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What has been termed as a post-Negritude era has seen many Caribbean writers trying to forge an autonomous identity that would adequately articulate the multifaceted nature of the Caribbean subject This study will attempt to show that Maryse Conde is interested in expanding and (re)-negotiating the parameters used to define Caribbean identity formation. Conde intentionally blurs the lines that have helped maintain traditional tropes and oppositions that limit acceptable definitions of Caribbean identity. Her work resists closure and draws on the amalgam of cultures that makes the Caribbean propitious to multiple identity formation In the first chapter, I will show how Conde's attempts to relocate the matrix of Caribbean identity from Africa to the Antilles highlight the cultural conflicts at work within Caribbean societies. The second chapter revolves around the specificity of gender in assessing identity and reflects the complex role of women in determining social structure. The third chapter will show that, even though Conde is concerned with the question of race as a polemic debate, she seldom problematizes it as an orthodox black/white dichotomy. Her criticism suggests that race is a cultural construct and underscores the need for dealing with individual personalities rather than physical traits. The fourth chapter looks at the dynamic process of creolization and the quest for authenticity through language and stylistic expression Paradoxically, even as Conde repositions the Caribbean identity as a product of multiple cultural intersections, her representation of cultural plurality leads inexorably back to the Antilles as the primary source of inspiration, drawing from it, claiming it, and above all, accepting it as one's own / acase@tulane.edu

Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 31-09, Section: A, page: 4769. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1970.

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Gene flow dictates a broad range of ecological and evolutionary processes. Understanding the factors mediating magnitude and direction of gene flow is crucial for interpreting patterns of genetic diversity and for answering many kinds of biological questions. Recent advances at the interface of population genetics and GIS technology have expanded our perspective of the geographic and physical features influencing gene flow and, in turn, shaping genetic structure of populations. I investigated the effect of surface-level trade winds on genetic structure and gene flow in two species of phyllostomid bats in the Bahamas and Greater Antilles: Erophylla sezekorni (the buffy flower bat) and Macrotus waterhousii (Waterhouse's leaf-nosed bat). Bayesian Clustering Analysis revealed that all islands sampled represent independent genetic populations for M. waterhousii but not for E. sezekorni. Samples from 13 islands (spanning E. sezekorni?s range) clustered into five genetic populations and revealed the existence of two main clades (eastern: Hispaniola and Puerto Rico; western: Cuba, Jamaica, and Bahamas). To test the hypothesis that surface-level trade winds mediate gene flow in this system, I generated measures of effective distance between islands using anisotropic cost modeling based on wind data from the National Climactic Data Center. Both species exhibited significant isolation by distance with geographical distance and some of the measures of effective distance, but effective distance did not provide increased explanatory power in predicting distribution of genetic diversity. The IBDGEO slope was steeper for E. sezekorni than M. waterhousii, suggesting greater dispersal ability in the former species. According to Maximum Likelihood analysis, a majority (80%) of gene flow between genetic populations was asymmetric in both species. The degree of asymmetric gene flow between populations was not explained by the degree of asymmetry in effective distance or island area, indicating an unknown mechanism driving asymmetric gene flow. More information about the ecology of these taxa is required to understand the incidence of asymmetric gene flow in this system. The results of this study suggest that gene flow among islands is highly restricted for M. waterhousii and that this species deserves greater taxonomic attention and conservation concern.

The buffy flower bat (Erophylla sezekorni) is a neotropical leaf-nosed bat (Phyllostomidae) that is endemic to the Greater Antilles. Although this species is one of the most common and abundant species of mammals in the West Indies, very little is known about its ecology and evolution. To address this deficiency, I studied the genetic structure and mating system of the buffy flower bat on several islands throughout its range, focusing a more intensive study on the island of Exuma, Bahamas. I first studied the effects of ocean barriers on genetic diversification within Erophylla and two related endemic genera of endemic West Indian bats, Brachphylla, Phyllonycteris (Chapter II). I found evidence that ocean barriers inhibit gene flow and promote speciation within these genera. Focusing on genus Erophylla (Chapter III), I found that ocean channels usually act as barriers to gene flow among island populations within species. However, relatively shallow and narrow ocean channels formed semi-permeable barriers allowing gene flow between some island populations. Within the buffy flower bat, Erophylla sezekorni (Chapter IV), genetic diversity of mitochondrial DNA fragments was positively correlated with island size, with small islands having reduced genetic diversity. However, genetic diversity at several nuclear microsatellite loci was not correlated with island area and levels of genetic diversity were high for most island populations. In addition, island populations within the Great Bahamas Bank and Little Bahamas Bank showed high levels of gene flow between islands and showed no evidence of genetic bottlenecks. Populations of E. sezekorni on Exuma (Chapters IV and V) exhibited a polygynous mating system that included vigorous visual, acoustic, and olfactory male display behaviors. However, the social structure that I observed had a negligible effect on genetic diversity and genetic structure within these populations. Overall, the buffy flower bat exhibits very few of the genetic symptoms of island life, such as reduced genetic diversity and increased genetic isolation, and is evolutionarily adapted to persist on small oceanic islands.