Monk Seal Foundation Video 1
The Monk Seal Foundation, based on Maui, has launched a new educational series. For the next 12 months they will be releasing one video a month highlighting information about the Hawaiian Monk Seal (Monachus schauinslandi) and how people can get involved with helping in the recovery process. Their goal is to preserve the monk seals for current and future generations to come.
Q: What should I do if I see a Hawaiian Monk Seal?
A: There is also a statewide network of dedicated response teams which actively work to protect monk seals which have hauled out on beaches and rocks. The best thing you can do is to leave the seal undisturbed and call the appropriate seal sighting hotline:
Oahu: (808) 220-7802
Kauai: (808) 651-7668
Molokai: (808) 553-5555
Maui & Lanai: (808) 292-2372
East Hawaii (Big Island): (808) 756-5961
West Hawaii (Big Island): (808) 987-0765
Monk Seal Foundation
The Monk Seal Foundation is a Maui based non profit dedicated to the preservation of the critically endangered Hawaiian Monk Seal. Their mission is to provide support for the protection of Read more
Humpback Whale Count January 2012
Volunteers collected data from 61 sites on the shores of O‘ahu, Kaua‘i, and Hawai‘i Island for the January Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary Ocean Count. Over 950 participants tallied humpback whale sightings and documented the animals’ surface behavior during the survey. The sanctuary protects humpback whales and their habitat in Hawaiian waters where they migrate each winter to mate, calve, and nurse their young. Up to 12,000 humpback whales return to their Hawaiian birthplace every year between November to May after migrating from as far away as Alaska.
The following were the average numbers of whales sighted per 15-minute count period on each of the islands:
Kaua‘i – 8 whales
Hawai‘i Island – 3 whales
O‘ahu – 2 whales
On Kauai:
Kapa‘a Lookout – 8 average
Ninini Point Lighthouse – 14 highest 15-minute count
Crater Hill in Kilauea – 13 highest 15-minute count
Makahuena Point – 12 highest 15-minute count
Kilauea Lighthouse – 11 highest 15-minute count
Mahaulepu-Makawehi – 11 highest 15-minute count
Other marine wildlife seen during the Sanctuary Ocean Count included Hawaiian monk seals, sea turtles, spinner dolphins, and a variety of sea birds. Two more Sanctuary Ocean Counts are scheduled to take place on Saturday, February 25 and March 31. For more information on becoming a Sanctuary Ocean Count volunteer visit sanctuaryoceancount.org or call 1-888-55-WHALE ext. 253.
Humpback Whale Ocean Count 2012
The Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary offers you a chance to monitor Humpback Whales from the shores of Oahu, Hawaii and Kauai. Volunteers count the number of humpback whales which can be seen around the islands over a four-hour period and record their behavior. The 2012 count will be held the last Saturday of January, February, and March from 8:00 a.m. to 12:15 p.m.
This year, on January 28, February 25, and March 31, the Sanctuary Ocean Count will be conducted at over 60 different shore sites around the islands (15 different sites around Kaua‘i). The Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary, which is jointly managed by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the State of Hawai`i, lies within the shallow warm waters surrounding the main Hawaiian Islands and constitutes one of the world’s most important humpback whale habitats.
Scientists estimate that 12,000 swim to Hawaii’s waters to mate and nurse their young, typically between September and March. Since 2006, the annual count has tracked a steady rise in the humpback whale population visiting the sanctuary. Visit Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary for details.
Hawaiian Reef Fish and Emperor Angelfish
Emperor Angelfish (Pomacanthus imperator) are Hawaiian reef fish that can grow to 15 inches in length. As with many Angelfish, Emperor juveniles are very different in appearance from their adults. Prior to 1933, young emperors were considered a separate species because of the wide variation in range of color and pattern in small to large specimens.
Juvenile Emperor Angelfish are dark blue with concentric electric blue and white rings. Adults have horizontal yellow and blue stripes, white snout with black around the eyes. It takes about 24 to 30 months for an Emperor Angelfish to acquire its adult coloring. They can be easily distinguished by the presence in angelfishes of a strong opercular spine.
Juveniles are encountered under ledges, or in holes of outer lagoon patch reefs or semi-protected areas of exposed channels and outer reef flats. Subadults move to reef front holes and surge channels. Large adults inhabit ledges and caves in areas of rich coral growth on clear lagoon, channel, or seaward reefs.
Ocean Acidification and Marine Life
Marine life ranging from the smallest plankton to the largest whale may be affected by ocean acidification. Coral reef ecosystems will be some of the first casualties of ocean acidification. Impacts to these beautiful and important habitats could have huge consequences for a quarter of the entire biological diversity of the oceans that depend on coral reefs for food and shelter. Shellfish such as sea urchins, lobsters, sea stars and brittle stars are some prime examples of creatures that could be affected. More acidic oceans are expected to lead to a shortage of carbonate, a key building block that these animals need to build their shells and skeletons.
In addition to coral reefs and shellfish, animals without shells or skeletons such as squid and various types of fish may be negatively affected in a variety of ways. Impacts to individual species may ultimately disrupt entire food webs. For example, pteropods are tiny swimming sea snail that forms a large base of the food chains and their shell building is particularly vulnerable to increasing ocean acidity. If pteropod populations plummet from acidified waters, this will affect the population numbers of animals that eat them, like salmon. If salmon numbers drop due to a loss of pteropods, it could further impact predators that eat salmon, such as killer whales.
The changing acidity of the oceans threatens to throw off the delicate chemical balance upon which marine life depends for survival. Corals are the framework builders of reefs, by far the most diverse ecosystems of our oceans. However, the effects of acidification are not going to stop with reefs. Like dominoes, the impacts are going to be far-reaching throughout the oceans.
