Leslie M. Henderson

I attended the University of North Carolina at Wilmington for my undergraduate studies. I graduated in 2009 with a BS in Marine Biology with a minor in Chemistry. While enrolled in UNCW I was able to study abroad for a semester at James Cook University in Queensland, Australia. It was during this semester that I developed a desire to pursue a career in tropical marine research.

After returning to the USA, I enrolled in a research oriented study abroad course headed by Dr. Alina Szmant. Half the semester was spent doing intensive coursework and the other half was spent doing field research on the Caribbean island of Curacao where I was able to do an independent research project on the settlement preferences and survivorship of Favia fragum larva at various depths.

In the fall of 2009 I was accepted into the MMES program at UVI. I worked as a research assistant for Dr. Smith for 3 years while I earned my degree. Most of this time was dedicated to a project focusing on the sedimentation rates of various watersheds in the USVI but I was able to get experience in many different areas with whatever research was going on at the time. My thesis was titled "The relative importance of nutrients and herbivory on benthic community structure: nearshore vs. offshore reefs".

Upon graduation I was hired as full time professional staff to work for Dr. Smith as a Research Analyst. My duties varied from field work on the multiple ongoing research projects (TCRMP, Ciguatera, Water Quality, etc.) to data management, report writing, assisting graduate students, website development, and public outreach. I was also part of the technical diving team headed by Dr. Richard Nemeth that studies the fish spawning aggregations in the beautiful mesophotic reef systems that we have in the USVI. I had a wonderful time working at UVI.

I now work for the USVI Department of Natural Resources in the Coastal Zone Management Program as the Coral Reef Initiative Coordinator for the territory. Although my role is now more on the management side of coral reefs, I am still involved in some of the research that goes on at UVI, particularly TCRMP. Feel free to contact me at leslie.henderson@dpnr.vi.gov for any questions.