In Fiji, the lab has recently been working on understanding how communities conceptualize and prioritize reef and mangrove ecosystem services, as well as the ways that climate intersects with food sovereignty. In addition, we have conducted fundamental ecology work looking at reef sampling methodologies and the impact of future climate scenarios on species distributions throughout the archipelago. This work has been the culmination of a 20+ year working relationship with various communities and in partnership with Dr. Amanda Ford and students at the University of the South Pacific.

The CHAOS lab has been working in our home city of Syracuse looking at the health of Onondaga Lake. Through a long-term monitoring program, we are tracking the recovery of this lake and exploring the values urban freshwater systems can provide to various stakeholders.

We have carried out a number of projects looking at the numerous ecosystem services that oysters can provide stakeholders in both Rhode Island and in New York. Additionally, in partnership with Elizabeth Sibert of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution we are examining the use of dermal denticles as a conservation monitoring strategy for  sharks.  We have also spent time thinking about the history of whaling and how the lessons we learn from Nantucket and New Bedford  can provide a roadmap to more sustainable climate futures in the Gulf Coast of the US. 

In conjunction with Vieques Love and Dr. Hannah Reich we are exploring the microbial ecology of Vieques' bioluminescent bays, the toxic legacy of naval bombing on biodiversity, and the ways that colonialism is impacting local people's access to terrestrial and marine ecosystem services.