M.S. student
Tropical Conservation
Biology and
Environmental Science
University of Hawaii at Hilo
200 W. Kawili
Hilo, HI 96718
scgraham@hawaii.edu
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Research interests:
sea turtle ecology, biogeochemistry,
wildlife telemetry, conservation biology
Education:
M.A. Deaf Education, Gallaudet University - 1997
B.A. Biology and Education, Gallaudet University - 1994
Current research:
The hawksbill sea turtle, known by the Hawaiian community as `ea,
is critically endangered in all circumtropic regions.
Recognized by their slender head and beak-like mouth, small to
medium-size body (less than 95 cm carapace length) and overlapping shell
scutes, hawksbill sea turtles spend their juvenile years in
pelagic realms. Approaching the sub-adult age hawksbill sea
turtles migrate closer to neritic zones and, according to
studies of other populations, feed primarily on sponges and
other invertebrates. Based on previous satellite tracking data
of the Hawaiian hawksbill sea turtle population, most adult
females migrate from the principal nesting sites on the southern
coast of Hawai`i Island and forage in coastal habitats along the
Hamakua Coast on the windward side of this island. I am
investigating the foraging habitat along this coast and my
thesis will involve delineating depths of feeding patterns by
means of biotelemetry, comparing stable-carbon and nitrogen
isotopic composition of females and potential prey organisms,
and calculating relative abundance of primary prey items in
their main foraging habitat.
Committee:
Dr. Jason Turner (UHH Marine Science)
William Gilmartin (Hawaii Wildlife Fund)
Dr. Marta deMaintenon (UHH Marine Science)
Related links:
NOAA Sea turtle fact sheet
Marine Turtle Research Program (Pacific Islands)
HAVO Hawksbill Sea Turtle Recovery Project
International Sea Turtle Society
Marine Turtle Specialist Group
Seaturtle.org
Marine Turtle Newsletter
Video footage of hawksbill feeding by Robert van Dam
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