RESEARCH PROJECTS
PI-CASC supports research that generates actionable climate science within several key focus areas defined by regional stakeholder needs.
Development of new technologies and techniques to advance wildlife monitoring and improve management of endangered Hawaiian bird species in a changing climate
PI: Patrick Hart, Professor of Biology, UH Hilo
Co-Is: Amanda Navine, TCBES, UH Hilo; Ann Tanimoto-Johnson, TCBES, UH Hilo; Bret Mossman, Hawaiʻi Island Avian Technician, DOFAW
Funded: FY2023
Co-Is: Amanda Navine, TCBES, UH Hilo; Ann Tanimoto-Johnson, TCBES, UH Hilo; Bret Mossman, Hawaiʻi Island Avian Technician, DOFAW
Funded: FY2023
Impacts of climate change on water quality and fish recruitment in Native Hawaiian fishponds
PI: Cherie Kauahi, Aquaculture Specialist, Hawaiʻi Sea Grant
Co-Is: Kamala Anthony, Co-founder, Hui Hoʻoleimaluō; Bradley Fox, Aquaculture Extension Specialist, Hawaiʻi Sea Grant; Darren Okimoto, Associate Director, Hawaiʻi Sea Grant; Anne Rosa, Marine Education Specialist, Hawaiʻi Sea Grant
Funded: FY2023
Co-Is: Kamala Anthony, Co-founder, Hui Hoʻoleimaluō; Bradley Fox, Aquaculture Extension Specialist, Hawaiʻi Sea Grant; Darren Okimoto, Associate Director, Hawaiʻi Sea Grant; Anne Rosa, Marine Education Specialist, Hawaiʻi Sea Grant
Funded: FY2023
Improving the availability and accessibility of climate data and information for users in Hawaiʻi, American Samoa, and Guam
PI: Ryan Longman, Assoc. Climatologist, Water Resources Research Center
Co-Is: Abby Frazier, Asst. Professor, Clark University; Christian Giardina, Research Ecologist, USDA Forest Service; Tammy Tabe, Research Fellow, East-West Center
Funded: FY2023
Co-Is: Abby Frazier, Asst. Professor, Clark University; Christian Giardina, Research Ecologist, USDA Forest Service; Tammy Tabe, Research Fellow, East-West Center
Funded: FY2023
Climate smart restoration: Establishing baselines and developing adaptive management approaches
PI: Michala Phillips, Research Ecologist, USGS Pacific Island Ecosystem Research Center
Co-Is: Corie Yanger, Botanical Research Technician, USGS PIERC; Aurora Kagawa-Viviani, Asst. Professor of Geography, WRRC, UH Mānoa
Funded: FY2023
Co-Is: Corie Yanger, Botanical Research Technician, USGS PIERC; Aurora Kagawa-Viviani, Asst. Professor of Geography, WRRC, UH Mānoa
Funded: FY2023
2023 SURF Projects
Four students completed projects in climate adaptation science for the 2023 SURF program, investigating how forests vegetation shifts in response to climate change, the connection between climate and humpback whale health, whether added nutrients can improve coral thermal resilience, and sea-level rise impacts to community infrastructure.
Assessing the success and vulnerability of Hawaiian rare plant introductions to inform future stabilization efforts
PI: Tamara Ticktin, Professor of Botany, UH Mānoa
Co-Is: Clay Trauernicht, Associate Specialist, UH Mānoa; Tim Chambers, Center for Plant Conservation Officer, ANRPO; Lucas Fortini, Research Ecologist, PIERC, USGS; Julia Douglas, School of Life Sciences, UH Mānoa
Funded: FY2023
Co-Is: Clay Trauernicht, Associate Specialist, UH Mānoa; Tim Chambers, Center for Plant Conservation Officer, ANRPO; Lucas Fortini, Research Ecologist, PIERC, USGS; Julia Douglas, School of Life Sciences, UH Mānoa
Funded: FY2023
Enhancing social-ecological resilience through restoration of coastal agroforestry systems
PI: Leah Bremer, Assistant Specialist and Conservation Scientist, UH Mānoa
Co-PI: Tressa Hoppe, Botany Department, UH Mānoa
Funded: FY2022
Co-PI: Tressa Hoppe, Botany Department, UH Mānoa
Funded: FY2022
Unlocking reef resilience drivers to inform Pacific coral reef management
PI: Megan Donahue, Marine Researcher, HIMB, UH Mānoa
Co-PIs: Jessica Glazner, Dept of Marine Biology, UH Mānoa; Chad Wiggins, Palmyra Program Director, The Nature Conservancy
Funded: FY2022
Co-PIs: Jessica Glazner, Dept of Marine Biology, UH Mānoa; Chad Wiggins, Palmyra Program Director, The Nature Conservancy
Funded: FY2022
Applying a novel spatial prioritization technique to support climate-resilient conservation planning in Maui Nui
PI: Lucas Fortini, Research Ecologist, USGS Pacific Islands Ecosystem Research Center
Co-Is: Christina Leopold, Conservation Ecologist, Hawaiʻi Cooperative Studies Unit, UH Hilo; Scott Fretz, DOFAW Maui Branch Manager, Hawaiʻi DLNR
Funded: FY2022
Co-Is: Christina Leopold, Conservation Ecologist, Hawaiʻi Cooperative Studies Unit, UH Hilo; Scott Fretz, DOFAW Maui Branch Manager, Hawaiʻi DLNR
Funded: FY2022
Using oral histories of Marshallese and Yapese voyaging to develop sustainable sea transport
PI: Joseph Genz, Associate Professor of Anthropology, UH Hilo
Co-PIs: Jerolynn Myazoe, Dept of Anthropology, UH Hilo; Shania Tamagyongfal, Dept of Anthropology, UH Hilo; Alexander Mawyer, Associate Professor, Center for Pacific Island Studies, UH Mānoa
Funded: FY2022
Co-PIs: Jerolynn Myazoe, Dept of Anthropology, UH Hilo; Shania Tamagyongfal, Dept of Anthropology, UH Hilo; Alexander Mawyer, Associate Professor, Center for Pacific Island Studies, UH Mānoa
Funded: FY2022
Developing a Pacific mangrove monitoring network (PACMAN) in response to sea-level rise
PI: Richard Mackenzie, Research Ecologist, USDA FS Pacific Southwest Research Station
Co-PI: Maybeleen Apwong, TCBES, UH Hilo
Funded: FY2022
Co-PI: Maybeleen Apwong, TCBES, UH Hilo
Funded: FY2022
Embedding climate impacts into routine decision-making by applying natural capital accounting
PI: Kirsten Oleson, Associate Professor of Ecological Economics, UH Mānoa
Co-PI: Louis Chua Bing Chao, Dept of Natural Resources and Environmental Management, UH Mānoa
Funded: FY2022
Co-PI: Louis Chua Bing Chao, Dept of Natural Resources and Environmental Management, UH Mānoa
Funded: FY2022
Developing a climate-resilient restoration approach combining functional, climate, and geographic data
PI: Rebecca Ostertag, Professor of Biology, UH Hilo
Co-PIs: Konapiliahi Dancil, TCBES, UH Hilo; Jonathan Price Professor of Geography, UH Hilo
Funded: FY2022
Co-PIs: Konapiliahi Dancil, TCBES, UH Hilo; Jonathan Price Professor of Geography, UH Hilo
Funded: FY2022