We explore human-environment dynamics in the context of marine biodiversity conservation, natural resource management, and climate change adaptation with a focus on marine protected areas, mangrove and coral reef ecosystem-based adaptation, and fisheries. Our work is highly interdisciplinary and informed by models and theories in human geography, governance, conservation sciences, ecology, nature-based adaptation, and natural resource management. We employ a mix of qualitative and quantitative social science and geospatial methods to explore human-environment dynamics at multiple spatial scales ranging from local to global, and we work closely with local communities and government agencies to bring theoretical perspectives to existing management challenges.
Recent projects
- Responses of small scale fisheries to storms in Bangladesh (2022-2023)
- Upscaling mangrove restoration for coastal hazard reduction in a deltaic environment (2023-2025) - IUCN Global EbA Fund
- Drivers of Ecosystem-based Adaptation to extreme events in mangrove-reef social-ecological systems (2022-2027)- NSF DISES
- Ocean use conflicts & indigenous fisheries in Hawaii (2021-2024)- NSF Belmont Forum
- How effective are protected areas to conserve mangroves at the global scale? (2020-2022)
- Fishers' ecological knowledge of environmental drivers of shrimp variability in North Carolina (2020-2021)- NC Sea Grant
- Effectiveness of turtle protection in the National Seashore Area (2020-2021) - National Park Service
Marine conservation
The establishment of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) has rapidly increased in recent years. Yet, the effectiveness of these areas as a conservation tool is not well understood. Our lab explores how people use, manage and govern MPAs and the outcomes of these actions to identify how MPAs need to be designed, managed and governed to achieve desired PA outcomes. Recent work has focused on outcomes of mangrove protection, turtle conservation, the importance of marine ecosystem services in PAs to local communities, and management effectiveness of MPAs. These studies have been conducted at the global scale and across multiple locations in Canada, California, Hawaiʻi, and North Carolina.
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Marine Fisheries
Our research explores management and governance issues of marine fisheries and marine aquaculture. We are particularly interested in governance challenges for managing fisheries as social-ecological systems, and issues related to the expansion of aquaculture. Recent work has explored the inclusion of local ecological knowledge in fishery management, institutional challenges to manage fisheries across multiple states and nations, potential conflicts between wild capture fisheries and aquaculture, and the role of organizational learning and social networks for reducing the spread of aquatic invasive species.
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Adaptation to Environmental Change
Our lab studies adaptation to environmental changes in coastal and marine systems. Our lab explores how resource users and managers respond to changes in environmental conditions including an increase in the frequency and intensity of coastal storms as well as other environmental changes, such as the spread of HABs. In addition, we study how people use and manage ecosystems in the context of ecosystem-based adaptation. Most of the recent work in this area focuses on coral reefs and mangroves in Fiji, Puerto Rico, and Ghana funded by IUCN and NSF.
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