UH Hilo marine science alum/grad student Amber Skiwo dives into the study of ocean water quality in her homeland of Palau
Over the summer, while preparing to transition from UH Hilo undergraduate program to graduate studies, Amber Skiwo returned to her Palau homeland and immersed herself in a research internship.
By Susan Enright/UH Hilo Stories.
A University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo marine science alumna (2025), now a graduate student in the university’s tropical conservation biology and environmental science program, spent her summer diving into ocean water quality issues in her homeland of Palau.
Amber Sky Skiwo, who hails from Koror, graduated from Palau Community College in 2020 with an associate of science in environmental/marine science, and arrived at UH Hilo in 2022 to study marine science. She graduated this past May with her bachelor’s degree.
This semester, she started on her graduate studies where she’s focusing her thesis on water quality within marine science.
Over the summer, while preparing to transition from her undergraduate to graduate studies, Skiwo returned to her homeland and immersed herself in an internship funded by the Palau National Scholarship Board.
“This summer I interned at Coral Reef Research Foundation under the Palau Fellowship Award,” she says. “I chose to intern at CRRF because I was already familiar with their work, having previously worked there for two years before moving to Hawaiʻi to pursue my bachelors degree. This prior connection made the internship a natural fit and I was excited to return and contribute to their research projects.”
Skiwo says the internship served as a bridge between her marine science studies and real world research by giving her the chance to apply what she’s learned in the classroom to fieldwork and data analysis. “It also expanded my technical skills in GIS (geographic information systems) and environmental monitoring,” she says.
The real world: Jelly Fish Lake, Malakal Harbor, and Ebiil Channel
Skiwo’s primary task with the foundation was to produce a habitat map of Ongeim’l Tketau (OTM), the famous Jellyfish Lake. OTM is a marine lake, an isolated body of seawater surrounded by land, located on the island of Eil Malk.
“This involved ground truthing through scuba diving, snorkeling, taking photos and recording GPS coordinates of habitat changes,” she says.
In addition, Skiwo helped produce a habitat map of Malakal Harbor, Palau’s primary commercial and fishing port, located on Malakal Island in Koror.
Skiwo also created an ArcGIS StoryMap for the upcoming second volume of Palau’s inner lagoon bathymetric atlas, focusing on grouper spawning aggregations in Ebiil Channel.
“I strengthened my adaptability, time management, and teamwork by handling challenges”
“This internship allowed me to gain valuable technical skills in GIS mapping, particularly using ArcGIS Pro, I learned how to process and analyze habitat data from the field,” says Skiwo. She also became familiar with specialized tools like drop cameras and drones for data collection.
“Beyond the technical side, I strengthened my adaptability, time management, and teamwork by handling challenges in the field and working alongside experienced researchers,” she says.
Hawaiʻi Island research
Skiwo has participated in ocean water research on Hawaiʻi Island, too. That’s her, second from left, in the photo below. On August 9, 2024, at 7:00 a.m., Skiwo and a group of students, along with their professor, Steve Cobert, conducted dye tests in waters south of Kailua-Kona. What surprised the researchers most during the testing was how fast the groundwater was carrying sewage to the shoreline. Click below to read more:
UH Hilo researchers discover sewage leaking at surprising rate into waters near Kahaluʻu Beach Park
Story by Susan Enright, a public information specialist for the Office of the Chancellor and editor of UH Hilo Stories. She received her bachelor of arts in English and certificate in women’s studies from UH Hilo.
