About
123
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Introduction
My research interests include coral reef ecology, marine conservation biology, ecotoxicology, radiation biology, climate change, MPA's, bridging science to management and policy, and the integration of traditional ecological knowledge with modern approaches to resource use and protection. I work at levels from molecules to ecosystems.
Current institution
Current position
- Research Professor and Director, Kewalo Marine Laboratory
Additional affiliations
January 2004 - present
November 2012 - September 2023
January 1984 - December 1985
Publications
Publications (123)
Synopsis Microplastic pollution is an emerging stressor of concern to coral reef ecosystems which are already threatened by additional global and local level anthropogenic stressors. The effects of ingesting microplastics alone on corals have been well studied, but the effects of the chemical composition of these particles have been understudied. M...
Synopsis
Microplastic pollution is an emerging stressor of concern to coral reef ecosystems, which are already threatened by additional global and local level anthropogenic stressors. The effects of ingesting microplastics alone on corals have been well studied, but the effects of the chemical composition of these particles have been understudied....
Coral reefs globally face unprecedented challenges from anthropogenic stressors, necessitating innovative approaches for effective assessment and management. Molecular biomarkers, particularly those related to protein expressions, provide a promising avenue for diagnosing coral health at the cellular level. This study employed enzyme-linked immunos...
Anthropogenic activities increase sediment suspended in the water column and deposition on reefs can be largely dependent on colony morphology. Massive and plating corals have a high capacity to trap sediments, and active removal mechanisms can be energetically costly. Branching corals trap less sediment but are more susceptible to light limitation...
Human and environmental health are inextricably linked. Yet ocean ecosystem health is declining because of anthropogenic pollution, overexploitation, and the effects of global climate change. These problems affect billions of people dependent on oceans for their lives, livelihoods, and cultural practices. The importance of ocean health is recognize...
Sedimentation can occur near a dredge operation in pulses over days, and potentially impact coral reefs occurring in close proximity. To improve the ability to predict the effects of dredging on corals, the effects of sedimentation in two 18-day experiments were studied for three common coral species representing different morphologies. In a labora...
Anthropogenic activities increase sediment suspended in the water column and deposition on reefs can be largely dependent on colony morphology. Massive and plating corals have a high capacity to trap sediments, and active removal mechanisms can be energetically costly. Branching corals trap less sediment, but are more susceptible to light limitatio...
Midway Atoll in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands is home to ground nesting birds that are threatened by invasive mice. Planned rodent eradication efforts for the island involve aerial application of cereal bait pellets containing the chemical rodenticide brodifacoum. Given the nature of the application method, drift of cereal bait pellets into the...
Corals form the basis of some of the most biodiverse and valuable ecosystems on Earth and are among the most vulnerable to anthropogenic stressors. Tungsten is a heavy metal found in increasing quantities in marine environments due to its industrial and military uses, including missile testing at the Reagan Test Site, Kwajalein Atoll, Republic of t...
Degradation and loss of coral reefs due to climate change and other anthropogenic stressors has fueled genomics, proteomics, and genetics research to investigate coral stress response pathways and to identify resilient species, genotypes, and populations to restore these biodiverse ecosystems. Much of the research and conservation effort has unders...
Coral reefs are highly complex and valuable ecosystems which are also among the most threatened on Earth from both global and local level stressors. Among these stressors, tungsten from the construction of missiles is of concern at the Reagan Test Site (Kwajalein Atoll, Republic of the Marshall Islands). No studies to date have explored how tungste...
The emergence of export markets for high-value seafood products tends to produce a predictable pattern of serial depletion of resources and social disruption in coastal communities, a phenomenon described as 'the tragedy of the commodity'. The sea cucumber trade epitomizes these challenges, with cases of rapid growth followed by fishery collapse do...
A 30-year time series of the recruitment of rabbit fish, an herbivorous coral reef fish, on the island of Guam in the tropical western Pacific, showed variability that ENSO alone does not explain. To help explain this variability, a high-resolution biophysical model that includes directional swimming reveals how mesoscale turbulence and ENSO-driven...
Reduced water quality degrades coral reefs, resulting in compromised ecosystem function and services to coastal communities. Increasing management capacity on reefs requires prioritization of the development of data-based water-quality thresholds and tipping points. To meet this urgent need of marine resource managers, we conducted a systematic rev...
Maintaining coral reef ecosystems is a social imperative, be cause so many people depend on coral reefs for food production, shoreline protection, and livelihoods. The survival of reefs this century, however, is threatened by the mounting effects of climate change. Climate mitigation is the foremost and essential action to prevent coral reef ecosys...
The effects of the xenoestrogen 4-nonylphenol (4NP) on endocrine and metabolic homeostasis in the reef building coral, Pocillopora damicornis were investigated. The aim was to understand if ubiquitous nonylphenol ethoxylate contaminants in the marine environment result in altered homeostatic function. Coral colonies were chronically exposed (6 week...
Corals in nearshore marine environments are increasingly exposed to reduced water quality, which is the primary local threat to Hawaiian coral reefs. It is unclear if corals surviving in such conditions have adapted to withstand sedimentation, pollutants, and other environmental stressors. Lobe coral populations from Maunalua Bay, Hawaii showed cle...
With increasing exposure to local and global stressors associated with a rapidly changing climate, corals adapted to thrive within stressful environments are of particular interest to researchers and managers. A bleaching resilient Porites coral with an unusual appearance was discovered dominating shallow waters (1–2 m) within Honolulu Harbor, Hawa...
Book Review of "Coral Whisperers: Scientists on the Brink." Critical Environments: Nature, Science, and Politics, Volume 3 by Irus Braverman
Dredging often occurs near sensitive habitat. Risk characterization is an integral part of dredging regulatory approval and sound dredging practice. This paper describes a risk characterization framework for evaluating risk associated with sediment released during dredging operations. Sediment release risk assessment is required to balance dredging...
We examined genetic structure in the lobe coral Porites lobata among pairs of highly variable and high-stress nearshore sites and adjacent less variable and less impacted offshore sites on the islands of Oahu and Maui, Hawaii. Using an analysis of molecular variance framework, we tested whether populations were more structured by geographic distanc...
Corals in nearshore marine environments are increasingly exposed to reduced water quality, which is the major local threat to coral reefs in Hawaii. Corals surviving in such conditions may have acclimatized and/or adapted to withstand sedimentation, pollutants, and other environmental stressors. Lobe coral ( Porites lobata ) populations from Maunal...
A decision framework for implementation of possible interventions.
The impacts of continued degradation of watersheds on coastal coral reefs worldwide is alarming, and action addressing anthropogenic stressors and subsequent rehabilitation of watersheds and adjacent reefs is an urgent priority. The aim of this study is to develop and improve the use of antioxidant enzymes as bioindicators of stress in coral specie...
We examined genetic structure in the lobe coral Porites lobata among pairs of highly variable and high-stress nearshore sites and adjacent less variable and less impacted offshore sites on the islands of O'ahu and Maui, Hawai'i. Using an analysis of molecular variance framework, we tested whether populations were more structured by geographic dista...
Interventions to increase the resilience and persistence of coral reefs.
The persistence of populations of marine organisms depends on the success of the dual processes of reproduction and recruitment. The production of offspring alone is inconsequential unless larvae and propagules can recruit, which often entails a period of development and distribution in the water column and subsequent selection of appropriate habit...
Due to their high morphological plasticity and complex evolutionary history, the species boundaries of many reef-building corals are poorly understood. The skeletal structures of corals have traditionally been used for species identification, but these structures can be highly variable, and currently we lack knowledge regarding the extent of morpho...
Designated large-scale marine protected areas (LSMPAs, 100,000 or more square kilometers) constitute over two-thirds of the approximately 6.6% of the ocean and approximately 14.5% of the exclusive economic zones within marine protected areas. Although LSMPAs have received support among scientists and conservation bodies for wilderness protection, r...
The impacts of continued degradation of watersheds on coastal coral reefs world-wide is alarming. Action addressing anthropogenic stressors and subsequent rehabilitation of watersheds and adjacent reefs is an urgent priority. The aim of this study is to develop and improve the use of antioxidant enzymes as biomarkers in coral species. In order to f...
The impacts of continued degradation of watersheds on coastal coral reefs world-wide is alarming. Action addressing anthropogenic stressors and subsequent rehabilitation of watersheds and adjacent reefs is an urgent priority. The aim of this study is to develop and improve the use of antioxidant enzymes as biomarkers in coral species. In order to f...
Symbiotic single-celled dinoflagellates play critical roles in providing corals with both energy and tolerances to survive over a range of environmental conditions. Stressors can cause the breakdown of this symbiosis, resulting in mass bleaching events, and are projected to increase in frequency and spatial extent, threatening the long-term surviva...
Symbiotic single-celled dinoflagellates play critical roles in providing corals with both energy and tolerances to survive over a range of environmental conditions. Stressors can cause the breakdown of this symbiosis, resulting in mass bleaching events, and are projected to increase in frequency and spatial extent, threatening the long-term surviva...
Sexual reproductive activity has been demonstrated in all reef-building (zooxanthellate) scleractinian corals examined from Mexico to the equatorial eastern Pacific (Galápagos Islands). Eleven of 13 species spawn gametes, six are gonochoric, three hermaphroditic, and four exhibit significant mixed sexuality (both gonochoric and hermaphroditic). Fou...
The Cultural and Biological Significance of the proposed expansion for the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument
On Hawaiian reefs, the fast-growing, invasive algae
Gracilaria salicornia
overgrows coral heads, restricting water flow and light, thereby smothering corals. Field data shows hypoxic conditions (dissolved oxygen (DO
2
) < 2 mg/L) occurring underneath algal mats at night, and concurrent bleaching and partial tissue loss of shaded corals. To analyze...
Alanopine dehydrogenase and strombine dehydrogenase raw data
Dataset includes values for control, treatment, and reference corals (labeled ‘tank’) for both alanopine and strombine dehydrogenase activity (units: nmols/min/mg protein).
Scleractinian corals play a critical role in tropical marine ecosystems by providing essential structure and food for coral reef inhabitants. However, recent investigations have found an alarming increase in coral losses from a variety of stressors, which threatens the general health and resilience of tropical coastal ecosystems. The effect of oxyg...
Scleractinian corals play a critical role in tropical marine ecosystems by providing essential structure and food for coral reef inhabitants. However, recent investigations have found an alarming increase in coral losses from a variety of stressors, which threatens the general health and resilience of tropical coastal ecosystems. The effect of oxyg...
Coral reefs are in decline worldwide due to anthropogenic stressors including reductions in water and substratum quality. Dredging results in the mobilization of sediments, which can stress and kill corals via increasing turbidity, tissue damage and burial. The Particle Tracking Model (PTM) was applied to predict the potential impacts of dredging-a...
Coral reefs are subjected globally to a variety of natural and anthropogenic stressors that often act synergistically. Today, reversing ongoing and future coral reef degradation presents significant challenges and countering this negative trend will take considerable efforts and investments. Scientific knowledge can inform and guide the requisite d...
Coral reefs are subjected globally to a variety of natural and anthropogenic stressors that often act synergistically. Today, reversing ongoing and future coral reef degradation presents significant challenges and countering this negative trend will take considerable efforts and investments. Scientific knowledge can inform and guide the requisite d...
Full citation: Maui Coral Reef Recovery Team. 2015. Ola nā Papa i Mālama ‘ia: A Practical Plan for the Technical and Cultural Restoration of Maui’s Coral Reefs, Version 2.0. Maui Nui Marine Resource Council, Kīhei, Maui. 116pp.
Lead editor: John Parks.
From Executive Summary: "During late 2010, the Council established the Maui Coral Reef Recovery...
The continued deterioration of coral reefs worldwide demonstrates the need to develop diagnostic tools for corals that go beyond general ecological monitoring and can identify specific stressors at sublethal levels. Cellular diagnostics present an approach to defining indicators (biomarkers) that have the potential to reflect the impact of stress a...
Coral bleaching is a significant contributor to the worldwide degradation of coral reefs and is indicative of the termination of symbiosis between the coral host and its symbiotic algae (dinoflagellate; Symbiodinium sp. complex), usually by expulsion or xenophagy (symbiophagy) of its dinoflagellates. Herein, we provide evidence that during the earl...
Reproduction and recruitment are key processes that replenish marine populations. Here we use the Palau archipelago, in the western Pacific Ocean, as a case study to examine scales of connectivity and to determine whether an oceanographic model, incorporating the complex reef architecture, is a useful predictor of coral recruitment. We tested the h...
Coastal development projects often lead to the destruction of adjacent coral reefs, even when a governmental permitting process is followed. Although regulations may require no environmental net-loss, the replacement of coral reef ecosystem structure and function through mitigation cannot be guaranteed due to deficiencies in habitat assessment tool...
Invasive species are a worldwide problem and have altered both terrestrial and marine ecosystems in Hawaii. Avrainvillea amadelpha is one marine invader that has changed the Paiko Lagoon Peninsula (PLP) reef flat ecosystem. PLP also has a sedimentation problem worsened by the dense presence of the alga. Community-based groups, in partnership with g...
A method to label marine biocarbonates is developed based on a concentration enrichment of a minor stable isotope of a trace element that is a natural compo-nent of seawater, resulting in the formation of biocarbonate with corresponding isotopic enrichments. This biocarbon-ate is subsequently imaged with a NanoSIMS ion micro-probe to visualize the...
Invasive species alter the ecology of marine ecosystems through a variety of mechanisms or combination of mechanisms. This study documented critical physical parameters altered by the invasive red macroalga Gracilaria salicornia in situ, including: reduced irradiance, increased sedimentation, and marked variation in diurnal dissolved oxygen and pH...
Coral reefs throughout the world are exhibiting documented declines in coral cover and species diversity, which have been linked to anthropogenic stressors including land-based sources of pollution. Reductions in coastal water and substratum quality are affecting coral survivorship, reproduction and recruitment, and hence, the persistence of coral...
Securing adequate and appropriate source material for coral-reef ecotoxicology studies is a significant impediment to conducting various experiments supporting the goal of conserving coral-reef ecosystems. Collecting colonies from wild stocks may be counter to protecting coral reef populations. To address this issue the rice coral Montipora capitat...
Coastal marine ecosystems worldwide are being degraded as a result of anthropogenic disturbance, including pollution, runoff, and sedimentation, which are directly tied to human activities within adjacent watersheds. While the biophysical sciences can provide critical data determining cause-and-effect relationships among human activities and resour...
Modern coral reefs had their origins in the Triassic Period, and over the past 65 million years, have expanded and contracted
due to a variety of extrinsic factors such as sea level and climatic changes. As humans evolved, so did a new era for coral
reefs: that of exposure to anthropogenic stressors on top of the already persistent natural events s...
Biochemical and molecular biomarkers tools are utilized as early warning signatures of contaminant exposure to target and non-target organisms. The objective of this study was to investigate the sublethal effects of iron chloride to the larvae of the lace coral Pocillopora damicornis by measuring a suit of oxidative-stress biomarkers. The larvae we...
This study examined concentrations of Irgarol 1051(®) in selected marinas on the island of Oahu, Hawaii and used laboratory bioassays to assess effects of Irgarol on coral larval settlement. Field surveys of small boat marinas performed in 2006-2007 revealed low concentrations of Irgarol 1051(®), an antifouling paint additive, ranging from non-dete...
Coral community structure is often governed by a suite of processes that are becoming increasingly influenced by land-use changes and related terrestrial discharges. We studied sites along a watershed gradient to examine both the physical environment and the associated biological communities. Transplanted corals showed no differences in growth rate...
"This study assessed the impacts of differing levels of land development in four watersheds in Palau on river sediment yield and on sedimentation and turbidity. Area corrected sediment yield was strongly related to land development (r 2 = 0.96, P = 0.02), varying from 9.7 to 216 tons km−2 yr−1 between the least and most developed watershed. Mean se...
Human activities in the watersheds surrounding Maunalua Bay, Oahu, Hawaii, have lead to the degradation of coastal coral reefs affecting populations of marine organisms of ecological, economic and cultural value. Urbanization, stream channelization, breaching of a peninsula, seawalls, and dredging on the east side of the bay have resulted in increa...
Biotechnology is a broad field encompassing diverse disciplines from agriculture to zoology. Advances in research are occurring at a rapid pace, and applications that have broad implications socially, economically, ecologically and politically are emerging. Along with notable benefits, environmental consequences that affect core quality-of-life iss...
The Mariana Islands are a chain of 16 volcanic peaks stretching over a distance of approximately 2,500 km from 13° to 21° N latitude and centered at 145° E longitude (Fig. 19.1). Politically, the area is divided into two jurisdictions, Guam and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. Guam is a US territory located at 13°28' N, 144°45' E a...
This study analyzed how coral communities change along a gradient of increasing exposure to a mud-discharging river in the Enipein Catchment, Pohnpei, Micronesia. Using video transects, we quantified benthic communities at five sites along a gradient moving away from the river mouth towards the barrier reef. The most river-impacted site was charact...
Goldfish Carassius auratus are common aquarium fish and have a significant economic and research value, having considerable worth to fisheries as a baitfish and the ability to adapt to a range of habitats. Two cell lines were established from goldfish muscle and swim bladder tissue, in order to create a biological monitoring tool for viral diseases...
To test whether coral planulae recruit randomly to different coral reef habitats or have specific substratum preferences,
the settling behavior of planulae from two shallow water coral species from Pago Bay, Guam (13°25.02N, 144°47.30E) were examined
in the laboratory in June and July of 1995. Goniastrea retiformis is generally restricted to the sh...
Coral reefs worldwide are being degraded by human-induced disturbances, resulting in ecological, economic, and cultural losses. Runoff and sedimentation are among the greatest threats to the coastal reefs surrounding high islands and adjacent to continental landmasses. Existing scientific data identify the key stressors, synergisms, and outcomes at...
Terminal ends of vertebrate chromosomes are protected by tandem repeats of the sequence (TTAGGG). First thought to be vertebrate specific, (TTAGGG)n
has recently been identified in several aquatic invertebrates including sea urchin (Strongylocentrotus purpuratus), bay scallop (Argopecten irradians), and wedgeshell clam (Donax trunculus). We analyze...
The grounding of the Merchant Vessel (MV) Kyowa Violet on a coral reef near Yap, Federated States of Micronesia, in December 2002 resulted in the release of an estimated 55,000 to 80,000 gallons of intermediate fuel oil grade 180. The immediate impact was the widespread coating of mangroves and the intertidal zone along more than 8 km of coastline....
Petroleum contamination from oil spills is a continuing threat to our ocean's fragile ecosystems. Herein, we explored the effects of the water-soluble fraction of crude oil on a stony coral, Pocillopora damicornis (Linneaeus 1758). We developed methods for exposing corals to various concentrations of crude oil and for assessing the potential molecu...
A six-month-long study was conducted of the fate of turbid river plumes from the Enipein watershed in Pohnpei, Federated States of Micronesia. Pohnpei is one of the wettest places on earth, with a mean annual rainfall exceeding 4 m in the lowlands and 8 m in the highlands. The river waters were clear of sediment except after major storms with rainf...
Coral reefs are in crisis. Globally, our reefs are degrading at an accelerating rate and present methodologies for coral-reef 'health' assessment, although providing important information in describing these global declines, have been unable to halt these declines. These assessments are usually employed with no clear purpose and using uncorrelated...
A comparative study was undertaken of the fate of fine sediment in the Ngerikiil and Ngerdorch mangrove-fringed estuaries in Babeldaob Island, Palau, Micronesia, in 2002. The mangroves comprised 3.8% of each catchment area, and in both systems, they trapped about 30% of the riverine sediment. Mangroves are important buffers protecting fringing cora...
A model is proposed to explain coral and algal abundance on coastal coral reefs as a function of spike-like natural disturbances from tropical cyclones and turbid river floods, followed by long recovery periods where the rate of reef recovery depends on ambient water and substratum quality. The model includes competition for space between corals an...
Airai Bay, Palau, is a small (3 km2), semi-enclosed, mangrove-fringed, meso-tidal, coral lagoon on the southeast coast of Palau. It drains a small catchment area (26 km2) of highly erodible soils in an area with high annual rainfall (3.7 m). River floods are short-lived and the sediment load is very large, with suspended fine sediment concentration...
Near-surface currents around Guam, a 35 km long, slab-shaped island in the Mariana Islands group, were estimated from current meters, satellite-derived surface topography, and a numerical model. A dominant northwestward-flowing North Equatorial Current prevailed from June to December 2000, with speeds typically 0.1–0.2 m s À1 , generating unsteady...
Fouha Bay is a 400-m-long funnel-shaped, 10-m-deep, coral-fringed embayment on the southwest coast of Guam. It drains a small catchment area (5 km2) of steeply sloping, highly erodible lateritic soils. River floods are short-lived and the sediment load is very large, with suspended sediment concentration (SSC) exceeding 1000 mg l−1. The resulting r...
A Biodiversity Vision for the Galapagos Islands
based on an international workshop of conservation biologists
in Galapagos in May 1999
VISIÓN PARA LA BIODIVERSIDAD DE LAS ISLAS GALÁPAGOS
Basada en las actas del taller internacional de biólogos de la conservación,
llevado a cabo en Galápagos en mayo de 1999
The coral reefs in this region are comparatively healthy, although there was extensive damage to the reefs in Palau during the coral bleaching event in 1998 and levels of human pressures are increasing, but not to the levels of reefs in nearby Asia. These countries and territories are affiliated with the USA and are currently included in many of th...
One issue coral reef researchers and managers are faced with is assessing the impact of sewage outfalls on coral reefs. Questions regarding how much and what kind of sewage can be tolerated on coral reefs are frequently asked (e.g., Should the level of treatment be secondary or tertiary?, Should the sewage pipe be extended into deeper water?). Thes...
The reproductive biology of the aspidochirote holothurian Actinopyga mauritiana was studied through 1988 and 1989. A gonadal index (gonad wt/drained body wt) was the best measure of reproductive readiness, reaching peaks of up to 23% in spring and summer months, with peaks occurring at slightly different times in the 2-yr study. Well developed oocy...
The negative effects of chemical contaminants on tropical marine ecosystems are of increasing concern as human populations expand adjacent to these communities. Watershed streams and ground water carry a variety of chemicals from agricultural, industrial, and domestic activities, while winds and currents transport pollutants from atmospheric and oc...
The negative effects of chemical contaminants on tropical marine ecosystems are of increasing concern as human populations expand adjacent to these communities. Watershed streams and ground water carry a variety of chemicals from agricultural, industrial, and domestic activities, while winds and currents transport pollutants from atmospheric and oc...
