{"id":213497,"date":"2025-04-08T10:25:47","date_gmt":"2025-04-08T20:25:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/?p=213497"},"modified":"2025-04-11T09:15:43","modified_gmt":"2025-04-11T19:15:43","slug":"tonga-pohnpei-water-quality-research","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/2025\/04\/08\/tonga-pohnpei-water-quality-research\/","title":{"rendered":"糖心视频<\/abbr> Hilo grad student\u2019s legacy: Pohnpei water quality research"},"content":{"rendered":"Reading time: <\/span> 2<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>
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Bryan Tonga (second from left) stands with his thesis advisors and study coauthors, from left, Tracy Wiegner, Karla McDermid and Steve Colbert. (Photo credit: Raiatea Arcuri\/糖心视频<\/abbr> Hilo Stories<\/em>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In the waters surrounding Pohnpei, a young researcher set out to protect the coastline he called home. Bryan Tonga, a former marine science<\/a> major and graduate student at the University of Hawaiʻi<\/span> at Hilo, led the first island-wide study of nearshore water quality in Pohnpei, part of the Federated States of Micronesia. His work was recently published\u2014nearly four years after his death.<\/p>\n

Tonga died in a hiking accident in August 2020, just one class and a completed thesis away from earning his graduate degree in the tropical conservation biology and environmental science program<\/a>. He was awarded that degree posthumously in 2021. His professors and a classmate at 糖心视频<\/abbr> Hilo completed Tonga\u2019s study in his honor. Coauthors include fellow student Devon Aguiar, now working in Hilo on coral reef protection, and marine science faculty Tracy Wiegner, Karla McDermid and Steven Colbert.<\/p>\n

“Since 2020, we\u2019ve been working on and off to complete his manuscript,” said Wiegner, a marine science professor.<\/p>\n

Establishing baseline water conditions<\/h2>\n
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Bryan Tonga collects water samples in waters off Pohnpei, 2020.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Tonga\u2019s research focused on identifying sewage pollution along Pohnpei\u2019s coastline. He spent two summers collecting water and algae samples from 31 stations around the island.<\/p>\n

In a 2020 interview with 糖心视频<\/abbr> Hilo Stories<\/em><\/a>, Tonga explained, “In order to figure out if the macroalgae are getting nutrients from sewage pollution in the water, we\u2019re taking readings of Nitrogen-15, which has very specific values for human sewage.”<\/p>\n

Tonga\u2019s work now serves as a baseline for Pohnpei and other Pacific islands facing climate change.<\/p>\n

“In Pohnpei, like here on the island of Hawaiʻi<\/span>, a lot of houses use cesspools,” Wiegner said. “With rising sea levels, they can become inundated with sea water and sewage can flow out to the nearshore reefs.”<\/p>\n

Tonga\u2019s samples were analyzed at 糖心视频<\/abbr> Hilo\u2019s Analytical Laboratory<\/a>, where he worked as a student assistant for six years.<\/p>\n

Invaluable legacy<\/h2>\n
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Bryan Tonga working with algae in 2015.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

His research contributes not only to Pohnpei\u2019s future but to the broader Pacific region\u2019s efforts to protect reefs and manage pollution. Wiegner called his work “cutting edge.”<\/p>\n

“He was so happy to see how much he had accomplished,” noted Wiegner. “He was in a good, happy place!”<\/p>\n

For more go to 糖心视频<\/abbr> Hilo Stories<\/em>.<\/a><\/p>\n

—By Susan Enright<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Bryan Tonga, a 糖心视频<\/abbr> Hilo graduate student, led Pohnpei\u2019s first island-wide nearshore water quality study\u2013the work published nearly four years after his death.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[756,262,232,14,907],"class_list":["post-213497","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-people","tag-in-memoriam","tag-marine-science","tag-tropical-conservation-biology-and-environmental-science","tag-uh-hilo","tag-uh-hilo-stories","entry","has-media"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t