Boucquey Lab

Human geography of coastal & ocean systems | Research with undergraduate students

About Dr. Boucquey's research group

According to the United Nations, about 40% of the global population lives within 100km of a coastline. The oceans that define these coastlines represent the largest wild food source in the world and provide livelihoods to billions of people. These complex coastal and ocean systems are highly dynamic as ecological change, economic activity, and political decisions work to shift seascapes around the world.

Our social science research group focuses on the human geography of these linked social-ecological systems. We are interested in how relationships between human and nonhuman actors form in particular spaces, and with what effects on the social and ecological well-being of these systems. We attend to questions including: how access to and power over natural resources is negotiated, how GIS and other visualization technologies mediate our knowledge and governance practices, and how particular assemblages of human and nonhuman actors perform in ways that increase or decrease their social-ecological resilience.

Through each strand of our work, we maintain an orientation toward what possibilities might exist for increasing the sustainability of these vitally important coastal and ocean spaces.

Students: Please see the description of our specific research projects to see what might interest you.

Professor Boucquey (right) interviewing a fisherwoman on Tampa Bay

Below, a popular fishing spot frequented in our urban fishing research.