Birkeland Lab Grad Students
Chuck and his students are part of the Hawai'i Cooperative Fishery Research Unit (HCFRU), led by Dr. Jim Parrish and Chuck. Click here for more info on HCFRU and Dr. Parrish's students.
More about the Birkeland Lab's research...
Amanda
is studying the ecology of the introduced roi (Cephalopholis argus). She is studying the territoriality, movements, energy needs, and
growth rates of roi, and their potential
impact on the native coral reef fish communities. Click here
for more info on Amanda's project. Contact her at
amandame@hawaii.edu.
Jan
is doing his research on the feeding ecology of roi, and on Ciguatera dynamics
in this species. His ultimate goal is to estimate the impact of roi populations
on native reef fishes, and to determine if there is a potential for a risk-free
roi fishery in
Danielle
is studying the effects of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) on coral reefs to
address the question: Do MPAs in Hawai'i result in larger populations of
herbivorous reef fish, which in turn reduce algae and enhance coral
recruitment? Click here
for more info on Danielle's project. Contact her at jayeward@hawaii.edu.
Jennifer
is studying how sedimentation affects the microbial communities of corals. Her
primary study site is on Moloka'i, where she is part of USGS's
Hawai'i Sediment Studies Program. She is doing microbial analyses in Dr.
Michael Rappe's lab at the Hawai'i
Institute of Marine Biology (HIMB). Contact her at salerno@hawaii.edu.
Dan's research is on internal mechanisms of coral acclimatization, specifically antioxident
and heat stress biomarker production. He's doing his PhD project on Ofu Island
in the National Park of American Samoa, where he's
collecting protein samples from plugs of Porites lobata (left) from
contrasting habitats. Click here
for more info on Dan's project. On a large scale, he's interested in different
systems (contemporary and traditional) of coastal management, and how they
can be integrated into effective marine conservation. Contact him at (808)
387-5132 or 
barshis@hawaii.edu.
Lance, like Dan, is doing his research on Ofu Island in the National Park of American Samoa. He is looking at how physical factors affect the resistance of corals to high seawater temperatures. He did his MS on a coral growth experiment on Ofu using alizarin stain (right). The results of that project led to his current dissertation focus on the role of water motion in shallow coral habitats on the resistance of corals to high temperatures. Click here for more info on Lance's project. Contact him at (808) 221-8297 or lancesmi@hawaii.edu.