Vave Lab · Field Research

Ecological Surveys

University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa
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Field Research

Ecological Surveys

Logged over 1,000 research-associated SCUBA dives primarily focused on benthic assessments as part of biodiversity surveys of reef health, including Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs) across Fiji and the broader Indo-Pacific.

This fieldwork spans coral settlement studies, reef fish and invertebrate assessments, specimen collection for pharmaceutical research, and the development of new identification tools for Pacific reef ecosystems.

Key Activities

  • Coral settlement studies — Masters research at the University of the South Pacific (USP), Fiji
  • Reef fish and invertebrate assessments
  • Testing and training on early versions of Coral Finder (developer: Russell Kelley)
  • Collection of ascidian specimens of Lissoclinum patella from Fiji and the Solomon Islands for USP’s IAS Natural Products anti-malarial research

Fieldwork Gallery

From the Field

Ron Vave holding a large reef fish on the shoreline in Fiji, 2002

Reef fish specimen collected during fieldwork in Fiji, 2002

Dive team preparing for a SCUBA survey on a research vessel

Research dive team preparing for a benthic assessment survey

Coral Finder Indo-Pacific identification guide

Coral Finder Indo-Pacific — identification guide developed with Russell Kelley, used during early testing and training

Coral microscopy diagram showing basal plate, septa, and porous cenosteum

Coral recruitment microscopy — basal plate (B), septa (S), and porous cenosteum (PC) documented during Masters research at USP

Map showing Lissoclinum patella collection sites across Solomon Islands and Fiji for anti-malarial Patellazole research

Collection sites for Lissoclinum patella ascidian specimens across the Solomon Islands and Fiji — used in USP’s IAS Natural Products anti-malarial research (Patellazoles A, B & C)