Draft:Stanton Belford

Early years and education

Stanton Belford was born in Arima, Trinidad, to Jacqueline and Henry Belford, who hailed from the coastline village of Blanchicheusse.. Growing up, Belford frequented Blanchicheusse regularly with his father, creating formative memories of the ocean there. Stanton was 9 years old when his father passed away

Later on in high school, Belford's interest in the ocean continued to grow during class field-trips to the local coral reefs, inspiring him to pursue an education in marine biology.. After graduating high school, Belford completed a B.Sc. in Biology at Martin Methodist College, now University of Tennessee Southern, in 2005. He holds a M.Sc. in Biology from Middle Tennessee State University, completed in December 2007, where he analyzed coral distribution and coral symbionts in the southern Caribbean. During his time at Middle Tennessee State University, he experienced initial challenges with an unsupportive advisor, but he was able to move forward with his degree after finding a supportive mentor, Dr. Dawn Phillip, from a diverse background. Belford credits Dr. Dawn A.T. Phillip with training him in field techniques and starting him on the trajectory of monitoring reefs in Trinidad that would form the foundation of his career. Following the completion of his masters studies, Belford completed a doctoral dissertation focusing on informal science education and rural science. He completed his Ph.D. in Secondary Science Education from Auburn University in May 2014

Early career

Starting in 2007, Belford worked as a science teacher for the Upward Bound Program at Martin Methodist College. In 2008, they held positions as adjunct faculty at Martin Methodist College. Following these teaching appointments, Belford was a GK-12 Fellow in science at Booker T. Washington High School from 2008 to 2010. During his doctoral training, Belford also worked as a graduate teaching assistant for multiple biology courses at Auburn University between 2009 and 2011. From 2011 to 2014, he continued as a graduate teaching assistant at Auburn University, this time for the Concepts of Science course.

After completing his doctoral studies, Belford served as Assistant Professor of Biology at Martin Methodist College from 2014 to 2020 and then as Associate Professor until 2021. Since July 2021, Belford has held the position of Associate Professor & Program Coordinator for Biology at the University of Tennessee Southern.

Current activities

Dr. Belford's research focuses on characterizing marine biodiversity in the context of evolution and ecology. Belford primarily utilizes genetic tools to identify and catalogue species, as well as to study the evolutionary history of coral reefs in Toco, Trinidad.. Specifically, Belford focuses on patch reefs at Grande L' Anse and fringing reefs at Salybia Bay. In addition to corals, Belford studies other marine invertebrates like urchins, fireworms, and sea cucumbers

He is the co-editor of the Continental and Diasporic Africa in Science Research (CADASE) magazine and a board member of Black in Marine Science.. He is also actively involved in the Tennessee Academy of Science and other science education organizations

Mentorship and outreach

Dr. Belford is committed to mentoring diverse students in the sciences and serving as a role model for aspiring scientists from diverse backgrounds. To this end, Belford serves as a board member for Black in Marine Science, an organization dedicated to increasing the participation and representation of black voices in marine science by creating digital media on platforms such as Youtube and hosting networking and outreach opportunities.

Additionally, each year, Belford takes students from Tennessee to Trinidad to experience the process of conducting marine biodiversity fieldwork at Grand L’Anse.. Belford also mentors undergraduates in applying molecular techniques in the laboratory and computational techniques to study phylogenetic relationships and reef connectivity

Belford has also started an initiative coined Marine Nostalgia, which aims to collect and publish stories of marine scientists’ formative trips to the ocean.

Selected awards and honors

• NSF Grant: Awarded $8,000 for the Diverse Ocean Science Community through Collaboration (DOOC) program for the project "From Sea to Sand: Understanding ocean pollutants as stressors to marine biodiversity and cultural perceptions of hazards in present and future climates."

• Lerner Gray Fellowship for Marine Biology: Awarded by the American Museum of Natural History in 2013 for his proposal on cnidarian species diversity and distribution.

Selected publications

• Belford, S.G. 2024. Combining morphological characteristics and DNA barcoding techniques confirm sea urchins of the genus Echinometra in marine habitats located at extreme regions of the Caribbean Sea. Integrative and Comparative Biology.

• Belford, S.G. 2023. Utilization of two DNA barcoding techniques, alongside morphological characters, confirms the presence of zoantharian morphotypes along the coast of Toco, Trinidad. Living World, Journal of Trinidad and Tobago Field Naturalists’ Club.

• Belford, S.G. 2021. Shallow-water species diversity of common intertidal zoantharians along the northeastern coast of Trinidad, southern Caribbean. Oceans.

• Belford, S.G., Phillip, D.A.T., Rutherford, M.G., Schmidt, R.S., Duncan, E.J. 2019. Biodiversity of coral reef communities in marginal environments along the north-eastern coast of Trinidad, Southern Caribbean. Progress in Aqua Farming and Marine Biology.

Further reading

• Marine Nostalgia on Instagram
• Bleaching alert for Trinidad and Tobago coral reefs
• Integrative and comparative biology
• Shape of Life
• Trinidad and Tobago Newsday
• Protect Toco reefs too
• Classrooms in the Sea and Swamp
• Grande L'Anse coral reef threatened by Toco Port
• Toco's deja vu