[3] His research focuses on understanding the spatial and temporal dynamics of marine ecosystems with an emphasis on high tropic levels.
In the early 1980s Polovina was part of a multi-disciplinary team studying the coral reef ecosystem at French Frigate Shoals in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands.
In order to describe the energy flow of the coral reef ecosystem Polovina developed the Ecopath Model.
[4] Polovina had used electronic tags and remotely-sensed oceanographic data to understand how large pelagic animals use oceanic habitats.
[5] This work led to identifying the trans-Pacific Transition Zone Chlorophyll Front (TZCF) as important Pacific Ocean mid-latitude forage and migration habitat.