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Issue 49 | June 03, 2016 | Archive | Subscribe News & EventsThose With Taste Go the the TasteSave the
date—and if you’re wise, get your ticket—tickets are now on sale for the
Taste of the Hawaiian Range, which will be delighting foodies and locavores on Friday, September 9, from
6:00 to 8:00 p.m. at the Hilton Waikoloa Village on the Big Island. From its origin as a humble
companion event to the Cooperate Extension Services’ Mealani Forage Field Day,
which featured the research being done at the Mealani Research Station, Mealani’s Taste of the
Hawaiian Range has become one of Hawai‘i’s premier
ag-tourism events. In partnership with the local community and CTAHR,
Taste brings together food producers and processors, chefs and consumers to
celebrate the producing, cooking, and enjoying of local foods, particularly
grass-fed beef. Get the (Nutrition) Facts!The U.S. Food and Drug
Administration (FDA) today announced a new Nutrition Facts label for most
packaged foods that reflects the latest in nutrition science and includes
additional nutrient information. The new label features a refreshed design,
reflects updated information about nutrition science, and updates serving sizes
and labeling requirements for certain package sizes. Most food manufacturers
will be required to use the new label by July 26, 2018. Joannie Dobbs (HNFAS)
is here to help in understanding the new regulations. She will send out additional information as it becomes
available on the new regulations, and she is available to answer questions—just
call 956-3845. Gettin’ AdministratedDean Gallo has recommended Russ Messing for the position of
Kaua‘i County Administrator and Ted Feitshans for Hawai‘i County Administrator.
When approved, Russ will begin his appointment on June 16 and Ted on September
1. As Dean Gallo says, “These are critical positions that we are pleased to
have filled with such worthy professionals. Congratulations to both of them!” Grants & AwardsSave the ForestsCongratulations to Kimberly Carson (NREM), recipient of one of only nine
2015 Google Earth Engine Research Awards!. These one-year awards are
structured as unrestricted gifts to universities to support the work of
world-class permanent faculty members at top universities around the world.
Kimberly’s timely and internationally focused proposal involved “Mapping High
Carbon Stock (HCS) forests in Sumatra and Borneo to evaluate and support
zero-deforestation supply chain commitments.” The zero-deforestation zone
effort aims to create awareness of and protection for areas for which
deforestation will have particularly dangerous consequences in terms of
ecological impact. Grand Masters of AquaponicsClyde Tamaru and
Harry Ako (both MBBE, Emeritus) were recently honored at a testimonial dinner
by the Hawaii Aquaculture and Aquaponic Association
and the Center for Tropical and Subtropical Aquaculture at Kapi‘olani Community College. Clyde
and Harry have been involved in aquaculture and aquaponic research, teaching,
and Extension for many years and have been extremely influential in the growth
of aquaculture and aquaponics in Hawai‘i. They were rightfully celebrated for
their expertise, dedication to public service, and support of these illustrious organizations. What Makes the FlowersCongratulations to MBBE senior Cheyenne Barela (left), who
won second place among 58 competitors in the Natural Sciences category at UH’s
Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program. The
program showcases the research of students who were awarded competitive
fellowships (~$4500) and conducted research in their mentor’s labs. Cheyenne’s
research topic and presentation were on “Characterization of the Expression of
Protein Disulfide Isomerase-M Subfamily Members, PDI9 and PDI10, during
Development of Arabidopsis Plants.” The work indicates the involvement of the
Protein Disulfide Isomerase in the development of the anther and pollen of
flowers. Cheyenne, who just graduated this May, has been mentored by David
Christopher (MBBE) along with his laboratory colleagues, Kristie Matsumoto and
Christen Yuen. She also won the Gamma Sigma Delta Undergraduate Oral
Presentation award at the SRS! Spotlight on Our CommunityLife After the BorerAndrea Kawabata and Jen Burt had
plenty of visitors to their booth at the Ka‘u
Coffee Festival’s Hoolaulea held at the Pahala Community Center—the Festival
saw its largest turnout this year! Andrea (pictured) and Jen joined with Heather
Forester of the Hawaii Ant Lab and Rob Curtiss of HDOA to share information
about the prevention and control of the coffee berry borer, little fire ant, and other invasive
insects. The following day, Andrea and Arturo Ballar of Greenwell Farms spoke
to a packed room at the Coffee College, presenting “Six Years of Farming
with CBB: Reflecting and Moving Forward,” in which they reviewed the lessons
learned in the six years since CBB was discovered in Hawai‘i and discussed how
farmers can implement best management practices to increase efficiency on their
farms. Just a Sample of CTAHR’s HelpThe Kona Cooperative Extension
Service Office offered a hands-on workshop,
“Smart Sampling, Sweeter Results,” on Tuesday, May 24. Brian Bushe
discussed proper sampling techniques and submission to ADSC and also reviewed
and diagnosed samples brought in by participants. Afterwards, participants visited
five different stations around the Kona Research Station where a CTAHR faculty
member discussed how to properly collect soil and leaf samples for avocado, mac
nut, citrus, and coffee. Other CTAHRites involved in the successful even included
Sharon Motomura, Andrea Kawabata, Marisol Quintanilla-Tornel, Alyssa Cho,
Kiersten Akahoshi, and Jen Burt. Here Kiersten discusses proper soil sampling
in the field. Protecting the FieldsSome 120 participants attended the edible crop mini-conference recently held at the Turtle Bay Resort. Pests were highlighted as the main priority issue based on O‘ahu’s needs assessment survey in 2015, and this conference provided growers with updates on some of the latest research-based work being conducted on a number of priority crop issues. Presenters and presentations included “Healthy soils and locally produced fertilizer inputs” by Amjad Ahmad and “Crop protection chemical resistance management program” by Jensen Uyeda (both TPSS), and “Overview of common pest groups and variety trial summaries” by Jari Sugano, “Organic and sustainable pest management options” by Koon-Hui Wang, “Reflective mulch for vegetables” by Leyla Kaufman, “Basil diseases—Field trial summary” by Janice Uchida and Mike Kawate, and “New pest on vegetables: Bagrada bug update,” by Ronald Mau and Robin Shimabuku (all PEPS). There was a great turnout for this educational and helpful gathering! Game of DronesWhat’s that flying overhead? Maybe it has the CTAHR spirit
mark! At the UH/Hawaii Community Unmanned Aerial Systems Meeting, a
recent daylong workshop on drones on the UHM campus, Roberto Rodriguez III
(MBBE grad student) presented a talk on the “Application of Unmanned Aerial
Systems in CTAHR.” The co-authors were James Leary (NREM) and Daniel
Jenkins (MBBE), while Associate Dean Ken Grace also presented a talk
'CTAHR Guidelines for Small Unmanned Aerial Systems (sUAS). All Fashion, All the Time!If you didn’t get a chance to see Roots,
FDM’s 50th anniversary Fashion Show, or if you just want to relive the glitter
and glamour, take a look at FDM’s Facebook page,
as well as the page dedicated just to the Fashion Show! You’ll be able to catch up on a lot more that’s going on in the department as
well as watching exciting Star-Advertiser videos of each designer’s collection.
Need more couture? The Historic Costume Collection has its own Facebook page as
well! In BloomHere is the first bloom from the commemorative non-endemic wiliwili tree (Erythrina
abyssinica) planted and dedicated in 2012 to commemorate the 150th anniversary
of the USDA and as a symbol of the connection and collaborations between USDA
and CTAHR. This tree was deemed particularly significant because it’s related
to the culturally and ecologically important wiliwili, another species of Erythrina, which was given hope for
survival after being decimated by the Erythrina gall wasp when researchers from
CTAHR and USDA, partnering with the Hawai‘i Department of Agriculture,
identified a parasite that feeds on the wasp. Another CTAHR connection: Richard
Criley (TPSS, Emeritus) grew the tree himself. New Vet for the IslandsCongratulations to Dr. Ednee Yoshioka, who
just earned her DVM from Colorado State University! Ednee earned her BS in ANSC
in May 2012. She will be coming back to O‘ahu to practice veterinary medicine.
She’s pictured here with Dr. Ashley Stokes, who’s now Assistant Dean for
Veterinary Admissions and Student Services at Col State.
New PublicationsHelp for the HomelessCOF partnered
with the Homeless Programs Office of the Hawai‘i State Department of Human
Services to release the Homeless Service Utilization Report: Hawai‘i 2015.
Authored by Sarah Yuan, Hong Vo, Kristen Gleason, and Javzandulam Azuma, the
report provides the most current data on the utilization patterns of homeless
services in the state during the 2015 fiscal year, based on agency-entered data
in the Homeless Management and Information System (HMIS). The 2015 report
discusses overall patterns of inflow, outflow, and return flow to the homeless service
system and highlights factors associated with changes since last year. This is
important information for legislators, policy-makers, and those who work with
this vulnerable population. For instance, the report explains that the 2015 fiscal year reported the
highest number of people who sought homeless services in the state’s history:
14,954 in total—an increase of 4.7% from last year! Diving for Environmental FundingOne of Kirsten Oleson’s (NREM) former MS
students, Shanna Grafeld, has published her thesis research in a top journal in
the field, Ecological Economics. Co-authors
include Kirsten, as well as Michele Barnes, Marcus Peng, and Catherine Chan,
all also in NREM. The study, “Divers’ willingness to pay for improved
coral reef conditions in Guam: An untapped source of funding for
management and conservation?”
shows that since the diving
industry relies on healthy reefs and can be positively and/or negatively
impacted by ecological change, SCUBA divers strongly prefer
ecosystems with greater ecological health. They especially value being able to
view sharks and turtles. Divers in Guam, the
paper explains, were found to be willing to contribute money to experience good
environmental quality in dive sites, including funding for upland restoration.
Results suggest that divers are an untapped source of funds for conservation—few
policies are in place worldwide collecting fees from divers for coral reef
management, and none in Guam. The results suggest that understanding divers’
preferences and the drivers behind them may assist managers in designing
policies that enlist divers as partners in conservation. Fishing With a (Social) NetMichele Barnes and
PingSun Leung (NREM) are co-authors of a paper published in the
prestigious Proceedings of the National Academy of Science (PNAS) on social dynamics as drivers of
outcomes in environmental systems, an understanding that is critical to
advancing global sustainability. The paper, “Social networks and environmental outcomes,” links comprehensive data on Hawai‘i
longline fishers’ information-sharing networks and observed fishing behaviors
to demonstrate that social networks are tied to actions that can directly
impact ecological health, showing evidence that the propensity for individuals
to share information primarily with others most similar to themselves creates
segregated networks that impede the diffusion of sustainable behaviors. Their
results suggest that having a better understanding of social structures and
bolstering effective communication across segregated networks has the potential
to contribute toward more sustainable environmental outcomes. How and Where to FertilizeFertilizers greatly increase crop yields,
helping to solve problems of hunger. But they also contribute to greenhouse gas
emissions, leading to ecological consequences. Striking a balance between these
considerations is easier now, thanks to the study conducted Kimberly Carlson
(NREM) and her co-authors, published in Global Change Biology, entitled “Spatially
explicit estimates of N2O emissions from croplands suggest climate
mitigation opportunities from improved fertilizer management.” This paper
offers the first sub-national, crop-specific global maps of N2O emissions
associated with synthetic and manure N fertilizer application to crops. It
shows places where significant increases in fertilizer will have relatively
slight impacts on N2O emissions, and other places where relatively small
decreases in application can decrease emissions significantly. In MemoriamMatt StevensonWe report with great sadness the sudden passing of Matt Stevenson (HNFAS), a livestock Extension agent on Kaua‘i. Matt was
a valued member of the CTAHR ‘ohana since 2006, and he will be missed by
coworkers as well as by all the community stakeholders whom he helped. Matt’s obituary, printed in The
Garden Island, is a touching and beautiful tribute to a valued colleague,
family man, and friend. Matt’s
wife has asked that if anyone has work-related stories to share, please send
them to dean@ctahr.hawaii.edu, and they will be forwarded
to her. There will be a memorial
service for Matt on Saturday,
June 4, at Kaua‘i Community College in Lihu‘e
at 3:00 p.m.
A crowdfunding site—not associated with CTAHR—has been established to support
the Stevenson family, and donations are requested in lieu of flowers. If you would like to modify or end your subscription to CTAHR Alumni & Friends, please click here. |