UH Hilo students win multiple awards at annual MOP symposium

University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo
Contact:
Alyson Kakugawa-Leong, (808) 974-7642
Director, Media Relations, University Relations
Posted: Apr 28, 2010

Four students in the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo Marine Option Program (MOP) captured top honors at the 27th Annual Marine Option Program Student Symposium, held Saturday, April 17, 2010 on the UH Hilo campus. This year’s event was attended by students and faculty from host UH Hilo and UH Mānoa, along with UH Maui College and Leeward, Windward, Honolulu and Kauai Community Colleges.

Stacey Breining won the Best Poster Award for her presentation “Impacts of Oreochromis Mossambicus on Nutrient Dynamics in an Anchialine Pond System at Hoʻonau,” where she reported that the invasive fish have a significant affect upon the ponds’ water quality.

The John P. Craven Award for the Most Inspired and Inspirational Presentation by a MOP Child of the Sea went to Toni Makani Gregg for her work on “Physical and Environmental Effects on the Photochemical Efficiency of Montipora Capitata Corals Measured by PAM-Flourometry.”

Javez Mooteb captured the PACON Award (Pacific Congress on Marine Science and Technology) for Best Presentation Bridging Marine Science and Technology with a Pacific Focus. His study, “Using GIS for Water Quality Monitoring During Tidal Phases of Hilo Bay, Hawaiʻi,” will provide modelers with a simpler and more effective method for collection of water parameters over a large area.

The Anna Toy Ng Memorial Scholarship, established to recognize exemplary MOP students for their marine scholarship, ocean stewardship, and participation in the Marine Option Program, went to UH Hilo MOP Program Student Coordinator Tiffany Love-Chezum. She also presented her research project on “Effects of Two Diets, Shrimp and Squid, on Growth Rates in the Day Octupus (Octupus Cyanea).”

The UH Hilo MOP is a hands-on program open to students from any field of study with an interest in the ocean. This is the 18th year that UH Hilo students have won research honors during the 22 years the symposium has been awarding them. The next event will be hosted by Windward Community College on Oʻahu in April 2011.