W@TC - Using systems thinking to understand how climate change and conservation impact data-poor coral reef fisheries

Dana I. Grieco is a doctoral candidate in Marine Science and Conservation at the Duke University Marine Lab, where she studies how climate change impacts small-scale, data-poor coral reef fisheries, and identifies how conservation can be leveraged as a tool to mitigate these impacts. As an interdisciplinary scholar, Dana investigates reef fisheries by looking holistically at both the reef fish and dependent communities. The aims of this work are to 1) generate evidence-based insights on how conservation interventions can lead to sustainable outcomes for tropical fishery systems in the face of climate change, 2) advance research methods in coral-reef fishery assessments, and 3) inform fisheries practice. In this talk, Dana will share findings from her dissertation regarding how anthropogenic climate change impacts coral reef social-ecological systems, and what we can do to potentially mitigate the impacts of climate change. Artisanal coral reef fisheries represent tightly coupled social-ecological systems with dynamic interactions between environmental and human well-being. Advancing understanding of climate change affects coral reef systems is crucial, however, research assessing coral reef fisheries as holistic social-ecological systems is limited. This research applies a systems thinking inquiry and network analysis to the scientific literature in order to identify potential bottlenecks and leverage points in these systems, and how we might be able to use conservation interventions as tools to mitigate climate change at these junctures. This event will be hybrid. Registration is required to join via Zoom. Lunch will be provided.