A multi-year scientific expedition including the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa — led by researchers from University of California, Santa Barbara, and collaborating institutions — was able to find critical connections between land, rainwater and lagoon waters.
Researchers determined land use on tropical islands can shape water quality in lagoons and rainfall can be an important mediator for connections between land and lagoon waters.
These findings provide vital information for ecosystem stewards facing global reef decline. Their findings were published in Limnology and Oceanography .
“The links between land and sea are dynamic and complex, so it’s a topic that has remained elusive to science,” said study co-author and faculty member at Hawai‘i Institute of Marine Biology Mary Donovan in an announcement about the new research. “It took a dream team to pierce through that complexity. We brought together a group of interdisciplinary thinkers — from students to senior investigators — across at least five major institutions to tackle this immense challenge.”…