Marine worm communities at Oahu's Sand Island ocean outfall: abundance, diver
November 16, 3:00pm - 4:00pm
Mānoa Campus, Pacific Ocean Sciences and Technology 723
Marine worm communities at Oahu's Sand Island ocean outfall: abundance, diversity and new species
By Wagner Magalhaes, Postdoctoral Researcher, Zoology Department, University of Hawaii at Manoa
The Sand Island ocean outfall is the main discharge location for treated wastewater effluent of the City of Honolulu. Monitoring of the Sand Island marine community has been carried out since 1986 and currently, 15 sampling stations located along three different isobaths are sampled yearly. The patterns of abundance and diversity of polychaetes will be discussed according to the proximity to the outfall diffuser throughout a 13-year time span. Some polychaete species have been tentatively recognized as indicators of organic enrichment, and fluctuations in their abundances may suggest ecological responses to the sewage outfall. The collection of over 50,000 worms since 1986 at the vicinity of the outfall has also helped us better understand the diversity of marine worms in the Hawaiian islands and many new records and 15 new species were described only in the past five years.
Event Sponsor
Water Resources Research Center, Mānoa Campus
More Information
(808) 956-3097, morav@hawaii.edu
