Streams
Distant lands intertwine: PI-CASC hosts Alaska CASC scientists in Hawaiʻi
From icy fields to humid jungles, partner researchers from Hawaiʻi and Alaska have had a pair of opportunities this year to visit each other’s work spaces and get an up-close look at the parallels their regions had in science, community, and natural resources. The Pacific Islands Climate Adaptation Science Center, in coordination with the University…
Research across the Pacific: PI-AK scientists meet in Juneau
On the banks of Montana Creek in Juneau, Alaska, a group clad in colorful rain gear watches expectantly as AK CASC graduate student Kevin Fitzgerald empties a throng of juvenile salmon from a small wire trap. His audience has traveled across the Pacific from Hawai`i to observe stream research in Alaskan watersheds and compare methodologies…
Shifts in Carbon Exports from a Hawaiian Watershed under a Changing Climate
BTS: Observe & Conserve
Short video featuring Dr. John Burns and the multiscale environmental graphical analysis (MEGA) lab. The MEGA lab is a global consortium of scientists, athletes, and artists who use science as a way to improve our planet. The overarching goal of the MEGA lab is to create innovative solutions that protect our oceans, providing to the…
Related project: Coral response to land-to-ocean freshwater flux: A ridge-to-reef perspective
From Land to Sea: How will hydrologic regime shifts influence Southeast Alaska and Hawaiʻi rivers?
Streamflows are changing in both Hawaiʻi and Southeast Alaska, impacting riverine ecosystems and the marine ecosystems into which rivers flow. This project examines how changes in sequence affect nutrient cycling, how the timing of high and low-flow in rivers and streams will impact surrounding ecosystems, and how the human dimension is impacted by these changes.…
Related project: From land to sea: How will hydrologic regime shifts influence aquatic ecosystems in Southeast Alaska and Hawaiʻi?
Understanding Nutrient Transport through Streamflow and Fish Populations
The overall goal of the proposed project is to develop a multidisciplinary team to evaluate the effect of flow alteration on R2R and I2O watersheds. This project will evaluate the effects of annual variability in flow conditions on the growth and survival of invasive armored suckermouth catfish in Hawaiian streams, and compare/contrast findings to those…
Related project: Understanding nutrient transport through streamflow and fish populations
Coral response to land-to-ocean freshwater flux: A ridge-to-reef perspective
Nearshore marine environments provide ecosystem services such as sustenance, coastal protection, critical fish habitat, economic value through recreation and fisheries, medicinal products, and cultural importance and traditional activities. Using innovative 3D mapping technologies, researchers will examine how organic matter and nutrient flux influence the biology and ecology of coral reefs that are impacted by freshwater discharge, highlighting how patterns in stream flow alter land-to-ocean materials flux and productivity in marine habitats.
Influence of stream flow patterns on juvenile salmon foraging and growth in southeast Alaska
Changing streamflow patterns in Southeast Alaska alter nutrient cycling, sediment transport, and species composition. How this will impact salmon growth is unclear. Understanding the influence of flow regimes and other environmental factors on fish population dynamics has relevance for the conservation and management of fish populations, as well as the ecosystem as a whole.
Understanding nutrient transport through streamflow and fish populations
The overall goal of this project is to develop a multidisciplinary team to evaluate the effect of changing river flow on R2R and I2O watersheds. We will evaluate the effects of annual variability in flow conditions on the growth and survival of invasive armored suckermouth catfish in Hawaiian streams, and compare/contrast findings to a complementary study linking hydrology to freshwater salmon growth in Southeast Alaska.