Research Projects

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

A small orange and brown bird with a metal band around its leg is held gently by a hand

Predicting and mitigating avian disease at Hakalau Forest National Wildlife Refuge

PI: Dennis LaPointe, Research Ecologist, USGS Pacific Island Ecosystems Research Center
Funded: FY2021
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Foreground of large colorful snail on a broad leaf, against blurred background of eroded hills and out to the sea.

Field surveys for vanishing Hawaiian land snail species

PI: Jonathan Price, Professor of Geography, UH Hilo Funded: FY2021
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Low cascading waterfall with overhanging trees

How do Hawaiʻi stakeholders use and contribute to land-to-sea ecosystem service analyses

PI: Clay Trauernicht, Ecosystem and Fire Extension Specialist, NREM, UH Mānoa
Funded: FY2021
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People arranged in a circle with background of mountains of the Pali

Enhancing social-ecological resilience and ecosystem services through restoration of coastal agroforestry systems

PI: Leah Bremer, Assistant Specialist and Conservation Scientist, UH Mānoa
Co-PI: Gina McGuire, Department of Geography, UH Mānoa
Funded: FY2020
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View across a green hill with dark patches of burn scars and blue, tropical ocean in the background.

Perceptions of wildfire and wildfire management on Guam

PI: Christine Fejeran, Chief Forester, Guam Forestry Division
Co-PI: Farron Taijeron, Sustainable Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources, University of Guam
Funded: FY2020
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Firefighters tend a grassy fire break line in front of burning brush, with a blackened, smoky landscape behind

Future of fire in the Pacific Islands: Towards a national synthesis for wildland fire under a changing climate

PI: Christian Giardina Research , Ecologist, Inst. of Pacific Islands Forestry, US Forest Service
Co-PI: Alyssa Anderson , Fire Post-doctoral Fellow, UH Mānoa Funded: FY2020

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Student examines plants along a greenery-bordered path

2020 SURF Projects

Three students completed projects in climate adaptation science for the 2020 SURF program, investigating salinity tolerance in coastal plants, fire-plant interactions, and new techniques to improve reforestation efforts.
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Hilly barren landscape with low burnt browned grass

Biochar as a mitigation tool for soil rehabilitation in Guam’s badlands and savannah grasslands

PI: Mohammad Golabi, Professor of Soil Science, University of Guam
Co-PI: Patrick Keeler, Sustainable Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources, University of Guam
Funded: FY2020
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A small, brown bird sits on the branch of a tree

Development of an early warning system for climate-change related invasion by mosquitoes into Hakalau Forest NWR

PI: Patrick Hart, Professor of Biology, UH Hilo
Co-PI: Stephanie Mladinich, Tropical Conservation Biology & Environmental Science, UH Hilo
Funded: FY2020
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Image looking up the trunk of a light-barked tree

Comparing arbuscular mycorrhizal diversity among different life stages of Intsia bijuga (Colebr.) Kuntze in Guam’s Limestone Forests

PI: Alexander Kerr, Professor of Marine Biology, University of Guam
Co-PI: Charles "CJ" Paulino, Environmental Science, University of Guam
Funded: FY2020
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RESEARCH