Coupling and de-coupling of the El Niño Southern Oscillation to the supply of larval fishes to benthic populations in the Hawaiian Islands.

Several recent high intensity ENSO events have caused strong negative impacts on the adult phases of foundational species in coral reef ecosystems, but comparatively little is known about how climatic variables related to recent ENSOs are impacting the supply of larvae to benthic populations. In marine fishes and invertebrates, reproductive adults and planktonic larvae are generally more sensitive to environmental variability than older, non-reproductive adults. Further, the transport of larvae in ocean currents may also be strongly ENSO dependent.

Correction: Spatial variation and antecedent sea surface temperature conditions influence Hawaiian intertidal community structure.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.

Spatial variation and antecedent sea surface temperature conditions influence Hawaiian intertidal community structure.

Global sea surface temperatures (SSTs) are increasing, and in Hawai'i, rates of ocean warming are projected to double by the end of the 21st century. However, current nearshore warming trends and their possible impacts on intertidal communities are not well understood. This study represents the first investigation into the possible effects of rising SST on intertidal algal and invertebrate communities across the Main Hawaiian Islands (MHI).

Shallow water hydroids (Cnidaria, Hydrozoa) from the 2002 NOWRAMP cruise to the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands.

Forty-two species of hydroids, excluding stylasterids, are reported in the present collection from the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. Of these, four are anthoathecates and 38 are leptothecates. Among the latter, Sertularella affinicostata and Monotheca gibbosa are described as new species.

Species Radiations in the Sea: What the Flock?

Species flocks are proliferations of closely-related species, usually after colonization of depauperate habitat. These radiations are abundant on oceanic islands and in ancient freshwater lakes, but rare in marine habitats. This contrast is well documented in the Hawaiian Archipelago, where terrestrial examples include the speciose silverswords (sunflower family Asteraceae), Drosophila fruit flies, and honeycreepers (passerine birds), all derived from one or a few ancestral lineages.

Barcoding Techniques Help Tracking the Evolutionary History of the Introduced Species Pennaria disticha (Hydrozoa, Cnidaria).

The Christmas tree hydroid Pennaria disticha is listed as one of the most common introduced species in Hawaii. Firstly reported in Kaneohe Bay (Oahu) in 1928, it is now established throughout the entire archipelago, including the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, a U.S.

Speciation in the sea: overview of the symposium and discussion of future directions.

Speciation remains one of the most controversial and least understood topics in evolution. About 75% of the earth's surface is covered by oceans. However, most of what we currently know about speciation is strongly biased toward terrestrial and freshwater organisms.

Defining Boundaries for Ecosystem-Based Management: A Multispecies Case Study of Marine Connectivity across the Hawaiian Archipelago.

Determining the geographic scale at which to apply ecosystem-based management (EBM) has proven to be an obstacle for many marine conservation programs. Generalizations based on geographic proximity, taxonomy, or life history characteristics provide little predictive power in determining overall patterns of connectivity, and therefore offer little in terms of delineating boundaries for marine spatial management areas. Here, we provide a case study of 27 taxonomically and ecologically diverse species (including reef fishes, marine mammals, gastropods, echinoderms, cnidarians, crustaceans, and an elasmobranch) that reveal four concordant barriers to dispersal within the Hawaiian Archipelago which are not detected in single-species exemplar studies.

Host shift and speciation in a coral-feeding nudibranch.

While the role of host preference in ecological speciation has been investigated extensively in terrestrial systems, very little is known in marine environments. Host preference combined with mate choice on the preferred host can lead to population subdivision and adaptation leading to host shifts. We use a phylogenetic approach based on two mitochondrial genetic markers to disentangle the taxonomic status and to investigate the role of host specificity in the speciation of the nudibranch genus Phestilla (Gastropoda, Opisthobranchia) from Guam, Palau and Hawaii.