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TOPICS: CORAL REEFS

Assessing the sensitivity of coral reef accretion and bioerosion to acidification and eutrophication

 Research Projects 2024-2026 PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR: Andrea Kealoha Co-INVESTIGATOR: Katie Shamberger PI-CASC Graduate Scholar: Raffi Isah Research Track: Ocean Acidification Coral reefs are threatened by a range of stressors, including those related to global climate change and local land-use. These stressors ...

Coastal Ocean Hawaiʻi Acidification Monitoring Network (COHAMN) and carbonate mineral dissolution study

 Research Projects 2016-2018 PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR: Eric DeCarlo Co-INVESTIGATORS: Michael Guidry, Fred Mackenzie Graduate Fellow: Lucie Knor Human emissions of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere have led to partial uptake of this gas by the oceans. This process increases the acidity ...

Coral reef CO2 variations at the Coastal Ocean Hawaiʻi Acidification Network (COHAMN): Impact of basin scale oceanographic forcing

 Research Projects 2018-2020 PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR: Eric DeCarlo Co-INVESTIGATOR: Michael Guidry Graduate Fellow: Lucie Knor This study offers to continue the highly successful MAPCO2 buoy program that we have been conducting at four coral reef sites around the island of Oʻahu, ...

Crown of Thorns Invades Samoa

In this episode we visit the National Park in American Samoa with ecologist Tim Clark. We’ll be doing some underwater surveying, looking for outbreaks of the crown of thorns starfish, which is devastating reefs across the Pacific. Tim and his ...

Defining Ecosystem-based Management Boundaries Using Genetics and Fisheries Data

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR: ROBERT TOONEN Graduate Student: Johanna Wren The exchange of individuals among populations, termed connectivity, is a central element of population persistence and maintenance of genetic diversity, and influences most ecological and evolutionary phenomena. To date, field studies of ...

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 ...

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 ...

Genetic assessment of giant clam stocks in American Samoa

 Research Projects 2022-2024 PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR: Robert Toonen PI-CASC Graduate Scholar: Paolo Marra-Biggs Some scientists consider giant clams (Genus Tridacna) as keystone species, as they benefit species of all ecological levels, and they have among the highest rates of photosynthesis of any ...

Growth optimization and survival of the bleaching-resistant coral genus Pavona for reef restoration in Hawaiʻi

 Research Projects 2018-2020 PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR: Peter Marko Graduate Fellow: Claire Lewis Healthy corals are crucial to coral reef ecosystems, a fundamental part of the Hawaiian economy.  Unfortunately, coral reefs are threatened worldwide by human activity and climate change.  Nowhere is ...

Harnessing environmental DNA for healthy reefs

 Research Projects 2018-2020 PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR: Brian Bowen Co-INVESTIGATOR: Michelle Gaither Graduate Fellow: Cassie Lyons, Mykle Hoban This proposal is to use environmental DNA (eDNA) to monitor the health of coral reefs in protected and non-protected areas around the Hawaiian Islands. All organisms ...

Hawaiian Reef Plants

The University of Hawai‘i Sea Grant College Program is pleased to present Hawaiian Reef Plants. The book is written by John M. Huisman, Isabella A. Abbott and Celia M. Smith, three of the world’s leading botanists, and is in full ...

Intertidal Algae and Invertebrates

We’re learning about different types of algae and invertebrates with researchers from the OPIHI project, who are working with teachers and students around the state of Hawai’i to monitor the health of the intertidal environment Watch the trailer for Season ...

Investigating the origin and impact of sedimentation on the health of Hawaiian mesophotic reefs for sustainable coastal development

 Research Projects 2018-2020 PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR: Robert Toonen Graduate Fellow: Evan Barba Hawaiian coral reefs have been valued at over $33.5 billion per year to the US public, and are a major driver of tourism revenue in the State. Yet, coral ...

Ka Pili Kai Spring 2016

Humpback Whale Vocal Communications Between Mothers and Calves Wastewater’s Influence on Coastal Groundwater Quality and the Health of Coral Reefs in Maunalua Bay, O‘ahu Attack of the Drones: Characterizing Groundwater Discharge on Maui Using the Latest Research Tools Simulating Sea-Level ...

Ka Pili Kai Winter 2016

50 Years of Putting Science to Work for Coastal Communities O‘ahu Maui Hawai‘i Island Kaua‘i Pacific Region 50 Years of Putting Science to Work for Coastal Communities In 1966 President Lyndon Johnson signed The National Sea Grant College and Program ...

Land-based pollutants in herbivorous reef fishes on Hawaiian reefs

 Research Projects 2018-2020 PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR: Megan Donahue Co-INVESTIGATOR: Stephen Karl Graduate Fellows: Eileen Nalley, Julie Zill Pollutants, such as metals, pose a serious threat to coral reef ecosystems. In the past century Hawaiʻi has experienced significant changes in land use, ...

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 ...

Mapping coral response to water quality stressors to improve coral restoration planning and ridge-to-reef management

 Research Projects 2024-2026 PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR: Lillian J. Tuttle Raz Co-INVESTIGATORS: Megan J. Donahue, Kim Falinski Sea Grant Graduate Fellow: Justin Berg Research Track: Island Resilience and Sustainability Successful reef restoration requires detailed, site-specific information on the tolerances to prevailing environmental ...

Mitigating climate change impacts: What drives thermal resiliency in Hawaiʻi’s coral reefs?

 Research Projects 2016-2018 PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR: Ruth Gates Graduate Fellow: Shayle Matsuda Reef-building corals engineer the reef structure that provides habitat for an incredible amount of biodiversity. These diverse ecosystems generate economic services valued at billions of dollars annually and have profound cultural ...

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 ...

Palau’s International Coral Reef Research Center

In this episode we tour Palau's International Coral Reef Research Center.  Researcher Adelle Lukes shows us around the aquarium and mangrove exhibit, the extensive coral collection, fish measurement system, and research equipment they use to study sea grass. Watch the ...

Podcast #1: Fish Flow

Meet Dr. Brian Bowen and Michael Hoban and learn about their project tracking important aquaculture fish species from egg production to the reefs where they settle and grow. 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 ...

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 #7: Growing Coral

Dr. Peter Marko and Claire Lewis are determining the optimal conditions for growth of the coral Pavona variens to aid in restoration efforts of Hawaiian coral reefs. Read more about their project here ...

Podcast #9: Mesophotic Mapping

Dr. Rob Toonen and Evan Barba explore sediment distribution across the sensitive ecosystems of the mesophotic zone and its connection to land use management decisions. Read more about their project here ...

Predicting and mapping Hawaiian mesophotic coral ecosystems for sustainable coastal development

 Research Projects 2016-2018 PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR: Robert Toonen Graduate Fellow: Lindsay Veazey Although there is little question about the economic, ecological, cultural, and conservation value of coral reef habitats, growing population, tourism, and coastal development are rapidly degrading them. Our fundamental ...

Reef and Shore Fishes of the Hawaiian Islands

The University of Hawai‘i Sea Grant College Program is proud to present Reef and Shore Fishes of the Hawaiian Islands by award-winning author John E. Randall. The 560-page volume covers the 612 species of fishes found in the Hawaiian Archipelago ...

Super corals in Kāneʻohe Bay provide hope for survival of coral reefs around the globe

May 16, 2019 (Honolulu, HI) – A journal article published this week by researchers at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa’s School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology concluded that naturally occurring super corals in Kāne‘ohe Bay, O‘ahu are ...

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 ...

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 ...

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, ...
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