23 SEPTEMBER • Nutrient Removal and Resource Recovery from Municipal Wastewater by Dr. Zhiyue Wang (University of Hawai‘i WRRC and Civil and Environmental Engineering). Location: Kuykendall Room 201 and Zoom (register for Zoom here).
7 OCTOBER • Ecohydrological Implications of Land Cover Change in Hawai‘i: Examining Transpiration Processes in Native and Invaded Forest Types in the Leeward Koʻolau Mountains by Ms. Liat Portner (Hawai‘i Cooperative Studies Unit). Location: Kuykendall Room 201 and Zoom (register for Zoom here).
14 OCTOBER • Acquisition of Antibiotic Resistance Genes on Human Skin After Swimming in the Ocean by Dr. Sunny Jiang (University of California, Irvine, Civil and Environmental Engineering). Location: Kuykendall Room 201 and Zoom (register for Zoom here).
21 OCTOBER • Drought Needs-Finding for Hawaiʻi — Results and Reflections by Ms. Melissa Kunz (University of Hawai‘i Dept. of Natural Resources and Environmental Management). Location: Kuykendall Room 201 and Zoom (register for Zoom here).
4 NOVEMBER • Potential Effects of Drought, Climate Change, and Cloud-Water Interception on Groundwater Recharge and Wildfire Risk in Hawaiʻi by Dr. Alan Mair (USGS, Pacific Islands Water Science Center). Location: Kuykendall Room 201 and Zoom (register for Zoom here).
18 NOVEMBER • Seedling Drought Tolerance in a Changing Climate by Dr. Kasey Barton (University of Hawai‘i School of Life Sciences). Location: Kuykendall Room 201 and Zoom (register for Zoom here).
2 DECEMBER • Linking Climate, Forests, and Limu: Examining the Influence of Environmental Change on Groundwater Dependent Ecosystems in Keauhou by Drs. Leah Bremer (WRRC and Economic Research Organization at the University of Hawai‘i), Brytne Okuhata (Department of Earth Sciences, UHM), Angela Richards Donà (Smith “Limu Lab”), and Celia Smith (School of Life Sciences, UHM). Location: Kuykendall Room 201 and Zoom (register for Zoom here).
Masking is recommended but not required indoors. UH will continue to monitor the level of COVID-19 community transmission and restrictions may be reinstated for your protection.
For more information about the Fall 2022 WRRC Seminars, please contact: Keri Kodama, kodamak8@hawaii.edu
If interested in joining the seminar, please contact: wrrc@hawaii.edu
Linking Climate, Forests, and Limu: Examining the Influence of Environmental Change on Groundwater Dependent Ecosystems in Keauhou
Date:December 2, 2022 (2 pm, HST)
Speakers: Drs. Leah Bremer, Brytne Okuhata, Angela Richards Donà, and Celia Smith
Groundwater dependent ecosystems (GDEs) are increasingly recognized as a critical component of sustainable groundwater management worldwide. Despite this importance, data linking drivers of hydrologic change to GDEs are scarce. This study focuses on Keauhou, Hawaiʻi Island, where GDEs are culturally and ecologically important, and where there are increasing concerns about the impacts of climate change, urban development, and watershed management on the quality and quantity of submarine groundwater discharge (SGD) that these systems depend on. We use a linked land-sea modeling framework to assess how these drivers influence the quantity and quality of SGD and nearshore GDE waters, and how this may affect the habitat suitability of the native limu pālahalaha (Ulva lactuca) and vulnerability of this coast to the invasive macroalgae, Hypnea musciformis. Results suggest that a dry future climate (under RCP 8.5 mid century), increased groundwater pumping, and degradation of native forest all have the potential to reduce SGD, which translates to decreased growth of limu pālahalaha coupled with increased vulnerability to Hypnea. Results point to the importance of policies and programs to support watershed protection and reduce consumptive water use as achievable steps to protect GDEs and their associated native species.