A report released today by the Central Caribbean Marine Institute indicates that 2016 was a record year for scientific publications, presentations at international scientific conferences, and that educational occupancy and the Festival of Seas fundraising hit all new record highs.
These successes are catapulting CCMI to achieve its vision to become a premiere marine research and education institution in the Caribbean. The institute has been the training ground for 20 MSc and PhD projects whose discoveries also captivate young students traveling from local schools to the Little Cayman Research Centre. The education calendar in 2016 was the fullest in CCMI’s history as well. A record 59% increase in occupancy has occurred since 2014. One hundred and seventy seven (177) children from local schools have participated in their programmes.
The group reports that eleven peer reviewed research articles highlighted discoveries from work by international researchers at the Little Cayman Research Centre (LCRC). Their first publication in 2017 is released this month in the Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology (JEMBE) included lead author Kate Peach who conducted two seasons of research for her PhD at LCRC. The work simulated future ocean acidification conditions to shed light on which animals and plants living on the reefs surrounding the Cayman Islands will be winners and which will be losers. Dr. Carrie Manfrino, CCMI’s President and co-author on the paper indicated that “as temperatures and sea levels rise and as carbon dioxide levels in the ocean continue to increase the current balance in the ocean is changing. Marine algae and plants use up the carbon dioxide and are therefore key to maintaining the ocean’s balance. The research at CCMI is showing that despite the threats of OA, Halimeda, a green algae that is a major sand producer, is adapting. This discovery bodes well for the Cayman Islands because Halimeda happens to be one of the most abundant green algae in the lagoons and on the reefs.”
The work at the Little Cayman facility is made possible by scientific grants from major agencies, local sponsorships, and by fundraising activities including (especially) the Annual Festival of Seas. Held in December and raising well over $1,000,000 since beginning as a Christmas event in 2005, the Festival has helped support facility improvements, operations, and education and research programmes at the Little Cayman Research Centre. Conyers, Dill and Pearman were headline sponsors of the 2016 Festival which helped make this the most successful event in the organizations history. Funding from the Festival is invested in improvements that are being made this month to upgrade the entire facilities fire system to meet new safety codes and to replace the climate control system in their primary wet laboratory where experiments are taking place this month.
Carrie Manfrino, President of CCMI said:
On behalf of our Board, students, and staff, we want to thank our generous community who joined in our celebrations at the Festival of the Sea. Through the kind donations of our loyal supporters, we will continue to make significant scientific breakthroughs whilst educating Cayman’s youth into the importance of our Ocean health.’