The Center for Marine Resource Studies
December 1, 2009

Academic Update
Study time is over. We are now ten days into our Directed Research projects. Now is the time as a student when you get to focus and apply the knowledge acquired from the previous course lectures. This is a great experience for the students (I wish I had this opportunity while an undergrad). While some students are looking for lionfish, others are evaluating reef estimation methodologies. My team is conducting a socio-economic analysis of the local community. Through face-to-face interviews, we hope to discover some of the underlying phenomena that might be restricting the successful conservation of the marine resources both within protected areas and beyond. Additionally we hope to assess community resiliency to external threats such as Hurricane Ike that hit the island last year. In just ten days, these students have become highly proficient in applying theory to practical situations within a complex social situation. I am excited and looking forward to the final outcomes and project presentations. 
-Pete Parker, Resident Lecturer in Environmental Policy and Socio-Economic Values

Student Reflections
In the past two weeks all of us students have jumped right into our Directed Research projects. There are four radically different projects. The divers are in the water almost everyday performing transects, while some snorkelers are on a hunt for the dreaded invasive lionfish. Other students participate in an interactive research project with the community, and another group is monitoring the catches that the fishermen bring in for the day. Everybody is learning a lot during the data collection period of our projects, and before we know it we will be giving our final presentations.

The school hosted a formal dinner last week for the South Caicos government workers and their families. Over 50 members of the community joined the students and staff for a lovely meal in our courtyard. Many of the students knew some of the guests from our weekly community engagement, but it was also fun to meet new faces.
I can’t believe it is already Thanksgiving this week! Although it has been cooler at night, the days are still hot and beautiful. Time is flying by and nobody is looking forward to the day we have to leave paradise.
-Katie Akiba, University of San Diego
 

A week and a half ago, we finished our three classes. After a day's break, we began our Directed Research projects. About 12 scuba divers began surveying reef fish biodiversity by using a variety of survey methods and comparing the different results.  Another six students began work on policy research, in which they planned out and began interviews of different segments of local society. This proved difficult in a number of cases, as many of the locals were perfectly willing to speak with us, but became much more formal and less relaxed as soon as they understood it was part of a survey.

A pair of students began surveying what the fin-fishermen were taking in. Since the lobster and conch fisheries are already highly stressed, it is likely that many fishers may be transitioning into the fin-fisheries. To monitor this new fishery, those students are recording the length and species of the catch that the fishermen bring in. 

The last group of students are hunting lionfish, an invasive species in the Caribbean that is naturally endemic to the Indo-Pacific region. They leave every morning for several hours to capture specimens, which are measured and dissected to examine gut contents. This allows the lionfish hunting group to find what the lionfish are eating. However, now that everyone is nearly finished, students are starting to feel the end of their semester abroad creeping up on them. I think that we’re all going to miss this place, especially as many of us enter colder climates in the middle of winter. 
-David Short, College of William and Mary

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