Robert E. Bourke is an environmental scientist with over four decades of experience in Hawaii. Trained as a zoologist and fisheries biologist (Oregon State, 1973) Bob has lived and worked in Hawaii since 1975 and obtained a MS degree at the University of Hawaii in 1983.

Bob’s initial work as an aquarist (Scripps, Steinhart, Sea Life Park) shaped his view of ecosystems as physical entities that could be manipulated or managed to improve their character, however, manipulating the physical environment to improve the biological environment requires a deep understanding of the rules that govern ecosystems.