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21 Feb 2006 13:03:40
Top biologist, Professor James Crabbe, has returned to the University of Luton after a successful coral reef recovery mission in the tropical seas of Belize.
The Dean of Luton’s Faculty of Creative Arts, Technologies and Science (CATS) flew out to the tiny Central American country to continue work on his Coral Reefs project – investigating the impact of storms on coral.
His mission, working alongside two fellow academics from Boston University, was to monitor and protect the largest barrier reef ecosystem in the Western Hemisphere.
“I started scuba diving just six years ago on a trip to Australia, when my travel agent suggested I visit the Great Barrier Reef,” said Professor Crabbe, “and I was hooked.”
In his latest underwater venture, the Professor scuba dived to sample sites in Belize, to collect coral fragments, return them after experimental treatments and monitor their recovery.
“The decline of coral reefs has been most pronounced in the Caribbean region,” explained the Professor. “Coral cover has dropped 80 per cent in the last three decades due to climate change, coastal run-off and coral diseases. My trip was part of an experimental programme to document the resilience of corals – an important part of my coral reef project and research.”
Over the last five years, Professor Crabbe has also developed computational models for coral reefs and worked on the genetics, recruitment and survival of reef-building corals around Discovery Bay in Jamaica and in the Wakatobi Marine National Park in Indonesia.
“Wakatobi National Park is a remote outpost of marine wonders off the south-east coast of Sulawesi, which took five days to get to from England,” said the Professor. “There was a flight to Makassar, a boat, another boat, a trip by land and another boat until I was finally washed up on the shore!
“The local people, who live in huts built directly over the reef, have a very low life expectancy and a high infant mortality rate. Despite this, they have a joy and an openness that I’ve never encountered in any other culture. They have no word for ‘future’ in their language, so it was hard to talk to them about the preservation of the coral reefs for their children and their children’s children.”
Professor Crabbe will return to Jamaica in April to conduct further research before visiting Belize later in the summer.
Prior to his move to the University of Luton, Professor Crabbe was at the University of Reading – as Professor of Protein Biochemistry and Head of School. Before this, he spent 10 years at Oxford University, mostly in the Departments of Ophthalmology and Biochemistry.
Latest news» 2006» Feb» Top biologist goes to new depths to protect Belize coral
