Environmental Histories of the Insular Caribbean

This project is ongoing.

The presupposed pristine condition of islands of the Caribbean implanted on most of us through postcards displaying clear waters and lush green vegetative tapestries stands in sharp contrast with the region’s environmental degradation history. Although the relevance of natural resource depletion caused by indigenous populations is still debated, the human imprint on the region’s natural resources following European colonization is only contentious with regards to its extent and timing. Once proved economically viable by the Portuguese in Brazil, sugar exportation became an ideal excuse to ascertain human taming of nature throughout the Insular Caribbean. The exploitation of both terrestrial and marine resources that occurred in the first two sugar-producing islands of St. Kitts and Barbados in the 17th century was replicated in much of the Antilles, albeit at different time periods. The eventual collapse of sugar production meant a reversion to forests for as long as economic opportunities entailing other forms of extensive natural resource use, such as tourism, took to emerge. This study focuses on the environmental histories of two specific case studies in the Northeastern Caribbean, the island of St. John and Puerto Rico, nowadays both U.S. possessions but formerly Danish and Spanish colonies, respectively. Special emphasis is given to the potential incompatibility of expected cause and effect relations between documented land use patterns and its effects on sediment yields and downstream coral reef ecosystems. In St. John, even though the island’s forest cover diminished to less than half of its landmass during most of the second half of the 18th century, unequivocal signs of increased coral reef stress by increased sediment yields are absent in the sedimentary record until the mid-20th century when a significant portion of the island’s landmass became a national park. In northeastern Puerto Rico, coral reef degradation occurred between the late 1970s and 1980s while sediment yields presumably declined as the adjoining watersheds were undergoing major reforestation. These results highlight the need to consult a variety of sources when attempting to reconstruct the environmental history of any given area.

 

Selected publications:

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2014.11.016

https://sites.utexas.edu/llilas-benson-magazine/2016/07/29/where-history-science-and-coral-reef-conservation-meet-a-case-study-from-st-john-u-s-virgin-islands/

Qualifications

Aptitude towards archival and historical research. Knowledge of Excel and inclination for quantitative data analyses. Basic experience with Geographical Information Systems required.

Project Timeline

Ongoing

Duties

Extraction of land use and water quality information from diverse sources including archives (physical and online), historical chronicles from colonial periods, demographic, economic and agricultural censuses, maps, water quality databases, etc. Georeferncing historical aerial imagery, preparing land cover maps, application of runoff/erosion models. Colonial era (1700-1800s) or contemporary (1900s-present) projects available. All data generated will be eventually published. Therefore, students are required to maintain an intense level of commitment and generate high data quality standards.

Typical Time Commitment
20hrs/week (Capstone, Honor's Thesis, Indep, Studies)
Desired Length of Commitment
2 or more

I'M INTERESTED IN THIS PROJECT. WHAT SHOULD I DO NEXT?

The Office of Undergraduate Research recommends that you attend an info session or advising before contacting faculty members or project contacts about research opportunities. We'll cover the steps to get involved, tips for contacting faculty, funding possibilities, and options for course credit. Once you have attended an Office of Undergraduate Research info session or spoken to an advisor, you can use the "Who to contact" details for this project to get in touch with the project leader and express your interest in getting involved.

Have you tried contacting professors and need more help? Schedule an appointment for additional support.