Impact of Future Climate and Non-Natives on HI's Aquatic Ecosystems

A warming climate will have fundamental impacts on freshwater, a critical driver of tropical island ecosystems. Declining baseflows are of particular concern as they threaten to interrupt the link between the freshwater habitats of adult migratory fish and the marine environments where their larvae grow and disperse, especially where habitat availability is already limited by surface water diversions. Introduced species, which are prevalent in Hawaii, place additional pressure on native biota, threatening community structure, diversity, and ecosystem function. This NCASC supported research will focus on two main topics during the presentation: (1) changes in streamflow regime and the likely impact on habitat quality for native aquatic species in Hawaii; and (2) a better understanding of the impacts of introduced species on their in-stream habitat and associated environmental factors at the landscape scale.