Status of Coral reefs in the Hawaiian archipelago

Abstract

As one of the most isolated archipelagos in the world, Hawaii possesses some of the highest levels of marine endemic species in the world. This chain of islands stretches for more than 2,500 km from the island of Hawaii in the southeast to Kure Atoll (the world's highest latitude atoll) in the northwest. The archipelago consists of two regions: the main Hawaiian Islands (MHI) made up of populated, high volcanic islands; and the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands (NWHI) consisting of mostly uninhabited atolls and banks. Hawaii's coral reefs, which have recently been valued at US$10 billion, are under pressure from 1.2 million residents (more than70% live on Oahu) and nearly 7 million tourists each year. A number of urban areas and popular tourist destinations have suffered from land-based sources of pollution, overfishing, recreational overuse, and alien species. Despite these anthropogenic stressors, many of Hawaii's coral reefs, particularly the remote ones, are still in fair to good condition. The reefs of the NWHI represent almost undamaged coral reef ecosystems with abundant and large apex predators, due mostly to their isolation. The reefs also have an extremely high proportion of endemic species across many taxa, and virtually no impacts from alien species. The principal stresses to the reef ecosystems of the NWHI are coral bleaching and marine debris. In a major multi-agency effort to protect this region more efficiently, more than 470 metric tons of marine debris, primarily derelict fishing gear, have been removed from the reefs and beaches of the NWHI since 1996. The NWHI are an important nesting, and breeding site for many endangered and threatened species. In recent years, increased U.S. Federal funding and expanded partnerships among federal and state agencies, academia, and non-governmental organisations have greatly enhanced monitoring, mapping, and research efforts leading to a better understanding of the spatial and temporal dynamics of Hawaiian reefs. These partnerships have helped to guide management decisions.