Dr. John Finnerty, Dr. Karina Scavo Lord (GRS 2021, Finnerty Lab), Biology PhD student Ninon Martinez of the Finnerty Lab, and Hubert Gillett of Turneffe Atoll Sustainability Association, recently announce the availability of their new book — the first of a planned series on the natural history of Calabash Caye, Belize.
Calabash is the island where the Marine Semester Belize courses have been taught since 2012. At the wonderful Calabash Caye Field Station, they collaborated with colleagues from the University of Belize Environmental Research Institute, as we engage BU undergraduates and graduate students in original research on the ecology and conservation of reef, mangrove, and seagrass organisms.
This book began as an effort to educate BU students on the broader natural history of Calabash and the greater Turneffe Atoll Marine Reserve, but it could serve a wider audience, including scientists and marine managers from Belize and elsewhere who conduct research at Turneffe.
As 100% of the proceeds will benefit Friends of Calabash Caye, this book will also serve as a small source of income to support the research and conservation activities at CCFS. This will benefit BU students in their Belize classes. Additionally, they hope to be able to offer ebooks and eventually print copies for free to students at the University of Belize who come to Calabash as part of their studies.