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Together with scientists aboard the NOAA ship Townsend Cromwell, the biologists were able to complete a total of 39 surveys at French Frigate Shoals as part of this unique collaborative research expedition.
"We recorded a total of 43 hard and soft corals within the Shoals," said principal investigator Jim Maragos of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. "Thirty-eight of which are stony or hard corals and five of which are soft corals." These numbers compare to 22 recorded stony corals found by other scientists in the early 1980's.
Aside from nearly doubling the number of recorded coral species found at the Shoals, coral researchers were most excited to have recorded two new species of Acropora, or table coral, not found at French Frigate Shoals before. One species is Acropora cerealis, a small robust table coral. The second newly recorded species has yet to be identified.
These corals are two of four newly recorded Acropora corals identified at French Frigate Shoals in the past year and a half. Two others, Acropora gemmisfera and Acropora nasuta were recorded at the Shoals by Maragos in May of last year. The three other Acropora corals at French Frigate Shoals were previously recorded by scientists in the 1980's.
Although common throughout much of the world, Acropora corals are extremely rare in Hawaiian waters. French Frigate Shoals probably has the highest concentration of Acropora in the entire Hawaiian Archipelago (see previous story on 9/24 for more information about Acropora).
Scientists spent a total of four and a half days conducting surveys at the Shoals and are pleased with the amount of territory they were able to cover.
"We surveyed more sites within French Frigate Shoals and more types of habitat than was done in the past," said Maragos. Their extensive site surveys were aided in part by the particularly calm weather and seas that the researchers have experienced throughout the trip so far.
"Weather has enabled us to access sites that are usually inaccessible due to heavy surge and wave action," continued Maragos. "For example at La Pérouse Pinnacle alone, we, together with divers from the Townsend Cromwell, were able to do a thorough survey of the surrounding reefs on all sides. Usually weather prevents divers from accessing the western side of the pinnacle."
Divers off the Rapture selected many of their sites based on towboard surveys completed by the Townsend Cromwell researchers the week prior. The
Townsend Cromwell completed 20 such surveys, covering 60 kilometers of area, at the Shoals to help direct Rapture divers toward the most useful sites.
These towboard surveys covered the vast majority of the atoll waters.
Although operating at different atolls or islands each day, Townsend Cromwell and Rapture scientists keep in touch with each other daily during evening radio check-ins.
French Frigate Shoals is located 600 miles northwest of the main Hawaiian Islands and is about halfway between Kauai and Midway Atoll.
French Frigate Shoals supports a wide range of reef habitats, ranging from outside reef slopes to numerous patch reefs, pinnacles, and linear reefs
throughout the eastern half of the lagoon. The Shoals are also home to the largest population of endangered Hawaiian Monk Seals in the northwestern islands and are the nesting grounds for 90% of all green sea turtles found in Hawaii. The Shoals also provide nesting grounds for hundreds of
thousands of seabirds.
The vessel Rapture left French Frigate shoals tonight and began its 650 mile journey to Midway. Estimated arrival at Midway is 6:00 a.m. on September 30.