We had the greatest pleasure of meeting with lab researcher and technician, Amy Olsen from the Seattle Aquarium. We reached out in hopes of learning more about her uprising in the STEM field, her fish and coral research in Hawaii, and her numerous ongoing conservation projects. We sought out her local research because it focuses on the similar marine topics we educate on this website. Our interview consisted of work and personal related questions to dive deeper into what she has accomplished.
Speaking of diving deeper… Amy found her love of the ocean growing up on the Islands of Hawaii while snorkeling and swimming. With the utmost support from her parents, she traveled to the west coast after High school.
“Being a curious kid and wanting to explore…My dad taught me how to dive deeper to see the fish”
After leaving the Island, she explored different interests at the University of Washington, earning her first degree in Psychology. Like many, she desired to experience different things, even if it meant not knowing what the next step is. In the following years, she soon discovered the ocean is where her true passion resides.
"Being in California reminded me again of my love for the ocean because we were sailing on the water every day, living on the boat, and taking kids out and teaching them about the ocean and reignited my love for the ocean, this is what I love and what I want to do".
Now with three degrees, her second BA and MA in Marine Biology, Amy is working with the Seattle Aquarium conservation unit to study our personal favorites, sea otters, and of course coral reefs! One of her many projects is located on the Big Island of Hawaii. This research is conducted alongside the Aquarium on fish assemblages in three different coastal management areas on the Island. Her and her team study how heatwaves, brought on by climate change, have affected the fish and coral of each location. While this study will continue for many years to come, they concluded that the fish population has not dramatically changed. There are many different reasons to a stable population, however we spoke of a few – some fish adapted to a loss of coral and the rise in temperature, some unfortunately died, and other fish exceeded from natural selection.
We got insight of what researchers predict for the following decade, as of 2035, there is going to be an annual heatwave in Hawaii. The research conducted on the Island is shared to help local institutes and those across the nation. Although climate change is a somber topic, Amy introduced us to an ongoing executive order to address climate change. The 30x30 Initiative seeks to preserve 30% of our coastlines by 2030, clever right?
We were astounded by the annual research in Hawai’i and the impact her and her team are providing for marine life. While we learned about the exploration, we were curious to know why she chose to work with these projects and let’s say we were in awe.
"It was like giving back to my home because we, [The Seattle Aquarium] share the data with both coral reefs and work closely with Vision of Aquatic Resources...it would be giving back to where I grew up.”
What a surreal conversation we got to share with Amy! We had a wonderful opportunity to learn so much about her and her research that we could go on forever. Getting a new perspective on coral reef research, especially studies on the Big Island gives insight to what goes overlooked. Her position was special to our website because as another female in the STEM field, we idolize both position in marine biology and her persistence to explore and discover new opportunities.