Coral in the Caribbean

Through her research and participation in the ECU Integrated Coastal Sciences Ph.D. program, one student isn’t just seeking to study something new. She’s also aiming to make her mark on the world and help people along the way.

Alexandra Stevenson grew up in a military family and moved frequently in her early years. She witnessed her father work closely with the members of each new community through his role in the Army; and she was introduced to many cultures and backgrounds as he made connections with people in each new place. From an early age, she knew that she, too, wanted to help others as a part of her future career. Initially, she pursued nursing but found another outlet for her aspirations after taking an introductory anthropology course taught by one enthusiastic professor.

Today, Stevenson is an environmental anthropologist focused on the ways different cultures and environments influence each other. She is particularly interested in people’s interactions with the environment, subsistence strategies, climate change, and environmental justice.

She feels the need to be at “the nexus of the human-environment interaction,” she says. “I need to ensure my research exists in that space because there are so many injustices that happen that people are so unaware of or are aware of but don’t know how to fix it.”

She yearns to use her position and research to advocate and elevate those typically excluded from these critical conversations. Although she is only in her second year of the ICS program and is still completing the required courses, Stevenson has already begun to prepare for her dissertation.

Thanks, in part, to a supplemental grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF), Stevenson visited the US Virgin Islands in the summer of 2024 to participate in a coral restoration project and collect some preliminary data for her research. The opportunity will contribute to a greater, ongoing NSF Coastlines and People grant-funded project called “Strong Coasts” to which she and her advisor, Dr. Cindy Grace-McCaskey, currently contribute. The overarching goal of this work is to create equitable nature-based solutions to climate change through mangrove and coral restoration in Miami, Belize, and the US Virgin Islands.

While in the Caribbean, Stevenson focused extensively on the ecological aspects of her research. She worked closely with the Coral World Ocean and Reef Initiative, Inc. (CWORI), collecting data at current coral restoration sites and processing previously collected data to assess coral cover- i.e., the amount of coral present at specific plots. She also learned about land and water-based coral nursery operations and participated in out-planting smaller coral structures at reef restoration sites. Additionally, she became a certified Scientific Diver.

Though Stevenson has long been intrigued by anthropology and is quite familiar with its practices, she has had less exposure, up until now, to the ecological side of things. Her time in the US Virgin Islands allowed her to expand her skillset and broaden her assessments of environmental-human issues.

“Ecology informs a lot of policy and decision-making,” Stevenson explains. Ecologists approach problems in ways that often align with anthropologists’ perspectives. I see how the two [disciplines] can complement each other.”

She recognizes that past conservation efforts have often alienated the people most dependent on the area. Setting aside plots for conservation with strict rules and boundaries is an action intended to deter exploiters, but it also excludes local people who have built their livelihoods around both utilizing and maintaining that environment. Stevenson believes it would be better to practice social-ecological conservation, in which policy-makers co-develop conservation strategies with indigenous or local people, incorporating their knowledge of the area.

In line with this thinking, Stevenson also collected information for a pilot social science survey while in the Virgin Islands. To gauge the local perceptions of coral reefs and restoration efforts, she asked residents open- and closed-ended questions about the benefits of coral reefs, cultural identity or stewardship practices related to the reefs, in-water experiences such as snorkeling or SCUBA diving, and their level of participation, if any, in restoration efforts.

Stevenson hopes her survey results will provide insights into what might be missing in the area to foster greater involvement, better sustain current restoration efforts, and increase community identity and resilience.

Though she still has a few years to go before completing the ICS program and her dissertation, Stevenson has clear goals of what she hopes to accomplish.

“Ideally, my work will contribute to the evidence showing that people without master’s degrees or Ph.D.s can still greatly contribute to the field and be successful,” she says. “I want to leave something behind that the community can use to continue building their connection and environmental stewardship with their local ecosystem.”

The preceding story first appeared in the Fall 2024 edition of CoastLines.

Feature photo, top: Stevenson dives to maintain underwater coral tables that hold the species ‘Acropora cervicornis’. In the background are “coral trees” which provide another method for coral restoration. (Photo: Emma Place)