This last weekend I was blessed with the opportunity to visit the remote town and National Historic Park/Community of Kalaupapa on the island of Moloka'i. Moloka'i is just east of O'ahu in the Maui Nui Island Complex (Maui, Lanai, Moloka'i, Kahoolawe). In fact, from O'ahu you can see Moloka'i on the eastern horizon--but the two islands are dramatically different. For instance, Moloka'i has a population of < 8,000 compared to O'ahu's ~1 million. 

The isolated community of Kalaupapa has a long history in Hawai'i, one that is both sacred and deep in emotional and cultural connection to the people of Hawai'i.  The history of Kalaupapa extends back to the ancient Hawaiians that lived in this community during a period prior to European contact.  However, Kalaupapa's role in Hawaiian history is most known beginning in the 19th century during the rule of the Hawaiian Monarch. In the late 1860s Hansen's Disease (leprocy) was introduced to the Hawaiian Islands. King Kamehameha V proclaimed that people with the disease were to be forcibly sent to Kalaupapa where they would spend the rest of their days in isolation away from the their families and their community.  Approximately  8,000 people died in Kalaupapa, most of which were Hawaiians. Alongside the afflicted were many members of the Catholic clergy that spent time in Kalaupapa serving and engaging with Hansen's Disease patients; some gave their lives to this cause.   While there is a cure for Hansen's Disease today, patients sent to Kalaupapa still live in the settlement today.  The community in Kalaupapa is very special, and thanks to the larger community of Moloka'i and the National Parks Service, the sacred past of Kalaupapa has been preserved as a part of the history and heritage of Hawai'i.  

While in Moloka'i, I had some time to explore and take in the beauty of this remote coastline.  The National Park Service has done an amazing job at serving this community and preserving its history, but there is always more work to be done.   One thing I noticed, and was quite surprised to find, was the marine debris that had washed up on beaches in Moloka'i, and I would like to bring attention to this in the hopes of starting a discussion on how to remediate this problem. 

Preserving the coastal lands and beaches is a full time job, and outside of the community marine debris can be found scattered across this beautiful coastline.  This may be a surprise to you considering Moloka'i has such a small population.  Despite this small local population and the remoteness of Kalaupapa, debris carried to the ocean from rivers, adrift from other neighboring islands, and abandoned/derelict fishing gear have found their way to this isolated place.  

I imagine the debris problem in Kalaupapa is exacerbated by two causes: (1) limited access to this area and therefore limited observation and removal of debris, and (2) the financial and logistical constraints with removing such waste from this remove stretch of the north shore of Moloka'i (i.e., there are no roads into Moloka'i: there is a donkey trail and a landing strip for single propeller planes).

It is my hope that non-governmental organizations will be able to coordinate efforts with the National Parks Service and the Kalaupapa community to establish an effective way to remediate marine debris in Kalaupapa.  However, marine debris is a a global problem, amplified by our use of plastics and non-degradable materials.

Over 8 million tons of marine debris enter our oceans each year.  However, it is important to remember that not all forms of marine debris are large--some are UV-degraded small pieces (micro plastics).  Microplastics are particularly hard to remove due to its small size, and these debris can have devastating impacts on marine life that eat them, such as turtles, birds, and fish.  

So how can you aid in stopping marine debris? First, no matter where you live don't litter! This trash will eventually find its way to a water way and the ocean. Second, if you see trash, pick it up! This is effective at beaches and more terrestrial habitats. And finally, we should all work to reduce our collective reliance on plastics and non-degradable products such as plastic bags, plastic water bottles, and the like.  Wherever you live, look for groups that participate in waterway/beach cleanups. These are great opportunities to learn about your local aquatic habitats and to make an impact in reducing trash on land and in the sea. Contact the Sierra Club, Surfrider Foundation, or the Ocean Conservancy to get involved.

You can learn more about marine debris from the EPA (Trash Free Waters Program) and from NOAA (Marine Debris Program), and efforts to tackle marine debris in Hawai'i (Sustainable Coastlines Hawai'i).

Matter of fact: The Ocean Conservancy has a marine debris petition up NOW to addressed to Secretary of State John Kerry (an advocate for marine conservationism).  Visit their site for more information...

A study published in the journal PLoS One (Open Access: download here) discusses the role of a coral's thermal history and previous exposure to temperature stress as increasing the resistance of corals to future temperature stress events.  (You can read a nice PR right-up from the University of British Columbia, here).  


The study used corals in the Gilbert Islands in the Republic of Kiribati, and found that corals subject to large changes in temperature were more resilient to bleaching than those corals in areas where temperature stress was less common, or the environment was less thermally variable.  This is very interesting! What it suggests is that corals exposed to variable conditions (or greater periods of warming) are able to tolerate this warming better than those corals in what we would characterize as ideal, non-stressed conditions. 

In the context of global warming, we are anticipating a 1-3 degree Celsius increase in ocean temperature. A big talking point in coral biology (and many other arenas) are whether organisms will simply go extinct or have much reduced populations, or can organisms adapt to rapid man-made climate change. A key to this "adaptation" (the evolutionary changes in an organism that are passed on to subsequent generation and driven by natural selection) may be the ability for corals to acclimate or acclimatize to stressful conditions. So, what this study shows us is that corals are able to acclimatize to environmental stress--i.e., change their metabolism, concentrate compounds, alter gene expression--and this short-term process allows corals to be resilient to stressful conditions. In a way this can be likened to "cross training" for an event, like a marathon. If you have been exposed to stressful conditions and your body has turned on its physiological, biochemical, and genetic machinery to respond to period of stress then the organisms may be able to out perform those organisms that have not had the pre-exposure.  

A great quote from the  first author Dr. Jessica Carilli here: “Even through the warming of our oceans is already occurring, these findings give hope that coral that has previously withstood anomalously warm water events may do so again. While more research is needed, this appears to be good news for the future of coral reefs in a warming climate.”

...and I can stand behind that. 

After many long nights, the site is finally up and running! I am excited to share the science news and learning materials with you all--who ever "you all" might be! First, I've had a few questions on whether the header image (at top) is photoshopped. NO it isn't! Chalk it up to the serendipity of photography. 

My aims for COR(AL)OHA are threefold: 
(1) to serve as a portal for students and others to learn about marine biology, coral reefs, and phenomena in the ocean; 
(2) to inform a broad audience of my research and research in my lab-home in Hawai'i, as well as general science news;

(3) to showcase an array of digital media to communicate science in exciting and interactive ways.

Finally, I must thank my friends and collaborators for helping in the collection, logistics, and synthesis of materials presented on this site.  The principal exponents of these projects: Dr. Garen Baghdasarian (SMC) and Santa Monica College, John Burns (UH) and Nick Turner at the UH Hilo SDAV Lab, and Sly Lee (The Hydrous).  Thank you all for your support and fruitful discussions.

I hope you enjoy the site; I look forward to sharing my passion with the ocean and coral reefs with you.

With Aloha,
Chris