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Maui, Hawaii – From
watersheds to coral reefs Human activities that occur wi=
thin
a watershed may “trickle” down to coral reefs that are in the=
ir
shadow. For example, storm drains that collect road run-off may drain
“down hill” into an adjoining bay. Coral reefs in this bay ca=
n be
exposed to what ever environmental contaminants that are in the run-off.<=
/span> Coral reefs in specific bays on
the island of Maui, Hawaii are showing rates of decline compared to other
bays on the same island (e.g., Jokiel, P., et al., 2003. Hawai‘i Co=
ral
Reef Assessment and Monitoring Program: Spatial patterns and temporal
dynamics in reef coral communities; Dollar, S.J., & Grigg, R.W.
Anthropogenic and Natural Stresses on Coral Reefs in Hawaii: A Multi-Deca=
de
Synthesis of Impact and Recovery). Some of the questions that arise from =
this
data include:
To begin to address these
questions, we are testing the hypothesis that corals in some of the bays =
that
are exhibiting declines may contain environmental contaminants such as he=
avy
metals, agrichemicals, industrials wastes, and residential wastes. The
probability that the corals will contain any of these contaminants is low,
but it will allow us to exclude or justify further investigations of spec=
ific
human activities in a watershed that may be impacting a specific coral re=
ef. Collection of the coral samples
and marine sediment samples from reefs in different bays in Maui was a
collaborative effort, including personnel from the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency, Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources, and
Hawaii’s Local Action Strategy to Address Land-based Pollution Thre=
ats
to Coral Reefs. Trace contaminant chemistry analysis of samples were
conducted as a collaboration between Haereticus and the G. Ostrander
Laboratory at the University of Hawaii-Manoa. |
Earth-moving
next to a bay in Maui, Hawaii that contains a public beach and a coral re=
ef
Tourism
by swimmers can contribute to environmental contaminants found on reefs
Collection
of coral biopsies in Maui, Hawaii |
![3D"http://haereticus-lab.org/Maui%207=](3D"Maui_files/image002.jpg")
![3D"http://haereticus-lab.org/Maui%206=](3D"Maui_files/image004.jpg")
![3D"http://haereticus-lab.org/Maui%201=](3D"Maui_files/image006.jpg")
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Collection
group on Maui, Hawaii in August 2006 |
Collection
of marine sediment in |
Collection
of coral biopsies in |
![3D"http://haereticus-lab.org/Maui%205=](3D"Maui_files/image008.jpg")
![3D"http://haereticus-lab.org/Maui%203=](3D"Maui_files/image010.jpg")
![3D"http://haereticus-lab.org/Maui%204=](3D"Maui_files/image012.jpg")