Shayle Matsuda
Shayle is a graduate student working on a PhD candidate in Marine Biology at the University of Hawai’i at Manoa in the Gates Coral Lab. I met Shayle in 2014 (I think) participating in a science communication workshop/competition (which, if I remember correctly, he won).
Shayle’s bio from the lab website
“I use technology and biology in my research to understand what will happen to corals under future climate conditions and to develop solutions to help them survive into the future. My work centers around coral symbioses – the complex partnerships between corals the algae and bacteria that live within their tissues. I use 3D-imaging and DNA sequencing to map microenvironments within colonies with symbionts and stress responses, and am currently investigating the prospect of increasing thermal tolerance by forming new symbioses with more thermally tolerant symbionts.”
Shayle was interviewed on the Ologies podcast Cnidariology (corals) episode about…
“Will changing your sunscreen save coral reefs? What even IS a coral? Where do they grow and what do they eat and why are they so pretty? Is it reefs or reeves? The wonderful and charming coral biologist and cnidariologist Shayle Matsuda of the Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology/UH Mānoa takes time out of his busy schedule during a coral spawning event to chat about how magical and beautiful coral can be and why reef health is important. Also: whether or not “Finding Nemo” got coral right, making transitions during grad school, and how to pursue your ambitions while being bravely authentic. He’ll quickly become you favorite cnidariologist.”
Listen to Shayle’s interview here
Read Shayle’s blog post describing the process of studying coral spawning (at night… in a small boat… with lots of buckets!)