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BYUH Collaborates With BYU for Papua New Guinea Biology Internship

Professors David Bybee of Brigham Young University Hawaii [pictured at left with student Daniel Kaonohi] and Michael Whiting of Brigham Young University in Provo joined forces this past summer to take a group of biology students from both institutions to Papua New Guinea, a remote and relatively unstudied region of the southwest pacific. "We decided that we could get a collaboration going," explained Bybee, "where Whiting, an entomologist, would do the rain forest work, I, a marine biologist, would do the coral reef work and the students we brought with us would get valuable field work experience in both terrestrial and marine environments."

During the three–week expedition between July 17 and August 6, Whiting was in search of a new insect order, while Bybee hoped to expand his eight–years of Hawaii–based research "on this little, obscure marine invertebrate critter that lives on coral reefs. . ." into a world–wide study. Commonly called a feather duster [pictured at right], "it's actually a marine polychaete tube worm that looks similar to a flower. . ." explained Bybee. Previously, there has been no record of the organism in Papua New Guinea. After finding some on a previous trip, Bybee's purpose on this trip was to collect several samples and study the morphology or physical characteristics and the DNA. Using this data, Bybee and his students hope to determine if these specimens are new species and how they are related to members of the group found in other parts of the world, a field of study called systematics.

The two BYUH biology students Bybee took along each had their own projects as well, allowing them to get a head start on their senior research project by doing field experiments in PNG. "My project was to study which invertebrates; polychaetes, crustations, mollusks, etc. . .are attracted to different spectrums of light in the marine environment. To do this I set up light traps in the ocean at night with different colors of light in them," said Daniel Kaonohi [pictured at left], BYUH biology major from Kaneohe, Hawaii, "It's pretty exciting to be able to start on it the summer before because I'm now ahead of schedule. My senior project will be far enough along that I can spend more time focusing on the finer details and even do more research if I need to."

Certain international travel restrictions prompted fellow student, Keone Young [pictured at right], to develop the topic for his research project. "Many marine biologists who work abroad collect soft bodied specimens and preserve them in formaldehyde right there on the spot. It's an excellent preservative that prevents animals from decaying before the biologists get back to their labs. Due to recently increased security restrictions, most airports won't let you take formaldehyde on the plane anymore. It has also become very hard to buy in foreign countries, so they have to find another option. Ethanol, another preservative, is pretty readily available," Young explained. "The problem with ethanol is that when you use it on polychaete worms or other soft bodied animals it just sucks the water right out of [them] and sometimes can shrivel the body beyond recognition, making species identification and further research almost impossible."

"The main goal of my project was to test different dilutions or concentrations of ethanol on the specimens we collected so that we could preserve them without destroying them," said Young.

Though the group did set up a small, make–shift lab on sight, they still needed to get the specimens back to Hawaii to do further study. Young explained, "The samples are still in Utah. They went with professor Mike Whiting [to] Provo. . .[W]hen we get them here. . . that's where a lot more of the learning is going to come in. . .when we start. . .here under the microscope. . .That's why the preservation came into play. . .because if we can't even preserve [the samples] to get here then we [won't] be able to study [them]."

Kaonohi and Young got down and dirty while learning field research skills, searching through the rainforest and intertidal zone, as well as dives on coral reefs and shipwrecks. "I hand–picked them because I knew they'd be really good in the water," said Bybee, "and because they are kind–of young in the program. They are both Sophomores trying to figure out if they want to go pre–professional, or into graduate school in Biology, and they're just trying to get a little bit of experience and sink their teeth into Biology before they really have to make that decision." 

BYUH Student Daniel Kaonohi and Professor David Bybee Collect Feather Dusters
This field experience is only the first step in a three–year program. Bybee hopes to send Kaonohi and Young, after developing field experience and BYU contacts, to learn DNA analysis at Michael Whiting's lab of molecular systematics in Provo next summer. The third and final step of the program is to put the results of the field and lab work together into a peer–reviewed publication and present it at a scientific meeting. "[It's] a big opportunity to be published because that's relatively rare as an undergrad," said Kaonohi. Young was extremely grateful for the opportunity. "That's the big thing about BYU–Hawaii. . . the opportunities to do field research," he said. "A lot of schools don't necessarily have that so [it's] a real benefit here. It really helped with the learning. A lot of things you can't really learn unless you're experiencing it."

Another reason the two were chosen for the opportunity was their Hawaiian decent. Professor Whiting received a grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF), part of which was to be used to benefit students of under–represented groups in science. Hawaiians and all Pacific islanders fit the bill. "BYU–Hawaii generously agreed to fund our students," said Bybee, "with the understanding that these students in phase two and three will be fully–funded by [the] National Science Foundation. Success this time around could also mean much more funding from NSF for future undergraduate research and more collaboration with BYU."

BYUH Biology Students Keone Young and Daniel Kaonohi
"It was a really good forging of collaboration between the Hawaii and Provo campuses, which, surprisingly, there doesn't seem to be much of," Bybee explained. They were also able to utilize a lot of BYUH alumni connections while in PNG. James Steifvater, a BYUH alumnus who recently completed his master's degree at the University of Hawaii in Pacific Island Studies specializing in Papua New Guinea, and his father–in–law, Michael Bruder, the branch president in Port Moresby, served as guides. Other BYUH alumni contacts included Ailine Legget of New Britain, and Larry, Shane, and Colleen Clark of New Ireland, both outer islands of Papua New Guinea. Each of the two families run lodges where the research team stayed, and each is the only group of Latter–day Saints on their respective island. 

Kaonohi was extremely grateful for the opportunity. "To be able to do that as an undergrad was a great experience. Being able to just go out and do, not only marine research, but to go out and learn something about entomology [and] insect gathering techniques. . .was probably a once–in–a–lifetime opportunity, especially for a local kid from Hawaii, like me."

Being able to work with not only a BYU entomology professor, but his graduate students as well, gave the two BYUH undergraduate students a diversified and invaluable learning experience. "It was really good," said Young, "cause we had a lot of top researchers there; people with their master's and PhD's that were willing to teach you and show you what to do." Despite their different backgrounds and cultures, Young and Kaonohi enjoyed being with and learning from the BYU students and their enthusiasm for entomology. "We got to learn a lot from those guys being in the field with the bugs, and they were all excited to show us these different bugs that they were able to find and explain. . .because that's their specialty, entomology." 

BYU also provided a university photographer, Mark Philbrick, while BYUH supplied a student videographer, Ryan Dean, BYUH international business management major and former film studies student. "Everything was so beautiful. It wasn't hard to find good shots around. . .I learned a lot from Mark, the photographer: how to set up your shot, what kinds of things to look for, seeing your background and foreground." Dean gained a lot of experience shooting underwater he hadn't had before, skills he is now teaching other BYUH students interested in camera work.

As a marine biologist, one of the things Bybee had hoped was "that [his students] would gain a deeper appreciation for the Lord's creations." Young explained how careful they had to be: "We learned how to do our best, to get samples out of the reef without destroying it. . .I think the biggest thing was learning how to collect the samples, how to peel open the tubes, and preserve the [tubeworms]."

Alumni Guides Clark and Stiefrater with BYUH team: Young, Kaonohi, Dean, and Bybee

Kaonohi also recalled experiences of collection while preserving: "I think one of the things we learned with Dave was to keep the reef as natural as possible. If we were looking for fan worms, and there were some beautiful ones, but they weren't ones that you could grab freely, we didn't take them even though it might have been the most beautiful specimen we've seen. You just couldn't touch it because he taught us not just respect for the water or the reef, but for the whole ecology of the ocean. . .When scuba diving, it's all hand signals, and he'd give us that ‘No, no, no!' the same one your mom gives you." Bybee really enjoyed their excited reactions, "You don't know what they are thinking in the moment because you're down there and you can't talk but after the dive you come up and. . .start talking about their impressions, what they saw, and even what they felt."

BYUH Research Team: Keone Young, Daniel Kaonohi, and Professor David Bybee
"Day in and day out," explained Kaonohi, "we would wake up at five o'clock in the morning to check the light traps and we wouldn't go to bed until twelve. We'd be working all day. . .it was pretty intense. I loved it. After. . .I wish I could have done more. . .worked more, but time was so limited. . . [During] the day, we were exhausted but Dave was out there pushing us. He was a real good motivator."

"The fun [experiences] were the night hikes, looking for bugs," said Young. "We'd use these big spotlights and the bugs stood out a little bit more because their camouflage is down when it's dark. We were able to find some huge stick bugs, about six inches, and they had dark armor plates. . .It was really neat."

Bybee wanted to give his students some hands–on experience and skills to bring their studies to life, instead of just staring at an expensive textbook and stressing about tests. He also hoped to open them up to the possibilities and excitement of science, that it's not just for "nerdy people," and to show them that there are more avenues than just dental school. Both of Bybee's students gained all that and more. Young, who is thinking about going into marine biology, said, "I'm grateful for everyone who made it possible. . .it was a fairly pricey trip but it was well–worth it. We got to learn a lot."

"So, we have plans now to continue developing this collaboration with BYU, sharing biology students and resources between the Hawaii and Provo campuses," said Bybee, "and we hope that this is a long term deal. There are several professors at BYU in Provo that are interested in our small but diverse pool of students."

-Photos by Mark Philbrick, BYU Photo

-Feather Duster Photo by David Bybee