Building ocean acidification research and policy capacity in the wider Caribbean region: a case study for advancing regional resilience
To meet scientific, policy, and community goals, there is a critical need to strengthen research capacity, increase monitoring, and inform adaptation and mitigation policies to enhance resilience against ocean acidification (OA) and associated multi-stressors in the Caribbean. In 2023, an OA Needs B...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2025-06-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Marine Science |
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| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2025.1595911/full |
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| author | Kalina C. Grabb Natalie Lord Kerri L. Dobson Debbie-Ann D. S. Gordon-Smith Elva Escobar-Briones Marcia Creary Ford Sylvia Lander Gabriella D. Kitch Melissa Meléndez Julio Morell Alain Muñoz Caravaca Jan Newton Amber Packard Alexis Valauri-Orton Jair Valladarez Clayton Vondriska Clayton Vondriska Elizabeth Wright-Fairbanks |
| author_facet | Kalina C. Grabb Natalie Lord Kerri L. Dobson Debbie-Ann D. S. Gordon-Smith Elva Escobar-Briones Marcia Creary Ford Sylvia Lander Gabriella D. Kitch Melissa Meléndez Julio Morell Alain Muñoz Caravaca Jan Newton Amber Packard Alexis Valauri-Orton Jair Valladarez Clayton Vondriska Clayton Vondriska Elizabeth Wright-Fairbanks |
| author_sort | Kalina C. Grabb |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | To meet scientific, policy, and community goals, there is a critical need to strengthen research capacity, increase monitoring, and inform adaptation and mitigation policies to enhance resilience against ocean acidification (OA) and associated multi-stressors in the Caribbean. In 2023, an OA Needs Based Assessment survey of ocean professionals was conducted, engaging 59 participants from across the wider Caribbean to evaluate regional challenges and opportunities in OA research and monitoring. To understand differences in OA research capacity related to training and funding, we divide the respondents into four groups: those that have received 1) training and funding, 2) training only, 3) funding only, and 4) neither training nor funding. Results indicate regional strengths include awareness of local oceanic conditions, access to nearshore sites, and strong social support networks in ocean research. Regional barriers include limited technical capacity and funding to conduct oceanographic research and monitoring, and in particular, carbonate measurements. The four training and funding groups vary significantly, suggesting that access to training and funding are important factors to increasing the amount of access that respondents have to different types of equipment, the number of different types of measurements they conduct, the number of different habitats they research, and the amount of experience they have conducting OA research. This study also demonstrates the community-led efforts to address local OA challenges by presenting a case study on the formation of the Global Ocean Acidification Network (GOA-ON) OA Caribbean Hub that was founded by local leaders (co-authors of this study) who were inspired through the survey process and engagement that was conducted by co-authors. This study provides examples of avenues and challenges to build OA capacity for research and monitoring from the ground up within the wider Caribbean to advance towards global sustainability goals. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-dedb25a021034fcab623daf9cace0fbe |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2296-7745 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-06-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Marine Science |
| spelling | doaj-art-dedb25a021034fcab623daf9cace0fbe2025-08-20T03:25:16ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Marine Science2296-77452025-06-011210.3389/fmars.2025.15959111595911Building ocean acidification research and policy capacity in the wider Caribbean region: a case study for advancing regional resilienceKalina C. Grabb0Natalie Lord1Kerri L. Dobson2Debbie-Ann D. S. Gordon-Smith3Elva Escobar-Briones4Marcia Creary Ford5Sylvia Lander6Gabriella D. Kitch7Melissa Meléndez8Julio Morell9Alain Muñoz Caravaca10Jan Newton11Amber Packard12Alexis Valauri-Orton13Jair Valladarez14Clayton Vondriska15Clayton Vondriska16Elizabeth Wright-Fairbanks17Marine Policy Center, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, MA, United StatesNatural Resources and the Environment, University of New Hampshire, Durham, NH, United StatesDepartment of Biology and Marine Biology, Center for Marine Science, University of North Carolina Wilmington, Wilmington, NC, United StatesDepartment of Chemistry, The University of the West Indies, Kingston, JamaicaUniversidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Instituto de Ciencias del Mar y Limnología, Ciudad Universitaria, Mexico City, MexicoCentre for Marine Sciences, The University of the West Indies, Kingston, JamaicaNational Center of Testing Excellence, Dominica Bureau Of Standards, Roseau, DominicaOcean Acidification Program, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Silver Spring, MD, United StatesOceanography Department, University of Hawai’i at Mānoa, Honolulu, HI, United States0Caribbean Coastal Ocean Observing System, Mayagüez, Puerto Rico1Departamento de Gestión e Ingeniería Ambiental, Centro de Estudios Ambientales de Cienfuegos, Cienfuegos, Cuba2Applied Physics Laboratory and School of Oceanography, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, United States3Center for Marine and Environmental Studies, University of the Virgin Islands, St. Thomas, VI, United States4The Ocean Foundation, Washington, DC, United States5Faculty of Science and Technology, University of Belize, Belmopan, Belize6Department of Biology, College of Science and Mathematics, University of the Virgin Islands, St Thomas, VI, United States7Department of Marine Biology and Ecology, Rosenstiel School of Marine, Atmospheric, and Earth Science, University of Miami, Miami, FL, United States8University Corporation for Atmospheric Research, under contract to NOAA Ocean Acidification Program, Oceanic and Atmospheric Research, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Silver Spring, MD, United StatesTo meet scientific, policy, and community goals, there is a critical need to strengthen research capacity, increase monitoring, and inform adaptation and mitigation policies to enhance resilience against ocean acidification (OA) and associated multi-stressors in the Caribbean. In 2023, an OA Needs Based Assessment survey of ocean professionals was conducted, engaging 59 participants from across the wider Caribbean to evaluate regional challenges and opportunities in OA research and monitoring. To understand differences in OA research capacity related to training and funding, we divide the respondents into four groups: those that have received 1) training and funding, 2) training only, 3) funding only, and 4) neither training nor funding. Results indicate regional strengths include awareness of local oceanic conditions, access to nearshore sites, and strong social support networks in ocean research. Regional barriers include limited technical capacity and funding to conduct oceanographic research and monitoring, and in particular, carbonate measurements. The four training and funding groups vary significantly, suggesting that access to training and funding are important factors to increasing the amount of access that respondents have to different types of equipment, the number of different types of measurements they conduct, the number of different habitats they research, and the amount of experience they have conducting OA research. This study also demonstrates the community-led efforts to address local OA challenges by presenting a case study on the formation of the Global Ocean Acidification Network (GOA-ON) OA Caribbean Hub that was founded by local leaders (co-authors of this study) who were inspired through the survey process and engagement that was conducted by co-authors. This study provides examples of avenues and challenges to build OA capacity for research and monitoring from the ground up within the wider Caribbean to advance towards global sustainability goals.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2025.1595911/fullOAsustainable development goalscapacity buildingregional networksCaribbeanOA training |
| spellingShingle | Kalina C. Grabb Natalie Lord Kerri L. Dobson Debbie-Ann D. S. Gordon-Smith Elva Escobar-Briones Marcia Creary Ford Sylvia Lander Gabriella D. Kitch Melissa Meléndez Julio Morell Alain Muñoz Caravaca Jan Newton Amber Packard Alexis Valauri-Orton Jair Valladarez Clayton Vondriska Clayton Vondriska Elizabeth Wright-Fairbanks Building ocean acidification research and policy capacity in the wider Caribbean region: a case study for advancing regional resilience Frontiers in Marine Science OA sustainable development goals capacity building regional networks Caribbean OA training |
| title | Building ocean acidification research and policy capacity in the wider Caribbean region: a case study for advancing regional resilience |
| title_full | Building ocean acidification research and policy capacity in the wider Caribbean region: a case study for advancing regional resilience |
| title_fullStr | Building ocean acidification research and policy capacity in the wider Caribbean region: a case study for advancing regional resilience |
| title_full_unstemmed | Building ocean acidification research and policy capacity in the wider Caribbean region: a case study for advancing regional resilience |
| title_short | Building ocean acidification research and policy capacity in the wider Caribbean region: a case study for advancing regional resilience |
| title_sort | building ocean acidification research and policy capacity in the wider caribbean region a case study for advancing regional resilience |
| topic | OA sustainable development goals capacity building regional networks Caribbean OA training |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2025.1595911/full |
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