Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Use of Integrated Landscape Indicators to Evaluate the Health of Linked Watersheds and Coral Reef Environments in the Hawaiian Islands

  • Published:
Environmental Management Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

A linkage between the condition of watersheds and adjacent nearshore coral reef communities is an assumed paradigm in the concept of integrated coastal management. However, quantitative evidence for this “catchment to sea” or “ridge to reef” relationship on oceanic islands is lacking and would benefit from the use of appropriate marine and terrestrial landscape indicators to quantify and evaluate ecological status on a large spatial scale. To address this need, our study compared the Hawai‘i Watershed Health Index (HI-WHI) and Reef Health Index (HI-RHI) derived independently of each other over the past decade. Comparisons were made across 170 coral reef stations at 52 reef sites adjacent to 42 watersheds throughout the main Hawaiian Islands. A significant positive relationship was shown between the health of watersheds and that of adjacent reef environments when all sites and depths were considered. This relationship was strongest for sites facing in a southerly direction, but diminished for north facing coasts exposed to persistent high surf. High surf conditions along the north shore increase local wave driven currents and flush watershed-derived materials away from nearshore waters. Consequently, reefs in these locales are less vulnerable to the deposition of land derived sediments, nutrients and pollutants transported from watersheds to ocean. Use of integrated landscape health indices can be applied to improve regional-scale conservation and resource management.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Angermeier PL, Karr JR (1994) Biological integrity versus biological diversity as policy directives. BioScience 44:690–697

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ben-Tzvi O, Loya Y, Abelson A (2004) Deterioration Index (DI): a suggested criterion for assessing the health of coral communities. Marine Pollution Bulletin 48:954–960

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Bird CE (2001) PhotoGrid: ecological analysis of digital photographs (downloadable on-line software). University of Hawai‘i Mānoa, Honolulu, HI. http://www.photogrid.netfirms.com/

  • Brinson MM (1993) A hydrogeomorphic classification for wetlands, technical report WRP-DE-4, NTIS No. AD A270 053. U.S. Army Engineer Waterways Experiment Station, Vicksburg, MS

  • Brock VE (1954) A preliminary report on a method of estimating reef fish populations. Journal of Wildlife Management 18:297–308

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brown EK (2004) Reef coral populations: spatial and temporal differences observed at six reefs off West Maui. Ph.D. Thesis, University of Hawai‘i

  • Brown EK, Jokiel PL, Rodgers KS, Smith WR, Roberts C (2007) The status of the reef at selected sites along South Moloka‘i: five years of monitoring. In: Field M et al (eds) An atlas of south Molokai. USGS Publication

  • Brown EK, Cox EF, Tissot B, Jokiel PL, Rodgers KS, Smith WR, Coles SL (2004) Development of benthic sampling methods for the Coral Reef Assessment and Monitoring Program (CRAMP) in Hawai‘i. Pacific Science 58(2):145–158

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Clarke KR, Gorley RN (2001) PRIMER v5: user manual/tutorial. PRIMER-E. Plymouth, United Kingdom

  • Derse E, Knee KL, Wankel SD, Kendall C, Berg CJ, Paytan A (2007) Identifying sources of nitrogen to Hanalei Bay, Kauai, utilizing the nitrogen isotope signature of macroalgae. Environmental Science and Technology 41:5217–5223

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Detenbeck N, Johnston CA, Niemi G (1993) Wetland effects on lake water quality in the Minneapolis/St. Paul metropolitan area. Landscape Ecology 8:39–61

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dollar SJ, Grigg RW (2004) Anthropogenic and natural stresses on selected coral reefs in Hawaii: a multidecade synthesis of impact and recovery. Pacific Science 58:281–304

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Draut AE, Field ME, Bothner MH, Logan JB, Casso MA, Baldwin SM, Storlazzi CD (2006) Coastal circulation and sediment dynamics in Hanalei Bay, Kaua‘i, Hawaii. Part II: tracking recent fluvial sedimentation; isotope stratigraphy obtained in summer 2005. Open-file report. U.S. Geological Survey

  • Fabricius KE (2005) Effects of terrestrial runoff on the ecology of corals and coral reefs: review and synthesis. Marine Pollution Bulletin 50:125–146

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Field ME, Cochran SA, Logan JB, Storlazzi CD (2008) The Moloka‘i coral reef today, and alternatives for the future. In: Field ME, Cochran SQ, Logan JB, Storlazzi CD (eds) The coral reef of south Moloka‘i, Hawai‘i—Portrait of a sediment-threatened fringing reef: U.S. Geological Curvey Scientific Investigations Report 2007–5101, pp 167–170

  • Friedlander AM, Brown EK (2006) Hanalei Bay, Kaua‘i marine benthic communities since 1992: spatial and temporal trends in a dynamic Hawaiian coral reef ecosystem. Hawai‘i Cooperative Studies Unit, University of Hawaii at Hilo, Hilo, Hawaii

  • Friedlander AM, Brown EK, Jokiel PL, Smith WR, Rodgers KS (2003) Effects of habitat, wave exposure, and marine protected area status on coral reef fish assemblages in the Hawaiian archipelago. Coral Reefs 22:291–305

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ganasan V, Hughes RM (1998) Application of an index of biological integrity (IBI) to fish assemblages of the rivers Klan and Kshipra (Madhya Pradesh), India. Freshwater Biology 40:367–383

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gergel SE, Turner MG, Miller JR, Melack JM, Stanley EH (2002) Landscape indicators of human impacts to riverine systems. Aquatic Science 64:118–128

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Godwin S, Rodgers KS, Jokiel PL (2006) Reducing potential impact of invasive marine species in the northwestern Hawaiian Islands marine national monument. Report submitted to Northwest Hawaiian Islands Marine National Monument Administration, NTIS, Honolulu (http://www.fedworld.gov/onow/)

  • Gon SM III, Allison A, Cannarella RJ, Jacobi JD, Kaneshiro KY, Kido MH, Lane-Kanahele M, Miller SE (2006) The Hawaii GAP analysis project. Final report. U.S. Department of Interior/U.S. Geological Survey, Cooperative Agreement 01HQAG0195, Honolulu, HI

  • Grigg RW (1983) Community structure, succession and development of coral reefs in Hawai‘i. Marine Ecology Progress Series 11:1–14

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Handy ESG, Handy EG (1978) Native Planter in Old Hawaii: Their Life, Lore and Environment. Bishop Museum Press, Honolulu

    Google Scholar 

  • Hawai’i State GIS Program(2004) Office of planning. www.hawaii.gov/dbedt/gis

  • Jameson SC, Erdmann MV, Karr JR, Potts KW (2001) Charting a course toward diagnostic monitoring: a continuing review of coral reef attributes and a research strategy for creating coral reef indexes of biotic integrity. Bulletin of Marine Science 69(2):701–744

    Google Scholar 

  • Jokiel PL (2008) Biology and ecological functioning of coral reefs of the main Hawaiian islands. In: Riegl B, Dodge R (eds) Coral reefs of the USA. Springer Publishing, New York, pp 489–517

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Jokiel PL, Brown EK, Friedlander A, Rodgers KS, Smith WR (2004) Hawai‘i coral reef assessment and monitoring program: spatial patterns and temporal dynamics in reef coral communities. Pacific Science 58(2):159–174

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jokiel PL, Rodgers KS, Walsh WJ, Polhemus DA, Wilhelm TA (2011) Marine resource management in the Hawaiian archipelago: the traditional Hawaiian system in relation to the western approach. Journal of Marine Biology. doi:10.1155/2011/151682

  • Jones KB, Heggem DT, Wade TG, Neale AC, Ebert DW, Nash MS, Mehaffey MH, Hermann KA, Selle AR, Augustine D, Goodman IA, Pedersen J, Bolgrien D, Viger JM, Chiang D, Lin CJ, Zhong YH, Baker J, van Remortel RD (2000) Assessing landscape condition relative to water resources in the western United States: a strategic approach. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment 64:301–312

    Google Scholar 

  • Kaneshiro KY, Chinn P, Duin KN, Hood AP, Maly K, Wilcox BA (2005) Hawaii’s mountain-to-sea ecosystems: social-ecological microcosms for sustainability science and practice. EcoHealth 2:349–360

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Karr JR, Chu EW (1999) Restoring Life in Running Waters: Better Biological Monitoring. Island Press, Washington, DC, p 206

    Google Scholar 

  • Karr JR, Dudley DR (1981) Ecological perspectives on water quality goals. Environmental Management 5:55–68

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kido MH (2000a) The Waipio Valley restoration project: hydrological and biological assessment of Wailoa River and Hi‘ilawe Stream. Project report to the Waipi‘o Valley Community Association, March 2001

  • Kido MH (2000b) A biological and habitat assessment of halawa stream, O‘ahu. Project Report to the City and County of Honolulu, July 2001

  • Kido MH (2001) The Hawaii stream bioassessment protocol (Version 3.01): a manual for biological monitoring and assessment of Hawaiian streams. Technical Report to the Hawaii Department of Health, Environmental Planning Division and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 9, December 2001

  • Kido MH (2006) A GIS-based watershed health index for the state of Hawaii. Technical report to the Hawaii Department of Health, Environmental Health Administration—Environmental Planning Office, July 2006

  • Kido MH (2008) A persistent species assemblage structure along a Hawaiian stream from catchment-to-sea. Environmental Biology of Fishes 82:223–235

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kleypas JA, Buddemeier RW, Archer A, Gattuso J-P, Langdon C, Opdyke BN (1999) Geochemical consequences of increased atmospheric carbon dioxide on coral reefs. Science 284:118–120

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Magee DW (1996) The hydrogeomorphic approach: a different perspective. Bulletin of the Society of Wetland Scientists 13(2):12–14

    Google Scholar 

  • Meyer WB, Turner BL (1994) Changes in land use and land cover: a global perspective. Campbrige University Press, Cambridge, p 537

    Google Scholar 

  • Moberly R, Chamberlain T (1964) Hawaiian beach systems. Hawai‘i Institute of Geophysics Report 64-2, University of Hawai‘i

  • Nowlis JS, Roberts CM, Smith AH, Sirila E (1997) Human-enhanced impacts of a tropical storm on nearshore coral reefs. Ambio 26:515–521

    Google Scholar 

  • Ogston AS, Storlazzi CD, Field ME, Presto MK (2004) Sediment resus-pension and transport patterns on a fringing reef flat, Molokai. Hawaii. Coral Reefs 23(4):559–569

    Google Scholar 

  • Oliver LM, Lehrter JC, Fisher WS (2011) Relating landscape development intensity to coral reef condition in the watersheds of St. Croix, US Virgin Islands. Marine Ecological Progress Series 427:293–302

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Omernik JM, Abernathy AR, Male LM (1981) Stream nutrient levels and proximity of agricultural and forest land to streams: some relationships. Soil and Water Conservation 36:227–231

    Google Scholar 

  • Osborne LL, Wiley MJ (1988) Empirical relationships between land use/land cover and stream water quality in an agricultural watershed. Environmental Management 26:9–27

    Google Scholar 

  • Presto MK, Ogston AS, Storlazzi CD, Field ME (2006) Temporal and spatial variability in the flow and dispersal of suspended-sediment on a shallow fringing reef flat, Molokai. Hawaii. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science 67(1–2):67–81

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Richmond RH, Rongo T, Golbuu Y, Victor S, Idechong N (2007) Watersheds and coral reefs: conservation science, policy, and implementation. BioScience 57(7):598–607

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rodgers KS (2005) Evaluation of nearshore coral reef condition and identification of indicators in the main Hawaiian Islands. PhD Dissertation. Dept of Geography, University of Hawai’i, Honolulu, Hawai’i

  • Rodgers KS, Jokiel PL, Bird CE, Brown EK (2010) Quantifying the condition of Hawaiian coral reefs. Aquatic Conservation 20:93–105

    Google Scholar 

  • Rogers CS (1990) Responses of coral reefs and reef organisms to sedimentation. Marine Ecology Progress Series 62:185–202

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Smith DR, Ammann A, Bartoldus C, Brinson MM (1995) An approach for assessing wetland functions using hydrogeomorphic classification, reference wetlands, and functional indices. Technical report WRP-DE-9, U.S. Army Engineer Waterways Experiment Station, Vicksburg, MS. NTIS No. AD A307 121

  • StatSoft, Inc. (2009) STATISTICA (data analysis software system), version 9.0 www.statsoft.com. Tulsa, Oklahoma

  • Storlazzi CD, Field ME, Jokiel PL, Rodgers SK, Brown E, Dykes JD (2005) A model for wave control on coral breakage and species distribution: Southern Molokai. Hawaii. Coral Reefs 24:43–55

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Storlazzi CD Ogston, AS Bothner, MH Field, ME and Presto MK (2004) Wave- and tidally-driven flow and sediment flux across a fringing coral reef; South-central Molokai, Hawaii. Continental Shelf Research 24(12):1397–1419

    Google Scholar 

  • Storlazzi CD, Presto MK, Logan JB, Field ME (2006) Coastal circulation and sediment dynamics in Hanalei Bay, Kauai. Part I: measurements of waves, currents, temperature, salinity and turbidity: June–August, 2005. Open-file report. U.S. Geological Survey, Santa Cruz, California

  • Turner MG, Gardner RH, O’Neill RV (2001) Landcape ecology in theory and practice. Springer-Verlag, New York, p 401

    Google Scholar 

  • Ulanowicz RE (2000) Toward the measurement of ecological integrity. In: Pimental D, Westra L, Noss EF (eds) Ecological integrity: integrating environment, conservation and health. Island Press, Washington, DC, pp 19–41

    Google Scholar 

  • U.S.Geological Survey (2008) The coral reef of South Moloka‘i, Portrait of a sediment-threatened fringing reef. Scientific Investigations Report 2007–5101, Hawai‘i

  • Vannote RL, Minshall GW, Cummins KW, Sedell JR, Cushing CE (1980) The river continuum concept. Canadian Journal of Aquatic Science 37:130–137

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vargas-Ángel B, Wheeler B (2009) Coral health and disease assessment in the U.S. Pacific Territories and Affiliated States. In: Proceedings of 11th Int. Coral Reef Symp, Ft Lauderdale, pp 175–179

  • Vermeij MJA, Dailer ML, Walsh SM, Donovan MK, Smith CM (2010) The effects of trophic interactions and spatial competition on algal community composition on Hawaiian coral reefs. Marine Ecology 31(2):291–299

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ward JV (1998) Riverine landscapes: Biodiversity patterns, disturbance regimes and aquatic conservation. Biological Conservation 83:269–278

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Westra L, Miller P, Karr JR, Ress WE, Ulanowicz RE (2000) In: Pimental D, Westra L, Noss EF (eds) Ecological integrity: integrating environment, conservation and health. Island Press, Washington, DC, pp 19–41

  • Wilcox C (1996) Sugar water: Hawaii’s plantation ditches. University of Hawai‘i Press, Honolulu, p 191

    Google Scholar 

  • Williams JS (1992) From the mountains to the sea; early Hawaiian life. Kamehameha Schools Press, Honolulu, p 119

    Google Scholar 

  • Williams MR, Fisher TR, Melack JM (1997) Solute dynamics in soil water and groundwater in a central Amazon catchment undergoing deforestation. Biogeochemistry 38:67–102

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Williams ID, Walsh WJ, Schroeder RE, Friedlander AM, Richards BL, Stamoulis KA (2008) Assessing the importance of fishing impacts on Hawaiian coral reef fish assemblages along regional-scale human population gradients. Environmental Conservation 35(3):261–272

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wolanski E, Richmond RH, McCook L (2004) A model of the effects of land-based, human activities on the health of coral reefs in the Great Barrier Reef and in Fouha Bay, Guam, Micronesia. Journal of Marine Systems 46:133–144

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zar J (1999) Biostatistical analysis, 4th edn. Prentice-Hall, Upper Saddle River

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

Coral Reef Assessment and Monitoring Program data and reef index development research was partially funded by the EPA Office of Water Quality Grant 00920, USGS Cooperative Agreement 98WRAG1030, NOS Cooperative Agreement NA170A1489, and by the Hawai‘i Coral Reef Initiative and the National Ocean Service MOA 2005-008/6882 Amendment No. 001, “Research in Support of the NWHI Coral Reef Ecosystem Reserve, HIMB, SOEST, UH Mānoa”. This publication is Hawai‘i Institute of Marine Biology contribution #1457. We thank Fred Farrell, Kanako Uchino, Erica Muse, and Will Smith for their assistance in the field, Dan and Claire Lager for lab assistance, and Linda Koch for GIS support.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Hawai‘i Institute of Marine Biology, University of Hawai‘i, P.O. Box 1346, Kāne‘ohe, HI, 96744, USA

    Ku‘ulei S. Rodgers & Paul L. Jokiel

  2. Center for Conservation Research and Training, Hawai‘i Stream Research Center, 3050 Maile Way, Gilmore 406, Honolulu, HI, 96822, USA

    Michael H. Kido & Tim Edmonds

  3. Kalaupapa National Historical Park, P.O. Box 2222, Kalaupapa, HI, 96742, USA

    Eric K. Brown

Authors
  1. Ku‘ulei S. Rodgers
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Michael H. Kido
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Paul L. Jokiel
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Tim Edmonds
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Eric K. Brown
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Ku‘ulei S. Rodgers.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Rodgers, K.S., Kido, M.H., Jokiel, P.L. et al. Use of Integrated Landscape Indicators to Evaluate the Health of Linked Watersheds and Coral Reef Environments in the Hawaiian Islands. Environmental Management 50, 21–30 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00267-012-9867-9

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00267-012-9867-9

Keywords

Search

Navigation