IV. STATE OF KNOWLEDGE IN THE PACIFIC—WHAT DO WE KNOW AND WHAT HAVE WE LEARNED? OVERVIEW OF ISSUES UNIQUE TO THE PACIFIC: BIOLOGICAL & SOCIAL PERSPECTIVES Michael J. Gawel Guam EPA 120 Bengbing St. Y-Papao Dededo, GU 96929
[email protected] Pacific Islands The term “Pacific Islands” in the context of this paper arbitrarily refers to those tropical islands of the central and western Pacific Ocean which support shallow hermatypic coral reefs, but excluding the Hawaiian Archipelago, which is covered in other papers. The tropical Pacific Island nations and territories all support coral reefs and, no doubt, harbor coral diseases, although these have not been scientifically documented in many of the islands. In fact, as part of the U.S. National Action Plan to Conserve Coral Reefs, surveys in 2002 and 2004 of coral reef academic scientists, resource managers, government agencies and NGOs recorded that in the U.S. Pacific islands they perceived “no threat” from coral disease, although American Samoa registered an increase to perception of “moderate threat” in the 2004 survey (Waddell, 2005). This lack of concern partially reflects a lack of information on the status of diseases in many islands. Wilkinson (2004, p. 405) notes that in American Samoa and Micronesia “Coral bleaching and disease were either rare or undocumented in 1994, but are now clearly evident and considered a serious threat to many reefs in the region.” The Pacific island coral reefs range from veneers on newly emergent volcanic islands, to platform-like fringing reefs, to barrier reefs with lagoons, to atolls, and include non- emergent isolated banks.