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Research
Interests:
The collection of fishes from the wild for the aquarium trade
is a hot issue here in Hawaii due, in part, to documented declines
in the abundance of collected species. The state of Hawaii stands
third as a world source of aquarium fishes, exceeded only by exports
of live specimens from the Philippines and Singapore. Recently,
Hawaii has made attempts to mitigate impacts from the aquarium trade
through the establishment of a series of experimental aquarium no-take
zones along the Kona Coast. Whether our attempts to manage marine
populations are ultimately successful is dependant on our understanding
of how marine species interact with their environment. The life
cycle of most reef fish consists of an early larval phase that is
potentially subject to dispersal by ocean currents. Through genetic
examinations of the popular Hawaiian reef fish, the Yellow Tang
(Zebrasoma flavescens) we are working to better understand how to
optimize the success of Marine Protected Areas by identifying patterns
of larval dispersal among and within islands.
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