MOP Student Projects

Healthy coral reefs can become loose rubble patches from disturbances such as storms and vessel crashes. Waves agitate the rubble, hindering recolonization by coral larvae. Eventually, rubble binds together through growth of crustose coralline algae (CCA) and sponges, a process known as rubble stabilization. However, due to increased frequency of disturbances, coral mortality is outpacing natural recovery, leading to greater rubble production. While current stabilization interventions use artificial structures such as nets or steel stars, my project explores an alternative method which optimizes calcification of CCA with sodium bicarbonate, thereby accelerating CCA growth and stabilizing rubble.

Sea urchins provide critical services to coral reef ecosystems by regulating algal growth through herbivory and bioerosion. As herbivorous fishes are depleted by overfishing and habitat loss, urchins will be increasingly important in preventing algal phase shifts. While overfishing is usually the dominant driver of sea urchin abundance, recent data from Oʻahu suggest that habitat factors could play an important role in urchin densities. However, there is a lack of data from the east coast of Hawaiʻi Island. Therefore, the goal of this research project is to establish whether habitat factors drive sea urchin densities at Waiʻolena Beach Park.

Asparagopsis taxiformis is a methanogenesis-inhibiting red algae that reduces methane emissions in cattle by up to 85% when ingested. Blue Ocean Barns in Kona, HI grows this alga as an additive to feed in commercial cattle farming. One of the largest setbacks in the cultivation of alga is the growth of non-target species (NTS) in the tanks. I developed an experiment to test 7 materials of different textures and colors that are commonly used in tanks and assessed the growth of NTS through photo and microscopic analysis to identify which materials best mitigate the growth of NTS. These results will allow for the design of NTS-resistant tanks to improve efficiency of A. taxiformis cultivation.

Fisheries are extremely important to South Dakota and the surrounding states, and provide recreational and economic benefits to local communities. Invasive zebra mussels have been spreading in the midwest, and pose a threat to native mussels. They affect the environments of local lakes, which are important for public recreation. Over the summer, I served on a fish crew with the Game Fish and Parks surveying lakes and inspecting local watercraft to help stop the spread of invasives. I gained experience working with wildlife agencies and contributed towards maintenance of lakes in South Dakota.

Increased seawater temperatures have led to major coral bleaching events, a first visible sign of thermal stress. Marine Heat Waves, periods of high seawater temperatures, can be simulated in aquaria by manipulating temperature intensity and duration. My project involves building a coral nursery at the Pacific Aquaculture and Coastal Resources Center to measure the effects of thermal stress on the coral skeletal density of Montipora capitata, and to develop non-intrusive techniques, 3D photogrammetry and buoyant weighing, to determine skeletal density changes across temperature stress treatments. Research on effects of thermal stress on corals will increase our understanding of acclimatization.

Sinking carbon rich particles are a major mechanism for the export of atmospheric carbon to the deep ocean. As detrital aggregates land on the abyssal plain they are either eaten by megafauna or otherwise degraded. The extent to which either happens is currently unknown. Exploring the fate of this carbon-rich material aids our understanding of the role of the deep ocean as a carbon sink. In this research project with MBARI I analyzed the degradation times and method of degradation using time series imagery, and used image hue as a method to indicate systemic carbon flux. In conjunction with sea cucumber density data, my results have provided a better understanding of deep ocean ecosystems.

For my project, I am interning with the USGS Hawaiʻi Cooperative Fishery Research Unit (HCFRU). The focus of the HCFRU is to conduct research that focuses on fisheries sustainability of the Hawaiian Islands. The HCFRU has projects that involve constructing life histories of herbivorous reef fish, eDNA sampling of shark nursery habitats in Hilo Bay, and assessing the age and growth rates of Hawaiʻi fishes. I will be assisting in the lab and field with fishing, recording and collecting data, and extracting and processing otoliths of various fish species.

High biodiversity indicates ecosystem health, and provides resilience in the face of environmental change. A diverse limu (algae) population creates a large energy foundation to support marine food webs as primary producers, and offers shelter to organisms. ʻIole, an ahupuaʻa in North Kohala, Hawaiʻi, managed by the Hawaii Community Foundation, has the mission of creating a self-sustaining section of Hawaiian land focused on sustainable energy, food security, and place-based learning. My project assesses biodiversity and community composition of limu along the remote coastline of the ahupuaʻa, and provides a collection and catalog to inform resource management.

Corals can be fragmented, or broken into pieces, by hurricanes, strong tides, human disturbances, and boat anchors. Fragmentation can be used to outplant corals on the reef, but if there are many fragments from the same genet, this may lower the biodiversity on the reef. Fragmented corals shift their energy from reproduction to growth and will not reproduce until they regain their reproduction size. Fusion of the fragments helps them get back to this size so they can shift their energy to reproduction. This experiment will use isogenic fusion to fuse Pocillopora damicornis at different sizes to trigger reproduction.

To help reduce the agricultural production of methane, Blue Ocean Barns in Kailua-Kona produces Asparagopsis taxiformis, a species of red algae, as a supplement to remove methane from ruminant livestock. A rising problem in seaweed cultures is the unwanted growth of Ulva. My project investigated methods for irradicating Ulva: exposure to varying concentrations and duration of bleach or salinity; periods of air exposure; mechanical break-up; and nutrient deprivation. Culture health was monitored by measuring weight and surface-area, nutrient levels, daily pH readings, and daily observations. Irradicating Ulva from cultures will increase the quality of product that Blue Ocean Barns produces.

MOP at UH Hilo maintains a display tank in the Marine Science Building. Marine aquariums provide education about skills in water quality maintenance and display the complex relationships within a thriving ecosystem. One objective of this project is to maintain the tank and display invertebrates and seaweed from the local coastal ecosystem. Another is to provide training to educate students in aquarium maintenance skills involving water quality, biological filtration, water chemistry, salinity, water movement, and light intensity. The deliverable of this project will be a thriving and stable display tank for the community to enjoy.

This project is an extension of the Fishing Line Recycling Program (FLRP) initiated in 2018 by the Maui Ocean Center Marine Institute and extended to Hilo by a previous MOP student. It is a sea turtle conservation effort to mitigate the improper discard of fishing gear: the number one threat to Hawaiian honu (sea turtles). The program is run by placing fishing line receptacles at select ocean access locations to provide fishermen and beach goers with a way to discard unwanted monofilament. Hilo currently has nine receptacles, which have been very well received by the community. My goal is to add more receptacles, merge with a similar program being implemented in Kona, and educate the community on proper disposal of fishing line.

Reef damage is an issue in areas with heavy boat traffic, but the damage is difficult to map efficiently. There are established methods to produce structure from motion (SFM) images of coral reefs by SCUBA. These methods are inefficient for mapping large areas. For my project, I will be working with Dr. Greg Asner of Arizona State University, John Arvesen, and Kelly van Woesik evaulating the performance of the Sub-surface Mapping System (SMS). The SMS aims to map reef damage from the ocean’s surface by combining methods used in aerial photography and SFMs. I will be conducting the initial tests of the SMS and writing a protocol for mapping reef damage in Kailua Bay, Hawaiʻi.

Marine Option Program students at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa publish a monthly online newsletter known as Seawords. The newsletter covers a wide range of marine science topics and is distributed to MOP programs on all UH campuses. Among its contents are articles on MOP activities, ongoing projects, marine research, and global ocean issues, and information on marine life. As the liaison for the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo, I am responsible for crafting engaging articles, promoting the newsletter, and maintaining a shared calendar of upcoming events and opportunities.

Rapid development in Hawaiʻi has led to inadequate wastewater systems, jeopardizing human and ecological health. As a result, residents of the state suffer disproportionately from waterborne illnesses. I'm involved in a collaborative project through UH Hilo, with the County of Hawaiʻi, the Department of Land and Natural Resources, and nonprofits Waiwai Ola Waterkeepers Hawaiian and the Kahaluʻu Bay Education Center to pinpoint critical areas in Kona that require immediate wastewater infrastructure upgrades. My role is to conduct independent research by culturing Enterococcus faecalis, a sewage indicator bacterium, and assessing water quality parameters like pH and turbidity.

Coral microfragmentation is commonly used to propagate corals in nurseries. The process involves breaking small pieces off of a parent colony and encouraging them to grow into independent colonies. This method has been shown to increase the rate of coral growth, potentially due to the difference in fragment size which affects the surface area available for the generation of new daughter polyps. I will be analyzing the relationship between coral fragment size and growth rate at the MOP Coral Nursery at the Pacific Aquaculture and Coastal Resource Center. My goal is to determine if there is an optimal size of coral fragment associated with higher growth and survivorship rates.

Coral surveys are a critical tool used by researchers to assess the health of coral reef ecosystems. These surveys involve collecting data on various aspects of the coral reef, such as the abundance and diversity of coral species, the presence of disease and bleaching, and the overall structure and complexity of the reef. For my project, I will be creating a coral health database based in Hilo, Hawaiʻi, then training and leading students to survey coral heads through snorkeling and through the SeaSTARS dive program. Through this, students will gain experience in identifying and surveying coral health, and further knowledge of reef health in Hilo will be documented for future comparison.

Cesspools leak raw sewage which can contaminate groundwater and coastal waters with pathogens and bacteria like Enterococcus and Clostridium and also cause harmful algae blooms. For this project I will be working with Dr. Tracy Wiegner and a Master’s student, Ihilani Kamau, to detect cesspool leakage by analyzing the amount of the nitrogen-15 isotope present in seaweeds collected from several different stations along the coast of West Hawaiʻi Since the nitrogen-15 isotope bioaccumulates in each trophic level, raw human sewage carries a relatively high amount of the nitrogen-15 isotope which the seaweeds take up as a nutrient. It can then be measured to detect cesspool leakage.

Theodolites are an advanced piece of equipment that use triangulation to track migration patterns of marine mammals. Other tracking methods such as satellite tags and boats are both invasive and expensive. Theodolites are cost-effective and accessible to students. The Marine Science department at UH Hilo recently purchased a theodolite and there is a need for training on how to use it. I plan to create a physical and video manual, and to conduct training workshops for MOP and secondary students. It will provide the opportunity to observe and collect data on marine mammals. The manual will be available in the MOP office and on the YouTube channel for students to access.

Using live feed for captive marine organisms has many nutritional values. It is high in protein and the action of eating live food is beneficial to fish. My project is focused on learning how to cultivate microalgae and plankton including copepods, Nannochloropsis sp., rotifers, and Tetraselmis spp. I am volunteering at the Pacific Aquaculture and Coastal Resource Center (PACRC) to learn how to cultivate marine organisms. The long-term goal of my project is to use plankton and microalgae as a live feed for captive fish and corals in display tanks at UH Hilo and for students to use in labs.

In order to gather information about cetaceans, researchers use a non-invasive strategy called photo identification to obtain data while minimizing disturbances to the animals. This method is used to track individuals over long periods of time and is also used to quantify specific behaviors and relationships among individuals. The data obtained from the photos allow for effective conservation plans to be developed. For my project, I am going to assist with an ongoing photo identification research project through a collaboration with Dr. Adam Pack, as well as photograph additional humpback whale flukes, and contribute to ongoing research efforts for the Cascadia Research Collective.

King salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) populations have been declining across Alaska since 2010. As salmon run up the rivers from the ocean to spawn, they don't eat, surviving on stored energy until they spawn and die. Size and age in salmon are directly related, and age can be determined by counting annuli on scales or otoliths. This tells how old a fish is and how long it spent in the ocean. Decreasing size with age could indicate changes in food availability. Reabsorption of scales as the fish travel upriver may decrease the reliability of using scales for determining age. My project will compare the reliability of using scales versus otoliths when aging salmon on the spawning grounds.

REEF.org enlists volunteer snorkelers to report reef fish sightings, then collects the data and monitors the reefs. For my project I will be training UH college student volunteers to survey the reefs. In addition, I will educate high school students on reef importance and give them hands-on experience. I will be organizing reef survey field trips with both the college and high school students. My goal is to incorporate citizen science into high school classrooms to benefit the students, through opportunities to work in the field, and the community, by providing more reef monitoring to ensure healthy reefs.

Loko iʻa provide a natural and sustainable way to cultivate aquatic species within man-made or naturally formed enclosures, which creates an optimal environment for microorganisms to grow and to sustain a surplus of fish populations. Kalāhuipaʻa fishpond is a collection of seven loko iʻa located in Kohala Hema, Hawaiʻi. 161 chlorophyll a samples collected by The Nature Conservancy were analyzed in order to investigate the influence loko iʻa has on nearshore coral reef communities and the distribution pattern of chlorophyll a concentrations found throughout the loko iʻa and the offshore coastal waters.

Outbreaks of coral disease are likely to be exacerbated by rising sea surface temperatures. This project will evaluate the impact of heat stress quantified by Degree Heating Weeks (DHW) on the severity and abundance of disease among Porites massive corals in south Kona. The species examined in this project will include Porites lobata, Porites lutea, and Porites brighimi. These corals have been surveyed for diseases such as Porites trematodiasis, pigmentation response, macroalgae overgrowth, and skeletal growth anomalies. DHW and coral health data will be evaluated to determine if there's a correlation between hyperthermal stress and coral disease on reefs in South Kona.

Coral reefs are in global decline due to rapid bleaching, coral disease, & the takeover of marine algae. New conservation techniques are being tested globally as issues of coral health are becoming more public. This project aimed to create a citizen science program through the UH Hilo Marine Option Program (MOP) to encourage students to monitor local corals & assess coral damage over time. Corals were monitored at Leleiwi Beach Park for 4 months & their overall health was assessed on a scale of severity modeled after the Eyes of the Reef Hawaii's coral severity chart. Students will use this baseline data for future coral assessments to compare past & current coral health at Leleiwi Beach Park.