User:Mgarce1/sandbox

Importance of aquatic life in Hawaii
In Hawaii the ocean and creatures have a high importance in the tourism, residents and decisions of Hawaii. The economy of Hawaii relies heavily tourism and the beaches and marine life are one of the biggest tourist attractions. Without the beaches and wildlife the tourism and attractions to Hawaii would be highly lowered. Another reason for the importance of aquatic life is the food source that fish provide in the Islands. Fish plays an important role in many peoples diets on the islands of Hawaii with the majority of Hawaii being of asian descent. This is how some invasive fish have been introduced to the local ecosystem as a replacement to a depleting resources.

Oceanic Invasive Species
==== Animal Species ==== There are many animal species in Hawaii that are invasive; these fish and other animals take up space of the reef and have to natural predators which causes many problems in the ecosystem and could have many destructive or helpful properties. Some of these invasive animals can hurt the natural balance of the existing native wildlife. Some species of animals may have been introduced to Hawaii for a reason like food or to get rid of another pest but many have backfired and have taken over the natural habitat of the indigenous animals. These invasive fish also have some beneficial factors to Hawaii; an example the Roi fish was introduced to Hawaii in the 1950s as an alternative to other spices of grouper that are slow growing and take a long time to reach a stage at which they can reproduce. This plan for the Roi backfired for the reason that the locals don't eat the fish because it has a higher chance of having a toxin called ciguatera.

Positives of Invasive Species (animal)

 * Some invasive species like oysters are able to filter dirty water
 * Provide food source
 * Disruption of a pest

Negatives of Invasive Species (Animal)

 * Disruption of natural balance
 * Destruction of native populations
 * Crowding of reefs
 * No natural predators

Invasive Fish

 * Peacock grouper (Roi)
 * Blue stripped snapper (Ta'ape)
 * Blacktail snapper
 * Milk fish
 * Upside-down jelly
 * Tilapia

Other Invasive Animals

 * Oysters
 * Keyhole sponge
 * Snowflake coral

Mangrove forest
Mangrove is a type of tree that grows very well in Hawaiis estuaries, lagoons and sheltered shorelines. With the environment that they like living in Hawaiis fishing ponds are a big portion of places that get impacted by the mangrove.

Positives of Mangrove forest

 * Mangrove are able to aid in water quality of afflicted areas; they help in sediment retention and lower turbidity
 * Provide habitat for certain animals
 * Promote diverse Fauna in affected areas

Negatives of Mangrove forest

 * Invade Hawaiian fishing ponds and temporary habitation sites
 * Difficult and costly to remove

Algae/Seaweed
Invasive Algae mainly affects the reefs of Hawaii. The algae smothers coral reefs which poses a big issue to the native wildlife like fish, turtles, lobster, etc... that use the reefs as a home. There are five species of seaweed that the DLNR of Hawaii considers invasive Smothering seaweed, Gorilla Ogo, Leather Mudweed, Hook Weed, and Prickly Seaweed. Algae is a good example how some species don't have any natural predators in Hawaii; the Smothering seaweed doesn't have any known predators in Hawaii and is damaging the reefs by shading them from sunlight. With the loss of habitat caused by the growing seaweed there are big consequences to the recreational and commercial fisheries.

Positives of algae

 * algae is able to absorb a large amount of CO2
 * Uses in things like food grade thickener



Negatives of algae

 * Habitat loss
 * Loss to fisheries
 * decreased diversity
 * decreased property value
 * decreased beach use

Invasive Fish

 * Guppy
 * Mosquito fish
 * Small mouth bass
 * Freshwater eel
 * Suckermouth catfish
 * Convict Cichlid
 * Green Swordtail

Other Invasive Animals

 * Red-rimmed Melania
 * Asiatic Clam
 * Red Swamp Crayfish
 * Tahitian Prawn