Yuko is a Ph.D. student in Geography and the Coral Reef Ecology Laboratory at the Hawai‘i Institute of Marine Biology. Her research interests include dynamics of reef community assemblages in human-impacted seascapes, and understanding coral reef recovery processes from land-based pollution and sedimentation. Yuko has been a scientific diver and underwater photographer since the early 1990s, exploring a variety of regions including the Main and Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, Japan, Indonesia, Canada, California, Florida Keys, and beyond. She strives to contribute ecological information to the public for optimal stewardship of marine resources and the environment through her research, education, and photography.

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