University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa Professor Mark Hixon has been recognized among the top 20 coral reef scientists in the world by ScholarGPS scholarly analytics. The list is based on lifetime scientific contributions in terms of number of publications, citations and other measures of achievement. Hixon has ranked in the top 20 every year since the list started in 2022.
Hixon, the Hsiao Endowed Professor of Marine Biology in the College of Natural Sciences’ School of Life Sciences, has studied Hawaiʻi’s coral reefs since 1979, as well as many other locations worldwide. His research has included the effects of reef fishes on seaweeds, how the physical structure of the reef affects fish communities, what determines population sizes in reef fishes, the lionfish invasion in the Caribbean, how to restore coral reefs and more.
‘Rainforests of tropical seas’
“Coral reefs are the rainforests of tropical seas, providing innumerable benefits for humanity,” Hixon said. “Hawaiʻi’s coral reefs are in peril, so the scientific community is busy trying to save what’s left before it’s too late.”
Hixon leads two current projects in Hawaiʻi. First, the REEFrame project is funded by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to build a permanent undersea coral nursery off Waikīkī Beach. Second, Fish Pono—Save Our Reefs is a public education campaign to ensure that all citizens understand the importance of promoting the recovery of populations of fishes that eat seaweeds, thereby allowing corals to thrive.
“Unfortunately, herbivorous parrotfishes or uhu, among other herbivores, are severely overfished around Oʻahu and some other locations,” Hixon said.
Other scientists in the top 20 list include 11 researchers from Australia, four from the U.S., three from the United Kingdom and one from New Zealand. ScholarGPS, an American company based in California, is a premier online source for the analysis of scholarly activity in academia.
