Why we care
The Alabama oyster industry, which is highly susceptible to ocean acidification, is an essential component of the Gulf of Mexico economy. Bolstering ocean and ocean acidification literacy among the diverse student populations and connecting them to this community in Alabama, can improve awareness and understanding and set the stage for Alabama youth to help work toward adaptive solutions. This project creates a new research course for a region that lacks ocean acidification education and links potential food web and industry impacts of ocean acidification in the region for youth.
What we will do
This project creates a research course for high school students focused on career development, ocean acidification science and stewardship. The Alabama School of Mathematics and Science (ASMS) in Mobile, Alabama, a public residential STEM legacy high-school currently serving students from 50 counties including from the Poarch Creek Indians tribe, has a unique ability to connect students from across the state to the economic and ecological diversity of the Gulf of Mexico. The team at ASMS will partner with the Alabama Coastal Foundation (ACF) for their Biological Resource class with a student population from underserved communities like the Black Belt and Poarch Creek Indian Tribe. The project aims to communicate the impacts of ocean acidification to the local oyster economy to more than 300 people that include the ASMS and ACF communities.
The project will connect students to the direct importance of oysters in their region. Students will conduct empirical laboratory research experiments, visit local oyster farms and use NOAA weather and ocean monitoring data to understand the susceptibility of oysters to ocean acidification. Students will also increase capacity for ACF by creating a program that bridges state oyster production data with oyster recycling data to integrate the ecosystem services of that program. This includes future-cast data that incorporate ocean acidification data to understand potential impacts. The work involves community through sharing the science of coastal acidification through partnerships that increase the ACF’s oyster shell recycling program reach by providing public facing data on the impact restaurants have by joining the program.
Students will take action by educating the larger ASMS student body on ocean acidification and the importance of ocean stewardship during the spring “Dragon Talks Symposium”, Nerd Alert Podcast and ACF’s newsletter.
Benefits of our work
This project connects students to the economic and ecological importance of oysters and exposes them to potential ocean careers. A new course that includes scientific investigation and partnership with the oyster industry is a start to matriculating ocean acidification literacy throughout Alabama. The work will engage students from different backgrounds across the state including Poarch Creek Indians tribe. Also anticipated is increased capacity and reach for an oyster shell recycling program, which supports the local industry. This work improves ocean acidification education and provides innovative approaches for community involvement and ocean acidification stewardship in the underserved AL communities.
Investigators
Rebecca Domangue, Alabama School of Mathematics and Science Foundation
Natalie Ortell, Alabama School of Mathematics and Science Foundation
Image: Eastern oyster (Crassostrea virginica). Credit: NOAA Fisheries