Coastal Ecology of the Bahamas

As a young student growing up in the Midwestern United States (Kansas and Missouri) there were two driving fascinations - first with all things outdoors and second with the speed and nature of change to the landscape.

I remember living at the edge of a housing development looking at earth-moving equipment moving aside the soft dirt and grass to make room for more homes and roads. There was a massive engineering of rocks, concrete and dirt to design the storm water ponds for the construction of a highway overpass that held my attention for a year with daily inspections. I kept thinking back to the history of the prairie region. Fewer than 100 years ago, there were buffalo, two metre grasses and a delicate network of creeks and rivers through this very location.

Despite this, my ultimate fascination was for all things in and around the sea. My grandfathers (who had been friends and outdoorsmen all their lives) retired to the Florida Keys, and early fishing trips turned into illustrated discussions of the environmental future of the Keys and south Florida. These childhood experiences drove me through a career path leading to graduate school in Marine Biology. Graduate training in the Pacific Ocean opened my eyes to new ecosystems and the science gave me the challenge of solving problems. My goal was to get back to south Florida and the Keys, and in 1984 I was appointed to the faculty of the University of Miami. By the time I did return to the Key Largo of my childhood, the Keys had undergone rapid growth with dredge-and-fill canals, and political fights well underway on how to control the valuable real estate and tourism industry.

My research focused on the physiology and energetics of fish, particularly how seasonal change and events impacted their growth and reproduction. I had this gnawing feeling that all the changes on the land would change the marine habitat and quality of life for the fishes. This connection between land and sea interactions and the importance of near shore marine environments started me off with spatial comparisons of the Florida Keys to the Bahamian archipelago (a geologically similar, but less populated, setting). The Coastal Ecology of the Bahamas project began in 2002 with Earthwatch Institute support. The focus of the project has been to understand how natural vegetation communities protect coastlines, and determine the flow of nutrients from land to sea; as well as how these changes in nutrient regimes or "eutrophication" of near shore waters impact important fisheries habitats.

The islands of the Bahamas are now faced with the same rapid development and expansion seen in the Florida Keys in the 1960s and 1970s. Globally we know more about best practices to protect coastal ecology, and there are political and management goals that seek "sustainable solutions". However, it is much easier to talk about sustainability than to really achieve a true ecological balance between development and the environment.

Like the Florida Keys, the Bahamas and other islands in the wider Caribbean have a formidable challenge to overcome a past history of environmental abuse, as well as the need to build their economies while preserving their natural resources. The islands of the Bahamas were formed relatively recently in geological time from exposed sea floor and lithified sand dunes along the margins of the large carbonate platforms. The islands are relatively small, low lying, and often dominated by extensive fringing mangroves abutting undulating ridges and swales. The highest point in the country is less than 300 feet above sea level, with much of the country less than 50 feet above sea level. The unique ecology and low-lying nature of the islands require thoughtful consideration of development patterns and goals over the next decade, especially in light of recent predictions for global climate change.

Now I live in the Bahamas, I am married to a Bahamian, and my family resides in Nassau, the country's capital. Living on an island further blends my research into all aspects of my life. The quest to achieve a more functional ecological landscape on the islands involves much more than scientific research. I know the future successes will depend on innovative ways to improve science literacy, convince policy makers to look at longer-term solutions, and build partnerships for environmental protection. I hope my children will inherit the same fascination with nature, and make their own unique contributions.

Report by Dr. Kathleen Sullivan Sealey.

Dr. Kathleen Sullivan Sealey will be speaking at the Earthwatch lecture, Conserving Biodiversity in the Americas, on Thursday 7 May at the Royal Geographical Society.

Find out more about the Earthwatch expedition Coastal Ecology of the Bahamas.