RII Track-1: Ridge to Reef Processes and Interdependent Drivers of Small Island Resilience

随着环境继续通过自然和人为影响的方式发生变化，飓风等灾难性事件预计将对美属维尔京群岛等小岛屿领土产生更大的破坏性影响。 这一点很容易从岛屿周围的珊瑚礁遭到更多破坏和缺乏恢复中看出，这些珊瑚礁是岛屿经济的主要旅游景点和关键部分。 例如，由于建造新的和替代的岛屿基础设施，导致径流流入海洋，以及气候变化导致海洋温度上升，飓风对珊瑚礁的影响特别严重。 为了更好地了解这个相互关联的岛屿和珊瑚礁系统的影响，该项目将使用多种科学方法和最先进的技术来了解珊瑚礁以及生活在其中的植物和动物如何从2017年的飓风中恢复过来，同时还将调查该岛如何建立红树林和海草等自然系统，以稳定其环境，例如，作为天然的水过滤器。该项目还将解决建立一支受过教育的劳动力队伍的需要，并将帮助当地社区在管理其岛屿方面发挥积极作用。这个设在美属维尔京群岛的科学基础设施改善项目涉及该领土的近岸海洋生态系统及其相关的珊瑚礁，这些珊瑚礁是群岛经济可行性和粮食安全的关键。然而，珊瑚礁和相关栖息地特别容易受到海洋气候扰动等压力因素以及陆地和水上人类活动的影响，这些活动往往会放大自然干扰的负面影响，例如2017年的5级飓风伊尔玛和玛丽亚。在这一小岛屿领土内，最终决定其社会生态系统未来的是其公民保护和积极参与管理这些环境的能力。该项目将采用跨学科的最先进方法，分析干预措施对陆地污染物通量对珊瑚礁生态系统的影响，以及生物多样性对珊瑚礁、红树林和海草生境生态恢复的影响。 此外，该项目将通过改善STEM教育来提高USVI劳动力的数量，科学和教育水平，这将是该地区可持续发展的关键。 这将通过各种各样的高影响力战略来实现，包括正式和非正式的STEM教育，并通过提高环境管理水平来实现，这将导致在海洋和其他自然资源管理方面做出更明智的决策。一个更有意识和受过高等教育的公民将导致更多样化和可持续的经济发展的选择为领土。这个奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并已被认为是值得支持的评估使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准。

As the environment continues to change both through natural and human influenced means, catastrophic events such as hurricanes are projected to have much larger devastating effects on small island territories such as the U.S. Virgin Islands. This is easily seen in the increased destruction and lack of recovery of coral reefs that surround the islands that are a major tourism draw and key part of the island economy. For example, due to building of new and replacement island infrastructure that causes runoff into the ocean, and increasing ocean temperatures due to climate change, hurricane effects have been particularly devastating to coral reefs. To better understand the effects of this interlinked island and reef system, this project will use multiple scientific methods and state-of-the-art techniques to understand how coral reefs and the plants and animals that live in them recovered from the 2017 hurricanes, while also investigating how the island can put in place natural systems such as mangroves and seagrass that can act to stabilize their environment, for example, by acting as natural water filters. The project will also address the need to build an educated work force and will help local communities play an active role in the stewardship of their islands. This scientific infrastructure improvement project based in the U.S. Virgin Islands (USVI) addresses the territory's nearshore marine ecosystems with their associated coral reefs, which are key to the economic viability and food security of the islands. However, coral reefs and associated habitats are especially vulnerable to stressors such as oceanographic-climatic perturbations, and to land- and water-based human activities, which often magnify the negative effects of natural disturbances, such as the 2017 Category 5 hurricanes Irma and Maria. Within this small island territory, what will ultimately determine the future of its social-ecological systems, is the ability and capacity of its citizens to protect and to actively participate in the stewardship of these environments. Using an interdisciplinary state-of-the-art approach, this project will analyze both the impacts of interventions on flux of terrestrial pollutants on coral reef ecosystems, and the impact of biodiversity on ecological restoration in coral reef and mangrove and seagrass habitats. Additionally, this project will focus on improving the quantitative, scientific, and educational levels of the USVI workforce by improving STEM education, which will be the key to sustainability for the territory. This will be accomplished through a wide variety of high impact strategies that include formal and informal STEM education and by increasing the level of environmental stewardship that will lead to better informed decision making in the management of marine and other natural resources. A more aware and highly educated citizenry will lead to more diversified and sustainable economic development options for the territory.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.