museum (UWIZM), St. Augustine Campus, Trinidad & Tobago. The collection is composed of 743 lots of shells and whole animals, the majority of which were identified to species level. They are all stored in the Zoology Room of the UWIZM.

Data Records

The data in this occurrence resource has been published as a Darwin Core Archive (DwC-A), which is a standardized format for sharing biodiversity data as a set of one or more data tables. The core data table contains 743 records.

This IPT archives the data and thus serves as the data repository. The data and resource metadata are available for download in the downloads section. The versions table lists other versions of the resource that have been made publicly available and allows tracking changes made to the resource over time.

Versions

The table below shows only published versions of the resource that are publicly accessible.

How to cite

Please be aware, this is an old version of the dataset.  Researchers should cite this work as follows:

Rutherford M G (2022): Terrestrial Mollusc Survey of Trinidad & Tobago from 2014-2017. v1.2. Test Organization #1. Dataset/Occurrence. https://ipt.gbif.org/resource?r=terrestrial_mollusc_survey_of_trinidad_and_tobago&v=1.2

Rights

Researchers should respect the following rights statement:

The publisher and rights holder of this work is Test Organization #1. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY 4.0) License.

GBIF Registration

This resource has been registered with GBIF, and assigned the following GBIF UUID: 3a81c991-52dc-47f1-8176-9f36c0a64362.  Test Organization #1 publishes this resource, and is itself registered in GBIF as a data publisher endorsed by GBIF Secretariat.

Keywords

Occurrence; Specimen

Contacts

Mike G. Rutherford
  • Metadata Provider ●
  • Originator ●
  • Point Of Contact
Curator
The Hunterian
University of Glasgow
G12 8QQ Glasgow
GB
http://orcid.org/https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9329-097X
Jennalee Ramnarine
  • Point Of Contact
Museum Technician
The University of the West Indies Zoology Museum
St. Augustine
TT

Geographic Coverage

The country of Trinidad & Tobago including the smaller islands

Bounding Coordinates South West [-90, -180], North East [90, 180]

Taxonomic Coverage

No Description available

Phylum Mollusca (Molluscs)
Class Bivalvia, Gastropoda
Order Architaenioglossa, Caenogastropoda, Cycloneritida, Ellobiida, Hygrophila, Littorinimorpha, Sphaeriida, Stylommatophora
Family Achatinidae, Amphibulimidae, Ampullariidae, Annulariidae, Bulimulidae, Charopidae, Cochliopidae, Diplommatinidae, Ellobiidae, Euconulidae, Ferussaciidae, Gastrocoptidae, Gastrodontidae, Helicarionidae, Helicinidae, Helicodiscidae, Neocyclotidae, Orthalicidae, Philomycidae, Physidae, Planorbidae, Sagdidae, Scolodontidae, Sphaeriidae, Streptaxidae, Strophocheilidae, Succineidae, Thiaridae, Thysanophoridae, Trichodiscinidae, Truncatellidae, Urocoptidae, Valloniidae, Vertiginidae

Temporal Coverage

Start Date / End Date 2014-02-22 / 2017-02-13

Project Data

Trinidad and Tobago supports a rich biodiversity, largely thanks to its geographical position as a pair of Caribbean islands situated just 11 km off the coast of South America. However, as a small island developing state, it faces numerous pressures of human development on biodiversity and habitat integrity. Well-functioning natural history collections are key in documenting, monitoring and managing this biodiversity. The project team is keen to build on the progress established during a previous BID regional project, which allowed the University of the West Indies Zoology Museum (UWIZM) to publish more than 21,000 records to GBIF and train a range of stakeholders. This project will mobilize data from the remainder of the UWIZM collection (including an extensive and agriculturally important land arthropod collection containing 45,000 specimens) while forging partnerships with two other national institutions with significant collections. The combined collections of the UWIZM, the National Herbarium of Trinidad and Tobago (NH) and the National Museum and Art Gallery of Trinidad and Tobago (NMAG) hold more than 100,000 specimens. Each of the three collections will hold greater value if they are available in a consistent format from a single source. This project aims to fill data gaps by digitizing these collections. These datasets will be published on GBIF, making them easily accessible to policy-makers and other stakeholders through the Trinidad and Tobago Biodiversity Information System (TTBIS), a newly established archive of biodiversity data focused on protected areas. Training workshops will be designed to increase awareness and build national capacity, access and use of GBIF and TTBIS, with the ultimate aim expanding T&T data published to GBIF by trained stakeholders able to prepare and publish their own datasets.

Title Improving national biodiversity data accessibility in Trinidad and Tobago
Identifier BID-CA2020-039-NAC
Study Area Description The country of Trinidad & Tobago including the smaller islands
Design Description The aim of the present dataset is to provide information from the survey for terrestrial molluscs of Trinidad & Tobago conducted by Mike G. Rutherford from 2014-2017.

The personnel involved in the project:

Mike G. Rutherford
  • Metadata Provider
http://orcid.org/https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9329-097X

Sampling Methods

1. Fieldwork At each site searching by hand was undertaken for approximately one hour within a radius of approximately 5 to 20 metres from the coordinates depending on terrain and vegetation cover. Vegetation was examined up to a height of 2 metres, logs and stones were overturned and leaf litter was raked searching for live specimens and empty shells. At each site, several litres of leaf litter and soil were collected for further examination in a laboratory. At certain urban and agricultural sites, there was very little leaf litter, but soil samples were still taken. 2. Laboratory work These samples were then searched by the naked eye for live specimens and then spread out and left to dry in trays. The dried mixture was then put through a series of sieves (10 mm, 5 mm and 1 mm) with the resulting samples being examined under a stereomicroscope to find shells (magnification ranging from x4 to x40). The majority of specimens collected were dried empty shells which were stored in small plastic self-sealing bags with small shells being placed inside gelatine capsules for protection. There were also a few whole animals that were preserved in 70% ethanol. All specimens were labelled and catalogued in the UWIZM Past Perfect 5.0 database.

Study Extent Sampling was conducted at over 100 sites across Trinidad and Tobago including the largest of the smaller islands, Little Tobago, Monos, Huevos and Chacachacare. The sites selected for surveying were a subset of the 240 sites visited by the Rapid Botanic Survey of Trinidad & Tobago conducted from 2005-2008 by Oxford University, The University of the West Indies, the National Herbarium of Trinidad & Tobago and the Forestry Division and funded by the Darwin Initiative. This was done so that information on habitat and plant diversity could be easily compared with the molluscan diversity.
Quality Control Identification was carried out by Mike G. Rutherford using suitable literature (see bibliography). Scientific names were validated using Molluscabase (accessed November 2021).

Method step description:

  1. See Sampling Description

Collection Data

Collection Name Terrestrial Mollusc Survey of Trinidad & Tobago
Specimen preservation methods Dried

Bibliographic Citations

  1. Bland, T. (1862). "XXXIII.—On the Geographical Distribution of the Genera and Species of Land Shells of the West India Islands; with a Catalogue of the Species of each Island." Annals of the Lyceum of Natural History of New York 7(1): 335-361.
  2. Crosse, H. (1890). "Faune malacologique terrestre et fluviatile de l'Ile de la Trinité (Antilles)." Journal de Conchyliologie 38: 35-65.
  3. Guppy, R. J. L. (1864). "XXVII.—Descriptions of new species of Fluviatile and Terrestrial operculate Mollusca from Trinidad." Journal of Natural History 14(82): 243-248.
  4. Guppy, R. J. L. (1866). "Catalogue of the Land and Freshwater Mollusca of Trinidad." Proceedings of the Scientific Association of Trinidad, Port of Spain 1: 10-35.
  5. Guppy, R. J. L. (1866). "IV.—On the terrestrial and fluviatile Mollusca of Trinidad." Journal of Natural History 17(97): 42-56.
  6. Guppy, R. J. L. (1867). "Additions to the Catalogue of the Land and Freshwater Mollusca of Trinidad." Proceedings of the Scientific Association of Trinidad, Port of Spain 1: 135-1137.
  7. Guppy, R. J. L. (1867). "XL.—Description of a new land-shell from Trinidad." Journal of Natural History 19(112): 260-260.
  8. Guppy, R. J. L. (1868). "Further Additions to the Catalogue of the Land and Freshwater Molluska of Trinidad." Proceedings of the Scientific Association of Trinidad, Port of Spain 1: 237-245.
  9. Guppy, R. J. L. (1868). "XLIX.—On the terrestrial Mollusca of Dominica and Grenada; with an account of some new species from Trinidad." Annals and Magazine of Natural History 1 - 4th Series(6): 429-442.
  10. Guppy, R. J. L. (1871). "Notes on some new forms of terrestrial and fluviatile mollusca found in Trinidad." American Journal of Conchology 6(4): 306-311.
  11. Guppy, R. J. L. (1872). "Third series of additions to the catalogue of the land and freshwater Mollusca of Trinidad, with a revised list of all species." Proceedings of the Scientific Association of Trinidad, Port of Spain(2): 17-25.
  12. Guppy, R. J. L. (1893). "The land and freshwater mollusca of Trinidad." The Journal of Conchology 7: 210-231.
  13. Haas, F. (1960). "Caribbean land molluscs: Vertiginidae." Studies on the Fauna of Curaçao and other Caribbean Islands 10(1): 1-17.
  14. Haas, F. (1962). "Caribbean land molluscs: Subulinidae and Oleacinidae." Studies on the Fauna of Curaçao and other Caribbean Islands 13(1): 49-60.
  15. Robinson, D. G., Fields, A., & Zimmerman, F. J. (2004). The Terrestrial Malacofauna of Trinidad and Tobago. Retrieved from Academy of Natural Sciences.
  16. Smith, E. A. (1896). "A list of the land and freshwater Mollusca of Trinidad." Journal of Conchology 8: 231-251.
  17. Smith, E. A. (1898). "On some land shells from Trinidad." Journal of Conchology 9: 27-29.

Additional Metadata

Alternative Identifiers 3a81c991-52dc-47f1-8176-9f36c0a64362
https://ipt.gbif.org/resource?r=terrestrial_mollusc_survey_of_trinidad_and_tobago