A Historical Background to the Biodiversity of the Great Goat Island, Jamaica
Keron C. St. E. Campbell and Dionne Newell
Natural History Museum of Jamaica, Institute of Jamaica
Great Goat Island is found off the south coast of the parish of St. Catherine, Jamaica (Figure
1). The flora of the Great Goat Island is consistent with that of a dry limestone coastal
forest. The vegetation of the Great and Little Goat Islands are very similar, however this
summary focuses on the former (Figure 2). The island has been studied by several
renowned botanists including William H. Harris (former superintendent of Public Gardens
and Plantations) and Dr. George R. Proctor (former Botanist, Institute of Jamaica). Harris’
collections on the island date back to the early 1900s while Proctor’s collections started in
the 1950s. Other collectors have also added their collections and information to both
herbaria as well as to the field of botanical science in general.
Figure 1. Image showing Location of Great Goat Island, Jamaica
(Source: Google Earth Image dated 4/9/2013
Contributed by Suzanne Davis, Natural History Museum of Jamaica)
Figure 2. Image showing Location of Great and Little Goat Islands, Jamaica
(Source: Google Earth Image dated 12/18/2012
Contributed by Suzanne Davis, Natural History Museum of Jamaica)
To date, one hundred and fourteen (114) plant species have been recorded (i.e. herbarium
specimens and sight records) from the Great Goat Island. This number consists of some
fifty-four (54) different plant families and one hundred (100) different plant genera. Of the
one hundred and fourteen (114) species approximately twelve percent (12%) are endemic
to Jamaica and over ninety percent (90 %) are native (indigenous), while less than ten
percent (10%) are exotics or introduced species. The largest represented plant families are
the Fabaceae (Legume family), Myrtaceae (Myrtle family) and the Cactaceae (Cactus family)
- protected under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild
Fauna and Flora (CITES). The flora includes one (1) species of palm, and three (3) species of
orchids - also protected under CITES (www.cites.org).
The National Zoological Collections currently house specimens collected from Great Goat
Island between 1940 and 2006. Specimens were collected by zoology/research staff
employed to the Institute of Jamaica throughout the period. Species from the area
represented in the collections include sea snails, scorpions, crustaceans, insects and the
endemic Jamaican Iguana, Cyclura collei, Jamaica’s largest native land animal.
The iguana, which occurs only in Jamaica and in the drier southeastern parts, was once
fairly abundant on Goat Island where it served as food for the Tainos and early colonialists.
Its use as a food source along with the introduction of the Indian mongoose threatened the
species’ survival and led to its near extinction. Only a few were believed to have survived on
Great Goat Island in the beginning of the 20th century. However, the introduction of the
mongoose into Great Goat Island between 1920 and 1925 and its subsequent survival
eventually led to the rapid decline of the Jamaican Iguana. During World War II, the US
army planned to build a naval base on Goat Island and in an effort to save the small
population that remained, 22 iguanas were captured in 1940. They were held in captivity at
the Institute of Jamaica and in the following 6 years they all had died without leaving any
offspring. The population that remained on Great Goat Island eventually went extinct. Of
those that died in captivity, 14 specimens are currently held in the zoological collections at
the Natural History Museum of Jamaica (NHMJ).
Sources:
1.NHMJ zoological collections
2. Institute of Jamaica Herbarium
3. University of the West Indies, Mona Herbarium
4.Peter Vogel, 1990, Rediscovery of the Jamaican Iguana (Cyclura collei)