UWI Centre for Marine Sciences

Please save the date and join the Faculty of Science & Technology as they present another installment of The Professor Speaks Lecture.

Date: Thursday, October 28, 2021 @ 2:00 pm (JA time)

Tune in on YouTube @ https://youtube.com/channel/UCpiZ1nV-wDWWlaxky6Mvo0g

Happy International Day of Women and Girls in Science! According to UNESCO Institute for Statistics, less than 30% of researchers around the world are women.

Today, we will be featuring several women in our family who are rocking in the Environmental Science field.

Seas and Greetings
From the Centre for Marine Sciences' family to yours!!
🎄🌊🐠🐙

Tune in to tomorrow and on Wednesday to hear Prof. Mona Webber discuss the upcoming Grace Kennedy Foundation's Annual Public Lecture. The lecture will be held on Wednesday April 3, 2019 at 5pm at the Pegasus Hotel.
Live stream available on YouTube .

The first influx of Sargassum into the Caribbean was reported in 2011, followed by a much bigger inundation in 2014/15 and we've been getting waves of the algae since then. Several beaches and bays around the Jamaica (such as Discovery Bay-just off DBML's docks, pictured here) were inundated.
The algae originates in the Sargasso Sea (North Atlantic), but is now being produced in areas unrelated to the Sargasso sea, such as East of Brazil. When winds/currents weaken in those areas, pulses of the Sargassum escape and are subsequently transported into the Caribbean via the Caribbean current.
Photo by N. Guyah

The Golden Tide: A Nuisance or Opportunity?
Sargassum fluitans, one of three identified species of pelagic (grows in water column) seaweed which has been washing up on Caribbean shorelines since about 2011. Sargassum significantly impacts some marine organisms, tourism and fishing activities.
Learn more about the seaweed and its potential uses in subsequent posts.
Photo by: M. Ford

Our reefs are being affected by an outbreak of Stony Coral Tissue Loss Disease.
SCTLD appears as small circular or irregular patches/ blotches of exposed white intact skeleton, which can increase in size and fuse together. These patches may subsequently become covered in algae within 3-7 days.
First noticed in Florida in 2014, the disease is appearing in parts of the Caribbean including Jamaica and is thought to be caused by a bacteria and can be transmitted to other corals through direct contact as well as through water circulation.
Stony Coral Tissue Loss Disease, as the name suggests affects a range of stony, slow growing-reef building corals such as brain corals and vulnerable pillar corals (as shown in the picture)

While there is still a bit to learn about the disease, you can prevent its transmission by thoroughly inspecting and washing/disinfecting gear and equipment between each dive using water or bleach solution (non-sensitive gear).
Infographic source: www.gcfi.org

Did you know that coastal habitats such as mangroves, salt marshes and seagrasses have a significant impact on climate?
Mangroves have the ability to remove carbon dioxide from the air, trapping it in its waterlogged soil for decades.
An IUCN (International Union on Conservation of Nature) report shows that these coastal habitats can store up to 50 times more carbon in their soils than tropical rainforests. Despite being limited to tropical areas, and covering an estimated 140,000 square km (less than 3% the extent of the Amazon rainforest)- hence being referred to as powerhouses for carbon storage.

...they help us cope with Climate change
Photos by P.Francis and C.Trench

All are invited to this public lecture on the Science behind the Plastic ban, happening next Thursday, the 31st of January 2019.
For more information please contact us via email at [email protected] or call us at 876-935-8835/6.

Our mangrove adventure continues!
This adventure saw the CMS and DBML team conducting mangrove surveys and establishing monitoring sites in the vicinity of Jackson Bay in Clarendon.
More info on this collaboration with UWI SODECO (Solutions for Developing Countries) to come.

🎶O Christmas tree, O Christmas tree (worm)... How lovely are thy branches🎶
Happy Holidays and best wishes for the New Year from our family to yours!

“There are far better things ahead than any we leave behind” – C.S. Lewis.