Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center Young Scientist Opportunity Projects

Project 1: Kālaipuaiʻa Hawaiʻi: Examining Larval Fish Biocultural Aspects and Distributions Across Kō Hawaiʻi Pae ʻĀina

Mentors: Dr. Justin Suca (CIMAR), soon-to-be Dr. Kanoe Morishige (Monuments), Andrea Schmidt (CIMAR), Dr. Jessica Perelman (CIMAR), J. Hauʻoli Lorenzo-Elarco (UH), Dr. Hoku Pihana, Dr. Donald Kobayashi (PIFSC)

Background: One of the many ways that we study the fish populations, such as ono (mackerel), billfish, ʻahi (tuna), and ‘ōpakapaka, is by looking at the habitat and distribution of their larvae. We do not know nearly as much about this early stage in the life cycles as we do about adult fish in Hawaiʻi. To fill this gap, we collaborated with the Protected Species Program in their survey of cetaceans in the Hawaiʻi Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) in the summer and fall of 2023. During this effort, we collected 88 zooplankton tows across the Hawaiʻi EEZ. The samples contain a wide variety of larval fishes, ranging from the larvae of mesopelagic fishes (eg., lanternfishes and bristlemouths), reef fish larvae (e.g., uhu, butterflyfishes, wrasses, and damselfishes), to those of the highly valuable large pelagics (e.g., ʻahi, ono, and billfish). 

Objective: The scholar’s responsibility is to select a species (or species group) of interest and shepherd it through identification, measurement, data curation, data analysis and final presentation through both the lens of Western Science and ʻŌiwi (Indigenous) Science methodologies. The end goal will be to provide distribution maps of where a given species is located, or how an ocean feature affects the larval fish community. By the end of the internship the scholar will have built up skills in research, pono (proper and moral) practices, and cultural ʻike (knowledge). We hope this project can further the scholar's interest in oceanography and improve skill sets related to larval fish identification, summary statistics, and species distribution modeling. Kanaka ʻŌiwi (Native Hawaiian) students and students from other historically underrepresented groups across the Pacific Islands Region are highly encouraged to apply.

Duties and responsibilities:

• Commitment and excitement about sorting and identifying fish larvae from the waters of Hawaiʻi Pae ʻĀina
• Commitment to engaging in pono science practices and participating in biocultural aspects of this work.
• Good and safe laboratory procedures. Treat the samples and yourself with respect. 
• Maintain effective data recording procedures. 
• Use these data to map  distribution, and pursue any other questions of the scholarʻs interest. Mentors will assist students with the use of R to generate these products. (see proposed timeline for more types of analysis).
• Write and/or present summary report. The final product will be determined based on time availability and discussions with the student and mentors.
• Have weekly meetings with mentors regarding incorporating cultural ʻike.
• Some topics that a student may work on in addition to larval fish sorting and identification include:
  • Oceanography (e.g., North Pacific transition zone, eddies)
  • Diel Vertical Migration
  • Species naming and nomenclature (inoa Hawaiʻi, Hawaiian naming practices)
  • Papahānaumokuākea as a biocultural seascape 

Qualifications:

• Applicants should have interest in pelagic ecosystems AND interest in engaging biocultural practices throughout the internship
• Applicants should be interested in engaging with people and ideas with world views different from their own.
• Interest in developing quantitative skills including command line programming such as R
• Good organizational skills, attention to detail, and ability to focus on repetitive tasks.
• Strong work ethic and a willingness to learn.
• Ability to work both independently and as part of a team.
• Advantageous but not required: Artistic skills (poetry/drawing/painting/videography etc.)
• Advantageous but not required: Background and knowledge about Hawaiʻi, island life, Hawaiian and/or Indigenous language, knowledge system, values and/or cultural practices (cultural protocol/hula/lua/oli/lawaiʻa etc.)

Project 2: Trophic ecology of bigeye tuna near the Hawaiian Islands: comparing molecular methods to conduct large-scale diet studies

Mentors: Dr. Jonathan Whitney (PIFSC), Nan Himmelsbach (CIMAR), Dr, Johanna Wren (PIFSC), Dr. Phoebe Woodworth-Jefcoats (PIFSC), and Dr. Donald Kobayashi (PIFSC).

Background: Bigeye tuna (Thunnus obesus) is the target fish of the Hawai‘i-based deep-set longline fishery – the third-most valuable finfish fishery in the U.S. Despite their economic importance, we still

know little about the diet of bigeye tuna in the Hawai‘i longline fishing grounds. Understanding the prey composition that these top pelagic predators rely on is critical for predicting how changing oceans could influence their distribution, abundance, and accessibility to fishing. Traditional morphological approaches to diet analysis can be limiting as some prey items are quickly digested or degraded, which can restrict identification to higher taxonomic levels or inhibit detection at all. In addition, these methods are time consuming and can require

taxonomic expertise to identify prey. DNA metabarcoding can be a powerful tool for assessing the diet and trophodynamics of commercially important top marine predators. These more high-throughput methods can provide high-resolution diet characterization of all prey items –  even those degraded or digested. High-throughput processing of large numbers of fish stomachs will require streamlining benchwork methods and merging with traditional approaches to provide the most valuable data per stomach at large scales. In this project, we will test methodologies to conduct high-throughput sequencing methods for the characterization of bigeye tuna diet in the Central North Pacific.

Objective:The intern will work with PIFSC and CIMAR scientists to dissect stomachs of bigeye tuna caught in the Hawaiʻi-based deep-set longline fishery and identify prey using a combination of DNA barcoding and metabarcoding techniques. The overarching goal is to determine the prey base of bigeye tuna to better understand how environmental change and shifts in forage could impact long-term sustainability of bigeye tuna populations in the Central North Pacific and inform ecosystem-based fisheries management. To get there, we will need to test and calibrate methods for dissections, prey handling, preservation, and DNA extraction protocols to streamline methodologies for high-throughput processing. In the process, analysis of stomach contents (for the first few dozen in the scope of this internship) will provide the first high-resolution characterization of diet composition of adult bigeye tuna in the region. Genetic identification of prey relies on the availability of genetic reference sequences in public databases. Reference sequences are lacking for many understudied groups and these gaps prevent accurate species-level identification. One objective of this project will be to use cephalopod (squids and octopods) voucher specimens from lancetfish diets to extract DNA and generate new reference sequences that will power barcoding and metabarcoding identification of prey items and environmental DNA (eDNA) samples for generations.

Duties and responsibilities:

• Perform dissections of pelagic fish stomachs including bigeye tuna and mahi-mahi
• Organize and separate individual prey items for subsequent genetic barcoding
• Weigh individual prey items to estimate biomass contributions
• Conduct genetics benchwork including DNA extractions, PCR, and bead-cleaning to prepare samples for Sanger and Illumina sequencing
• Generate new genetic reference sequences from cephalopod voucher specimens
• Perform summary statistics on findings, present to the Pelagic Research Program and Summer Intern Symposium, and participate in opportunistic outreach events to communicate scientific findings  

Qualifications:

Applicants should have a strong academic interest in marine ecology and pelagic ecosystems, coursework in biology, relevant lab experience, a strong work ethic, attention to detail, and ability and eagerness to be consistently present in the laboratory. The ideal candidate will have one or more of the following:

(1) Demonstrated interest or experience related to marine ecology, ichthyology, or invertebrate zoology;

(2) Familiarity and ability to be trained on general laboratory procedures and protocols;

(3) Strong collaborative skills, in addition to the ability to self-motivate, ask questions, work independently in the laboratory, and focus on repetitive tasks;

(4) Experience and/or interest in learning genetic lab skills including DNA extractions, PCR, and library prep for next-generation sequencing.

Questions? Please contact pifsc.pyso@noaa.gov.

Back to Young Scientist Opportunity homepage