Final Report: Assessing the Impact of Future Climate on Hawai‘i’s Aquatic Ecosystems
Dates
Release Date
2022-02-28
Citation
Yinphan Tsang, Final Report: Assessing the Impact of Future Climate on Hawai‘i’s Aquatic Ecosystems: .
Summary
Streams are like the blood vessels of the body weaving through the lands, collecting and delivering essential resources from land to the ocean. Flowing water, on its way to the ocean, becomes a corridor for the movement of organisms that connect and sustain ecosystems from mountain ridges to the sea. Looking into the long term records of streamflow, this project found that the majority of streamflow in Hawai‘i is decreasing resulting in drier conditions. When applying the projected changes in climate, the simulated streamflow outputs indicated likely increases in the frequency and duration of no-flow conditions in Hawaiian streams. Both long-term trends and simulated future streamflows indicate the impact drier streams will likely [...]
Summary
Streams are like the blood vessels of the body weaving through the lands, collecting and delivering essential resources from land to the ocean. Flowing water, on its way to the ocean, becomes a corridor for the movement of organisms that connect and sustain ecosystems from mountain ridges to the sea. Looking into the long term records of streamflow, this project found that the majority of streamflow in Hawai‘i is decreasing resulting in drier conditions. When applying the projected changes in climate, the simulated streamflow outputs indicated likely increases in the frequency and duration of no-flow conditions in Hawaiian streams. Both long-term trends and simulated future streamflows indicate the impact drier streams will likely have on Hawaiian native migratory stream species, which rely on flow connectivity to move between freshwater and ocean habitats to complete their life cycles. When prioritizing areas for conservation, it is apparent that we must consider the importance of sustaining connectivity among land, stream to coastal ecosystems and consider both social-ecological influences.
