The Ridge to
Reef Project
Hello from America’s Caribbean! We are excited to introduce our new project—a 5-year U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF EPSCoR) Track 1 Research Infrastructure Improvement Grant titled “Ridge to Reef Processes and Interdependent Drivers of Small Island Resilience”. This grant was awarded to the U.S. Virgin Islands in 2020 and is hosted here at the University of the Virgin Islands (UVI).
Cinnamon Bay Waterfall, St. John. Photo: Steve Simonsen
While this is the fourth Track 1 award to the USVI, this is the first one that takes a detailed look at land-based inputs that literally wash down the hillsides of our islands after rain events and enter the marine environment – going through our rocky coastlines, our beaches—and into the mangroves, offshore seagrass beds and corals. These inputs from the land can vary-but include plastic, glass and metal debris, organic wastes from animals and septic tanks leaks, and complex hydrocarbons and heavy metals from man-made sources. However, the most common component of run-off here in the islands are the sediments—soils and rocks of various sizes that typically come from agricultural lands, construction sites and other areas where soils are exposed to heavy rainfall.
What we also hope to understand beyond the composition and frequency of these run-off events are the other impacts of the changing environmental conditions on our small islands’ social and ecological systems. Healthy coastal and coral reef ecosystems are essential components of our tourism-driven economy. However, our coral reefs, beaches, seagrass beds, and mangroves are becoming increasingly vulnerable to stressors such as climate change.
Our marine ecosystems are also impacted by other human activities like coastal and hillside development, which can often magnify the negative effects of natural disturbances like the catastrophic 2017 Category 5 hurricanes, Irma and Maria.
The ability of our coastal and marine resources to resist and recover from disruptions and activities are key to their long term resilience. Understanding these disruptions is the over-arching focus of the Ridge to Reef (R2R) project.
We will advance our understanding about the various factors including those exacerbated by climate change that drive environmental degradation, decrease resistance to disturbance, and reduce the resilience of Caribbean coral reef ecosystems. To help counter the impacts of these disruptions, we are developing and implementing science-based ecological restoration approaches that emphasize biological biodiversity. These approaches will compliment ongoing ecosystem studies that in turn will inform the best available management strategies to increase resilience of marine and coastal habitats.
The R2R project also works to develop the next generation of Virgin Islanders who can ensure a resilient future for the Territory’s natural resources - a key element for sustaining our tourism-based economy here in the Caribbean in the years ahead.
We invite you to explore this site and check back frequently as we provide updates on our research and finding. Be sure to follow us on social media for information on community events, citizen science opportunities and research spotlights.
Our Vision
The vision of R2R is to improve understanding of the drivers, processes, interdependencies, and consequences of ecological change driven by natural and anthropogenic disruptions in Caribbean coastal and marine ecosystems.
Our Mission
The mission of the R2R project is to advance science-informed knowledge that guides managers, researchers and communities to more effectively manage the natural resources of the Territory while we adapt and respond to the impacts of climate change.
This project is guided by four hypotheses
H I: The resilience of USVI’s marine ecosystems is reduced through interacting stress drivers but may be modulated through increased genetic and species diversity.
H II: Land use practices and functional integrity of coastal ecosystems affect fluxes of sediment, nutrients, and biological pollutants to coral reef ecosystems, decreasing ecosystem resilience.
H III: Incorporation of species diversity into ecological restoration reduces impacts from global and local stressors and promotes resilience.
H IV: Citizens exposed to locally relevant resilience-themed activities and information through innovative learning opportunities will develop greater STEM engagement and skills, which will translate to measurable gains among K-12 and university students’ STEM recruitment, retention and persistence in STEM fields.
The United States Virgin Islands
The United States Virgin Islands became a US territory in 1917. It consists of four beautiful islands: St. Thomas, St. John, St. Croix and Water Island, plus several minor islets and cays. As tourism is the primary driver of the economy, a thriving marine ecosystem is critical to the territory’s economic viability.
The University of the Virgin Islands
The University of the Virgin Islands (UVI) is the only institution of higher learning in the US Virgin Islands and host to VI-EPSCoR. UVI is a small, predominantly Black undergraduate university with a student population of 1,678 students (2021) . It is one of the nation's Historically Black Colleges and Universities and, is a land grant college.
The Center for Marine and Environmental Studies
As a direct result of VI-EPSCoR investments, The Center for Marine and Environmental Studies (CMES) at the University of the Virgin Islands has become a world-class research destination producing innovative exploratory approaches and global leadership in environmental research.