I spent my summer working with Save Our Seas, an environmental non-profit organization based in Kauai , Hawaii . The organization's mission is to preserve, protect, and restore the health of our ocean ecosystems. Much of the focus of Save Our Seas' work centers on educating the youth through school programs and summer camps in Hawaii . Save Our Seas is also working to establish marine protected areas on Kauai and currently is planning to build a marine education center on the island. Other chapters in Australia and California also aim to educate the public, especially young people, about conserving our planet's oceans. Save Our Seas also helped to establish Reef Check International in 1997 and facilitated their first reef survey. Reef Check is now the largest reef monitoring program on the planet.
My responsibilities varied throughout the summer. When I first arrived, the top priority was to help coordinate and follow up on the 2007 International Clean Oceans Conference, featuring National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence Dr. Sylvia Earle and Dr. Gregor Hodgson, the founder of Reef Check International. However, as the summer developed, I focused on my independent field research project. Due to cancelled grants, my original expectation of working with scientists to research possible MPA locations was not an option.
Instead, my supervisor and I developed a study to compare a very detailed reef survey methodology with the “indicator species” methodology used by Reef Check International. My study site was at a heavily-used hotel beach along Hanalei Bay, on the north shore of the island, and the purpose of the study was investigate if there are any differences in the conclusions about the health of the reef because of the two types of surveys. A detailed set of surveys is required for establishing a marine protected area, and the study site at Hanalei Bay is one area under consideration. After completing a sufficient number of replicate surveys, I analyzed the data and found several important differences in the results. Reef Check data were not useful to gain an understanding of the ecosystem, especially in Hanalei Bay where many of the indicator species are not present at all. Reef Check is valuable to monitor changes over time especially at the substrate level, and, as a standardized method, it facilitates comparison between different sites. However, to gain an understanding of the dynamics of the ecosystem, Ocean Pulse was of much more value. This detailed survey showed the extent of herbivore overpopulation and grazed-down turf algae, whereas Reef Check only noted a lack of predators. For a survey within a short time frame, Ocean Pulse allowed me to gain a fairly thorough understanding of the diversity within Hanalei Bay . Ocean Pulse is compatible with Reef Check, and the results were a useful expansion of what Reef Check produced.
At the same study site, I also carried out a rapid assessment of the inshore species distribution and substrate composition in a heavily tourist-impacted area and a nearby control area. This study gave some idea of the impact of constant use of the reef, especially with damaging activities such as reef walking and standing on the reef. I also answered questions for tourists and community members, trained interested individuals in Save Our Seas' survey methods, and wrote for Save Our Seas' magazine, the Coconut Wireless. Finally, I networked and participated with other organizations on the island, including Reef Check Hawaii , Surfrider Foundation, and the Monk Seal Conservation Hui.
Although my original plans did not turn out as expected, I still had the opportunity to work in the field. I did not have as much guidance as I had hoped for, and my work will most likely not be used towards establishing an MPA on Kauai . I did achieve a better understanding of the amount of research that is involved in making decisions about marine protected areas, and I also learned about controversies surrounding their establishment, such as recreational and commercial fishing interests, tourism, and enforcement issues.
Working with Save Our Seas was a very valuable learning experience, although in a different way than I expected. I decided to take this internship in order to learn more about the research involved in establishing marine protected areas and to contribute to that research. Instead, I ended up learning about the challenges that running a non-profit organization can present and the often-frustrating obstacles in the process of setting up environmental protection for an area. I also gained independence and confidence in the field.
For my senior integrative project I hope to focus on the biomedical compounds isolated from coral reef organisms and the sustainability issues associated with the production of medically useful drugs from these compounds. I want to compare methods of production of the compounds, such as tissue culture, chemical synthesis, aquaculture, and mariculture. I would like to investigate the issues of scientific use of marine protected areas and how severe the consequences can be for the ecosystem, since researchers often have to extract a large number of organisms to search for potentially useful compounds. I also hope to look into what sort of dialogue exists between conservation-oriented groups and biomedical field researchers.
My internship with Save Our Seas has prepared me for my senior integrative project by giving me a better understanding of the goals of several different environmental non-profits and an appreciation for how difficult it can be to convince a community or industry of the need to use resources sustainably. I now have more hands-on experience in the type of research that goes towards creating protected areas, even if my personal research project was not directly involved in a marine protected area initiative. I feel that I have a much better appreciation for the scale of the sustainability problem in the ocean, especially in terms of our fisheries, which will help me to understand similar problems associated with extractions of organisms that produce potentially useful compounds.
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