NWHI : Residents

Here's feature stories on some of the "residents" (flora and fauna) of the NWHI:

Also, check out these links to find information on what critters live in the NWHI:

Waikiki Aquarium's Web Library - All sorts of information about the marine life found in Hawai‘i and the South Pacific, along with suggested readings and information about their exhibits.

Ask About It!

Have you seen any Gooney birds?

Asked by Stephanie from Lanakai Elementary on Sep 14, 2002.
I have a question for the "Bird Queen-Beth." Have you seen any gooney birds on the expedition?

Answered by Beth on Sep 15, 2002.
Dear Stephanie,
We haven't seen a single gooney bird so far on the voyage because it is albatross vacation time and they are all foraging up north of here in the Bering Sea and around Japan, Alaska, and Canada. The last chicks fledged in early August and have joined their parents up north, where they are enjoying long days and high ocean productivity (meaning plenty of delicious squid). The people who live down here are anxiously waiting for the first gooneys to return to their breeding grounds. This should occur in late October. The biologists on each island always hope that they will be the first to see the birds return. There are plenty of other birds around, so we are enjoying Masked Boobies, Brown Noddies and 12 or so other species of seabirds on the islands right now. We are also seeing the Kolea passing by on their way back to Hawaii after their breeding season in Alaska.
Thanks for the good question, Stephanie!

Differences in fish populations

Asked by Student from Windward Community College on Sep 19, 2002.
The Northwestern Hawaiian Islands are protected by U.S. fishing regulations. Is there a difference in size and quanity of fish, as compared to the main Hawaiian islands? How do you study this?

Answered by the NOW-RAMP Crew on Sep 20, 2002.
Fish in the NWHI are larger in size and number than in the main Hawaiian islands. You can download the NOWRAMP 2000 report for a more complete description of the fish that are found here.

Galapagos shark numbers

Asked by Jacqueline on Oct 21, 2002.
How many Galapagos sharks are there now in Hawai'i? How many were there before?

Answered by Mark Heckman from Waikiki Aquarium on Oct 22, 2002.
Thanks for your question! Galapagos sharks become more common as you move up the Hawaiian Island chain, and grey reef sharks become less common. No one knows why. In general, Galapagos sharks have a very interesting distribution. They are found in widely disjunct areas (areas far from each other), typically around oceanic islands. They tend to be either uncommon, or very common. In other words, in some areas there are hardly any of them, and in other areas they are the most numerous shark in the area. There is no middle ground. No one knows why, but it is questions like these that make being a marine biologist so interesting. There is a lot still to study in the oceans!

Galapagos sharks: native?

Asked by Jacqueline on Oct 21, 2002.
Are Galapagos sharks endemic, introduced or native?

Answered by the NOW-RAMP Crew on Oct 22, 2002.
The Galapagos shark is native to the Hawaiian islands but is not endemic. Galapagos sharks are found in tropical oceans worldwide.

Strange critter in tidepools

Asked by Laura from UH on Nov 19, 2002.
On a recent trip to Lanai, we saw a strange phenomenon in the tidepools: long, white strings radiating out from a central point. They appeared to be growing before our eyes and reaching out to similar structures across the tidepool. The only other residents in the pools seemed to be purple sea urchins and small fish. Is this a reporductive system for urchins, and if so, do NWHI urchin species reproduce in a similar fashion?

Answered by Andy Collins, NWHI Coral Reef Ecosystem Reserve on Nov 20, 2002.
This is probably a critter called the spaghetti worm. You may want to confirm this in a book on Hawaiian reefs. It is not a reproductive system for the urchin.

Why aren't there more Hawaiian Monk Seal pictures?

Asked by Wayne on Dec 21, 2002.
Why does your site have so few pictures (or video stories) about one of the most charasmatic, and critically endangered animals found in the NWHI, the Hawaiian Monk Seal? One animal that many residents of Hawaii are likely to have seen on the main islands.

Answered by Andy Collins, NWHI Coral Reef Ecosystem Reserve on Dec 22, 2002.
Well, that is a good question! We did not have more information on the Hawaiian monk seal during the expedition because scientists on the expedition were not involved in Monk seal research. Also, another branch of NOAA, Ocean Explorer did a feature on monk seals at the same time that we were working on this website. This feature can be found at: http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/explorations/02hawaii/background/monk_seals/monk_seals.html

One other reason why you did not see more information on monk seals was because we were trying to highlight many of the other aspects of this wild and spectacular ecosystem that people do not often see, or think about, such as invertebrates. Charismatic megafauna such as monk seals, though certainly cute, fascinating and important, are but one animal in an ecosystem comprised of 7,000 or more marine species.

We do appreciate your feedback though and will see what we can do in the future to provide more information on this endangered species.