Oahu native and BYU biology graduate student Kalai Ellis, the lead student researcher on the reef imaging project, has family ties on the Hawaiian island of Molokai, where his great grandmother was a community activist and wise kupuna (elder). On Molokai, a fragile reef is at risk, buried by sediment that is washing down from the land, smothering corals and killing fish. For generations, the reef has fed and protected residents of Molokai, who understand and revere the connections between the land (mauka) and ocean (makai). Faced with sediment-covered beaches, invasive species and bleached and dying coral reefs, they reached out to Brigham Young University biologists to gather data and propose solutions.