UH News, first published March 20, 2025

Dani Bartz, a PhD candidate in the Marine Biology Graduate Program at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, earned the first place award for Best Early Career Researcher Talk at the 2nd Australian and New Zealand Environmental DNA Conference. The conference, hosted by the Southern eDNA Society, took place in Wellington, New Zealand in February 2025.

Bartz’s presentation, “Testing the Waters: An Interdisciplinary Assessment of Current and Historical Shark Nursery Habitat in Hilo Bay, Hawaiʻi,” impressed the judges with its innovative approach to studying shark populations using environmental DNA and local ecological knowledge.

“It was an incredible honor to receive this award and represent UH Mānoa on an international stage,” Bartz said. “This recognition validates the hard work and interdisciplinary approach we’ve taken to understand and protect these vital shark nursery habitats.”

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