PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR: Lisa McManus
Co-INVESTIGATORS: Yoshimi Rii, Kawika Winter, Ryan Okano, Sophia Rahnke
Research Track: Island Resilience and Sustainability

The global decline of coral reef environments poses complex challenges for researchers, managers, and coastal communities that depend on the ecosystem services they provide. In the face of ecological uncertainty presented by climate change, it is important to evaluate the efficacy of different coral reef management strategies. However, effective evaluation of current and future management strategies requires an understanding of historical ecological dynamics and engaging with the nuances of human-environment interactions through time. This research will address this evaluation need through the development of an innovative coral reef community modeling framework that can explore the dynamics of a Hawaiian coral reef ecosystem through time, predict ecological responses to climate changes, and simulate various forms of management interventions in order to test the effects of different strategies.

Input from diverse local partners–from community groups to government agencies–will be integral to building the model so that it can be an important decision-making tool bridging the gap between policymakers and communities. The framework outcome will provide managers and communities with the ability to determine the effects of different activities necessary to maintain healthy reefs and advocate for their management priorities. Finally, the project provides an opportunity for local students to work on problems identified by the local community.