Under the Sea: The Evolution of Marine Research in Virgin IslandsNational Park over the Last 50 Years
Marine research in Virgin Islands National Park (VINP) began with early observations and studies by Dr. Jack Randall and his colleagues who used Lameshur Bay as their base from 1958-1961. They created the first map of coral reefs and seagrass beds around St. John, and did numerous, now classical ecological projects primarily on fishes. In the 1960s there were additional studies by Dr. Jack Dammann and Alan Robinson, the first biologist for VINP. The Tektite Program in 1969 and 1970 involved scientists who lived beneath the sea in a saturation diving “habitat” at a depth of 55’, and some of the studies provide insights into changes that have taken place in the last 4 decades. A major milestone in the history of marine research in the park occurred with the establishment in 1983 of the Virgin Islands Resource Management Cooperative (VIRMC), supported primarily by the National Park Service and under the direction of Island Resources Foundation. The series of VIRMC reports by Rafe Boulon, Dr. Jim Beets, Vonnie Zullo and others from 1986-1988 provided maps and data that are the basis of many ongoing projects. Long-term monitoring projects by NPS and others began in the late 1980s, and Virgin IslandsNational Park has some of the longest data sets on reefs and reef fishes in the Caribbean. Many scientists from NPS, USGS, NOAA, UVI, CaliforniaStateUniversity and other agencies now do research in the park and around St. John. They are using more sophisticated technology to map and monitor coral reefs and other habitats. Unfortunately, coral reefs within the park have suffered extensive degradation from hurricanes, overfishing, boat anchors, boat groundings, and other factors. Diseases have become a major problem within the park, and much of the current research by NPS and USGS is on assessing the role of diseases in recent major losses of living coral and in attempting to learn more about the causes of these diseases and their relationship to the severe bleaching that occurred in the fall of 2005. Another critical area of research is the evaluation of the effectiveness of the Virgin IslandsCoralReefNational Monument (a marine reserve) in reversing some of the declines in fishes and coral reefs. Marine research in the park now requires many scientists with diverse expertise and innovative technologies to tackle some of the most challenging problems.
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Dr. Caroline Rogers is a Marine Ecologist who directs the USGS Caribbean Field Station on St. John, USVirgin Islands. From 1984 to 1993, she was the Research Biologist for Virgin IslandsNational Park. From 1993 to the present, she has worked for the US Geological Survey. Caroline has over 25 years of experience in research and monitoring of coral reefs and has published papers on several aspects of reef ecology, including long-term monitoring, reef productivity, coral recruitment, damage from boat anchors; and effects of sedimentation, hurricanes, and coral diseases. She is the lead author on the NPS Coral Reef Monitoring Manual for the Caribbean and Western Atlantic. In 2001, Caroline co-authored a paper with Dr. Jim Beets (University of Hawaii) synthesizing the existing information on the coral reefs, seagrass beds, and fish assemblages in Virgin Islands National Park and Buck Island Reef National Monument. Recently, she and Jeff Miller (National Park Service) published a summary of results from long-term monitoring of reefs in Lameshur and NewfoundBays, St. John, showing the lack of recovery of these coral reefs from hurricanes and other stresses. A native of Newport, Rhode Island, Caroline holds a BS degree from StanfordUniversity and a PhD from the University of Florida.
Dr. Caroline S. Rogers, Marine Ecologist, US Geological Survey
Mailing address:USGS Caribbean Field Station, 1300 Cruz Bay Creek, St. John, USVI 00830
Tel: 340 693 8950 ext 221, E-mail: