10 Years of Ocean Protection: Stories & Photos

Second Lecture in Month-Long Series Focuses on Species Galore

Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument’s month-long educational lecture series at O‘ahu’s Hanauma Bay Nature Preserve continued on Oct. 14, 2010 with a talk by Deputy Superintendent and Chief Scientist Dr. Randy Kosaki. Titled Species Galore, Dr. Kosaki traced the modern research history in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands (NWHI), with particular focus on the past decade, since the creation of the NWHI Coral Reef Ecosystem Reserve. More than 60 people attended the presentation, some of whom had attended the previous night’s slide show at the Waikiki Aquarium: Images that Inspire Conservation: Bringing the Place to the People. This could be one indicator of heightened interest and awareness in Papahānaumokuākea since its designation as a World Heritage site in July.

During the Species Galore presentation, Kosaki showed slides of some of the endemic species in Monument waters, identified a few of the endangered and threatened species there, and explained technical diving which has been conducted in Papahānaumokuākea the last two research seasons. This has allowed researchers to explore mesophotic depths between 25 and 200 meters. Kosaki told the audience, “We may know more about the ocean floor than we know about the deep coral reefs.” He also detailed new fish records from 2009 and 2010 mesophotic cruises, island-by-island and reiterated that the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands appear to have species endemism rates as high as 90%...the highest on earth in depths from 30-100 meters.