Center for Marine Biodiversity and Conservation

This capstone project tells the untold story of marine diamond mining, tracing its origins from the shores of Namibia to the fjords of Greenland. Despite the stark differences between these two locales, they share striking similarities in diamond potential. In Namibia, marine diamond mining flourished prior to the country's independence and the establishment of international mining laws, setting a precedent for potential challenges in Greenland's current political landscape. Through in-depth research, stakeholder interviews, and media production, this project fosters an informed storyline for a full-length documentary film. The capstone deliverables encompass a film treatment, budget, film plan, concise trailer, and transcribed interviews, strategically crafted towards securing future support of the project. The outcome of such seeking to advocate for greater transparency in the diamond industry and policies that prioritize both economic development and environmental integrity. The final film will engage audiences worldwide in considering the implications of marine diamond mining for Greenland's evolving climate and economy.

CLARITY film treatment can be found here: https://tinyurl.com/ClarityTreatment

CLARITY interview transcriptions can be found here: https://tinyurl.com/ClarityTranscriptions

This capstone project is a completed draft of an illustrated field guide of Southern California seaweeds. The purpose of this was to create a region-specific and user-friendly guide for readers to learn about local seaweeds. This was done by collecting life specimens and illustrating them by hand with watercolor. The illustrations were digitized and put into a draft, along with supporting information about each species. The completed draft will be prepared and submitted for publication in print.

Island communities, which rely on marine resources, are increasingly facing risks such as global climate change and overfishing, leading to lowered catch rates and biodiversity loss. This not only threatens ecosystems, but livelihoods as well; thus, sustainable ocean and fisheries management actions are critical in maintaining habitat integrity and increasing fish populations. Developing legal policy and restoring habitats are two important sustainability actions; however, these methods do not always ensure community buy-in or acceptance. A growing field in resource management involves the use of Behavior-Centered Design (BCD) and Community-Based Social Marketing (CBSM) to improve community involvement and adoption of management measures, working with communities to encourage behaviors that promote the sustainable use of ocean resources. BCD and CBSM combine how humans make decisions with steps to design programs to improve inclusion and collaboration, and enhance impact such as to increase successful adoption and implementation of conservation policies. It has been proven to be an effective tool, accelerating community support of sustainability initiatives. This project created a guidebook centered around implementing these behavioral approaches in the context of ocean and fisheries management, created with guidance from personale at the Waitt Institute, the Blue Azores Program, and the University of California San Diego. It will support conservation managers in their initiatives and outreach with communities by providing an easy-to-understand framework and knowledge base focused on behavioral approaches. The guide includes aspects such as successes and lessons learned in BCD throughout the industry, ethics and social justice,and strategies for implementation and testing for success. It presents a case study of São Miguel Island, a community with a rich culture of sustainability throughout history, as well as in current fisheries and ecosystem conservation programs. The island is in the Azores archipelago, an autonomous region located about 1000 miles off the coast of Portugal. A supplemental ArcGIS StoryMap web page was created to highlight the rich marine-based culture of communities on São, Miguel Island. The guide will act as a resource that can support marine managers in their initiatives, improving inclusion, equity, and increasing the chances of effecting long-term change.

Please see media created for this project here: https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/a9faa311e62640a5b830b679cb80bb88

As many marine species face dwindling populations due to the effects of climate change, it is vital to gain crucial information on what this means for the future of these organisms and their surrounding ecosystems. In order to gain insight to what ocean ecosystems might look like with shifting climate variability, we can look to the past. The goal of this project is to produce a two-million-year record of abundance of pelagic fish and sharks in the waters off Cape Town, South Africa. A Ichthyolith Accumulation Rate (IAR) was established to identify fish and shark production over the span of 2 million years. Results from this study show significant fluctuations of IAR, potentially contributing to the glacial-interglacial cycles that characterize the Pleistocene. When compared to complementary data, IAR data from this site is significantly higher compared to other subtropical regions. This increased IAR may be attributed to the behavior of the Agulhas Current that flows around the southern end of the Cape of Good Hope. This project aims to expand the geological history of fish abundances, providing baseline data to fill gaps in knowledge and guide future management efforts.

See the storymap created for this project here: https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/9e02851bc352487db26e5c4aa9fed27b

The El Vizcaino Biosphere Reserve is located in Baja California Sur, Mexico. This vast protected area is renowned for its biodiversity and ecological significance, particularly as a critical habitat for the Eastern subpopulation of the North Pacific Gray Whale. This project explores the perception and sustainability of the whale-watching industry in Guerrero Negro, and its role in conservation efforts. Through stakeholder interviews and analysis of management plans and specific research, the study examines the success of conservation strategies and the potential for increased tourism in the region. The end product, an informational StoryMap created using ArcGIS Pro, aims to promote ecotourism while fostering a deeper understanding of the importance of proper management and collaboration among stakeholders in preserving this unique marine environment. The project’s success will be measured by its ability to engage a wider audience and facilitate the connection between ecotourism and conservation in El Vizcaino Biosphere Reserve.

Please see media created for this project here: https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/10ca0e02402440b1b9f0a113b1accb89

There is a growing need to understand sea turtle biology and distribution as changingoceanographic conditions may cause dramatic shifts over time. However, conservation efforts for highly migratory and elusive species such as green and leatherback sea turtles remains achallenge, especially in the marine environment, limiting research to nesting females while the remainder of their life cycle is largely hidden. (1) Green turtles forage in bays and estuaries in Southern California and have been found to originate from tropical nesting beaches in Mexico. (1) On top of logistical challenges, traditional genetic studies on these species often rely on tissuesamples, which can be invasive and stressful for turtles, costly, and labor-intensive (3).Environmental DNA (eDNA) eDNA offers a non-invasive alternative, potentially revolutionizing the field. This method involves collecting samples of water, sand, air, etc. and essentially extracting DNA straight from the environment rather than the species of interest. (4) Previous studies have shown that eDNA can be extracted and identified from water samplescollected directly next to green turtles (5). The next challenge is to be able to quantify this eDNA to reliably determine presence or absence of the species, and to estimate relative abundance. Droplet Digital PCR is a system used to precisely quantify the amount of target DNA in a sample, and has not yet been used for eDNA studies of sea turtles. Without the need to capture or even see the organism itself, eDNA techniques could be vital for the detection and analysis of rare and elusive species. However, there is a need to systematically evaluate the reliability andefficacy of eDNA methodologies for sea turtle research, addressing issues related to sampleidentification, quantification, and temporal dynamics.

The global seaweed aquaculture industry is rapidly expanding due to the diversity of applications and sustainability benefits. Despite its global historical and cultural significance, seaweed remains underutilized in Western diets. This project investigates barriers to the culinary use of domestically-farmed seaweed in the United States, focusing on chefs' perceptions and knowledge gaps. Through collaboration with chefs and seaweed farms, the project developed educational resources and recipes to showcase the culinary versatility of eight seaweed species. The findings highlight challenges in seaweed accessibility and consumer acceptance, proposing targeted educational initiatives to enhance the domestic seaweed market and promote its culinary adoption.

Please see media created for this project here: https://tinyurl.com/5n88mk8n

Coral reefs are facing unprecedented threats due to climate change and local stressors,necessitating a better understanding of their responses and resilience mechanisms regionally. This study examines the impacts of the 2020 mass bleaching event on coral reef dynamics in Kenting National Park, Taiwan, using large-area imaging (LAI) technology. Four sites were analyzed, revealing insights into coral abundance, planar area, size distribution, and survivalrates of two common coral taxa, corymbose Pocillopora and massive Porites. Whilerestricted in scope, our findings highlight the resilience and adaptability of coral species inthe face of environmental stressors. Despite limitations, our study underscores the importance of LAI data in providing detailed insights into coral reef demography and dynamics, serving as both a scientific analysis tool and a means of effective science communication. Further research is needed to fully understand underlying mechanisms and ensure the long-termsustainability of coral reef ecosystems in Kenting National Park.

The blue economy is an area of growing investment and evolution across industries, governments, and communities. The rising global population coupled with rapid development in technology and trade has spurred governments across the world to look to the ocean for new sources of economic growth. While the ocean has historically been seen as an endless source of protein and extractive resources, the impacts of climate change are revealing the fallacy of this long-held assumption. Ocean acidification, warmer temperatures, and rising sea levels are resulting in habitat and biodiversity loss, extreme weather patterns, and changes to fish stock compositions and migration patterns. As a result of these changes, it is increasingly important to ensure a sustainable coexistence between humans and marine ecosystems. By developing a blue economy that prioritizes not only economic growth, but also the health of the environment and the livelihoods of local communities, it is possible to build a lasting blue economy for generations to come. The following paper analyzes existing blue economy frameworks utilized around the world to inform a model that assesses the feasibility of implementing blue economy programs in U.S. National Marine Sanctuaries.

 The National Marine Sanctuary Foundation (the Foundation) is developing a new Blue Economy program and associated strategy to help envision and provide sustainable revenue generation for the benefit of Sanctuary conservation work across our nation’s 15+ Sanctuaries. This Blue Economy Strategy will be first applied within the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary in support of its Mission: Iconic Reefs restoration initiative, by building critical revenue-generating initiatives that also support restoration work. Within this first overarching Florida Keys application, work will center around the native Caribbean king crab and its potential to become a novel fishery alongside its primary purpose as a coral reef restoration species. This project will contribute to the Florida Keys application of the Foundation’s Blue Economy Strategy by providing critically necessary background market analysis research for a viability study of the Caribbean king crab (CKC) fishery within the Florida Keys.