An important tool that can help assess coral health and is easy to use by everyone, including students and citizen scientists, is the focus of an upcoming Math + Science + X Seminar.
“The Hawaiian Koʻa Card: A Coral Health Assessment Tool,” presented by Dr. Anita Tsang from the Hawaiʻi Institute of Marine Biology, will be 10 to 11 a.m. on Friday, Oct. 8, via Zoom. Click here to register; Zoom meeting ID is 963 4913 3089 and passcode is MSX.
“Climate change and other anthropogenic impacts are some of the biggest threats to coral reefs worldwide,” according to an event flyer. “Higher seawater temperatures due mainly to the burning of fossil fuels are causing an increase in the frequency and intensity of coral bleaching events.”
The Hawaiian Koʻa (Coral) Card was developed to record changes in color of the most commonly found Hawaiian corals and to provide a tool for people to monitor coral color as an indicator of coral health.
The card was designed for use by everyone, including community members, citizen scientists, researchers, students, resource managers, recreational users, and visitors. The Hawaiian Koʻa Card encourages and promotes community participation and monitoring, as it is easy to use and requires no scientific background.
“Utilization of this coral health assessment tool will provide valuable data helping researchers and managers track coral bleaching statewide, and additionally promotes community engagement as everyone plays an important role in protecting our coral reefs,” according to the flyer.
Math + Science + X seminars, held 10 to 11 a.m. on Fridays, help Mathematics, Natural, and Health Sciences faculty at the University of Hawaiʻi–West Oʻahu promote fascinating, interesting, and current topics that are happening in STEM. STEM community members around the island, mainland, and within the university are invited to give presentations. Each seminar is geared to introduce UH West Oʻahu undergraduates, faculty, staff, and interested community members to a variety of research and career development or opportunities.
For more information, email ogeorge@hawaii.edu.