Biology graduate student Aaron Adams and Associate Professor John Ebersole are making plans to travel to St. Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands for a series of experiments and research, thanks to a $129,051 grant awarded by the United States Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Marine Fisheries Service, Saltonstall-Kennedy Program. Their work will focus on the effect of coastal development and the resulting sedimentation on nearshore tropical marine habitats and the fish that live in them.
According to Ebersole, even small changes in technology - - like more
powerful outboards - - and population growth are pressurizing the
habitats that serve as nurseries for coral reef fish. The duo hopes
to determine to what extent the condition of nurseries affect the
adult population.
Adams credits the project's practical use for their grant award. "A
lot of scientific research is becoming less theoretical and more
applied," Adams said. If they are able to determine a link between
building and the fish populations, they expect their research to
alter development practices all around the Islands.
Although this initial grant covers only 18 months of research, their
plan calls for a full two years of study and the pair hope to extend
their project with additional grant money. Both Adams and Ebersole
have conducted research in St. Croix in the past. In fact, Adams
spent several years working for the Virgin Islands Fish and Wildlife
Department. They say they picked that spot because it has a similar
marine environment to other Caribbean islands. Therefore, their
findings can be applied throughout the region and perhaps more
widely. The grant, which starts May 1, will support Adams'
dissertation research.