At the task force’s annual meeting in November, which was hosted this time in Saipan, research faculty Dr. Laurie Raymundo and Dr. Peter Houk and research associate David Burdick each received an Outstanding Service Award for leading cornerstone research projects. In providing essential data and information for government agencies, policymakers, researchers, and Micronesian island communities, their projects are advancing marine protections and coral restoration across Micronesia.

Dr. Laurie Raymundo: Coral restoration pioneer

Dr. Laurie Raymundo was honored for her pioneering work in the fields of coral reef restoration and coral disease. In 2019, she launched Guam’s first coral reef nursery dedicated to restoring staghorn Acropora corals. The work is ongoing, focusing on rehabilitating coral communities in Guam’s Cocos Lagoon and Piti Bomb Holes Marine Preserve.

“We have outplanted over 4,000 fragments, covering roughly 3.82 acres, to date,” Raymundo said. “We maintain two coral nurseries and have developed three solid protocols for planting nursery-reared coral fragments onto our shallow reef areas.”

Dr. Peter Houk: Data-driven fisheries management

Dr. Peter Houk was recognized for building capacity in coral reef and fisheries monitoring in Micronesia. Houk has spent nearly two decades establishing fisheries and coral reef data throughout the Marshall Islands, Palau, the Federated States of Micronesia, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands. His team has collected data on more than 50 islands.

He launched a website, https://micronesiareefmonitoring.com, where the data for each island is frequently updated and available to fisheries and marine conservation managers, policymakers, as well as the general public. For numerous sites on each island, the website provides data visualizations for quantities, types, and the average size of the fish present, and it also compares these numbers in unprotected versus protected fishing areas.

“Our research has been used to create many fisheries policies — from marine protected area networks to grouper spawning protection — with modern data now showing fishers are catching more than they were before,” Houk said.

David Burdick: Guam’s reef archivist

David Burdick was awarded for outstanding coordination of the Guam Long-Term Coral Reef Monitoring Program — one of the Pacific’s longest running datasets of its kind. Established in 2007, the program began systematic surveys of fish, corals, and other marine life in high-priority areas and continues to this day.

“Program staff have also played a major role in determining the extent and severity of multiple coral bleaching events since 2007, including severe events in 2013 and 2017,” Burdick said.

Burdick was also recognized for his experience with marine organism identification and the expansion of knowledge about local marine biodiversity. He launched GuamReefLife.com, a photo archive and species identification site that has become a go-to reference for researchers, educators, and taxonomists.

“The site currently hosts images of more than 3,700 marine and freshwater organisms from Guam,” he shared. “With some exceptions for deep water organisms, all images are those I took while snorkeling or diving around Guam. Images of several fish species on the site were recently used in a publication of new fish records for the Mariana Islands.”

Impact in coral reef science beyond Micronesia

Raymundo, in her role as director of the UOG Marine Lab, said having three Guam-based scientists recognized at this major national gathering of coral reef conservationists underscores the Marine Lab’s impact in coral reef science beyond the Micronesian region.

“I am very proud of us all and this is definitive proof of the value of the work that we do at the UOG Marine Lab,” Raymundo said.