Juvenile Fish Habitat Associations: The Integration of Ecological Surveys, Remote Sensing Technology, and Local Knowledge to Inform Community-Based Fisheries Management in Hā‘ena, Kaua‘i
Juvenile Fish Habitat Associations: The Integration of Ecological Surveys, Remote Sensing Technology, and Local Knowledge to Inform Community-Based Fisheries Management in Hā‘ena, Kaua‘i
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2015-05
Authors
Goodell, Jennifer
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[Honolulu] : [University of Hawaii at Manoa], [May 2015]
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Nearshore fish populations are in decline in the main Hawaiian islands, and in recent years there has been greater emphasis on the value of ecosystem-based local management. This project integrates multiple knowledge sources to provide a basis for effective community-based resource management in a rural Hawaiian community. This study tests the hypothesis that juvenile reef fish are significantly influenced by seascape variables, such as composition of surrounding habitat types. Set in the context of existing local knowledge of nearshore resources, nursery habitats for juvenile reef fishes – areas of particular ecological value for sustaining fisheries resources – are assessed in a quantitative manner, supplementing the information upon which management initiatives were based. To better understand underlying ecological patterns and processes, I conducted fine-scale in situ ecological surveys in addition to applying a spatiallyexplicit approach based on detailed benthic habitat maps produced using GIS and remote sensing methods. Canonical correspondence analyses were used to assess fish-habitat relationships, and habitat metrics were found to be influential on juvenile reef fish abundances. Depth, macroalgal cover, coral cover, and distance to shore emerged as primary influential factors. Some fish species were more influenced than others by seascape factors. Habitat associations of two important food resource species in the study area of Hāʻena, Kauaʻi, the convict tang (Acanthurus triostegus) and the redlip parrotfish (Scarus rubroviolaceus), were identified, providing spatial distribution information valuable for resource management planning. This quantitative ecological study played an important role in the successful approval of the Hāʻena fishery management plan by the state governing agency. An ecosystem-based management approach, informed by multiple knowledge sources, will help to ensure the sustainability of fisheries and maintain the societal benefits provided by the ecosystem.
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M.S. University of Hawaii at Manoa 2015.
Includes bibliographical references.
Includes bibliographical references.
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Theses for the degree of Master of Science (University of Hawaii at Manoa). Marine Biology
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