Coral reefs
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 global warming, successful conservation relies on frequent, fast, and reliable monitoring of threatened 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 ...
Carbon dioxide measurements on the Oʻahu Coast
by Lucie Knor Aloha! My name is Lucie Knor and I am part of the longest-running time series project on carbon dioxide (CO2) in the coastal ocean. It is located right here in Hawaiʻi. There are currently four buoys installed ...
What can seascape-scale vegetation patterns on coral reefs tell us about reef health?
Research Projects 2020-2022 PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR: Elizabeth Madin Graduate Fellow: Zackery Rago Coral reefs worldwide are threatened by a variety of human impacts. Fishing is among the most pressing threats to reefs, because it occurs on most reef systems and alters the ...
Land-based pollutants on Hawaiian reefs
Research Projects 2020-2022 PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR: Megan Donahue Co-INVESTIGATORS: Kim Falinski Graduate Fellow: Honour Booth This research will examine land-based pollutants, such as metals and persistent organic pollutants (e.g., PCBs), in coastal ecosystems in Hawaiʻi. Ongoing habitat degradation and coastal development, along with ...
Podcast #11: DNA Detection
Dr. Brian Bowen, Cassie Lyons, and Mykle Hoban capitalize on a new technique of using free-floating environmental DNA sampled from above coral reefs to monitor their health based on the species present. Read more about their project here ...
Podcast #10: Metallic Phish
Dr. Megan Donahue and Eileen Nalley look for traces of land-based, metallic pollutants in tissues of commonly eaten reef fishes and the mechanisms involved in their transport from land to fishes. Read more about their project here ...
