Marine Biology

Conservation

Eco Dive is not just a dive shop but a Grenadian owned and operated dive shop making a difference. With three full time Marine Biologists on staff we are continuously combining the teaching of diving with the evaluation, monitoring, protection and education of tropical reef and coastal ecosystems. With years of reef conservation and restoration experience (coral nurseries, transplantation, EIA etc) we are armed and ready to make your diving excursion more than just a dive, but an unforgettable learning pleasure.

All of our students as well, through our commitment to Project AWARE will receive at Project AWARE certification card and will know that a $10 USD donation has been made on their behalf to help protect our marine environments worldwide. Some of our other recent projects include our shark and ray conservation campaign, the invasive species awareness and education programme for the Caribbean Lionfish and our recently upgraded recycling programme

September’s International Coastal Clean-up and clean up dive on Grand Anse Beach:

Our on-staff Marine Biologists are Christine Finney and Andre Miller, the owners, and Krisma our Eco Development Officer. Some more info on our backgrounds …

André Miller M.Sc. – University of Miami & University of the West Indies, CERMES

Coral Transplantation biologist, manager of Barbados Blue, and with us in Grenada every few weeks. Featured in “Oceans of Mystery” on the Discovery Channel where coral transplantation projects in Barbados were highlighted along with the sinking of the ‘Bajan Queen’ next to Barbados Blue’s house reef. As Director of an environmental consultancy firm, Carib Marine Contracting & Research, Andre has been in charge of and involved in countless rehabilitation projects in the wider Caribbean back to his days as a policy writer and government marine biologist for the Coastal Zone Management Unit of Barbados. Andre is the hands on Marine Biologist of the region and has earned his reputation as both a dedicated scientist and professional diving instructor.

J. Christine Finney M.Sc. – McGill University & University of the West Indies, CERMES

Coral ecologist and geneticist, Eco Dive manager. A published author in scientific journals (see below) with a background in the biodiversity and distribution of host-symbiont associations between corals and their inhabitant critters zooxanthellae, a relationship whose health is critical for understanding changes induced by sea temperature rise. Also involved with Carib Marine Christine has years of experience with marine habitats and is continuously involved in national and international research pursuits.

An example of some of our recent work in the Caribbean via Carib Marine

Christine’s primary and joint scientific publications:

Finney, J.C., D.T. Pettay, E.M. Sampayo, M.E. Warner, H.A. Oxenford and T.C. LaJeunesse (2010). The relative significance of host-habitat, depth, and geography on the ecology, endemism, and speciation of the coral endosymbionts in the genus Symbiodinium. Microbial Ecology 60: 250-263

Finney, C., T. LaJeunesse H.A. Oxenford (2008). Environmental, ecological, and biogeographic factors controlling the distribution of Symbiodinium diversity among coral reef habitats in Barbados, eastern Caribbean. 11^th International Coral Reef Symposium Abstracts: P26-1190, p. 562

LaJeunesse, T., R. Smith, J.C. Finney and H.A. Oxenford (2009). Outbreak and persistence of opportunistic symbiotic dinoflagellages during the 2005 Caribbean mass coral ‘bleaching’ event. Proceedings of the Royal Society B; Biological Sciences 276: 4139-4148

Oxenford, H.A., R. Roach, A. Brathwaite, L. Nurse, R. Goodridge, F. Hinds, K. Baldwin and C. Finney (2008). Quantitative observations of a major coral bleaching event in Barbados, southeastern Caribbean. Climatic Change 87: 435-449.

Lionfish Education and Awareness Campaign led by Christine and funded through CORAL Reef Alliance