Aloha everyone!
My name is Amanda and I am a graduate student at the University of Hawaii at Manoa.
I created this space so that I could share my experience as a marine biologist in Hawaii and have a friendly environment for others to share their experiences with all of us.
There are currently many issues that Hawaiian reefs are facing today. I hope to be able to share some of the problems that you hear about in the news or on the radio and provide more details. I will talk about some of the current research going on from various labs at UH Manoa and the Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology (HIMB). And I also want to answer questions about any of these issues and advertise events that get the community involved with preserving (or simply enjoying) our reefs.
I do not want this blog to be about me. I want as many people who love the ocean to post and send pictures and talk about their experiences, research or community involvement.
So....PLEASE email me/post anytime with any questions, comments, pictures, or stories.
But before I really get started with talking about some of the issues facing Hawaii, I will post some pictures of healthy, beautiful reefs across the Hawaiian islands for inspiration.
Here's one for the road
Thanks!
Aloha Dr. Amanda!!
ReplyDeleteWhat would you say are the most pressing problems the Hawaiian coral reefs are facing today?
Lei
Lei,
ReplyDeleteThank you for your question!
Overfishing, extensive development along coastal shorelines, and global climate change are among the most pressing problems facing Hawaii's reefs. These are the same problems facing coral reefs around the world.
Overfishing decreases fish populations that keep coral competitors at bay, for example macroalgae. Algae grows very fast and can smother slow growing coral.
Coastal development increases the amount of sediment, chemicals, and wastewater that is released into the ocean. Too much sediment can also smother corals, while chemical and wastewater runoff can contain harmful bacteria or pollutants.
Global climate change is a threat because slow growing corals may not be able to adapt quickly enough to deal with changing environmental conditions.
These issues have other consequences for coral reefs, such as the emergence of coral disease.
These are just simple answers to big problems. I hope we can discuss each of these issues with more detail in later posts.