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Research

A beautiful rocky cove, with a variety of tall trees and shrubs lining the shore, displays an unnatural bright green tinting to the waters

Characterization and quantification of contaminants of emerging concern in nearshore waters of three coastal communities with known onsite sewage disposal systems’ contamination

 Research Projects 2026-2028 PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR: Tracy Wiegner Co-INVESTIGATORS: Steven Colbert, Paul Edmiston Research Track: Contaminants of Emerging Concern Contaminants of emerging concern (CECs) are a vast and diverse group of chemicals that are ubiquitous in the environment because of their ...
In the foreground, healthy green taro plants grow on rich dark soil, with open water behind reaching to a windbreak of tall trees in the background

ʻĀina Kupu: Mapping movements of community network and collaborative care

 Research Projects 2026-2028 PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR: Mehana Vaughan Graduate fellow: Grace Cajski Research Track: Island Sustainability and Resilience Island resilience in Hawaiʻi fundamentally depends on the health of human communities and their dedicated, traditional care (mālama) of ʻāina (lands and waters) ...
A pile of algae-covered rocks sit in clear shallow waters, with black-striped yellow fish swimming around them

Employing traditional practices to protect coastal infrastructure and enhance nearshore fisheries in Hawaiʻi

 Research Projects 2026-2028 PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR: Robert Toonen Graduate fellow: ʻAʻaliʻi Kelling Research Track: Island Sustainability and Resilience Coral reef ecosystems globally, including in Hawaiʻi, are facing profound degradation from multiple, interacting stressors, resulting in severe losses of coral cover, fish ...
A dense accumulation of small, yellow, wagon-wheel-like creatures float just beneath the surface of shallow waters

Characterizing the ecological impacts, environmental drivers, and physiological tolerance of invasive upside-down jellyfish (Cassiopea spp.) in Heʻeia fishpond

 Research Projects 2026-2028 PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR: Aimee Sato Co-INVESTIGATOR: Yoshimi Rii Graduate fellow: Jasmine Reighard Research Track: Aquaculture The invasive upside-down jellyfish (Cassiopea spp.) poses a major threat to the restoration and productivity of loko iʻa (traditional Hawaiian fishponds), necessitating extensive ...
A serene pond stretches between grass and tree-lined shorelines under a blue sky with clouds

A water quality monitoring framework for traditional Hawaiian fishponds to advance nature-based solutions in aquaculture production

 Research Projects 2026-2028 PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR: Craig Nelson Co-INVESTIGATORS: Ann Nyambega, Kirsten Oleson Graduate fellow: Kacie Kajihara Research Track: Island Sustainability and Resilience Nature-based solutions (NbS) offer adaptive, cost-effective strategies by leveraging natural processes, but their foundational roots lie in the ...
A wire mesh holds a grid of plugs with coral stubs growing on them, as a scuba diver checks on one nub

Rapid detection and management of vibrio pathogens in shellfish hatcheries and coral nurseries in Hawaiʻi

 Research Projects 2026-2028 PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR: Marek Kirs Co-INVESTIGATOR: Claudia Häse Graduate fellow: Diksha Vijay Poojari Research Track: Aquaculture Vibriosis is a bacterial disease causing high mortality in both commercial shellfish hatcheries and coral restoration nurseries across Hawaiʻi. Disease outbreaks, primarily ...
The impacts of increasing temperatures and herbivore loss on Hawaiian intertidal community structure and ecosystem function

The impacts of increasing temperatures and herbivore loss on Hawaiian intertidal community structure and ecosystem function

 Research Projects 2026-2028 PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR: Jamie McDevitt-Irwin Co-INVESTIGATORS: Nyssa Silbiger, Joanna Philippoff, Kim Kanoeʻulalani Morishige Graduate fellow: Madigan Boborci Research Track: Island Sustainability and Resilience The intertidal zone in Hawaiʻi, a vital ecosystem for endemic species and sustenance fisheries like ...
Manipulating structural complexity to bolster restoration of Hawaiian coral reefs

Manipulating structural complexity to bolster restoration of Hawaiian coral reefs

 Research Projects 2026-2028 PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR: Joshua Madin Graduate fellow: Jon G. Ehrenberg Research Track: Island Sustainability and Resilience Coral reef ecosystems, the foundation of tropical marine life, are severely impacted by marine heatwaves, sea-level rise, and pollution, accelerating their degradation ...
Under a crystal blue sky, a beautiful stretch of ocean, turquoise near the beach and deep blue further from shore, reaches from a foreground white sandy beach to mounds of land on the other side of the bay

Optimizing fisheries regulations for a proposed Kailua Marine Managed Area

 Research Projects 2026-2028 PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR: Elizabeth Madin Co-INVESTIGATOR: Annie Innes-Gold Graduate fellow: Andrew Petitt Research Track: Island Sustainability and Resilience This interdisciplinary project supports community-led efforts to establish a marine managed area (MMA) in Kailua Bay, Oʻahu, a region severely ...
Aerial view looking north across the industrial, commercial, and residential development around the blue waters of Pearl Harbor

Drivers and dynamics of emerging contaminants in urban island aquatic systems

 Research Projects 2026-2028 PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR: Aurora Kagawa-Viviani Co-INVESTIGATORS: Juhee Kim, Emily Marron, Donn A. Viviani Graduate fellow: Rami Tommalieh Research Track: Contaminants of Emerging Concern On the island of Oʻahu, public interest in groundwater surged following major contaminant releases at ...
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