FIU Marine scientist Kevin Boswell is leading an effort to
better understand the Arctic costal ecosystems and their
contribution to Arctic productivity. The project, Arctic coastal
ecosystems: Evaluating the functional role and connectivity of
lagoon and nearshore habitats, will specifically look at the
lagoons and barrier islands on the Arctic shoreline. Because
their shallow nature defies traditional survey methods, Boswell,
an assistant professor in the Department of Biological Sciences,
and a team of researchers will use multi-faceted field- and lab-
based surveys to examine them. Understanding nearshore habitats
is key in sound fisheries development and management,
transportation planning, marine mammal conservation, and oil
development and oil spill response. The project, funded by the
North Pacific Research Board, will start in 2013. “Traditional
research has overlooked the Arctic nearshore habitats because of
their remoteness and inaccessibility, despite their importance
for fisheries and as foraging h