Kalaupapa National Historical Park benthic marine community monitoring trend report for 2006–2010: Pacific Island Network
Brown E, Lee S, Tice K, McKenna S. 2014. Kalaupapa National Historical Park benthic marine community monitoring trend report for 2006–2010: Pacific Island Network. Natural Resource Technical Report. NPS/KALA/NRTR—2014/913. National Park Service. Fort Collins, Colorado
Kalaupapa National Historical Park (KALA) is located on the north shore of the island of Moloka'i and encompasses a wide variety of habitats from submerged marine resources to lowland coastal, mesic, and rainforest habitats as well as three offshore islands. The marine boundary of the park extends a quarter mile offshore around the park shoreline and encompasses approximately 2,000 acres. KALA is one of four parks within the Inventory and Monitoring (I&M) Program of the Pacific Islands Network (PACN) where marine Vital Signs (i.e. an indicator of physical, chemical, biological elements or ecosystem processes selected to represent the overall health or condition of natural resources within parks) for the fish and benthic communities are monitored by peer-reviewed standardized protocols. The I&M PACN Benthic Marine Monitoring Protocol at KALA consists of five separate components that are obtained using underwater SCUBA surveys: 1) percent cover of substrate types, 2) presence/absence of disease/bleaching, 3) rugosity (dimensionless index of substrate complexity), 4) coral settlement rate, and 5) coral growth [optional] (Brown et al. 2011). From 2006-2010, a total of 150 transects (the sampling unit), each 25 m in length, were sampled. A split panel sampling design was used with 30 transects sampled annually. Fifteen transects were randomly established at the onset in 2006 as fixed or permanent transects and subsequently surveyed on an annual basis. The remaining 15 temporary transects were randomly selected each year and surveyed only in that year. Three methods were used to collect data at each transect: photoquadrats, rugosity chains, and coral settlement arrays. The optional coral growth component of the protocol was not conducted at KALA given the lack of park resources to undertake this activity. This report examines the status and trends of the benthic marine community at all 150 transects at KALA from 2006-2010 as determined by implementation of the I&M PACN Benthic Marine Community Monitoring Protocol (Brown et al. 2011).
- Type
- Published Report
- Authors
- Brown, Eric; Lee, Sylvester; Tice, Kimberly; McKenna, Sheila
- Date of Issue
- 2014-10
- Publisher
- National Park Service
- Units
- KALA , NRSS , PACN , PWR
- Keywords
- Benthic, Benthic Marine Monitoring, Coral, Coral Disease, coral growth, coral settlement, Coralline algae, Macroalgae, rugosity
- Subjects
- Ecological Framework: Biological Integrity | Focal Species or Communities | Marine Communities