The Impact of coastal mangrove Removal on nearshore coral reefs at heʻeia, hawaiʻi

This summer, I was enrolled in BIOL 403: Field Problems/Marine Biology - an intense and immersive course that allows students to get field experience in marine biology. Due to COVID-19, this course was unable to meet in person, but was still conducted virtually. Under the supervision of three faculty & three teaching assistants, 16 students were given water quality data, fish surveys, and over 600 photos that needed to be analyzed.

This semester's project focused on the mangrove removal in the Heʻeia area near Kaneohe Bay, Oʻahu, Hawaiʻi. With the removal of these invasive trees the class looked at how this impacted the water quality, fish abundance and diversity, and the benthic community on the nearby fringing reef. We found that there has been no significant effect on the adjacent coral reef after this land restoration.
~ Kenzie