Bahr, Keisha D.; Ku'ulei S. Rodgers; Paul L. Jokiel

Recent freshwater reef kill event in Kane'ohe Bay, Hawaii

2015

Reef Encounter

30

1

42-43

"Freshwater kills are rare events caused by lowered salinity during severe runoff and storm floods (Coles and Jokiel 1992) that modify the structure of reef communities. Coral reef communities within Kaneohe Bay are shallow (>50% of the bay is less than 3.3 m deep) and therefore extremely vulnerable to increased freshwater effluent due to the formation of a persistent freshwater surface layer that causes reduced salinities near these coral reef organisms (Banner 1968; Jokiel et al. 1993). Reduction of salinity to 15 - 200/00 for 24 hours or longer results in extensive mortality in these shallow water communities (Coles and Jokiel 1992; Jokiel et al. 1993). Data on the frequency and intensity of freshwater kills are important in the understanding of long-term trends in coral reef ecology, while long-term monitoring programs need to continue over many decades (e.g. Rodgers et al. 2014) in order to capture their impacts."

FY13; CRCP Project ID: 198; Project Title: Domestic Coral Reef Conservation Grant Programs; Principal Investigator: Jenny Waddell; CRCP Grant Number: NA13NOS4820024