Headed back to Haiti Cheri!

We are gearing up for our fourth field season in Haiti, on the sleepy but beautiful little island of Ile A Vache (island of the cow). This year we are working with two different small fishing communities to build a series of artificial reefs, some of which the communities will fish, and some of which they will protect from fishing. We are extremely excited about the positive feedback and enthusiasm we have received from locals about our these projects, and are looking forward to working with them directly to bridge informative science with conservation.

We have also created an educational poster about the ecology of artificial reefs. We use this as a tool for explaining our project to community members and local schools, and also something tangible that we can leave for educational purposes. Last years posters were a big success, so we are hoping for a repeat this year.

I will keep you posted as things progress this summer.

About the Author: Jacob Allgeier

I am an ecologist with broad interests in how human-induced changes alter how ecosystems function and the services that they provide. A central focus of my research is understanding how changes in biodiversity affect the flow of nutrients and energy in ecosystems. Most of this research takes place in tropical coastal ecosystems such as mangroves, seagrass beds, and coral reefs. I am an assistant professor at the University of Michigan, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology.