Assessment of Nonindigenous Species on Coral Reefs in the Hawaiian Islands, with Emphasis on Introduced Invertebrates, 2002-11-02 - 2003-11-05 (NCEI Accession 0001419)

Coral reefs on the islands of Kauaʻi, Molokaʻi, Maui, Hawaiʻi and Oʻahu were surveyed for the presence and impact of marine nonindigenous and cryptogenic species (NIS) using a rapid assessment method that standardized search effort for approximately 312 m2 at each site. A total of 41 sites were surveyed by three investigators for a total of approximately 120 hours search time on the five islands. Algae, invertebrate, and fish taxa were identified on site or returned to laboratory for identity confirmation. Only 26 NIS, comprised of three species of algae, 19 invertebrates, and four fishes were recorded from a total of 486 total taxa on the entire study, and 17 of the NIS occurred at only one or two sites. The most NIS that occurred at any site was six, and 21 of the sites had less than three. If the three species of fish that were introduced in the 1950s and known to occur throughout Hawaii are excluded, over half the sites had less than two NIS.