My September turned out to be an eventful month with lots of twists, turns, and unexpected adventures! After narrowly missing Hurricane Irene, I managed to make it in time to Hawaii to push off on a research cruise with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration aboard the R/V Hi’ialakai to the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. The mission of the research cruise was to study deep coral reef sites with an emphasis on deep reef fish through the use of open-circuit trimix technical diving.

I was extremely excited to get back to Hawaii after not having been “home” since the start of my scholarship year in April. I was also pretty amped about the fact that the cruise was filled with an all-star cast of researchers and promised the opportunity to use my trimix technical diving skills in a research setting. The ship pushed off from Pearl Harbor August 29th and started steaming up the Hawaiian Island chain. Our cruise schedule was Nihoa, French Frigate Shoals, Gardner Pinnacles, Lisianski atoll, and Pearl and Hermes Reef with a stop at Ni’ihau on the return. Unfortunately due to an unexpected incident we were unable to continue with trimix diving and the Chief Scientist had to quickly change plans and switch the cruise from a deep reef cruise to a semi-deep reef cruise using conventional scuba. Consequently, my primary purpose switched from technical diving to assisting my former boss and advisor, Carl Meyer, with apex predator research focusing on Giant Trevally (Ulua) and Galapagos sharks.
Our methods for catching apex predators for the goal of tagging were a mix of bottom-set long-line deployments, deep hand lining, and surface trolling with the aim of tagging Ulua (Giant Trevally) and Galapagos Sharks. Unfortunately, our surface trolling attempts proved ineffective at capturing our target species, so after hauling our long-lines and deploying pressure-sensitive ultrasonic transmitters in Galapagos sharks, we focused our efforts on hand lining. Our luck changed and our hand lines began bringing up Ulua with Galapagos following from the deep reef ledges we were targeting. Using a second hand line to maximize catch rates, we were able to collect tissue samples from, and deploy transmitters in eleven Ulua and seven Galapagos sharks.

While tagging sharks and Uluas was fun, the overall goal of the project was to further understand the movements and habits of apex predators in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. The use of ultrasonic transmitter tags allowed us to track the local and broadscale movements of Ulua and Galapagos sharks across atolls and along the island chain. Similarly, pressure-sensitive tags yielded the same results while also helping us understand the vertical movements of target species through the water column. Analysis of the genetic samples will complement the tracking data by demonstrating any hybridization of the gene pool and clarifying ecological connectivity between geographically separated populations. The stable isotope samples will further emphasize both connectivity and species position in the food web, showing both what and where these reef predators are eating. In gaining this knowledge, the importance of each species in maintaining a delicate ecological balance is better understood and therefore helps us to preserve the unique ecosystem of the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument.

After successfully deploying all of our tags and getting a dive day with Kelly Gleason on the Two Brother’s shipwreck, the cruise came to an end. I had an amazing trip, met top-notch researchers (Rich Pyle just to name one!!!), made lifelong friends, and learned a lot! I will remember the random art hours and even jam sessions on the bow, as much I will the research and diving. There is more to research cruises than science!!

To finish up the month of September I found myself unexpectedly helping out on a National Geographic TV shoot off the Kona coast of the Big Island. The shoot was a showcase of Hawaii’s natural history from Mauka to Makai (the mountains to the ocean) and was filmed completely in 3D! Evan Kovacs from the Advanced Imaging and Visualization Lab at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute and Jennifer Shoemaker from NatGeo TV invited me along to help out and learn about the production process of a large-scale documentary. I had an awesome few days acting as support and I still haven’t been able to get over how big all of the 3D cameras were! After saying my goodbyes to new and old friends, I left Hawaii for High Springs, Florida to finish up my full cave course with Jill Heinerth and help her out on a film project.