RESEARCH

RESEARCH PROJECTS

PI-CASC supports research that generates actionable climate science within several key focus areas defined by regional stakeholder needs.

Two workers in blue shirts are barely visible attending to trees in a lush, multi-species agroforestry plot

Building resilient coastal forests through enhancing biocultural research and career pathways

PI: Leah Bremer, Associate Specialist and Conservation Scientist, UH Mānoa
Graduate Scholar: Sebastian Church, NREM, UH Mānoa
Co-Is: Tamara Ticktin, Professor of Botany, UH Mānoa; Kiana Frank, Assistant Professor of Microbiology, UH Mānoa; Zoe Hastings Silao, Postdoctoral Researcher, Water Resources Research Center
Funded: FY2024
Using eDNA to predict impacts of climate change within loko iʻa

Using eDNA to predict impacts of climate change within loko iʻa

PI: John Burns , Associate Professor of Marine Science and Data, UH Hilo, MEGA Lab
MCC Graduate Scholar: Skyler Chong, TCBES, UH Hilo
Co-I: Jonathan Price, Professor of Geography, UH Hilo
Funded: FY2024
A lush tropical forest of a variety of trees fills the field of view

A functional trait approach to design and implement resilient landscapes in Guam

PI: Susan Cordell, Research Ecologist, Institute of Pacific Islands Forestry, USFS
Co-Is: Amanda Uowolo, U.S. Forest Service; Rebecca Ostertag, UH Hilo; Ruddy Estoy, Guam Dept. of Agriculture; Christine Fejeran, Guam Dept. of Agriculture; Romina King, Guam PI-CASC
Funded: FY2024
In the foreground, a small leggy bird stands, in profile, on a rocky outrcrop, against a blurred oceanscape in the distance

Climate change impacts on migratory birds connecting Indigenous Pacific Island and Alaskan communities

PI: Judith Drexler, Research Hydrologist, USGS California Water Science Center
Co-Is: Helen Raine, Pacific Bird Habitat Joint Venture; Laura Farwell, PBHJV; Pūlama Lima, Ka Ipu Makani; Nahulu Maioho, Ka Ipu Makani; Willow Hetrick-Price, Chugach Regional Resources Commission
Funded: FY2024
Looking up a broad Hawaiian valley, the foreground shows a bay with an inlet to a medium-sized estuary that disappears into a lush forested valley floor; small waterfalls are visible at the back of the valley in the distance

Landscape prioritization for climate-resilient conservation of over 400 T&E species 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; Chad Wilhite, Quantitative Spatial/Research Analyst, HCSU, UH Hilo
Funded: FY2024
Kāhuli Conservationists: Caring for the small things to care for the larger honua

Kāhuli Conservationists: Caring for the small things to care for the larger honua

PI: Lucas Fortini , Research Ecologist, USGS Pacific Islands Ecosystem Research Center
MCC Graduate Scholar: Lilly Thomey, TCBES, UH Hilo
Co-I: Jonathan Price, Professor of Geography, UH Hilo
Funded: FY2024
Restoring Hawai‘i’s Wetlands

Restoring Hawai‘i’s Wetlands

PI: Kelly Goodale, Biologist, USFWS, Oʻahu National Wildlife Refuge Complex
Funded: FY2024
An oblique aerial view of a narrow rocky coastline giving way to steep, layered cliffs defining a broad bay

Transforming community climate adaptation through Indigenous place-based connection

PI: Steven Johnson, Assistant Professor of Natural Resources, Cornell University
Co-Is: Aric Arakaki, National Park Service; Joseph Genz, UH Hilo; Scott Laursen, PI-CASC; Shane Akoni Nelsen, Kealakekua ‘Ohana Advisory Council; Tanya Souza, National Park Service
Funded: FY2024
Four students pose, smiling, outdoors with a vegetated background

2024 SURF Projects

Four students completed projects in climate adaptation science for the 2024 SURF program, investigating the effects of ocean warming on cleaner wrasse behavior, finding the best soil amendments for encouraging native Hawaiian plant regeneration, modeling the optimal pathway for using the RAD framework on Hawaiʻi biomes, and using non-intrusive methods to investigate climate effects of coral growth rates.
Ocean waters fill basaltic rocky inlets, and form shallow tide pools further up the bench

Evaluating the resilience of productive rocky intertidal ecosystems to SLR using a community-based approach

PI: Haunani Kane, Assistant Professor of Earth Sciences, UH Mānoa
Graduate Scholar: Makoa Pascoe, Dept of Oceanography, UH Mānoa
Co-Is: Atsuko Fukunaga, Assistant Researcher, CIMAR, UH Mānoa; John Burns, Associate Professor of Marine Science, UH Hilo; Kainalu Steward, Dept of Earth Sciences, UH Mānoa
Funded: FY2024
A few healthy corals are scattered across a landscape of unhealthy encrusted and porous reef structures

Assessing the sensitivity of coral reef accretion and bioerosion to acidification and eutrophication

PI: Andrea Kealoha, Asst. Professor of Oceanography, UH Mānoa
Graduate Scholar: Raffi Isah, Dept of Oceanography, UH Mānoa
Co-I: Katie Shamberger, Assoc. Professor of Oceanography, Texas A&M University
Funded: FY2024
Steep vegetated cliffs plunge to coastal ocean waters, some of which are noticeably brown compared to bluer waters further out from the land.

Effects of climate-driven increases in sediment delivery on coral reef ecosystem productivity and accretion

PI: Andrea Kealoha, Asst. Professor of Oceanography, UH Mānoa
Graduate Scholar: Sean Swift, Dept of Oceanography, UH Mānoa
Co-I: Craig Nelson, Assoc. Researcher of Oceanography, UH Mānoa
Funded: FY2024
Photo of 3 Destroyer Ants side by side

Developing methods to manage Trichomyrmex destructor at Midway Atoll

PI: Jonathan Plissner, Supervisory Biologist, Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge and Battle of Midway National Memorial, USFWS
Co-I: Helen Sofaer, Pacific Island Ecosystems Research Center
Funded: FY2024
Post-release monitoring of the ʻekupuʻu on Eastern Island

Post-release monitoring of the ʻekupuʻu on Eastern Island

PI: Sheldon Plentovich, Coastal Program Coordinator, USFWS, Pacific Islands Fish and Wildlife Service Office
Funded: FY2024