Times of the Islands Summer 2020

green pages newsletter of the department of environment & coastal resources
The School for Field Studies has started long-term Sargassum collection at a bay on South Caicos to help track the inundations.
Caicos were found to use seagrass beds at some point
during their lifecycle, providing an invaluable service to
the fishing industry. As for tourism, the sight and stench
alone of washed-up Sargassum is enough to drive paying
customers away from any beachfront establishment. In
such large quantities, it makes the water uncomfortable
for recreational use but also expensive to continually be
removed.
While it is still not certain whether or not we will be
able to accurately predict raids of Sargassum blooms, it
is likely that they will continue to rise with consistent artificial
nutrient input. Upwellings provide a natural influx
of nutrients, but human-induced deforestation and fertilizer
use in agriculture allow nutrients in the soil to run
off with rain and enter ocean ecosystems stocked with
Sargassum seeds.
The School for Field Studies’ Center for Marine
Resource Studies provides university students with the
opportunity to participate in the research and monitoring
of both lionfish and Sargassum on South Caicos. Teams
of students, faculty, and staff participate in an “Invasive
Species Field Excursion” in which they search for and
remove lionfish while SCUBA diving or snorkeling.
Additionally, students have surveyed the seagrass
beds surrounding the island as a preliminary analysis of
ecosystem health as well as conducted controlled experiments
examining the effects of limited light, excess
nutrients and combined stresses on seagrasses as a
result of Sargassum influxes. We have started long-term
Sargassum collection at a nearby bay to help track these
inundations and assist researchers in exploring trash-totreasure
solutions for the Caribbean communities that
are most affected.
While the Age of Biological Piracy may not share the
same embellished tales of guts and glory as the Golden
Age of Piracy, one thing is for sure: we must protect our
treasure. Lucky for us, lionfish can be served as a tasty
meal. (May I recommend ceviche?) As for Sargassum,
companies in Mexico have experimented in making
paper, cosmetics, bricks and fertilizer. There is even
work being done to investigate developing an alternative
source of fuel from the seaweed.
So, the next time you’re asked to go on a treasure
hunt, don’t forget to stop and look around. What you’re
searching for could be hidden in plain sight. a
For more information, contact SFS Center Director Heidi
Hertler, PhD at hhertler@fieldstudies.org.
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