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Finding faster, smarter ways to mitigate climate change, protect the environment, and build community resilience

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WE’RE COMMITED TO TACKLING SUSTAINABILITY CHALLENGES.

Strengthening coastal ecosystems with
genetic diversity

Creating stronger, longer lasting
rechargeable batteries

Developing algorithms to predict forest fires

Using drones to monitor infrastructure
resilience

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Our collaborative, real-world approach in action

Making biodiversity count in marine restoration

Coastal Sustainability Institute / Nahant, MA

Problem

Biodiversity is crucial to restoring and maintaining marine ecosystems, but it is rarely explicitly incorporated into the design of restoration and conservation efforts.

Solution

To bridge the gap between science and practice, Northeastern researchers are leading real-world, large-scale studies on the relationship between biodiversity and how marine habitats function.

See how we did it
See how we did it

Our collaborative, real-world approach in action

Making biodiversity count in marine restoration

Coastal sustainability Institute / Nahant, MA

Problem

Biodiversity is crucial to restoring and maintaining marine ecosystems, but it is rarely explicitly incorporated into the design of restoration and conservation efforts.

Solution

To bridge the gap between science and practice, Northeastern researchers are leading real-world, large-scale studies on the relationship between biodiversity and how marine habitats function.

Expert

Using genetics expertise to save critical ecosystems

Randall Hughes / Professor of Marine and Environmental Sciences

Hughes’ research focuses on increasing the effectiveness of restoration efforts by understanding how the identity and diversity of organisms used in restoration efforts affects the evolutionary makeup of the recipient system. In recognition of her career, the American Association for the Advancement of Science named Hughes one of its 2024 lifetime fellows.

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PARTNERSHIPs

Forming collaborations to solve real-world challenges

Randall Hughes’ lab is leading a series of marine restorations in two coastal ecosystems: seagrass beds, working in partnership with the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries; and oyster reefs, in partnership with the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management and The Nature Conservancy. Researchers assess how genetic diversity within species affects restoration, and test how biodiversity affects whether these habitats become diseased.

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Research Institute

A hub for groundbreaking marine research and discovery

Hughes is part of Northeastern’s Coastal Sustainability Institute at its campus in Nahant, Massachusetts, where researchers lead interdisciplinary solutions to coastal threats. Hughes has collaborated with colleagues at the institute on multiple studies on the impact of genetic diversity on marine habitats.

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