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162 IGUANA  •  VOLUME 15, NUMBER 3  •  SEPTEMBER 2008 ACKLEY

Lauren White (Oklahoma State University) was quick to find an Anolis oculatus exploiting the complex structural habitat on the grounds
of the Sunset Bay Club.

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IGUANA  •  VOLUME 15, NUMBER 3  •  SEPTEMBER 2008 163TRAVELOGUE

We go through life with all kinds of things covering our
eyes. Although some are self-imposed, many can be

attributed to outside sources. Time is a prime example, and I was
never more aware of just how little was available than during a
three-week trip to Dominica. Nine students from across the
U.S. and Puerto Rico had been accepted to the Avila University
Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) program.
These National Science Foundation funded programs last about
10 weeks, and most are based in labs at U.S. universities.
Needless to say, fieldwork on a tropical island was an attractive
perk of the Avila program.

Spending the entire three weeks fixated on a subset of the
fauna or even a single species, collecting data for projects that we
were expected to complete and submit for publication, often
interfered with commonplace activities like showers and sleep.
It certainly got in the way of exploring one of the most well-

regarded diving and ecotourism destinations in the West Indies.
This issue of IGUANA includes several articles about the
Dominican herpetofauna, and at the risk of offending those
researchers with the dedication required to ignore much of what
surrounds them, the following is devoted to aspects of the island
experience that might otherwise have eluded my attention. 

Our first day in paradise held several surprises. The most
notable was that our accommodations at Sunset Bay were far
more civilized than those that field biologists usually experience.
Also, our immediate surroundings, a complex of ornamental
plants in a well-maintained garden, provided a diverse assort-
ment of cover and perching sites that was readily exploited by a
number of Dominican lizards (along with occasional frogs and
snakes). Amazingly, during my survey, I found that the hotel
grounds were home to the highest herpetofaunal diversity we
encountered on the island — no doubt facilitated by the hotel

T R A V E L O G U E

Most by Land, Some by Sea: 
Photographing the Obscure in Dominica

Jeffrey W. Ackley

Department of Natural Sciences, Eckerd College, St. Petersburg, Florida 33711, USA
Photographs by the author except where noted.

This sunset at the Sunset Bay Club heralded our arrival.

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164 IGUANA  •  VOLUME 15, NUMBER 3  •  SEPTEMBER 2008 ACKLEY

Ruthie Carter studied microhabitat associations of frogs. Because we shared a need to cover much of the island, she became my travel partner.
While searching for Eleutherodactylus amplinympha on Morne Macaque a kilometer above the ocean, she looks out over what would have been
Freshwater Lake had the cloud forest not been, well, cloudy.

These pillars support the grandstands of Windsor Park Stadium in the
capital of Roseau. Although usually host to cricket matches, we took a
very rare night off to experience the national military band and a steel
drum group playing everything from hip-hop to Mozart and the theme
from Snow White. Such intensely developed areas are rare on
Dominica, and are largely limited to the very centers of Roseau and
the larger villages on the island.

High elevations, rugged topography, and hundreds of streams produce
myriad waterfalls. Here, the students enjoy some downtime beneath
Trafalgar Falls.

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IGUANA  •  VOLUME 15, NUMBER 3  •  SEPTEMBER 2008 165TRAVELOGUE

management and staff, who thoroughly enjoyed (or at least tol-
erated) the animals, not to mention putting up with us and our
antics.

The area was densely planted with exotic vegetation, lacked
a full tree canopy, and despite omnipresent humans and a great
deal of concrete, we saw as many reptilian species here as at any
other single place on the island. This situation is not unique, and
is actually predicted by the intermediate disturbance hypothe-
sis. For example, if you build a swimming pool in the middle of
the forest, it will probably not prevent any of the previous inhab-
itants from living nearby. Meanwhile, however, aquatic species,
which normally would not live in a dry forest, now have suitable

habitat and may occupy a new niche that was previously
unavailable, thus increasing the local diversity.

Of course, the risk exists that the magnitude, frequency, or
type of disturbance may make an entire area uninhabitable for
some or all of the species currently present. The seemingly opti-
mal environment offered at Sunset Bay was certainly a local
phenomenon. However, the ubiquity of Iguana delicatissima
was approached only at another moderately altered environ-
ment at Champagne Bay (where we went snorkeling). The
characteristics of habitats that promote diversity could exist or
be emulated elsewhere, and conservation by coexistence with
tolerant humans should not be overlooked as an option. This
is particularly true in areas where patches of human habitation
are smaller than the natural areas surrounding them, and inva-
sive species are less of an issue. For those of us who do not live
in a tropical paradise, “going herping” certainly should not be
limited entirely to arduous treks through secluded areas — we
might just encounter more animals and species near human
habitation.

Less enchanting was getting around the island. On the drive
from the airport on day one, we encountered a tourist who was
forced off the road by an oncoming vehicle on a stretch of road
reduced to barely one lane by the island’s rugged topography.
Although I was told that “traffic” on Dominica is not at all com-

This dead bat had been hanging unnoticed from a branch during much
of our stay; its discovery on our last day was attributable to the smell.

Named by the French for a 1674 killing of Carib Indians by the
English, Massacre is a coastal town north of the capital Roseau. A
member of our group commented on how this would read if “vandals”
were to add an “s” after Christian…

PJ Muelleman (Truman State University) and a school of fish at
Champagne Bay, a Dominican national marine sanctuary.

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parable to that on more developed islands, searching for appro-
priate field sites was occasionally problematic. My specific proj-
ect involved traveling across much of the island at all elevations
and times of day to evaluate the herpetofaunal diversity at eleven
sites. These areas were characterized by varying degrees of human
activity, and formed a gradient from natural forests to bustling
towns. Considerable travel was involved, and our limited time
frame and Dominica’s lack of superhighways led to an apprecia-
tion for why local residents regularly ignore posted speed limits.

In many ways, Dominica has remained the island it was
when Europeans first arrived. Intimidating mountain ranges and
near total absence of intervening flatlands that precluded the
development of extensive sugar plantations during the colonial
era are largely responsible. The roads to several of our study sites,
which were at elevations over 500 m, alternately revealed expan-
sive ocean vistas and views of the extensive old-growth forests
that still cover much of the island. In sharp contrast, the frogs,
lizards, and snakes we sought were often quite miniscule. Being
a bit of a camera nut who dabbles in underwater photography,
I was well-equipped with a wide-angle lens for the vistas and a
macro lens for the critters.

The blessings and curses of carrying a camera abound.
Leaving behind this piece of steal-able, bulky, breakable, tem-
peramental, and valuable scientific equipment is almost guaran-
teed to result in missed photographic opportunities — yet the
burden is not unlike that of taking responsibility for a child in
the field. Another curse is the almost inevitable reality that you’ll

have the wrong lens in place when faced with a fleeting image
you wish to preserve. However, when properly wielded, a good
camera allows you to record memories of one-time experiences
like no other tool.

For example, we were walking under the majestic 20-m for-
est canopy along the trail to Kachibona Lake, and I had my fish-
eye lens attached when a small frog scampered across the path.

166 IGUANA  •  VOLUME 15, NUMBER 3  •  SEPTEMBER 2008 ACKLEY

Turning around when we ran out of passable road was a common occurrence. This foreboding sign required us to back down 50 m of steeply
pitched asphalt. The entrance we eventually used to access the trail to Kachibona Lake was just to our left, although we took another two days to
discover it.

The sea and shore on the windward (eastern) coast of Dominica is
framed by banana leaves. Although spared the ravages imposed on
most islands by the sugar industry during the colonial era, banana
plantations proliferated during the 20th century and, unlike sugar, these
extend high into the mountains. However, with falling banana prices
in recent years, forest is reclaiming some former plantations.

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IGUANA  •  VOLUME 15, NUMBER 3  •  SEPTEMBER 2008 167TRAVELOGUE

This lens has a viewing angle wider than a human eye, and dis-
torts straight lines into curves (note the trees in wide angle
shots). However, small objects can be emphasized against a large
background, and thus given a context that a normal lens would
not allow.

Much of my work was done at night, and operating a cam-
era while dodging raindrops and attempting to take field notes
became quite a challenge. Flashes operate just fine without
ambient light, but that’s not true for the autofocus feature.
Thankfully, we had solutions strapped to our heads. Our night-
time activities were all conducted with headlamps. Usually, a col-
league was available to shed enough light on a subject to give our
cameras a chance to focus, but working alone required more
appendages than the number typically allotted to people (admit-
tedly, a tripod would have helped, but data collection almost
invariably precluded its use). A solution was to frame a picture,
then move my head away from the camera to angle the light on
a subject just in front of the lens. Autofocus makes a distinctive
noise when it stops “hunting” for the subject and finds a focal
point. Depressing the shutter immediately after this happens
without looking at the viewfinder is hardly a foolproof method,
but was sometimes the only option. Fortunately, most of the
animals we encountered at night were asleep or happily
ensconced on a stable perch and could be readily approached.
Some of these provided a wonderful excuse to take off the blind-
ers we wore to anything not related to amphibians or reptiles.
Unfortunately, many of these creatures were mobile, and some
insect pictures were possible only because biological urges (sex
and food) kept them from scuttling out of the frame. Because I
too was fixated on frogs and lizards, I often needed a few
moments to realize what I was seeing when encountering insects
at night.

One of our first nocturnal hikes involved a narrow trail
along a 45° slope in the midst of organic plastic-wrapped banana
trees. What first seemed to be a walking stick a few feet from my
head turned out to have considerably more than the usual num-
ber of legs and antennae. After counting more than 12
appendages, I eventually located two heads of animals engaged
in an aerial ballet of significant sexual dexterity. 

Cannibalism was another activity well suited to macro pho-
tography. After completing an uneventful survey along a trail
behind the Syndicate Nature Centre, we again encountered an
animal with too many legs. This time, however, only enough
limbs to account for one and a half insects were present. A large

Few living things can make you feel smaller or younger than old-
growth forests. This open semi-dry region was near the beginning of a
treacherous three-hour hike to Kachibona Lake.

A Martinique Frog (Eleutherodactylus martinicensis) and Craig Berg’s
intimidating hands are only a few centimeters from the fisheye lens.
This was taken without a flash, using only the patchy light filtering
through the canopy.

This grasshopper is feasting on another of its species. The genders
involved and what events led to this macabre spectacle are unknown.
Sexual cannibalism is rare in insects outside of mantids, but is known
to occur in crickets.

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grasshopper was cannibalizing another, and we arrived after most
of one creature had been ingested by the other.

For those of us with a penchant for water, an investment in
an underwater housing adds another weight-limit-grazing bag
— but also can provide opportunities for tripling the difficulty
of land-based photography (along with boatloads of fun).
Considering Dominica’s reputation for diving, I found myself
carrying my total body weight in equipment, and had to resort
to washing my limited clothing supply by swimming. When I
could sneak in the two hours required to set up, dismantle, and
clean the aluminum housing, I spent much of my time freediv-
ing with a snorkel.

The housing and external strobe are about the size and
weight of a toddler, although they achieve near-neutral buoy-
ancy in the ocean with the aid of foam floats and displaced
water. Towing the bulk with flippers is not difficult. However,
like approaching land animals with a camera, sea creatures capa-
ble of fleeing are far more inclined to do so when presented with
a clunky light emitting black object. On land, the solution is to
use zoom lenses that allow the photographer to capture a sub-
ject from a distance, but that’s impractical underwater. Color is
distorted by wavelengths of light absorbed by the water, and dis-
tant objects often have a drab, flat blue appearance. The solu-
tion is in the words of a war photographer named Robert Capa

(who, incidentally, died by stepping on a landmine): “If your
pictures aren’t good enough, you’re not close enough.” The need
to be close to the target results in many shots of fish posteriors,
and stalking anything that can move underwater will often
include the childhood games of hide-and-seek or sit-and-wait.
Wandering through a forest of spiky soft corals in the midst of
an untouched rocky patch reef, I encountered a number of
evocatively named creatures including Gold Spotted Snake Eels,
Flying Gurnards, and Bearded Fire Worms.

168 IGUANA  •  VOLUME 15, NUMBER 3  •  SEPTEMBER 2008 ACKLEY

These walking sticks were engaged in midair coitus. The insect on top
is hanging onto a leaf with two feet (top of frame), whereas the lower
individual is hanging onto the head of the first.

A trumpetfish is camouflaged amid the limbs of a feather duster worm,
blown back by the swells from which the feathers sift food particles.
The polychaete worm is actually the more skittish of the two, and
responds to any disturbance by quickly withdrawing into the mineral-
ized cylinder it secretes.

Never more than a few inches long, blennies sit atop corals next to holes
no larger than themselves, into which they all-too readily disappear.

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IGUANA  •  VOLUME 15, NUMBER 3  •  SEPTEMBER 2008 169TRAVELOGUE

Dominica has much to offer a naturalist, not only in terms
of diversity, but in sheer quantity of flora and fauna. A national
park system is in place, and a mix of international and indige-
nous conservation efforts have established public education pro-
grams. However, new threats, such as an outbreak of the chytrid
fungus among amphibian populations, are of increasing con-
cern. Development on the scale of that on many other

Caribbean islands is certainly within the realm of possibility.
Economic needs may yet trump the “nature isle.” However, the
current level of coexistence between the flora and fauna and
humans and their needs has resulted in a unique destination for
those of us who enjoy a natural experience.

Acknowledgements
Marcella and Roger Dutrieux Cools and their staff at the Sunset
Bay Club Beach Hotel were gracious hosts. Our mentors,
Robert Powell (Avila University), Robert W. Henderson
(Milwaukee Public Museum), John S. Parmerlee, Jr. (Johnson
County Community College), and Craig S. Berg (Milwaukee
County Zoo), provided transportation and guidance. Mr.
Arlington James, Forest Officer, Forestry, Wildlife, and Parks
Division, Ministry of Agriculture & the Environment,
Commonwealth of Dominica, was instrumental in issuing per-
mits to conduct research in Dominica and facilitated our efforts
in myriad ways. Fieldwork was funded by a grant from the
National Science Foundation (USA) to Robert Powell (DBI-
0242589).

One visible sign of the nation’s commitment to conservation consists
of educational signs posted along many of the major roads. 

JO
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A “hairy” crustacean retreats under the swaying arms of a protective sea
anemone.

A two-meter high starburst of soft coral rises above the ocean floor at
night.

“Boa” Bob Henderson demonstrated his snake-wrangling skills to the
displeasure of this Boa nebulosa.

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