Bahamian islands become laboratories for climate study

A study of how climate changes impact on ecosystems required 12 Caribbean islands to be effectively used as laboratories.

The University of California - Davis carried out the research, which they began by placing seaweed on the islands used.

By simulating the deposit of seaweed by tropical storms, as well as algae growth from over-fishing, they were able to trigger the chain of events that might occur if climate change led to similar circumstances.

In turn, they used the islands as large-scale laboratories to look at how ants, plants and lizards responded to the greater quantity of seaweed available.

Ecologist Jonah Piovia-Scott of UC Davis says: "It took a big experimental setup to reveal those changes - and it will take more experiments like this one to learn how to develop successful conservation and management strategies."

Faculty members in the university's Department of Evolution and Ecology direct the undergraduate Evolution, Ecology and Biodiversity curriculum, as well as contributing to core life sciences courses across the campus.