ʻIolani School senior Maddux Springer graduates Saturday with $10,000 in his pocket. He won an award for his study of the relationship between high wastewater levels and fatal tumors in green sea turtles in Kāneʻohe Bay.
"So essentially, I was finding an association between wastewater and fibropapillomatosis through the pathway of wastewater to algae, algae to invasive algae, invasive algae to higher levels of arginine stored in their tissue, and higher levels of arginine consumed by the green sea turtles that eat these higher levels of invasive algae," he said.
His research was awarded the Peggy Scripps Award for Science Communication at the Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair in Los Angeles. Springer also won first place in the animal science category after competing alongside nearly 2,000 global entries.
"I was really excited because I knew that at that moment that the turtles, they're going to get the awareness that they really need in order to improve as a species, in order for their mortality rate to decrease, in order for them to be able to perpetuate into the future," Springer told HPR.
He said he wants to spread awareness of this issue and plans to share his findings with Gov. Josh Green.
Springer plans to attend the University of Oregon.
This interview aired on The Conversation on May 29, 2024. The Conversation airs weekdays at 11 a.m. on HPR-1.
