For over a decade SEFS researchers have been working on the islands of Tetiaroa to gain new insight about marine ecosystems. SEFS Professor, Aaron Wirsing, and a team of collaborators at Florida International University have been studying young sharks who call Tetiaroa’s lagoon home until they venture out into open waters. Using acoustic transmitters the team has gained valuable information about the young sharks’ movement in the atoll. 

This fall Wirsing and his team have a return trip planned to the atoll, a grouping of 12 small coral islets that encircle a lagoon in the South Pacific Ocean. 

SEFS Associate Professor, Beth Gardner and Associate Professor Sarah Converse have focused on the seabirds of Tetiaroa. Initially, the two set out to understand their survival and movement patterns. Now, with the assistance of SAFS PhD student, Amelia DuVall, they are tracking seabirds using GPS tagging technology. The technology gives them insights into where the birds go, how long they’re away from the atoll and feeding locations. 

Further research on the seabirds looks at the patterns of their activity before and after efforts to eradicate two non-native species of rat, thought to have arrived in Tetiaroa several centuries ago when the islets were colonized. Conducted by SEFS master’s student, Eve Hallock, this research will give the team more information about the nesting activity of a few seabird species that call Tetiaroa home. 

The College of the Environment’s Director of Marketing, Michelle Ma, has written an in-depth story on this research that you can find here. Her work, accompanied by stunning photos taken by UMAC’s Mark Stone, highlight the incredible research coming out of SEFS and the larger College of the Environment.