Iolani student’s research on sea turtles wins top prize at global science fair

By Rick Quan

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    HAWAII (KITV) — A senior at Iolani School was among the top winners in the world’s largest international high school science competition. His project looked into why endangered green sea turtles in Kaneohe Bay are being stricken by a life-threatening disease.

During the pandemic, Maddux Springer spent so much time freediving in Kaneohe Bay, he got to know and recognize the green sea turtles that live there.

“I identified every one that I saw, gave them names, and they became my friends, so to speak,” Springer said.

But he also began to notice many turtles had tumors growing on their bodies.

“I Googled and I searched and I couldn’t find why this was happening. So after that, I emailed my research teacher at Iolani, Dr. Yvonne Chen, and I reached out to a lot of UH professors and one responded to me. And we kind of collaborated and that’s how this project got underway,” he said.

Springer’s two and a half years of research led him to the conclusion that Hawaii’s large number of cesspools are affecting the algae that turtles are eating, which leads to them coming down with a certain type of cancer.

“And this is important because, if these turtles keep getting this disease, it will cause population decline to an already struggling species. And on top of that, turtles are considered a keystone species. So like, for example, the turtles in Kaneohe Bay, they eat all the algae that smothers the corals and makes it so that the corals bleach because it cannot get sunlight. So if we don’t have the turtles than the corals will bleach at a higher rate. And so it really affects our entire ecosystem if this one species declines,” he explained.

Last week at the Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair in Los Angeles, Springer’s work on green sea turtles took first place in its category. He won $10,000. But Springer says he didn’t do it for the money.

“My goal is just to help the turtles. And I eventually got to this point because my research did show that the turtles are suffering and that something needs to be done about this. So I don’t really like to think of it as a win for myself but a win for the environment and a win for our beloved green sea turtles,” he said.

Maddux now looks to have his work published and use it to show state legislators how cesspools are affecting the health of sea turtles. In the fall, he’ll be majoring in marine biology at the University of Oregon, but plans to return to a way to get his Ph.D. He hopes to inspire other people both young and old to get involved.

“You don’t have as many scientists as we should and as we need to for all the issues from global warming and climate change to pollution. We need more people working on these issues, or else humanity is going to face a grim future. And I really encourage people to get into this. It’s not just for the scientists and the Ph.D.s out there, it’s for everyone. Research is a universal topic and everyone really needs to get involved for change to be made,” Springer said.

Thanks to his intelligence and compassion, this 18 year old is not just bringing hope to our future but his friends in Kaneohe Bay.

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