Kaylyn McCoy

Advancing the integration of spatial data to map human and natural drivers on coral reefs

A major challenge for coral reef conservation and management is understanding how a wide range of interacting human and natural drivers cumulatively impact and shape these ecosystems. Despite the importance of understanding these interactions, a methodological framework to synthesize spatially explicit data of such drivers is lacking. To fill this gap, we established a transferable data synthesis methodology to integrate spatial data on environmental and anthropogenic drivers of coral reefs, and applied this methodology to a case study location–the Main Hawaiian Islands (MHI). Environmental drivers were derived from time series (2002–2013) of climatological ranges and anomalies of remotely sensed sea surface temperature, chlorophyll-a, irradiance, and wave power. Anthropogenic drivers were characterized using empirically derived and modeled datasets of spatial fisheries catch, sedimentation, nutrient input, new development, habitat modification, and invasive species. Within our case study system, resulting driver maps showed high spatial heterogeneity across the MHI, with anthropogenic drivers generally greatest and most widespread on O‘ahu, where 70% of the state’s population resides, while sedimentation and nutrients were dominant in less populated islands. Together, the spatial integration of environmental and anthropogenic driver data described here provides a first-ever synthetic approach to visualize how the drivers of coral reef state vary in space and demonstrates a methodological framework for implementation of this approach in other regions of the world. By quantifying and synthesizing spatial drivers of change on coral reefs, we provide an avenue for further research to understand how drivers determine reef diversity and resilience, which can ultimately inform policies to protect coral reefs.

Pacific Reef Assessment and Monitoring Program. Data report : ecological monitoring 2012-2013 : reef fishes and benthic habitats of the main Hawaiian Islands, American Samoa, and Pacific Remote Island Areas

Acknowledgements Thanks to all those onboard the NOAA shipsHìialakai and Oscar Elton Sette for their logistical and field support during the 2012-2013 Pacific Reef Assessment and Monitoring Program (Pacific RAMP) research cruises and to the following divers for their assistance with data collection; and Darla White. We thank Rusty Brainard for his tireless support of Pacific RAMP and the staff of NOAA PIFSC CRED for assistance in the field and data management.

Effects of Gear Restriction on the Abundance of Juvenile Fishes along Sandy Beaches in Hawai‘i

In 2007, due to growing concerns of declines in nearshore fisheries in Hawai‘i, a ban on gillnets was implemented in designated areas around the island of O‘ahu in the main Hawaiian Islands. Utilizing a 17 year time-series of juvenile fish abundance beginning prior to the implementation of the gillnet ban, we examined the effects of the ban on the abundance of juveniles of soft-bottom associated fish species. Using a Before-After-Control-Impact (BACI) sampling design, we compared the abundance of targeted fishery species in a bay where gillnet fishing was banned (Kailua, O‘ahu), and an adjacent bay where fishing is still permitted (Waimānalo, O‘ahu). Our results show that when multiple juvenile fish species were combined, abundance declined over time in both locations, but the pattern varied for each of the four species groups examined. Bonefishes were the only species group with a significant BACI effect, with higher abundance in Kailua in the period after the gillnet ban. This study addressed a need for scientific assessment of a fisheries regulation that is rarely possible due to lack of quality data before enactment of such restrictions. Thus, we developed a baseline status of juveniles of an important fishery species, and found effects of a fishery management regulation in Hawai‘i.

Estimating nearshore coral reef-associated fisheries production from the main Hawaiian Islands

Currently, information on nearshore reef-associated fisheries is frequently disparate or incomplete, creating a challenge for effective management. This study utilized an existing non-commercial fishery dataset from Hawaiʻi, covering the period 2004–13, to estimate a variety of fundamental fishery parameters, including participation, effort, gear use, and catch per unit effort. We then used those data to reconstruct total catches per island. Non-commercial fisheries in this case comprise recreational, subsistence, and cultural harvest, which may be exchanged, but are not sold. By combining those data with reported commercial catch data, we estimated annual catch of nearshore reef-associated fisheries in the main Hawaiian Islands over the study period to be 1,167,758 ± 43,059 kg year-1 (mean ± standard error). Average annual commercial reef fish catch over the same time period—184,911 kg year-1—was 16% of the total catch, but that proportion varied greatly among islands, ranging from 23% on Oʻahu to 5% on Molokaʻi. These results emphasize the importance of reef fishing in Hawaiʻi for reasons beyond commerce, such as food security and cultural practice, and highlight the large differences in fishing practices across the Hawaiian Islands.