This isn't your ordinary invasion. It doesn't come with military might or green-skinned pseudo humans with overgrown almond eyes. There is no aircraft with flashing lights landing in the yard to the supernal soundtrack of do-do-do-do. In fact, there's almost no telling anything's there at all. This invasion, although alien, is of an earthly nature, and is—as the most dangerous invasions are—stealthy and underhanded. Hawai'i residents have long been under the false impression that the islands' reefs are in good working order. But thanks to a devoted pack of scientists and researchers who spend their lives (cynicism be damned) discovering what's wrong with the world, there is increasing evidence that proves all is not well. While folks fret over a coquí frog stampede and a Salvinia overgrowth that rivals the speed of sound, equally destructive forces are at work beneath the surface of the ocean—our ocean. According to the State of Hawai'i Aquatic Invasive Species Management Plan, which was drafted last year by the Department of Land and Natural Resources, Division of Aquatic Resources, marine invaders—algae, invertebrates, fish and disease-causing organisms—are starting to choke the life out of Hawai'i's coral reef ecosystem. The bad news is, there isn't much to be done about it. At least not yet. Despite scientists' best efforts to draft a battle plan that would keep the invaders from staging an all out coup on the native Hawaiian coral reefs, it looks like they'll be forced to surrender. The threats to the coral reef are out of control. More than 287 known alien marine species are in Hawai'i, and the number continues to grow as invaders arrive on the hulls of large commercial ships, foreign fishing vessels and cruise ships. Alien algae are thriving, encroaching on the coral territories of native algal species that are struggling to stay alive. Algal pests dominate Kane'ohe Bay and O'ahu's south shore, as well as the south shores of Maui, Moloka'i and Kaua'i. The orange keyhole sponge is smothering native coral species in Pearl Harbor, Honolulu Harbor, Wiliwili Harbor, Port Allen and Kane'ohe Bay. Snowflake coral is killing native black coral, the foundation of a $30 million-a-year industry. Mangroves, pickleweed and alien mullet are overtaking and harming the restoration of native fish ponds on Kaua'i, O'ahu, Moloka'i and Hawai'i Island. And while Hawaiian reefs haven't yet felt the damaging human impact that Western Atlantic reefs have suffered over the past couple of centuries, they are not immune to the threat. Steve Coles, a Bishop Museum research zoologist, has spent the last year studying the orange keyhole sponge, a recently discovered invasive species indigenous to the Philippines. He—along with his assistants, Holly Bolick and Ken Loengenecker—spends his time determining just how bad the invasion is, and whether anything can be done to reverse, or at least halt, the spread of the sponge. Since it was first discovered in 1996 in Pearl Harbor, it has progressively crept over the coral reef in Kane'ohe Bay, where Coles conducts most of his research. His preliminary conclu-sions after a year of research are sobering. "I'm very, very skeptical that there is any hope of reversing the damage," he says. "We've seen what's happened with the gracilaria invasion in Waikiki. They've removed how many tons—and counting. And it's still not making a dent." Coles' team of divers spends entire days underwater armed with toothbrushes and other tools, removing chunks of the sponge as samples. They're hoping to learn the sponge's habits: how fast it spreads, what kills it, whether it can be manually removed from the ocean without harming native species. So far, the only thing they know for certain is that it's there. They'll know more by the end of this year, says Coles. But what's a foreign sponge here and there? If it were just about a sponge, there might not be such cause for alarm. But with hundreds of alien species setting up house just offshore, the implications of the ongoing invasion are serious, says Kristine Davis, program director for the Hawai'i Coral Reef Initiative Research Program (HCRI-RP), a grant-giving organization that operates in conjunction with the University of Hawai'i and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). HCRI-RP funds research projects (such as Coles') that raise awareness about the status of the reef and the growing threat to the ecosystem. Although scientists are still unsure of how to go about battling the invaders from a technical standpoint, the HCRI-RP program takes scientific data and translates it into layspeak for the rest of the world and the message is clear: someone must attempt to stop the invasion. It is this element of stewardship that drives HCRI-RP programs—the notion that everyone, not just scientists and knee-jerk greenies, has a responsibility to protect the reefs because bad reefs mean a diminished quality of life. "The program doesn't have a tree-hugger focus. It's more about recognizing the whole aspect of stewardship. You know, picking up your lines and your nets so there is more for your children and grandchildren," says Davis. "If you want to swim in the ocean, if you want to surf—if you don't maintain your water quality, do you really want to get in that water? It's not an environmentalist reason." To scientists and those who have the time to Google "invasive marine species" and write a dissertation on their findings, the environmental threat is clear. But it's the holiday beachgoers, the occasional shell-seekers, the I'll-take-a-drive-to Waimea Bay-one-day-to-see-those-winter-waves-that-everyone's-been-talking-about types who are the target of "A Living Reef Gives Our Islands Life," a public awareness campaign launched last summer. The campaign is a hui of more than 40 statewide organizations, including the Department of Land and Natural Resources, that provides funding and input on reef preservation. Athline Clark, the program manager for the Living Reef outreach program says the campaign is a pragmatic approach to a problem that, for most people, seems unsolvable—or worse, nonexistent. "Economically, there are lots of reasons why we need to take care of and protect the reef," says Clark. "We're one of the top five dive destinations in the world, one out of every five visitors [from Canada, U.S. and Europe] goes snorkeling or scuba diving. It's one of the top five activities that visitors engage in. Eighty percent or more of everyone who comes here goes to the beach at some point. Sun, sand and surf is part of it, but the reef is also a key component." Because it's easy to see the value of protecting the reef, Clark says the program is virtually without opposition—even the bureaucrats are on board. | | White Spotted Jellyfish: According to the Bishop Museum, 287 alien marine invertebrate species make up about 7 percent of the known marine and brackish water invertebrate fauna in the Hawaiian Islands (4099 species).. "They have been totally supportive," Clark says of the government's involve-ment. "When we launched the campaign, three mayors were there and one mayor's office sent a representative. The governor and all three mayors spoke from the heart, and it was chicken-skin time...there wasn't a single one of them who wasn't grounded in relating this to their own lives. There wasn't a single one of them who didn't say 'yeah, we're doing the right thing here.'" Now, the only ones left to convince are those who really matter. "Our biggest challenge is trying to reach beyond the choir with the message that coral reefs are important in Hawai'i not just for economic reasons, but for non-economic reasons," says Davis. "When you drive or walk around, you can see the threats to the land. But the threats to the water are invisible—unless they wash up on the beach. We're trying to raise the awareness of people that the reefs are alive and that they're important, even if you don't see them everyday. They provide protection, they provide cultural, social and recreational importance, and they are an integral part of everyone in Hawai'i." But even with the governor's support, the financial backing of more than 40 corporations and (hopefully) the support of the community, Clark is cautious about seeing the situation through rose-colored lenses. Is she optimistic about the future of the coral reef ecosystem? She hesitates for the first time in 20 minutes. She wants to be optimistic, but her nature and training won't let her, and, like Coles, she acknowledges the unsettling feeling of hopelessness that lies just below the surface. "I don't know that we have the answers for how to eliminate the major algal infestations occurring in places like Kane'ohe Bay and elsewhere," she says, adding that the priority is to stem their spread. Clark's biggest concern is educating the public on how to recognize invasive species and what they can do to thwart the dispersal of the invaders to unaffected parts of the reef. She urges divers and fishers to check their gear regularly for alien algae and to leave the invasive species where they found them, being careful not to transport them to another location. It doesn't seem like much, but it's a start. And frankly, Clark says, there's not much more anyone can do to stop the invasion at present. "This is as much about further prevention as it is about reversal, but we don't have any magic bullets yet to tell us what we're going to do. Everything at this point is all still experimental," she says. "Do we hope that sometime in the future there will be a way to eliminate some of this stuff? Absolutely. Do we have any answers? No. Part of the problem is, we're talking about a complex ecosystem... there aren't any simple solutions." Beneath the surface What you might not know about Hawai'i's coral reef ecosystem - Corals aren't rocks, They're animals that eat, grow and reproduce.
- The reef ecosystem feeds, shelters and provides habitats for fish, protects the shoreline from wave and sand erosion and creates Hawai'i's white-sand beaches.
- The Hawaiian Islands have 140,000 acres of living reef in the main islands alone, more than the landmass of Honolulu.
- A large percentage of coral reefs under U.S. jurisdiction are in the Northwest Hawaiian Islands.
- Hawai'i's living reef ecosystem has more than 7,000 known species of marine plants and animals.
- Because of its isolation, Hawai'i's reef has more than 1,250 unique species of marine life that are only found here.
- More than 25 percent of all marine life is endemic to Hawai'i and scientists are constantly finding new species.
- More than 500 species of marine algae have been identified in Hawaiian coastal waters.
- Algae produce more oxygen than all the land plants in the world combined.
Offshore bank The economics of a living reef - Hawai'i's nearshore reefs annually generate about $800 million in gross revenue—nearly 10 percent of the state's total tourism revenue.
- Each year, reefs along Maui's Kihei coast contribute $34 million in gross sales, leading to $28 million in added value to the economy.
- The degradation of reefs along Maui's Kihei coast result in an annual loss of more than $20 million to Hawai'i's economy.
- Impact of algal blooms in Kihei has caused a decrease of hotel and rental income (about $10.8 million) and depressed property value of $9.4 million in 2002.
- Maui county condominiums pay $200,000 a year to clean up their beaches. Cases involving coral reef damage in Florida show restoration costs alone can range from $550 to $10,000 per square meter.
- Snorkeling and scuba diving are amongst the top five activities for visitors from the mainland and Europe.
by Kawehi Haug |
