CLIMATE SCIENCE

Five students completed projects in climate adaptation science for the 2022 SURF program, investigating fire-prone invasive grasses, spillover effects of Marine Protected Areas, shifts in estuarine fish biodiversity, optimal regeneration conditions for koa, and effects of marine warming on different phytoplankton strains.

PI: Robert Toonen, Research Professor, Hawai‘i Institute of Marine Biology, UH Mānoa
Graduate Scholar: Paolo Marra-Biggs, Department of Marine Biology, UH Mānoa
Funded: FY2022

With the increase in wildfire prevalence and risk across Hawaiʻi, information in this database on the relative risk posed by non-native plants will be invaluable to land managers in prioritizing their weed control efforts.

This tool provides GIS map layers to illustrate the growth and survivability of corals under several future climate scenarios for reefs in Guam and American Samoa.

PI: John Burns, Assistant Professor of Marine Science, UH Hilo
Funded: FY2021

PI: Judith Drexler, Research Hydrologist, USGS California Water Science Center
Co-Is: James Jacobi, Biologist, USGS Pacific Island Ecosystems Research Center; Curt Storlazzi, Research Geologist, USGS Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center
Funded: FY2021

Six students completed projects in climate adaptation science for the 2021 SURF program, investigating stream flow quality and variability, coastal erosion, fish thermal tolerance, fishpond phytoplankton distribution, and reef microplastics.

PI: Dennis LaPointe, Research Ecologist, USGS Pacific Island Ecosystems Research Center
Funded: FY2021

Mangrove forests and the benefits they provide to Micronesian ecosystems and communities are threatened by accelerating sea-level rise and human activities. Read this factsheet to learn more.

PI: Yoshimi Rii, Research Coordinator, He'eia NERR/HIMB, UH Mānoa
Co-Is: Rob Toonen, Research Professor, HIMB, UH Mānoa; Kawika Winter, Reserve Manager, Heʻeia NERR/HIMB, UH Mānoa
Funded: FY2021