QUEST Field Program
Quantitative Underwater Ecological Surveying Techniques (QUEST) is a field course offered through the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo that focuses on ecological monitoring of coral reefs using SCUBA. Students and faculty will live and work at a remote field site on the south end of Kealakekua Bay for the duration of the course. A typical day consists of survey dives in the morning and lectures, data entry, and other class activities in the afternoon and evening. The course is taught by a combination of faculty or visiting scientists from the various UH campuses or other agencies including the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the Hawaiʻi Department of Land and Natural Resources Division of Aquatic Resources (DLNR DAR), the United States Geological Survey (USGS), the National Park Service (NPS), The Nature Conservancy (TNC), and others. If you want to prepare for a career in underwater sciences, this is the course for you!
QUEST Courses
QUEST (MARE 264)
Students who enroll in QUEST will learn commonly utilized nearshore underwater ecological surveying techniques and apply them in the field using SCUBA as a research tool. Students will review the identification of common Hawaiian reef invertebrates, fishes, and seaweeds. They will be introduced to a variety of surveying techniques, including: fish counts, surveying of benthic invertebrates, photographic sampling, rugosity, coral health, and more. Additional lectures will cover basics in experimental design, statistical analysis, data reduction, and graphic representation. Students will utilizing SCUBA to survey the coral reefs near Kealakekua Bay, Hawaiʻi. The collected data will be reduced, analyzed, and presented in both an oral and written report. This class affords students a unique opportunity to learn and apply diving research techniques in a truly beautiful environment.
Advanced QUEST (MARE 364)
Students who have completed QUEST (MARE 264) with at least a "B" grade may apply for admission to Advanced QUEST (MARE 364). Applicants who are accepted will be assigned as dive team leaders for the QUEST course. In this leadership role, Advanced QUEST students will work with a faculty mentor to monitor the safe diving practice of each member of their team. The Advanced QUEST student will supervise the dive team's collection of data in the field, as well as its reduction and analysis, and will anchor the team's written and oral presentations. Advanced QUEST students will also learn strategies for leadership, team management, conflict resolution, and other skills that are essential for working with teams with diverse personalities and talents.
Daily Life at QUEST
The dives are conducted on the reefs off of Keʻei Beach at the southern end of Kealakekua Bay, which typically has calm, clear water during the summer. The students will do surveys from the reef flats at 10-15 feet deep down to the edge of the upper reef at about 40 feet.
Students learn a variety of survey methods, including benthic substrate surveys, fish counts, rugosity measurements, photographic sampling, coral health, and invertebrate counts. Each dive focuses on a specific topic and survey method.
Lectures are conducted inside a private beach pavilion, with the palm tree-lined beach and Pacific Ocean as the backdrop. The course includes instructors from the various UH campuses, governmental agencies, non-profit organizations, and more. There are also several guest lectures each year, and the speakers vary based on current topics of interest.
Students and staff all camp together on the beach in front of the pavilion for the duration of the course. Listening to the waves crash on the rocks at night is mesmerizing, and provides for some very restful sleep.
Kona sunsets are legendary, and dinner takes place at sunset to take full advantage of the beauty that South Kona has to offer. This is the typical view while eating an evening meal.