Northwest Hawaiian Islands

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Northwest Hawaiian Islands
Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument
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Northwest Hawaiian Islands
Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument
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The Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument

• Created by President Bush in 2006
• Encompasses 137,797 square miles of the Pacific
  Ocean (105,564 square nautical miles) - an area
  larger than all the country's national parks
  combined.

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The Monument is part of your natural heritage!

• The monument benefits from the most stringent
  environmental protection and ongoing scientific
  research
• The extensive coral reefs found in
  Papahanaumokuakea - truly the rainforests of the
  sea - are home to over 7,000 marine species!
• It is a place of great cultural significance to
  the Hawaiian people

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Northwestern Hawaiian Islands

• They are part of the Hawaiian Ridge-Emperor
  Seamounts chain.
• The chain extends
• some 3,700 miles
• from the island of
• Hawaii to the Aleutian
• Trench off the coast of
• Siberia.

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Bathymetric Profile of Hawaiian Emperor Chain
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Home to 7000 marine species
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Bird Nesting Sites
Brown Noddie
Laysan duck
Red footed boobie
Laysan finch
Fairy Tern
Laysan albatross
Sooty tern
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Habitats
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Fish in NWHI (low endemism)
Synchiropus kinmeiensis
Epigonius devaneyi
Generalized pictures
Scorpaenopsis pluralis
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Niihau
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Laysan Island
hypersaline lake (120-140o/oo)
Large bird rookery and guano mining In 1857,
reported 800,000 birds.
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Pearl Hermes Atoll
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Midway Atoll
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Kure Atoll

• Kure Atoll is the farthest island group from
  Honolulu (about 1,400 miles).  
• The atoll is comprised of a circular reef 5 miles
  in diameter and the largest island (Green in
  photo above) is only 1.5 miles long. 
• Mined for guano (bird manure) by Australian Copra
  Guano Ltd. from 1876 until 1936. 

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Threats to NWHI

• Human Impact
• invasive species,
• bottom fishing
• lobster trap fishing
• ship-based pollution
• ship strike risks
• marine debris
• research diving
• research equipment installation
• wildlife sacrifice for research

• Global Warming
• increased ultraviolet radiation
• ocean acidification
• ocean temperature anomalies relevant to disease
  outbreaks and coral bleaching
• sea level rise.

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Invasive Terrestrial Species
Rats (eradicated on some islands)
Verbesina encelioidesGolden crown beard
Cenchrus echinatus
Pheidole megacephala big-headed ants
Schistocerca grasshopper
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Invasive Marine Species
Christmas tree hydroid
Snowflake coral
Balanus reticulatus
Hypnea
Orange striped sea anemone
Blue lined snapper
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Documented distribution of Carijoa riisei and
Hypnea musciformisin the Northwestern Hawaiian
Islands and Main Hawaiian Islands.
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Documented distribution of nonindigenous and
invasive species in the NWHI
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Ship Wrecks
Casitas 2005
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Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge
Jet fuel storage tank
Midway Atoll (lead)
Black plastic sheet
Midway Atoll (lead)
Midway Atoll (jet fuel spill)
Droop wing in albatross chick
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Laysan Island
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Bits and pieces of plastic are collected at sea
and deposited on the Laysan Lake shoreline
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Albatross Chick
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Even in the most remote places on earth

• Marine debris piles up
• The Northwest Hawaiian Islands are part of the
  most isolated island chain in the world but
• Ocean currents can carry debris for thousands of
  miles and
• Plastic debris can last for decades!

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Marine Debris Entanglement