Living World 2023

The Editorial Committee was saddened by the passing of Dr Elisha Tikasingh in August 2023. Elisha was the Editor of Living World between 1997 and 2013 and was well known to our regular contributors. The 2023 Living World is a bumper edition, with six research papers, ten nature notes and the regular Report of the Trinidad and Tobago Bird Status and Distribution Committee (TTBSDC).

Cover Photograph: Our cover photograph shows a colony of Zoanthus sociatus, photographed by Stanton G. Belford at Saline “Salybia” Bay in May 2022. It was found at low tide at less than 0.3 metres depth on a clear day with low turbidity. Belford initially thought that it was Zoanthus pulchellus based on the colour, however mitochondrial COI and 16S revealed it to be Z. sociatus. This demonstrates the value of molecular analyses for species identification. See page 126 for a full account of this study.