School of Life Sciences' Friday Seminar

September 18, 3:30pm - 4:30pm
Mānoa Campus, Bilger 150

"From Coral Recruitment to Fish Behavior: Advancing Indigenous Pacific Marine Science" Speaker: Dr. Ron Vave, Assistant Professor, Department of Pacific Islands Studies, 糖心视频 惭腻苍辞补.***Abstract: My research examines Pacific marine systems across ecological depths, disciplinary boundaries, and knowledge systems. This seminar begins with my master鈥檚 research on coral-reef recovery following bleaching on Suva Reef, Fiji. I examined how patterns of coral settlement and recruitment were influenced by adult coral communities, reef habitat, depth, and seasonal spawning. I then discuss how fourteen years of community-based fisheries work led me to study Indigenous Fijian aquatic protection, cultural ecosystem services, customary governance, and social-ecological resilience. My recent professional development has extended into the deep sea. Working with 糖心视频 惭腻苍辞补鈥檚 Deep-Sea Fish Ecology Lab, I learned to use the TATOR platform to annotate fauna recorded by baited remote underwater video systems at depths of 440 to 2,454 metres during the 2025 National Geographic Pristine Seas expedition in Fiji. I will conclude by outlining a research program through which MBGP students can extend my work on culturally protected aquatic areas across Pacific Island communities. Using diver-operated video, students would assess fish assemblages, abundance, body length, biomass, and minimum approach distance inside and outside short-term customary closures. Repeated observations before, during, and after protection would test whether reduced fishing disturbance changes fish wariness within culturally meaningful closure periods, including the approximately 100 nights observed for many Indigenous Fijian funerary protected areas. Ecological findings would be integrated with fishing effort, harvest outcomes, customary governance, and community knowledge. This program would give students experience in underwater field ecology, fish behavior, video analysis, fisheries assessment, and culturally responsible research while generating evidence relevant to both marine conservation and Indigenous Pacific communities. Zoom Meeting ID: 84113004928 (passcode: MBF26RV)


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School of Life Sciences, Mānoa Campus

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