HAWAIʻI WILDLIFE ECOLOGY LAB
Dr. Melissa R. Price
Lab Director, Assistant Professor
To conserve fragile ecosystems, we must understand the ecology and connectivity of individual species. My projects examine pieces of the puzzle, such as genetic connectivity, habitat use, and species interactions. Good decisions are made based on understanding the relationships between actions and outcomes. The research in my lab sits at this nexus, co-developed with land stewards and communities to improve conservation outcomes.
Dr. Kristen Harmon
Project Coordinator
Kristen Harmon graduated from the Hawaii Wildlife Ecology Lab in 2022 with a PhD in Natural Resources and Environmental Management and a specialization in Ecology, Evolution, and Conservation Biology. Her PhD research focused on developing spatial and statistical models to assess environmental impacts on Hawaiian waterbird reproductive success and the role of Hawaiian Indigenous resource management in recovering Hawaiian waterbird populations. As part of her dissertation work, she completed the first statewide assessment of projected losses of waterbird nesting habitat due to sea level rise across Hawai‘i, as well as the potential for Hawaiian Indigenous wetland agro-ecosystems (lo‘i) to compensate for these losses. Kristen is now serving as a Project Coordinator in the Hawaii Wildlife Ecology Lab working on decision analyses projects that aim to optimize resource allocation strategies for the long-term persistence of natural resources in the Hawaiian Islands. Kristen is also committed to outreach and education, as she regularly participates in community conservation events and youth educational programs.
Derek Risch
Project Coordinator
Derek Risch is an ecologist specializing in quantitative methods, including ecological modeling, spatial prioritization, and GIS techniques for wildlife and resource management. He earned his Master’s Degree from the Hawaiʻi Wildlife Ecology Lab in 2019, and his work bridges scientific research with practical conservation and natural resource management solutions. Currently, his research focuses on the impacts of invasive wild ungulates in response to both environmental and human-mediated conditions to improve wildlife management strategies across Hawaiʻi. Derek is also engaged in projects centered on sustainable recreational trail use and design.
Born on the windward side of Oʻahu, Derek is an avid hiker who enjoys walking his dog along the beach and surfing whenever possible.
Claire Atkins
M.S. Graduate Student
Claire was born in Pennsylvania and led a wild and winding life through her early twenties. She graduated with a B.S. in Natural Resources & Environmental Management from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa after completing the first two years of her degree at the Community College of Denver. Claire is interested in many aspects of coastal ecology and grounds her work through growing and sustaining reciprocal relationships to place, community, and collaborators. She is currently working to understand the occupancy and resource partitioning of migratory shorebirds in Heʻeia, Oʻahu.
Molly Hagemann
M.S. Graduate Student
Molly is a graduate student pursuing a master’s degree in the Natural Resources & Environmental Management department at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. She is focused on studying the population genetics of the Pueo (Hawaiian Short-eared owl, Asio flammeus sandwichensis), but is also interested in the genetic structure of Short-eared owls at a global scale. Molly grew up in Texas and received her undergraduate degree in biology from the University of Texas at Austin. In 2010, she moved to Hawaiʻi and began working at the Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum, where she still serves as the manager of the Vertebrate Zoology collections.
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Wade Naguwa
M.S. Graduate Student
Wade is a graduate student who originally started as an intern in the lab as a freshman in undergrad. Being born and raised in Hawai'i, he has always had a keen sense of pride with natural resources in our environment. He is pursuing a masters degree to better his knowledge on our natural resources to better the ecosystem for future generations. Wade has worked on multiple projects in the lab as an intern in the past, but he will be focusing his time in grad school on axis deer movement on Maui.
Koa Grabar
M.E.M Graduate student
Koa was born and raised in Hilo, Hawaiʻi, and graduated with a B.S. in Natural Resources and Environmental Management from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. He is continuing in the program to study the relationships between lo‘i kalo managers and the native waterbirds (Aeʻo, ʻAlae ʻula, and ʻAlae keʻokeʻo) that reside within them. Before joining the Hawaiʻi Wildlife Ecology Lab, he was a Pacific Internship Programs for Exploring Science intern with the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance’s Hawaiʻi Endangered Bird Conservation Program, working on ʻAlalā conservation breeding. In addition, Koa worked with Colorado State University, banding and GPS transmittering ‘Alae ‘ula and ‘Alae ke‘oke‘o. This research sparked Koa’s love of waterbirds!