Vargas-Angel, B.

PIFSC Cruise Report CR-14-001 (Cruise HA-13-04, Legs I and II)

2014

Honolulu, HI

NOAA NMFS Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center (PIFSC)

65

Vessel: NOAA ship Hiialakai; Mission Number HA-13-04; Cruise Period: 1-23 August 2013; Area of Operation: Main Hawaiian Islands: Hawaii Island, Maui Island, Lanai Island, Kauai Island, Niihau island, Oahu island, and Molokai Island ; Type of Operation: Conduct interdisciplinary surveys of benthos, fishes, and climate in waters surrounding the main Hawaiian Islands as part of the National Coral Reef Monitoring Plan (NCRMP). All activities described in this report were covered by the following permits; Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources, Division of Aquatic Resources Special Activity Permit No. 2014-6 (effective date: 19 July 2013, expiration date: 19 July 2014); U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Permit: USACE POH-2008-83 (OMB-APPROVAL NO. 0710-0003) 30 April 2009.

"Missions: A) Conducted ecosystem monitoring for benthic cover (community structure), fish populations (species composition, abundance and size), coral populations (species composition, abundance, size distribution, and condition), and target invertebrates of the shallow-water (less than or equal to 30 m) coral reef ecosystems of the main Hawaiian Islands; B) Deployed and retrieved a suite of instruments and installations - including STRs, CTD sensor, ARMS, CAUs, BMUs, and EARs - to allow for remote, long-term monitoring of oceanographic, environmental, and ecological conditions of the coral reef ecosystems of the main Hawaiian Islands; C) Conducted shallow-water CTD casts and collected water samples for dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC), total alkalinity (TA), salinity, and microbial community analyses to depths less than or equal to 30 m to examine physical and biological linkages supporting and maintaining these island ecosystems; D) Conducted shipboard oceanographic and meteorological observations to examine physical and biological linkages supporting and maintaining these island ecosystems, using CTD casts deployed to a depth of 500 m with concurrent water samples taken at select locations and depths, collecting continuous ADCP, SST, and ecosystems and fundamental meteorological data, such as air temperature, wind speed and direction, barometric pressure, and relative humidity; E) Collected a small number of shallow-water coral cores to examine calcification (growth) rates in recent decades and assess potential early impacts of ocean acidification; F) Collected a small number of shallow-water rubble samples to examine the microbes; and G) Determined the existence of threats to the health of these coral reef resources from anthropogenic sources, including marine debris."

National Coral Reef Monitoring Plan (NCRMP); Biological monitoring

FY2013 CRCP Project ID 743; Project Title: National Coral Reef Monitoring Plan (NCRMP) Implementation (Biological monitoring); Principal Investigator: Jessica Morgan