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Prior
to the founding of ITME by SCC Steiner in 1999, Dominica's marine environments remained
virtually unsurveyed. After the first wave of studies, as part of
the Bredin-Archbold-Smithsonian Biological Survey of Dominica during
the 1960s and 70s, scientific investigation practically ceased until
ITME's operations commenced. In accordance with its mission ("...biological investigation of tropical marine environments
in regions where such activities have not been carried out, only marginally,
or not in recent times. ...generate and compile environmental data
...make them widely accessible."), the Institute for Tropical
Marine Ecology set out to explore Dominica's coastal benthic environments.
This endeavor has reintroduced Dominica to the marine science community
(reports), paving the
way for future marine science projects. ITME's quest has also led
to the construction of Dominica's first and so far only publicly accessible
database on the island's marine
habitats.
During its focus on Dominica, ITME provided
tertiary education and research training in marine biology and environmental
studies at its field station in Mahaut,
which served as base of operations for visiting researchers and university groups, and a unique meeting point in the Eastern Caribbean. ITME further functioned as a resource center (environmental data, training,
consultancies, community outreach) for
Dominica's general public, as well as for national and international
organizations. As an institutional member of the Association of Marine
Laboratories of the Caribbean (ALMC), ITME completed its mission in
Dominica by hosting the 34th
Scientific Meeting of the AMLC in Roseau (May 24-29, 2009). Since
then, ITME has organized and executed follow-up surveys and monitoring studies in Dominica. |
