Lauren Owens ’27, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology

Lauren Owens ’27

Major

Ecology and Evolutionary Biology

Project Title

Environmental Data Analysis to Characterize Coral Reef Hypoxia

Coral reefs comprise a vital ecosystem and also play an important socioeconomic role by supplying billions of jobs and boosting the wealth of tropical countries. Hypoxia, an overlooked cause of marine distress, threatens the wellbeing of corals, aquatic species and humans everywhere. I collected information to augment a database of marine oxygen measurements by combining many sources into one master tabulation for easier data location and pattern identification. Additionally, I helped establish indicators of coral reefs’ relationship to socioeconomic health. I used this compiled data to begin defining three indicators: the percentage of annual fishery income relative to the total GDP; the percentage of the population engaged in aquaculture and marine capture employment; and the expenditure of reef-associated tourism versus total tourism. Using R, I made simple maps to visually estimate each category’s impact on countries with coral reefs. In future, others can build on these databases to examine connections between oxygen measurements, coral health and the socioeconomic impacts of this marine crisis. We are not only losing extraordinary ecosystems but eliminating jobs and harming countries’ economies. This internship honed my research skills and turned my ecological interests toward oceanic life.

* This internship is connected to the HMEI Biodiversity Grand Challenges project, “Assessing the Costs of Biodiversity Loss in Hypoxic Coral Reef Ecosystems.”