Acropora in Hawaii. Part 2. Zoogeography

Abstract

Acropora was present in Hawaii during the Miocene but disappeared from the geological record during the Pleistocene. In the present (Holocene), Acropora appears to be in the process of recolonizing the archipelago. Three species have been found, all with centers of distribution in the middle of the chain at French Frigate Shoals. The most likely source of the Acropora recolonizing Hawaii is Johnston Island by way of the subtropical countercurrent. Few other species of coral in Hawaii were extirpated during the Pleistocene. Thus the history of Acropora in the archipelago may not be representative of shallow-water marine forms in general. Nevertheless, the record of Acropora in Hawaii supports the theory that distributional discontinuities between many Pacific Island coral reef faunas are due to the net product of local extinction and recolonization.