SLIDE 1
8/15/2012 1
Pearl Oysters (Pinctada) of Midway Atoll (Northwestern Hawaiian Islands)
Kristin McCully*, Don Potts Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Department University of California, Santa Cruz *mccully@biology.ucsc.edu
Hawaii Conservation Conference August 2012
Pearl Oysters (Pinctada spp.)
- Economically important industry
- Important filter feeder
- Important mechanism for benthic/pelagic coupling
- Ecosystem indicators & remediation
– Heavy metals (Sarver et al. 2003) – Nutrients (Gifford et al. 2004, 2005, 2007) Gametes Larvae Recruits Juveniles Adults
Pearl Oysters of Hawaii
Pinctada radiata (pipi)
- Small (up to 10 cm)
- Extensive beds in
Pearl Harbor, Oahu
- Die-off in mid-1800s due to
sedimentation (Walther 1997)
Pinctada margaritifera (pa)
- Much larger (up to 30 cm)
- Extensive harvest at Pearl and
Hermes Atoll in 1920s (Galtsoff
1933, Keenan et al. 2006, Schultz et al. 2011)
- USFWS and PMNM interested
in restoration
Photos courtesy of Bishop Museum in Walther (1997) Kay 1979, Severn 2011
http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/science/condition/pmnm/images/fig1_lg.jpg
Hawaiian Archipelago Midway Atoll
1 km
Research Questions
- What is the current spatial distribution
and abundance of pearl oysters?
- How might managers restore the
population?
- What are the population’s demographic