By Chelsea Harms-Tuohy, Ph.D
Evan Tuohy, PhD Candidate
Isla Mar Research Expeditions is a marine education company that coordinates and hosts field courses designed for university students and citizen scientists.
The company was founded while both Chelsea & Evan Tuohy were in graduate school in Puerto Rico studying biological oceanography. Starting in 2012, they helped lead field courses on the island for a visiting university where they used their network and experience as a platform to teach field techniques in marine biology. The experience with instructing in the field and working with students ultimately sparked the interest of pursuing this as a unique career. Isla Mar was then officially founded in 2015. Now with over 8 years of experience, the company has broadened to include field courses for citizen scientists which are designed to teach similar concepts but for all ages and backgrounds.
Field courses typically run from early May through mid-August. Activities include training in fish identification (which can involve using their own tablet application, Artedi!), coral reef health monitoring, surveying coral reefs and fish communities, and lectures on topics like sea turtle biology and conservation, fisheries conservation, coral reef biology among many other marine-related topics! Field courses always include outdoor experiences like hiking, snorkelling, diving, caving with other options like bird watching, historical and cultural tours, agroforestry farming and more! Classroom lectures offer a theoretical aspect to each activity and can be tailored to multiple ages/backgrounds. It’s also noteworthy that one field course will never overlap with others because Chelsea and Evan work with each group full time – from creating your schedule to coordinating the activities to leading in the field! This creates a personal experience from start to finish.
The rest of the year, Isla Mar conducts their own federal- or state-funded research on topics like invasive species, fisheries conservation, and coral reef restoration. They are also available to help with your marine-related projects in Puerto Rico! They have over 30 years combined experience in scientific diving with a four-member dive team with expertise in surveys for fish, corals/sponges and technical diving. Isla Mar also has a USCG-Documented 30’ dive vessel, the Guacamaia, that can help with your research projects, especially those on Mona Island.
They currently partner with non-profits, outdoor and travel groups, and universities but Isla Mar is always looking for unique ways to educate new groups of people about ocean conservation! For more information, please visit their website (www.islamarexp.com) or contact Chelsea and Evan directly at islamarexp@gmail.com
This piece was prepared online by Panuruji Kenta, Publisher, SEVENSEAS Media