Johansen Fish Resilience Program

 WHERE DID ALL THE FISH GO?
Fishes on coral reefs are extremely diverse and play many roles. Some forage on algae that otherwise overgrow and kill corals, while others are critical for a productive, sustainable fisheries (upon which >500mio people depend). However, many species are also highly sensitive to stress and will decline or disappear when conditions surpass their tolerance thresholds (e.g. from deteriorating water quality and pollution). 

Our research has three primary purposes:
1) Reveal what happens to coral reef fishes when they are exposed to escalating environmental stress; 
2) Quantify the exact conditions reef fishes need (or can tolerate) in order to thrive;
3) Provide scalable solutions to preserve, restore and increase reef fish and fisheries productivity;

With a strong background in ecological physiology and behavioral ecology, research teams in the Fish Resilience Program use innovative combinations of field and laboratory techniques to understand impacts of disturbances on species health and resilience, and provide practical solutions to increase reef fish health and abundance.

Please visit our donation page. 

Donations

Your support fuels our Fish Resilience Program, where we combine world-class research with education to preserve, restore and sustain productive coral reef fish and fisheries.     *All donations are tax deductible

PROGRAM OVERVIEW:
The Fish Resilience Program is comprised of  the Fish Resilience Research Laboratory and the Fish Resilience Center, stationed at the Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology (HIMB) on the beautiful  Moku-o-loe (Coconut) Island (http://www.himb.hawaii.edu). The program utilizes state-of-the-art systems  as well as the amazing coral reefs at our doorstep and throughout the Hawaiian Archipelago to address questions of importance to local communities, our State, our Nation, and our World. We study how tropical coral reef fishes (and octopus) react and adapt to natural and human-induced environmental stressors. All of our work is designed to increase our capacity to preserve, restore, and increase reef fish health in support of both ecosystem functions and sustainable fisheries.

Our Fish Resilience Research teams are using innovative approaches to spearhead research across global issues of concern (see example publications here),

Our Fish Resilience Center serves to provide directed expertise, equipment, and consultancy to communities, individuals, and companies dealing with environmental impacts on aquatic ecosystems and fisheries productivity (connect to PI Johansen here for inquiries)