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December 2023
Prajna Jandial Masters Student Ocean and Resource Engineering This month’s member spotlight is Prajna Jandial! Prajna is a first-year masters student in Ocean and Resource Engineering at UH Mānoa. Her research focuses on teaching robots to understand and interpret underwater sounds. “It's like giving them a unique ability to "listen" to the ocean and make informed decisions based on what they hear. The challenge lies in developing advanced algorithms, I am using active learning algorithms which will enable mobile platforms to characterize underwater acoustics effectively. Why focus on underwater sounds? Well, sound waves travel exceptionally well in water, providing a rich source of information. This research essentially involves empowering robots with the capability to decipher the secrets hidden within ocean sounds, opening up exciting possibilities for underwater exploration and understanding.” She has conducted simulation studies with static acoustic sources and a robot that explores a given underwater field based on the received sound pressure level. “I still have a long way to go, I need to use more sophisticated sound propagation modeling and add more complexity with more sensors to use more than just sound pressure level for decision making, and eventually also have dynamic acoustic sources (like whales and dolphins!) but its all one step at a time.” |
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November 2023
Gabi Mukai PhD Candidate Zoology Program This month's member spotlight is Gabi Mukai! Gabi is a 4th year Ph.D. candidate at UH Mānoa with Dr. Amy Moran in the Zoology program. Her research focuses on the development and dispersal of ‘opihi (limpets; Cellana exarata). “My research aims to connect laboratory larval rearing data to dispersal models. I’m working to understand present-day connectivity and how connectivity may change in the future due to ocean warming.” One of the best parts in her research is going out in the field to collect adult ‘opihi! |
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October 2023
Cécile Vimond Masters Student Zoology Program Meet Cécile, a masters student in Peter Marko's lab! Her research focuses on using environmental DNA (eDNA) to study the diversity and population genetics of rare and cryptic marine species. Her current masters research focuses on the species in the stony coral family Agaraciidae. “So far, I have validated my eDNA method as a means of studying the genetics of the Agaraciid corals. The samples have been collected around the islands, and lab analyses are underway. I absolutely love seahorses and hope to use eDNA to study their population distribution and genetics around O‘ahu. If you ever see one, please let me know! :)” |
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May 2023
Manya Singh PhD Candidate Botany Program This month's member spotlight is Manya Singh! Manya is a Fourth-year PhD student in the Botany Program/School of Life Sciences, under Dr. Curt Daehler. Manya also serves as our Outreach Coordinator!!! Her research focuses on identifying mechanisms of soil legacies of invasive grasses so that more targeted mitigation strategies can be incorporated into restoration practices. Invasive grasses are a significant problem in Hawai'i and worldwide, and contribute to altered wildfire regimes that threaten native ecosystems and local communities. “I have completed my dissertation research and will be conducting my oral defense on May 12th, 2023 at 11:30 AM HST at Gilmore 306 (Zoom: 96009864516 pw: EECB). “ A fun fact about Manya is “I live with my special-needs senior dog, and I like to oil paint in my free time”. Good luck on your defense Manya, you we support you! |
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April 2023
Sara Gabrielson PhD Candidate Northern Arizona University This month's member spotlight is Sara Gabrielson! Sara is a 5th year Ph.D. candidate at Northern Arizona University with Dr. Jeff Foster but based on O'ahu for her research. Her research focuses on seed dispersal by birds and rodents. "Sadly, on O'ahu, all native birds that used to eat fruits and disperse the seeds of native plants are now extinct! My research aims to understand how introduced birds and rodents are now dispersing seeds. I work to identify conservation actions to help restore these interactions and sustain native plants in O'ahu and beyond." Sara has completed all coursework and passed her comprehensive exams (Whoohoo!). In Dec she completed the fieldwork for her dissertation. "I am currently working on publishing my first manuscript and analyzing the field data I collected." Sara loves being in the ocean, swimming, and snorkeling. "Summers on the crystal clear, calm North Shore waters are my favorite!" See you on the North Shore Sara! |
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March 2023
Emily Lester Fulbright Postdoctoral Scholar Winner of the GWISH Research & Travel Grant Join us in meeting and congratulating Emily Lester on this month's member spotlight and the winner of the GWISH Research and Travel Grant!!! Emily is a Fulbright Postdoctoral Scholar in Elizabeth Madin’s Lab. Her research focuses on the behavior of animals in response to human pressures. "I am interested in how humans can modify food chains, nutrient flows, and the stability of ecosystems, particularly via the removal of predators, and how this can lead to processes such as trophic cascades. My research seeks to understand how these ecological processes unfold under a growing footprint of human activity, and how we can leverage this information to inform the conservation and management of marine ecosystems." Emily finished her PhD in 2020, and since then she worked as a Research Scientist for WA’s State Government as part of the marine park monitoring team. After that, she completed a postdoctoral position with the Australian Institute of Marine Science, where she investigated the drives of fish demographics across the Indian Ocean. Emily will use the GWISH Research and Travel Grant to fund her travel to the Indo-Pacific Fish Conference. "I am looking forward to meeting scientists at the conference from different parts of the world who are working on similar issues facing coral reef conservation. Since many attendees of the conference will be academics based in the Pacific region, this will allow me to begin to build a network of contacts that I can develop and expand during my time in Hawai’i. As a postdoc, funding for conference travel can be pretty hard to find and I am immensely grateful for the GWISH’s generous support." Her dream is to "one day meet a leafy seadragon in the wild. Preferably with a camera in my hand." Congratulations again Emily! We hope your dreams come true! |
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February 2023
Alison "Eley" Meeth PhD Student Zoology February's member spotlight goes to Alison Meeth (but she goes by Eley). Eley is a 2nd year Ph.D student in Zoology under Dr. Shaya Honarvar. Her research is focused on hawksbill sea turtles (Eretmochelys imbricata) residing in the Hawaiian Islands, which constitute one of the smallest, distinct sea turtle populations on the planet, and her research focuses on their foraging and migratory biology. "This is important in order to identify key habitats and movement behaviors for this highly threatened population and help guide conservation management strategies." "Since starting grad school I have gotten involved with multiple projects, completed some relevant technical training, and laid some groundwork for my research during my first field season, where I deployed satellite transmitters and collected tissue samples from four hawksbill turtles on Big Island. I also presented my master’s research virtually at the International Sea Turtle Symposium in Australia, which I am in the final stages of editing for publication, and submitted an abstract for my current research to present at the same conference next year in Colombia." Eley has shared that "Hawksbill turtles have not commonly been harvested for food because they feed on toxic sponges which make themselves toxic but instead have historically been exploited for the tortoiseshell trade. So, watch out for products labeled as “tortoiseshell” to avoid purchasing jewelry made from this beautiful endangered species!" We did not know about the exploitation of turtle shells , Mahalo for educating us, Eley! |
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January 2023
Amelia Meier Post Doctoral Candidate Elizabeth Madin Fellow, HIMB The first member spotlight of the new year goes to Amelia Meier. Amelia graduated from Duke University with a PhD in Environment. She is currently a Postdoctoral Fellow under Elizabeth Madin! Her research broadly "focuses on how environmental variation influences animal behavior and how human disturbance might disrupt these ecological processes. I am currently studying the association between sharks and the presence/size of coral reef halos - rings of sand around reefs likely created by selective foraging of fish due to fear of predators." Something fun: I previously lived and worked in Gabon studying elephants. |
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