A previously undocumented oyster species has been recognized for the first time in Â鶹´«Ã½ by a team of students and faculty at the in a collaborative project with community partners.
The work was done as part of a Course-based Undergraduate Research Experience, commonly called a CURE project, by a genetics class with lab work () taught by Jolene Sutton, assistant professor of biology at UH Hilo. CURE projects are large-scale, where an entire class works together to tackle a single research question.
“We brought the oysters into the class and the students did everything from start to finish,” said Sutton. “They did the DNA extraction, amplified a gene that¡¯s typically used for DNA barcoding, did the analysis and then wrote a report on what they found.”
Benefits of the discovery
The genetic study by UH Hilo students expands the known range of the western Pacific Ostrea equestris, a species previously documented in China, Japan and New Zealand, by providing the first verification of its occurrence in Â鶹´«Ã½. The discovery has been .
The students¡¯ findings may prove useful for the state¡¯s aquaculture industry.
“This task of identifying the different oysters in Â鶹´«Ã½ offers some potential to diversify the markets,” explained Sutton. “This could be something that is marketable for food, since people do eat the Ostrea species. If this is a species that grows really well and is already here, maybe this is a good option for aquaculture purposes.”
Sutton¡¯s co-authors on the paper include students Keinan Agonias, Nicole Antonio, Brandi Bautista, Riley Cabarloc, Maata Fakasieiki, Noreen Aura Mae Gonong, Torey Ramangmou, Lavin Uehara and Jade Wong; two graduate student teaching assistants Jared Nishimoto and Jeremy Schrader; Maria Haws, director of the UH Hilo , and colleagues Marni Rem-McGeachy, Hope Helg, Daniel Wilkie and David Littrell; and Rhiannon Chandler, executive director of .
—By Leah Sherwood, a graduate student in the tropical conservation biology and environmental science program at UH Hilo