Baseline Assessment of the Coral Reef Habitat in Kaloko-Honokōhau National Historical Park Adjacent to the Proposed Honokohau Harbor Expansion and Development, Kona Kai Ola, 2006-2007
| dc.contributor.author | Weijerman, Mariska | |
| dc.contributor.author | Beavers, Sallie | |
| dc.contributor.author | Marrack, Lisa | |
| dc.contributor.author | Most, Rebecca | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2014-12-12T01:05:12Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2014-12-12T01:05:12Z | |
| dc.date.issued | 2014-06 | |
| dc.description | Reports were scanned in black and white at a resolution of 600 dots per inch and were converted to text using Adobe Paper Capture Plug-in. | |
| dc.description.abstract | Coral reefs are ecologically and economically important ecosystems, but highly susceptible to impacts of coastal development and, therefore, indicative of environmental degradation. A detrimental impact of coastal development is the stimulation of a benthic community shift to algal dominance from coral dominance. To identify reef degradation before it has advanced too far to be readily reversed, it is important that a sound monitoring program is initiated and maintained, and that procedures are in place to rapidly take mitigation measures if coral-reef condition metrics indicate negative change. In 2006, at the southern boundary of Kaloko-Honokōhau National Historical Park, 530 acres of public land were proposed to be developed into a mixed-use development that includes an almost 300% expansion of the existing Honokohau Small Boat Harbor. This proposed large-scale development has the potential to affect cultural and natural resources in Kaloko-Honokōhau NHP. A baseline study of the reefs in the vicinity of Honokohau Harbor was undertaken in order to generate a reliable and comprehensive assessment of the current (pre-harbor expansion) condition of the benthic communities within the Park. The study is comprised of three coral reef areas close to the Honokohau Small Boat Harbor and two reference sites presumed to be unaffected by onshore development. An overview of the current state of the benthic habitat for each site is presented, focusing on coral cover, algal cover, species composition, coral health, and macro-invertebrate abundance. Average coral cover across all sites was 47.4% +/- 6.4 SD and macroalgae were virtually absent (<0.5%). Coral cover at the five sites ranged between 31% and 58%, which is well within the range typically found on the west coast of Hawai'i. Dominant macroinvertebrates were large urchins, which are important herbivores. Additionally, individual coral colonies were identified to monitor coral mortality. A similar study is being conducted at the northern boundary of the Park where a residential development and a golf course are under construction. The results of both studies will be comparable, and provide baseline useful in monitoring for potential impacts of these nearshore developments. | |
| dc.description.sponsorship | This study was funded by the National Park Service under Task Agreement # J8320060008 through the Hawaii-Pacific Islands Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit, Cooperative Agreement #H8080040012. We thank I. Williams, E. Brown, and W. J. Miller for their assistance with sampling design and statistics. We are grateful to I. Williams, DAR; E. Grossman, USGS; K. Knee and M. Parsons for letting us use their data. We thank R. Gmirkin and K. Wong for assistance in the field work and D. Duffy for his support. We thank two peer-reviewers for their review and comments. This work was performed under Hawaii Division of Aquatic Resources Special Activity Permit number PRO-2006-84 and PRO-2007-16. Mention of trade names or commercial products in this report does not constitute endorsement or recommendation by the National Park Service or the University of Hawaii. | |
| dc.identifier.citation | Weijerman M, Beavers S, Marrack L, Most R. 2014. Baseline assessment of the coral reef habitat in Kaloko-Honokōhau National Historical Park adjacent to the proposed Honokohau Harbor expansion and development, Kona Kai Ola, 2006-2007. Honolulu (HI): Pacific Cooperative Studies Unit, University of Hawaii at Manoa. Technical Report, 189. 52 pages. | |
| dc.identifier.uri | http://hdl.handle.net/10125/34414 | |
| dc.language.iso | en-US | |
| dc.publisher | Pacific Cooperative Studies Unit, University of Hawaii at Manoa | |
| dc.relation.ispartofseries | Technical Report | |
| dc.relation.ispartofseries | 189 | |
| dc.rights | CC0 1.0 Universal | |
| dc.rights.uri | http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/ | |
| dc.subject.lcsh | Kaloko-Honokohau National Historical Park (Hawaii) | |
| dc.subject.lcsh | Coral reef ecology -- Hawaii -- Hawaii Island. | |
| dc.subject.lcsh | Coral reefs and islands -- Monitoring -- Hawaii -- Hawaii Island. | |
| dc.subject.lcsh | Benthos -- Monitoring -- Hawaii -- Hawaii Island. | |
| dc.title | Baseline Assessment of the Coral Reef Habitat in Kaloko-Honokōhau National Historical Park Adjacent to the Proposed Honokohau Harbor Expansion and Development, Kona Kai Ola, 2006-2007 | |
| dc.type | Report | |
| dc.type.dcmi | Text |