Project
Who Lives in a Floating World? Biodiversity Dynamics Associated with Sargassum Floating Mats in Nearshore Waters of BarbadosSince 2011, massive blooms of holopelagic sargassum : Sargassum natans and S. fluitans, have expanded from their historical confinement in the Sargasso Sea to create the Great Atlantic Sargassum Belt, extending from West Africa to the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico. This proliferation has resulted in widespread ecological disturbances, particularly along tropical coastlines such as those of Barbados. Sargassum mats serve a dual role: they are essential offshore habitats for a variety of marine species, including juvenile sea turtles and fish larvae. Their coastal accumulation often results in hypoxia, reduced light penetration, and declines in biodiversity in habitats such as seagrasses and coral reefs. This duality complicates management responses and emphasizes the need for refined, nearshore ecological monitoring. While open-ocean Sargassum habitats have been well studied for their role as pelagic refugia, the biodiversity dynamics of mats that strand in nearshore zones, especially in tropical islands like Barbados, remain poorly understood. This project investigates the ecological structure and function of drifting Sargassum mats in the nearshore environment, focusing on fish assemblages and invertebrate communities. Specifically, I aim to assess how these mats operate as transient biodiversity hotspots and how their community composition evolves as mats approach the coastline. Current models such as those produced by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the Centre for Resource Management and Environmental Studies (CERMES) provide ocean-scale forecasts but lack fine-scale biodiversity assessments. Moreover, preliminary studies in Barbados suggest that nearshore mats support fewer taxa than offshore counterparts, challenging assumptions about their ecological value across spatial scales. Importantly, sargassum mats can be conceptualized as ephemeral floating islands, offering a rare opportunity to test theories from island biogeography and seascape ecology. Their movement, dynamic structure, and temporal evolution provide a real-time model for studying biodiversity patterns. My focus is to fill this knowledge gap by studying mats within a few kilometers of the shore, just before beaching occurs.
