Sierra Club Kauai Service Outing 2011
The Sierra Club is hosting an outing Service at Koke’e State Park on August 7 thru 13, 2011. As a group of islands remote from nearby land masses, Hawaii evolved its own groups of plants and birds. These endemic species have been assaulted by invasive plants and animals, and those that have not already gone extinct are endangered. There are a few spots in Hawaii that continue to host endemics, and the upland area of Kauai (Koke’e State Park) is such a spot.
Depending on the group and the needs of the Koke’e staff, you may be clearing invasive vegetation from areas near popular hiking trails. You will also hike in Koke’e to a lookout, head for the beach and a hike on a preserved coastline, and attend a Friday Art Night in a local town.
Highlights
- Reclaim a stretch of upland forest
- Work with concerned locals to save the native birds and plants
- Hike on both upland and seaside trails
Includes
- All transportation on Kauai
- All room and board during the trip
Coral Reef Alliance
The mission of Coral Reef Alliance is uniting communities to save coral reefs. Coral reefs are the oldest biological communities on the planet. They sustain and inspire us, providing plentiful food, income, knowledge, protection, diversity, and cultural connection. But, reefs are dying, every day, and the Coral Reef Alliance is on a mission and they’re in a hurry.
Coral Reef Alliance has launched a number of exciting initiatives in Hawaii and is actively engaged in protecting our reefs and helping them thrive. Hawaii’s coral reefs shelter more than 700 species of fish, 400 of which can be found in waters less than 200 feet deep. Twenty-five percent of our coral reef fish are endemic, and if corals, algae, macroinvertabrates, and other species are included – up to 62% of Hawaii’s marine species are found only in Hawaii.
Coral Reef Alliance believes in the majesty and mystery of coral reefs, in their ability to teach, sustain, inspire, and give life. They believe the communities of the world share responsibility for protecting this precious resource. They believe we are all connected to the reefs and to each other. We are their protectors. We hold the knowledge that if reefs die, we will follow. The alliance provides reef communities with education, motivation, and inspiration to make changes that will make a difference.
Kauai Monk Seal Watch Program
Hawaiian monk seals are among the most ancient species of pinnipeds in the world, and they have lived only in the waters surrounding the Hawaiian islands for millions of years. They predominately live and breed in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, with the largest population around the French Frigate Shoals, hundreds of miles from civilization. These remote islands and atolls, mostly uninhabited by humans, provide the privacy the monk seals need to survive. However, their numbers are dwindling.
The entire population of Hawaiian monk seals is currently 1,100 seals, with the number declining by four percent every year. The good news is that a smaller population of seals on the main Hawaiian islands is growing and thriving. Over the past few years, there have been twenty or more seals born in the main Hawaiian islands every year. Even though the main Hawaiian islands have a much larger human population, the seals are doing better there because it seems they don’t have as much competition for food, or as many predators.
The Kaua‘i Monk Seal Watch Program is a nonprofit organization whose funding is entirely used to heighten monk seal awareness. They educate visitors in resorts, as well as more than 10,000 students on Kaua‘i and Moloka‘i. The presentations are approximately 50 minutes long and illustrate the important role the marine mammals play in Hawai‘i’s natural ecosystem, with a particular emphasis on marine debris issues. Their bottom line is that education instills knowledge, and knowledge is the key to preserving Hawaiian monk seals.
- Stay well behind barricades or signs placed around a basking seal, and at least 150 feet from seals in unmarked areas.
- Maintain a much greater distance from a mother and pup, or any seal that appears disturbed or agitated.
- Pass outside barricades, or above an unbarricaded seal, not between the seal and the shoreline.
- Never approach or attempt to feed a seal – on the beach, while swimming, or from a boat.
- View quietly. Do not throw sand, stones, objects, or make noise to induce movement and create photo ops.
- All marine wildlife. Seals, sea turtles, dolphins, and humpback whales require distance, quiet, and respect for proper viewing.
- Photograph seals from the proper distance and never use flash photography in their presence.
- Advise children of proper behavior. An agitated 400 to 600 pound animal could bite or cause other serious injury.
- Report any seal harassment at the beach, in the water, or from a boat operator to the Kaua`i Marine Conservation Coordinator at 651-7668.
- State and federal laws for harassment or disturbance of a Hawaiian Monk Seal can incur fines exceeding $25,000 and up to 5 years imprisonment.
Hawaiian Coral Reefs
Hawaiian coral reefs provide important habitats for fish, invertebrates, monk seals, green sea turtles, and thousands of other species of animals and plants. There are more than 150 different coral species in Hawaiian waters (25% are endemic to the Hawaiian Islands). The most common corals are lobe corals, rice coral, blue coral, and cauliflower coral, found in active shallow waters. Delicate, branching corals such as sea fan, shelf, and finger coral are the most common Hawaiian corals growing in calmer, deeper waters.
Coral species in Hawaiian waters help support many of the 860 native algae species, which include more than 80 endemic algae. There are also more than 1,140 fish native to the Hawaiian Islands, including 149 endemic fish. Coral reefs around the Hawaiian Islands also help support native invertebrate species, such as crabs, sea urchins, and shrimp. More than 9,270 native Hawaiian invertebrates have been documented, including more than 7,230 endemic species.
Growing less than one inch per year, coral reefs can take hundreds of years to form. Many Hawaiian corals spawn, or rejuvenate, just once or twice a year. Rice coral spawns in June and July two days after a full moon between 8 and 10 pm. Mushroom coral spawns one to four days after a full moon between 5 and 7 am between the months of June and September.
Coral reefs are living communities that provide shelter, food, and living space for an incredible diversity of species. Among the great variety of organisms on Hawaii’s reefs are species that hold potential for natural medicines, like a chemical found in Hawaiian sponges that has recently shown promise in fighting tumors and malaria. Medical researchers have also found that ground-up coral is accepted by the human body and works well for bone grafts. And many corals have evolved unique compounds that naturally shield them against UV radiation, providing researchers with insights into improving sunscreens.
Coral Reef Etiquette
Coral Reef ecosystems feed, shelter, and provide habitats for marine wildlife. They protect the shoreline from wave and sand erosion and create Hawai’i’s famous white sand beaches and underwater gardens. Corals are colonies of very small animals which may take hundreds of years to form, so whether you swim, snorkel, scuba, or free dive – please help protect our Hawaiian reefs.
- Don’t walk or stand on coral, as this can kill the living coral polyps. Never stand on coral to adjust your mask. Instead, search for a sandy, shallow place to stand. Consider a flotation device.
- Simply touching corals to see what they feel like can cause the death of an entire colony. Oils from your skin can disturb the delicate mucous membranes which protect the animals from disease.
- Use a sand type anchor placed in sand well away from any reef formation and up wind (or tide) from where you want to dive, then allow the boat to drift into position near the reef.
- The sea floor is home to many creatures, like urchin, snails, starfish, sea worms, and corals that have delicate bodies or fragile structures they built for protection. Stepping on these creatures or their homes can be very destructive to them and to your feet too.
- Don’t touch, pickup or hold reef life, including octopus. Do not remove marine life from its natural habitat or shells. Do not stir up sediment near coral.
- Help prevent marine pollution by using fewer household chemicals, especially on your lawn or garden, or in your kitchen or bathroom.
To be an ocean lover, is to be a nature lover. The ocean is a living community that envelops the globe and covers 70% of our planet. What we do in one part of the ocean affects the entire ocean. In Hawaii, sixty percent of our marine species – corals, algae, macroinvertabrates, and reef fish are endemic (found nowhere else on earth). The ocean has always been at the root of Hawaiianan history, culture, and survival. Help protect it.
Hawaiian Monk Seal Transmitters
There are an estimated 150 monk seals in the main Hawaiian Islands and about 950 in the northwestern part of the chain. These seals are endemic to Hawai’i and have had steep population declines in recent years. If trends continue, in 15 years the monk seal population could drop to about 500. One of the mysteries of the seals is why those living in the main Hawaiian Islands are doing so much better than those in the remote islands, which are protected as part of the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument.
A working theory behind the success of seals in the main islands and the distress of those in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands is that the rich population of large predators, including ulua and sharks, in the remote islands are direct competitors with the seals for their favorite foods. Underwater video in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands has shown ulua and sharks following behind seals as they turn over rocks on the sea floor to find fish, and eating the fish before the seals can get them.
Over the next few years, up to 15 monk seals in Hawai’i will be wearing small transmitters that reveal their movements through global positioning coordinates, including how deep they dive, when they haul out on land, how far they roam, water temperature, and salinity. The transmitters are glued on a seal’s back, where it will least interfere with its daily life. Currently five seals are wearing the transmitters (one on O’ahu and four on Moloka’i) with additional transmitters to be placed on 10 more seals on Kaua’i and O’ahu.
Already, scientists are observing seals often spending 12 to 24 hours at a time swimming and diving in the ocean, then hauling out at a variety of beaches for a rest. The duration of each dive is usually around six minutes, and surface times usually about one or two minutes. They feed almost entirely along the bottom with dives in the 100 to 150 foot range, but seals in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands have been recorded diving as deep as 1,500 feet. The dives are all about food, focusing on tako, eels, flatfish like flounder, reef fish like wrasses and triggerfish, and a variety of crustaceans, including lobster and crabs.
