The emphasis of the Coral Reef Ecology Lab research is diverse and multi-faceted. We conduct assessments and monitoring of coral reefs statewide, field experimentation, manipulative experiments relating to local and global impacts to coral reefs, and conceptual analyses of coral physiological processes. Our applied research contributes to management strategies and legislative action. We frequently include students and interns in our research projects and conduct numerous outreach and educational activities.
Our objective is to continue the legacy of our pioneering founder Dr. Paul Jokiel through research on the responses of coral reefs to climate change and to perpetuate the long-term statewide monitoring program established by this lab.
History
The Coral Reef Ecology Laboratory has a long and successful history beginning in the 1960’s when our founder Dr. Paul Jokiel expanded the small one room shack at the far eastern point at HIMB into the currently existing labs and offices. There he designed a world-class mesocosm facility that has been used for manipulative experimentation for over 50 years (see: Facilities) and conducted research that was in the forefront of the field.
Over the span of his 50 year career Dr. Jokiel was always well ahead of the times whether it was describing thermal stress in the 70s, U/V light, photo-inhibition, and dispersal in the 80s, water motion, monitoring, coral physiology, and, community metabolism in the 90’s and more recently helping us understand the impact of humanity and climate change.
His contributions to Hawai‘i were frequent and extraordinary. He was instrumental in the diversion of the sewage and the prevention of the construction of a nuclear power plant in Kāne’ohe Bay. He developed the first widespread monitoring program in the state, the Coral Reef Assessment and Monitoring Program (www.cramp.wcc.hawaii.edu) that continues today in partnership with the Division of Aquatic Resources. His research and testimony provided the scientific data for landmark court decisions on reef destruction and water rights. Numerous legislative actions, management strategies, and educational curriculum surrounding the marine environment are based on his research and guidance.
The reach of this brilliant, prominent scientist also extended globally. He developed or refined buoyant weighing of corals, clod cards for measuring water motion, and CO2 dispersion techniques as well as other techniques used worldwide. His groundbreaking development of the vortex model in the field of biogeography served as a basis for later connectivity work. Major breakthroughs include the well-established “rafting theory” that explains how corals travel long distances and the “Proton FluxModel” that provides us with a better understanding of coral metabolic responses as they relate to ocean acidification (see: Publications). His early research on tolerances of corals to temperature was developed as an applied science application that later turned out to 
be valuable for interpreting major coral bleaching occurrences. NOAA and others currently use this concept as the basis in predicting thermal thresholds for global bleaching alerts. Dr. Jokiel’s models continue to guide and aid management and research such as the Coral Mortality and Bleaching Output model (COMBO), a method to predict different climate change scenarios, and the Ecological Gradient model (EGM) to determine reef “health” and compare Hawaiian reefs. He was definitely a man ahead of his time that understood the future of our reefs. His predictive models forecasted future climate change a decade before global bleaching events occurred. He was in the lead in research involving coral restoration, reproduction, dispersal, physiology, photo-inhibition, community metabolism, and local and global impacts on coral reefs.
The hundreds of publications he authored have been cited by scientists over 7,000 times. He provided exceptional mentoring to graduate students who continue his legacy at the positions they hold in higher education, federal and state government, and management agencies through the management decisions and research they conduct. This mentoring extended to those struggling with addiction in the 12-step program he was involved in for over three decades. He made a meaningful and lasting contribution to marine science and all humanity by serving a cause greater than his own. Dr. Paul Jokiel left the Hawai‘i he loved and the world a better place for us all. The Coral Reef Ecology lab continues his research and lifelong goals.
Five most prominent accomplishments per decade
1970’s
First research on thermal tolerances for Hawaiian corals
Foremost research on freshwater impacts to coral reefs
Initial research on response of corals to light
Early key research on the effects of temperature to photosynthesis and respiration of corals
Development of the principal coral buoyant weighing technique to determine growth
1980’s
Development of tools to measure water motion
Planned hydrothermal power plant in Kāne‘ohe Bay halted
Determination of effects of sedimentation on coral reefs
Primary research on the effects of ultraviolet radiation on coral reefs
Development of the key “rafting theory” for how corals originally dispersed to Hawai‘i
1990’s
First research on ocean acidification effects on Hawaiian corals
Original integrated statewide monitoring program established
Development of the principal vortex model of biogeography
Evaluation of abundance and distribution of invasive algae
Research on the effects of trampling on corals
2000’s
First quantitative links between watersheds and reefs statewide determined
Identification of biological indicators for coral reefs
Genetic and grafting methodology comparisons to identify coral clones
Earliest documentation of Hawaiian coral skeletal strengths
Development of monitoring programs for communities
2010’s
Development of tool to assess health of corals
Theory development for the coral response to ocean acidification
Foremost accounts of acclimatization/adaptation of Hawaiian coral to increased ocean temperatures
Evaluation of first community based management strategies
Evaluation of contemporary and traditional approaches to management