Social-ecological resilience and situated learning: Ciguatera fish poisoning in Cuban coastal communities

This thesis is an investigation of ciguatera fish poisoning in three Cuban coastal communities in La Habana province. Ciguatera fish poisoning is a foodborne illness caused by the bioaccumulation in fish of toxins produced by marine dinoflagellates which are associated with dead and dying coral reefs. Understanding this illness in local communities requires an examination of the socio-ecologic system in which outbreaks occur. This study applied an ecosystem approach to human health and a comparative case study methodology. The research is framed by the literature related to complex adaptive social-ecological systems and, in particular, on the ability of such systems to build and increase their capacity for learning and adaptation. The research findings advance this discussion through the application of situated learning theory. The concept of postnormal science is explictly incorporated into the research (which is characterized by high system uncertainty and high decision-making stakes), through the involvement of an extended peer community in the research process. The interaction between community members and local communities of practice informs our understanding of the social construction of knowledge and of community learning and adaptation. It may ultimately contribute to efforts to reduce the burden of illness associated with ciguatera fish poisoning in local communities and help to improve the resilience of near-shore coral reef ecosystems by explicitly linking viable coral reef ecosystems to public health concerns and by strengthening local ecological understanding as well as sport fishers' communities of practice.