Coral reefs
Treating climate anxiety with action
by Devynn Wulstein (she/her)Imagine flipping to the back synopsis of a random book in the bookstore and reading this: "The year is 2021. A pandemic has swept across the globe, leaving a tidal wave of scientific denial, and fueling greater ...
Feed me! How examining larval diets could be a game-changer for aquaculture
by Cassie Kaʻapu-LyonsNext time you visit your local pet store, take a look at the fishes. Many of the freshwater fishes available to you have been bred and raised in captivity, but most marine fishes have been harvested from the ...
Working towards sustainability of Hawaiʻi’s nearshore fisheries through characterizing and modeling fisheries regulation effects
Research Projects 2022-2024 PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR: Elizabeth Madin Co-INVESTIGATORS: Kirsten Oleson, Lisa McManus, Zack Rago Sea Grant Graduate Fellow: Annie Innes-Gold Research Track: Interdisciplinary Nearshore fisheries provide extremely important services for coastal communities. However, nearly 25 percent of these fisheries, globally, ...
Next generation husbandry for resilient coral reef restoration in Hawaiʻi
Research Projects 2022-2024 PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR: Crawford Drury Research Track: Aquaculture Coral reefs are important ecosystems that support marine diversity, but they are threatened by multiple stressors, including climate change. Among these stressors, increasing temperatures are particularly dangerous and lead to ...
Genetic assessment of giant clam stocks in American Samoa
Research Projects 2022-2024 PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR: Robert Toonen PI-CASC Graduate Scholar: Paolo Marra-Biggs Giant clams (Genus Tridacna) are keystone species, benefitting species of all ecological levels, and have among the highest rates of photosynthesis of any species on coral reefs. However global ...
Environmental DNA: Ground-truthing a new tool for coral reef monitoring
Research Projects 2022-2024 PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR: Peter Marko Sea Grant Graduate Fellow: Patrick Nichols Given the rapid pace of climate change, successful conservation relies on frequent, fast, and reliable monitoring of at-risk organisms and habitats. Most coral reef monitoring relies on time-consuming ...
Designing mesocosms
By Zack RagoWe generally think of ecology as the study of interactions between organisms and their environment. This can be easier said than done. Ecosystems are unimaginably complicated at every scale, from the microscopic world to patterns so large they ...
From Loss to Recovery to Resilience
by Lurline Wailana McGregorIn 2018, Hurricane Walaka circumvented the Hawaiian Islands before circling back to pass directly over Kānemilohaʻi, also known as the French Frigate Shoals, an atoll 550 miles northwest of Honolulu. It washed away East Island, an 11-acre ...
The Ocean is Feeling the Heat
by Lonny LippsettA fever is rising in the ocean. Our rampant burning of fossil fuels has produced a heat-trapping blanket of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere that has warmed the Earth. But the situation would be much worse without ...
Knauss 2020: A coral biologist in Washington
by Beth Lenz I never thought I would find myself in D.C. working for Congress - let alone in a year like 2020. After living on Oʻahu for five years studying coral reef resilience, I defended my Ph.D. in the ...
