BULLETIN FLORIDA STATE MUSEUM


these bluffs. On Little Cayman the limestone forest of the inland sites
is lower in height (6 m or less) and appears to be denser, with a greater
frequency of mahogany and Cereus cacti.
 INLAND LAGOONS AND PoNDs.-Although no streams occur on these
islands, to some degree all of them possess brackish lagoons (Fig. 16)
just behind the coastal ridges. Farther inland on Grand Cayman and
Little Cayman in lowlands are rain-fed ponds, chiefly brackish in nature
and surrounded by mudflats or mangroves. These ponds are breeding
sites for the abundant mosquito populations, but also support small fish
(chiefly Limia caymanensis and Gambusia p. puncticulata) and crabs
available to the piscivorous avifauna. Except for one large lagoon and
a few ponds in mangrove swamps on the southwestern portion, Cayman
Brac with its large central bluff is devoid of standing water.
 TOWN AND HOUSE SiTEs.-Where the native vegetation has been
cleared for houses, an important and distinctive ecological community
has developed. House sites, for example, include clearings for small
gardens, cultivated flowers and introduced shrubs, fruit-bearing trees,
scattered shade trees, and ruderal areas (Fig. 17). The spread-out towns
of Georgetown and West Bay on Grand Cayman are typical of this com-
munity with its introduced plants, which are attractive to certain bird
species. Particularly attractive to birds are flowers of Bougainvillea
glabra, Delonix regia, and Nerium oleander and fruits of Coccoloba


FIGURE 16.-Inland lagoon and mudflats with fringing mangroves, Little Cayman.


Vol. 19, No. 5