Biology Professor Phillip Dustan is spreading the word that the future of underwater ecosystem is in our hands. Across the world coral reefs are a harbinger of nature’s global change. In addition to rising sea levels, reefs, marshes and waterways are rapidly degrading due to human interference. The oldest, most productive and diverse ecosystems in the sea are being dismembered.

Ecology begins with local action and requires a bottom-up as well as top-down approach. Although the ocean’s global change is a worldwide problem, the action of individuals is needed to reduce humanity’s impact. A journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step, and if everybody joins in, we can create a stampede.

Phillip Dustan has been a faculty member at the College of Charleston in the Biology Department since 1981. His broad experience in coral reef ecology and conservation work gives him exposure at local, national and international levels. Equal parts researcher and messenger, he’s shaking up how we see — and save — our reefs