Science

Expeditions

2022

July 12 - 28, 2022 (Kuaihelani Expedition)

Chondria Research team poses in front of the Midway Atoll Refuge office. — *Chondria* Research team poses in front of the Midway Atoll Refuge office with Deputy Refuge Manager Eldridge Naboa. (l-r) NOAA affiliate staff members Brian Hauk and Keolohilani Lopes Jr. (CIMAR), Taylor Williams (C of C) and Mario Kaluhiokalani (UHM). Image: Jon Plissner/USFWS

PMNM scientist Brian Hauk, Sanctuary Resource Protection Specialist, leads the investigation of Chondria tumulosa presence at Midway Atoll (Kuaihelani) revealing startling impacts of this and other algal invaders.

Coral head with overgrowth of Chondria. — Researchers collect data on nuisance red alga at Kuaihelani in Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument

August 24, 2022

Divers haul large nets onto the boat. — 53 Tons of Marine Debris Removed from Papahānaumokuākea
*Second Large-Scale Cleanup in Marine National Monument This Year*

November 14, 2022

Live, freshly collected specimen of Croisettea kalaukapuae. — Scientists name new species of limu from Papahānaumokuākea after island conservation leader Laura Thompson

August 11, 2022

Divers work to remove a large derelict fishing net. — 86,000 Pounds of Ghost Nets Removed from a Single Reef in Papahānaumokuākea

August 4, 2022

Scientific diver collects green blades of algae at Manawai. — Researchers Identify Sources of Nitrogen in Macroalgae in Hawaiʻi

June 10, 2022

Pink corals and huge white sponges of Tamana Seamount. — Watch undersea exploration live in Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument

April 11, 2022

Martensia abbottiae, a new species of algae from Nihoa Island. — New limu (algae) from the coral reef twilight zone receive Hawaiian species names

March 23, 2022

2021

August 24, 2021 (M/V IMUA Leg 2)

Group photo of researchers aboard ship. — Researchers aboard the M/V *Imua* for the second ONMS cruise to the monument in 2021. Image: Randy Kosaki/NOAA

PMNM scientists return with positive results, discoveries, and startling imagery from the second expedition of the year.

Diver surveys algal growth along reef. — Scientists return from PMNM with positive reports, discoveries

August 24, 2021

August 2, 2021 (M/V IMUA Leg 1)

Coral overgrown with alga. — A close-up of the native coral *Pocillopora meandrina* overgrown with the nuisance alga *Chondria*. Image: Heather Spalding (College of Charleston)

PMNM scientists collect data on nuisance alga in Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument.

Two divers collecting alga samples along reef. — Researchers Collect Data on Nuisance Alga in Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument

August 2, 2021

A glass sponge and a snubnosed eel are surrounded by pink corals on Tamana Seamount. — Researchers return from undersea exploration in Papahānaumokuākea; report rich and diverse coral and sponge communities

December 13, 2021

Diver cuts a large derelict fishing net off the reef as two divers haul it into the small boat. — Clean-up mission to PMNM returns with more than 124,000 pounds of marine debris

September 24, 2021

Woman and man along rocky intertidal zone with limpets in the foreground. — Native Hawaiian Scientists depart for Papahānaumokuākea

August 1, 2021

Left: Reef with fish and coral. Right: Rubble and dead coral. — Monument Field Research: Summer 2021

July 7, 2021

A juvenile Hawaiian Monk Seal rests on top of a pile of ghost nets on the windward shores of Kamole (Laysan Island). — 47.2 tons of marine debris removed from Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument

April 22, 2021

2020

July 7, 2020

College of Charleston professor of biology Heather Spalding documents a mat of invasive algae at Pearl and Hermes Atoll. — College of Charleston professor of biology Heather Spalding documents a mat of invasive-like algae at Pearl and Hermes Atoll. The alga has smothered all native algae and corals. Image: Taylor Williams/NOAA

PMNM collaborators at the University of Hawaiʿi at Mānoa identify mysterious alga as unique, named it Chondria tumulosa. (Sherwood et al. 2020)

2019

October 2, 2019

Bleaching at Pearl and Hermes Atoll. Image: Morgan Winston/NOAA Fisheries

PMNM scientists observe coral bleaching in Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument.

Bleached <i>Pocillopora</i> colonies observed during a photoquad transect survey at Kure Atoll. — Coral bleaching observed in Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument

October 2, 2019

August 15, 2019

Left: Fish school at French Frigate Shoals prior to Hurricane Walaka. Right: Divers observed devastating damage to coral reef sites at French Frigate Shoals. — Left: Fish school at French Frigate Shoals prior to Hurricane Walaka (Image: James Watt/NOAA). Right: Divers observed devastating damage to coral reef sites at French Frigate Shoals (Image: Kailey Pascoe/NOAA).

PMNM scientists discover coral reef damage and an alarming, unidentified mat forming alga in Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument.

Kaga gun mount. — WWII Japanese warships discovered off Midway by R/V *Petrel*

October 21, 2019

Deep-sea corals and sponges provide habitat and refuge for many other animals living on or near the seafloor. Here, a sponge covered with hundreds to thousands of tiny anemones also provides a home to several brittlestars (pink), crinoids or “sea lilies” (yellow), and a basket star (brown). — Necker Ridge: Bridge or Barrier?
*Watch live streaming undersea exploration*

August 29, 2019

Four wahine researchers head out to Papahānaumokuākea aboard the <i>Searcher</i>. — Mai Ka Pō - Return to the Source
Journey to Papahānaumokuākea aboard the *Searcher*

July 24, 2019

2018

October 23, 2018

Satellite image of Hurricane Walaka. Image: National Weather Service/NOAA