A new paper published by Emily Kelly and colleagues explains how we can balance the energetic budget on Hawaiian coral reefs through herbivore management and protection. Herbivores on coral reefs play an important role in controlling algal growth, but in systems where density of herbivores is low, algae can grow at a faster rate than they are consumed, resulting in a … Read More
Do different species of herbivorous fish have unique grazing roles on coral reefs, or are they all grazing alike?
Coral reefs are home to a large diversity of organisms. The herbivorous fishes, those fish that eat algae in competition with corals, are no exception to such diversity. But do the many species of herbivores have unique grazing roles on reefs or are all herbivorous fishes grazing alike? This was the focus of a study recently published in Oecologia … Read More
My first summer in the field – by Gideon Butler
My first summer in the field When I tell people that I spent six weeks on Maui this summer, nobody seems to believe that it wasn’t a vacation. I tell them that I was working from dawn to dark every day and that my body was covered in scrapes and bruises by the end, but all they hear is, … Read More
Starting off 2013 With The Smell of Algae
The holidays are over and PhD student Emily Kelly shares with us how she’s starting off 2013.
In the News! Lahaina, Hawaii News
Two of our very own PhD students, Levi Lewis and Emily Kelly, celebrate the 2nd annual birthday of the Kahekili Herbivore Fisheries Management Area (KHFMA) and made the front page of the Lahaina News!
A Great Introduction to Reef Ecology
My name is Kevin Moses. I attend Howard University in Washington, DC, but I am working in the Smith lab this summer through an NSF funded REU program. This summer I got the opportunity to assist Emily Kelly with her field work in Maui. The experience was awesome. I don’t have much background in snorkeling or coral reefs, so it … Read More
Thrilled to be back on the reef!
Our last dive at Kahekili was in October and Levi Lewis (photo on right holding his cool new helmet cam) and I, both PhD students at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography in San Diego, are thrilled to be back on the reef again so soon. What a difference 3.5 months makes! Of course, the swell is more than when we … Read More