One of the most threatened but important habitats in the U.S. Virgin Islands are guts, or ghuts, the waterways carved out of the steep rocky island slopes that carry rainwater to the sea. This month, DPNR is focusing its “Do One Thing For Wildlife” campaign on guts to remind local residents of their importance to wildlife, fauna and to the local marine environment that island economies are built on.
“These are the conduits to the sea,” says Renata Platenberg, wildlife biologist at the Fish and Wildlife Division of the V.I. Department of Planning and Natural Resources, in her monthly newsletter published Wednesday.
“[A]nything in the gut at the top of the hill will eventually make its way down to the sea,” she says. “Not just trash and contaminants – there are native creatures living in the guts that need to get to a freshwater pool or even as far as the sea to complete their life cycle!”
Platenberg and other researchers have documented five types of native shrimp living in guts on St. Thomas – the largest of which can get as big as juvenile lobsters.
Frog eggs and tadpoles are washed into puddles and pools in guts where they complete their development.
Native fish, too, live in the freshwater pools found in local guts, including mountain mullets, gobies and freshwater eels. Birds, frogs, lizards, bats and all kinds of other creatures live and breed in these seasonal streams, and the banks of guts are home to many native plants and trees not often found in other areas anymore.
These species are threatened, however, by such non-point pollution as runoff from construction and road building, leaks from faulty septic, agricultural and pet waste, and deliberate dumping of solid waste or trash. Human and animal waste contributes to the presence of coliform bacteria, such as E. coli, which is one of the top killers of local coral reefs and sea grass beds.
In fact, research done on St. Thomas’s Dorothea, Neltjeberg and Turpentine Run guts in recent years shows that the more a gut has been impacted by sediment and other pollutants, the fewer native species can thrive. Unhealthy guts are also home to more non-native and invasive species, such as tilapia and trumpet snails, which further threaten the natives.
While on paper, guts are protected under local regulations, very little is done to enforce violations. According to the V.I. Code, the cutting or injury of any tree or vegetation within 30 feet of the center of a gut or 25 feet from the edge of the watercourse is prohibited.
Until the various agencies responsible for regulating the guts and planning for their protection make it a priority, Platenberg and other researchers say there is a lot local residents can do to protect guts and conserve the valuable habitat. These include:
• Cleaning up trash in and around guts;
• Not cutting vegetation in and along guts—and reporting those who do;
• Reducing contaminants by using biodegradable detergents and properly disposing of household chemicals; and
• Not releasing unwanted fish into guts.
Previous issues of DPNR’s “Do One Thing For Wildlife” campaign focusing on other habitats and species can be found at http://www.fw.dpnr.gov.vi/wild/index.htm.
