I will need scoop nets, buckets, forceps, scissors, and collection vials to collect mullet fish specimens. For the Genetics aspect of my project, I will need an OMEGA column-based DNA extraction kit as well as all necessary PCR reagents and gel electrophoresis products for proper species identifications. Ten percent of sampled individuals will need to be sequenced on an ABI-3130XL capillary sequencer at the University of Hawaiʻi, Manoa to confirm species identification made through agarose gel band size. The graduate student stipend will go to supporting the researcher throughout the duration of the project and the fishpond stipend will go to helping support the work done by fishpond caretakers (Paepae o Heʻeia, Kahaluʻu Fishpond, and Waikalua Loko Iʻa).

Additional Information

The value of ʻamaʻama was so great to Hawaiian communities that they are the primary species targeted for cultivation in Hawaiian fishponds around the state. Prior to Western contact, approximately 488 fishponds were located statewide to feed and connect communities around the islands. These fishponds also served as de facto marine protected areas, enclosing large stocks of reproductive adults spaced along estuarine coastlines. In conjunction with Western contact, fishponds around the state succumbing to urbanization, ʻamaʻama commercial productions declined from 485,531 lbs. to 1,200 lbs. in a span of 75 years due to the compounding threats of coastal urbanization, introductions of non-native species, and more recently, changes in water flow regimes due to a changing climate.

My interest in pursuing a career in applied research grew through my 2019 internship in the University of Hawaii’s Seagrant College program called Our Project in Hawaii’s Intertidal (OPIHI). During this research practicum, I learned ecological sampling techniques and Hawaiian cultural protocols. My cohort examined mullet food web dynamics in Heʻeia Fishpond, Kāneʻohe Bay. The caretakers of Heʻeia fishpond, Paepae o Heʻeia, have been working to restore the cultural and ecological services of the fishpond through their ʻĀina Momona program. They aim to maximize the abundance of food fishes (mullet) to sustain current and future generations. My research group used stable isotopes to investigate the differences in mullet diets at two sites in Heʻeia fishpond. Both native and introduced mullets appear to be targeting similar prey items at both sites around He’eia fishpond, which may suggest competitive exclusion between the species.

For my independent project within this broader research question, I assessed whether native mullet Mugil cephalus and/or introduced mullet Osteomugil engeli undergo ontogenetic shifts in dietary preference in relation to native Hawaiian size classes. Due to fish behavior, it was difficult to catch fish in the allotted semester for this project. Based on my results, a larger sample size was needed to further investigate ontogenetic shifts within these two mullet species.

Working with Paepae o Heʻeia has helped me grow as more than just a scientist. I previously had no understanding of the vast, vibrant culture whose values are the roots of local communities. In Hawaiian culture, one of the main values is to malama the ʻāina (take care of the land). To do this Hawaiians take only what is needed from the environment and replenish what was taken to keep the ecosystems in balance and further sustain future generations to come. Conducting scientific research with the benefit of this cultural perspective fostered an indescribable appreciation for the interrelationships of environments from mauka to makai (land to sea). This experience allowed me to personally witness and understand the importance of integrating Western science approaches with indigenous cultural knowledge, and the necessity of conducting culturally appropriate and thoughtful science that aligns with the traditional beliefs and practices of the community I am working in. Inspired by my humbling OPIHI internship, I wanted to continue working on research projects that push the boundaries of scientific knowledge, but also produce results that are directly tangible to local community members and the public, especially the keiki (children).

Broader Impacts of My Project:

Results from my project will aid in a better understanding of mullet abundance patterns and the environmental drivers of their recruitment patterns. More specifically, because mullet are globally distributed species, results from my project could potentially have broad applicable principles and allow for comparisons between locations and varying estuarine ecosystems around the world. The three-primer technique will allow me to sample large numbers of recruits at a relatively inexpensive cost. Implementing this method to communities across the state could improve management efforts by allowing near-instant in situ identification of mullet species.

I want to produce results that are directly tangible to community members and the public. To give back to the community during my diet study in 2019, I taught 7th graders visiting Heʻeia fishpond about ontogenetic dietary shifts in mullet, using human baby food as a prop to illustrate ontogenetic diet shifts in humans to help them to better understand my project with the fishpond. In continuation, my primary outreach will be working with K-12 students in partnership with Paepae o He‘eia’s education team to develop lesson plans based off of my results. I loved seeing the excitement of the students when I presented the mullet diet study to them in a new compelling way, and I look forward to working with the education staff at Heʻeia to build more lessons like that. Through my thesis, I aim to link the place-based calendar I generate for recruitment in the bay to environmental parameters for each mullet species. The results of this study will allow for the assessment of management of mullet stocks within their respective estuaries. In turn, this will further the goal to provide a local sustainable food source for Hawaiʻi residents. This locally-sourced protein will supplement, if not supplant, Hawaii’s reliance on the U.S. Mainland and international sources, and improve our food security. The environmental conditions assessed in this study can be extrapolated to other locations in Hawaiʻi or to subsequent years and used as a hypothesis to test recruitment times and abundances for these species throughout Hawaiʻi with a changing climate. I will generate management recommendations for mullet aquaculture in the bay based off of my findings. In the process of completing this work, I plan to give multiple talks to the communities within the bay as well as present this work at academic conferences. Through this project I aim to educate people of all ages, in the communities around the islands on how to get more involved in their local community and help impact their future in a positive way.

Going forward, I want to pursue a career in estuarine and coastal research, specifically, with fishponds across Hawaiʻi, and build the knowledge and skillsets to achieve this goal. This grant will help me to achieve my goals by allowing me to explore recruitment of estuarine mullet species. As a minority science researcher from Pennsylvania, being inspired by Hawaiian cultural perspectives has allowed me to see the need to combine traditional Hawaiian science and western science to further build upon and advance our collaborative knowledge of these sensitive and important estuarine ecosystems.