All things are interrelated when it comes to conservation and ecology research, say BYUH professor and research assistants
A deeper understanding of connections between the earth’s ecosystems, a renewed sense of responsibility fornature and a lasting friendships are some of the treasures Melanie Faana-Kong, Ranitea Teihoarii and Naia Pulotu said they gained working as field research assistants together. They said they worked with Dr. David Bybee, a BYU–Hawaii professor from the Faculty of Sciences, on research that was divided into two projects: restoring coral reefs and lowland forest areas, or “the erosion site.”
“When you learn about ecology and conservation, everything is related,” said Faana-Kong, a senior from Tahiti majoring in biology. She said the erosion happening on the mountain, if not taken care of, will affect coral reefs. “The soil will eventually go down to the water and harm the growth of corals, resulting in them not thriving,” she explained.
Restoring coral reefs through fragmentation
As a marine biologist interested in coral reef restoration, Dr. Bybee said he hopes his work has a positive impact, even though it may be small, on coral reef health. He said the team does this by gathering live coral pieces that have been dislodged by storms and which would eventually die. ”The idea is we can take those pieces and replant them in damaged areas,” he explained.
Bybee said there are other groups already doing this but many of them use methods that require purchasing costly, specialized materials online. “What we wanted to do was develop a simple, inexpensive method people in developing countries of the Pacific and Asia or elsewhere can use. We want to cut the costs and make reef restoration widely accessible in the places where our students come from,” he said.
Discussing this with his student team and a BYUH assistant professor who had extensive expertise in coral reef restoration, Dr. Daniel DeMartini, Bybee said they turned their focus to utilizing common materials such as cement because of its relatively low cost and availability almost everywhere.
Teihoarii, a senior majoring in marine biology from Takaroa, said they call the dislodged pieces “corals of opportunity,” and they cut them into smaller pieces. For the field experiments, she said, each of those smaller pieces was attached either to a “nub,” which is a specialized material purchased online, or to a cement pattie made by the research team. Growth and survival of each type were monitored for several months after planting on the reef, she added.
Bybee said they planted the patties on the reef while the cement was still wet so it could adhere to the ocean bottom. The hope is that as the corals overgrow the cement patties, they will become a part of the reef, he said. “By trial and error, our student team made different cement mixes and found what could work best underwater,” he said. “We have planted many of these patties out on the reef and the corals are now growing,” he said.
The team found the survival and growth of the coral fragments were just as good, if not better, Bybee said, with the inexpensive cement method compared to the method with more costly material.
He said they have now finished phase one, planting the cement patties in calm water, and phase two, which is planting those in rough, shallow water. Currently, they are monitoring the growth in phase two, he said. Faana-Kong said one of the ways they do that is by using software programs such as AGISOFT and ImageJ to help them create maps and 3D models of the outplanted corals and the reef they are planted on.
Using native plants to restore the erosion site
Pulotu, a marine biology senior from Hauula, said another project they are working on is at an erosion site in the lowland forest along the Laie Falls Trail. She said because the topsoil is so eroded, all that is left is clay which makes it hard to grow plants. “We are trying to find native plants that can grow there and, hopefully, restore the site too,” she said.
Teihoarii said the native plants they are using are called carex, ahu’awa, uluhe, pala’a, palapala’i and nanea. With an estimation of the erosion site as half of BYUH’s turf field, Pulotu said the site struggled during the summer because of the lack of water and the hot weather. “We had to go up about twice or thrice a week to water and ensure the plants survived,” she said.
Teihoarii also said they tried different methods to help the native plants grow. “We used fertilizers and watered them with nutrients,” she said. “Another method we tried is using water globes—a plastic globe with water in it, and you’re supposed to stick it in the soil,” she explained. They also used to have a water catchment, according to Faana-Kong.
“It was a big plastic container with a tarp [attached on trees above the plastic container] to catch rainwater so we wouldn’t have to carry water up, but it caught on fire this August,” she said.
“We thought of setting that up again because we have just been carrying gallons in our backpacks lately, and it makes it difficult to hike up,” she explained.
The life of a field research assistant
“It is a big distinction for people to know that we are field research assistants,” explained Faana-Kong. “Unlike lab research assistants who stay in a laboratory and work with chemicals, field research assistants go outside often,” she said.
Though it is fun, it can be exhausting, she said. “Sometimes when we go to the reefs, we’re only there for two hours. It’s not long when you clock in, but it’s so exhausting that it feels like you worked for six hours,” explained Faana-Kong. Pulotu said for this reason, they also work other jobs. “The time is not a lot, but it wears you down,” she said.
Aside from working as a field research assistant, Pulotu said she works in Facilities Management and as a teaching assistant for the Biology 113 class. Faana-Kong does additional work as a research assistant for BYUH Associate Professor Dr. Spencer Ingley and as a teaching assistant for the Biology 350 class, she said. Teihoarii shared she works as the editor-in-chief at Ke Alaka‘i.
In their work as field research assistants, Pulotu shared, “We are at the whims of the elements.” She continued, “We would go on hikes with a lot of water in our backpacks during [the hot and humid] summer. Sometimes, we would get rained on.” She said in good weather, they hiked to the erosion site in 30 to 40 minutes, while in bad weather, it could take over an hour.
“Carrying a gallon of water up there or going at noon on a summer day slows you down,” she said. However, all those hardships are rewarding, she shared because they have gotten to see all the plants that have survived.
Throughout these challenges, Teihoarii said who you are working with matters, explaining, “Being part of a team that gets along is good.” Since they all jumped into a previously started project, she said no one person was over the other. “We help each other out. It’s rewarding to see the corals and plants grow and our relationships with each other,” she said.
Faana-Kong also commented on how much time has passed, as they all started as classmates in a conservation class more than a year ago. It was during that class with Dr. Bybee they first went to the erosion site and started planting native plants, she said. Since the beginning of this year, they have worked together on the research project, continuing the conservation and restoration and seeing the results of their hard work, she added.
Getting involved and having confidence
Getting involved is important for students wanting to know how to be part of a research team, said Pulotu. “There are always volunteer opportunities with us to go to the corals and hike with other people,” she said. “This is such a simple way to learn and to give back from the place you’re getting so much from.”
Teihoarii explained people may also have certain assumptions about what field research assistants are like. “People may think we are fit because of all the hikes and different activities we do, but really, we just try to do what we love and are interested in,” she said.
Faana-Kong advised, “It may seem competitive to be in science and a woman in it. Being open to learning, doing well in your classes and getting to know your professors can help you gain experience.”
She said it is important to be true to yourself and have confidence. As a non-native English speaker, Faana-Kong shared how she sometimes hesitates to ask questions or share her thoughts. “I learned not to be afraid to step up, reach out to people and ask questions,” she said.
Faana-Kong said she majored in science to raise awareness on issues people may need to give more attention to, such as the effects of climate change or coral bleaching.
“It’s just important to learn about the place you’re living in and respect the land and the ocean,” she said.
In Hawaiian culture, it’s called “kuleana,” or responsibility to take care of the land and the ocean and be mindful of everything around you, Faana-Kong added.
“I think it’s a good practice to take care and give back to the place where you are now, and when you go home, you can care about your home too,” she said.