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Robert H.. Richmond, Ph.D.
Research Professor |
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University of Hawaii at Manoa
Kewalo Marine Laboratory
Kewalo Marine Laboratory
41 Ahui Street
Honolulu, HI 96813
USA |
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EXPERTISE: |
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Coral reef conservation biology
Coral reef ecology
Ecotoxicology
Biomarkers
Coral reef management
Policy development
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BIOGRAPHY |
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Robert Richmond has been involved in coral reef conservation efforts for many years, using a combination of research, educational and policy-oriented activities. He has spent much of his career in the Pacific Islands, where he has managed many large government-sponsored research and conservation projects related to the health of coral reefs. Richmond believes that effective solutions to regional problems in coral reef management can only be implemented with buy-in and participation from the local communities. He has provided training opportunities to Pacific Islanders, educational outreach to stakeholders and technical support for the Pacific Islands through traditional and elected leaders and community-based groups.
Richmond's recent research has documented how natural coral reef recovery in the Pacific Islands (Guam, Palau, Pohnpei and Yap) is compromised by degraded water quality. Richmond and his colleagues developed functional models to measure sediment and turbidity levels in watershed discharges and use these to predict the distances over which key biological functions are affected in corals. Through an interdisciplinary approach that includes the physical, biological and social sciences, Richmond has spearheaded and coordinated efforts to apply emerging biomarker technology to addressing the needs of the coral reef managers and the stakeholders they serve. His research demonstrates that biomarkers can be used to distinguish among stress responses in corals at the cellular level. Like the switches on a circuit breaker, it is possible to identify specific gene products that are turned on in response to specific stressors.
Richmond was associated with the University of Guam Marine Laboratory as a professor of marine biology from 1986 to 2004. In 2004, he moved to the Kewalo Marine Laboratory at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, where he began to set up a coral reef ecotoxicology facility with the capabilities to refine development of biomarker and protein assays. He has also been a member of the graduate faculty of the University of Hawaii Zoology Department since 1987. |
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