This dataset focuses on marine surveys used to obtain a more in depth record of the marine fauna from French Frigate Shoals and includes a note on nonindigenous species from NOWRAMP 2000 surveys at 39 sites and a March 2002 survey at a single site. In September of 2000, the Northwest Hawaiian Islands Rapid Assessment and Monitoring Program (NOW-RAMP) Expedition surveyed French Frigate Shoals (FFS) and a number of the remaining Northwest Hawaiian Islands (NWHI). At FFS, marine surveys were conducted at 39 stations by three different Rapid Ecological Assessment teams from two separate research vessels, the Townsend Cromwell (11 -25 Sep 2000) and the Rapture (23- 27 Sep 2000). An additional study of the seawall at Tern Island was conducted in March 2002. A total of 618 marine invertebrate taxa were collected and identified, about 75 percent to specific level. Of the 622 taxa identified, 502 are considered new records for FFS and perhaps 10 to 20 percent of these may be new records for the Hawaiian Archipelago. Of these new records, as many as 50 species may be undescribed and so far known only from FFS. Most of material collected by NOW-RAMP from the NWHI remains to be examined, and therefore no conclusions can be drawn yet regarding the distribution of these species throughout the island chain. Two species considered to be nonindigenous, the hydroid Pennariadisticha, and the barnacle Balanus reticulatus, were found at FFS. A number of specimens of some taxonomic groups collected from FFS remain to be examined thoroughly by specialists, most notably the polychaetes, which will certainly increase the final species tally. Further study will also be required of the 150 taxa which could not be identified to species level at the time of this report.
In September of 2000, the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Rapid Assessment and Monitoring Program (NOW-RAMP) Expedition resurveyed the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. The purpose of this multi-agency project was to obtain more detailed information about the marine fauna of these remote islands and represents the first intensive marine invertebrate survey in this region since the Tanager in 1923. This report reviews the findings of the NOW-RAMP survey of French Frigate Shoals.
SCUBA and visual census were used to conduct marine surveys from two separate research vessels, the Townsend Cromwell and the Rapture. This data was used by the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Rapid Assessment and Monitoring Program (NOW-RAMP) at the Bishop Museum.
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Funding for the analysis of French Frigate Shoals specimens and the preparation of this report was provided by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Funding for the Northwestern Hawaiian Island Rapid Assessment Monitoring Program (NOW-RAMP) survey was provided by the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the Hawai'i Coral Reef Initiative (HCRI). The NOW-RAMP survey was conduced in conjunction with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Hawaii Department of Aquatic Resources, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Bishop Museum, the University of Hawaii, and the University of California at Santa Cruz. Many of the taxonomic determinations provided in the report would not have been possible without the generous assistance of the following researchers: Sammy DeGrave (shrimp), David Gulko (coral), Gordon Hendler (ophiuroids), Brian Kensley (isopods), Jim Maragos (corals), Patsy McLaughlin (hermit crabs),Peter Ng (crabs), and Chela Zabin (bryozoans). Steve Coles collected the specimens from the Tern Island seawall station, and Pakki Reath assisted in sorting many of the samples. Jim Maragos provided the discussion of the FFS corals, and Lu Eldredge reviewed the manuscript. Lab space and supplies were provided by the Bishop Museum and the Los Angeles County Museum of Natural History.
see Methodology
the survey was 100% completed
Marine surveys were conducted at 39 stations by three different Rapid Ecological Assessment (REA) teams, usually having 4 -8 members, on two separate research vessels, the Townsend Cromwell (11 -25 Sep 2000) and the Rapture (23- 27 Sep 2000). Each REA team conducted surveys at different stations, and one member of each team was responsible for all invertebrate animals other than corals. Surveys were conducted using SCUBA and usually involved a combination of observations and collecting of large macroinvertebrates and small collections by hand of chunks of reef substrate,rubble, sand and algae in an attempt to collect microinvertebrates. Some large common invertebrates observed were recorded as present on underwater paper datasheets carried by researchers and were not collected. Specimens and rubble/sand collections were labeled and transferred to either 10 percent formalin or 70 percent EtOH upon returning to the research vessels. In the lab, animals were removed from coral rubble, if necessary, and then identified to lowest feasible taxonomic level. All collections and observations were made between 0 and 20 m. All reported species are based on observation or collections of living individuals except for molluscs. Empty mollusc shells were identified and those species were considered present despite not being found alive. Due to logistical constraints (e.g., lack of space on support skiffs, inadequate lab facilities on the Rapture, and limited experienced personnel), both detailed observations and extensive collections for small invertebrates could not be made at all 39 stations. An additional survey of the seawall at Tern Island was conducted by Steve Coles, Bishop Museum, in March 2002. The seawall, a likely place for nonindigenous species, was not accessible to the NOW-RAMP REA teams during the initial study. 2002-018. DeFelice, R., D. Minton & S. Godwin. 2002. Records of shallow-water marine invertebrates from French Frigate Shoals, Northwestern Hawaiian Islands with a note on nonindigenous species. Bishop Mus. Tech. Rep. 23, 78 p.
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