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List of Content pages
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Process
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Acquiring data sets and information
- Available data sets are being requested and gathered
through extensive literature sources and then digitized into our database.
We rely heavily on collaborations with many agencies.
- Reliable sources are interviewed regarding species distributions,
occurrences, and ecological interactions. This data is then transferred
into a referenced mappable database.
- All data is processed to be interchangeable and searchable
within one database. This allows users to search using either geographic
location or subject.
- The information is then run through a simulated annealing computer
program called Marxan to locate areas that represent high biodiversity
and species richness/uniqueness.
Marxan and Marine Geodatabase
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| We hope to create a framework where
different scenarios and layers can be displayed and examined in the same
environment: biology, ecology, management, land-use patterns, cultural resources,
community activities... Not to design a single answer to a marine protected
area network in Hawai'i, but to create the ability to understand
and visualize the possibilities. |
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What kind of data are we looking for?
- Species locations and distributions
- Ecological processes
- Habitat maps
- Community structure
- Currents, upwelling, oceanographic processes
- Human-use patterns
- Threats to the coastal and marine environment
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What do we do with this information?
- All information is then referenced within 25 hectare hexagons
(about 45 acres). We can select a hexagon and know exactly what can
be found there. We can also search for a species and see which hexagon
it's located within. (See honeycomb background as an example, Map)
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How are the goals selected?
- Based on biodiversity parameters - choosing targets that encompass
areas of high biomass and species diversity
- Selecting healthy ecosystems that represent the diversity of
Hawaii's habitats
- Finding areas that are significant for ecological processes
- juvenile shelter, cleaning stations...
- Finding functional communities with little human impact and
potential viability into the future
- Selecting unique, rare species or habitats
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| Creating a suitability index...
We are also creating a layer giving all hexagons an associated cost for
being selected. The cost assigns a value for lack of biological
integrity. This can be calculated and created using many sources such
as those listed below. Although biology is the basis, human-use
patterns can play a role in this layer.
- Recreational areas
- Fishing use
- Pollution sources
- Management oversight
- Cultural access
Putting it all together...
- Each goal is then given a target, or how much of that species
or habitat we want to select
- The computer program reads all the targets that we want selected,
calculates the cost for these areas and then provides us with
the best possible solution (cheapest) for including all our goals within
the smallest area and at the least cost.
- The model also groups areas together so that we have more larger
areas and not lots of small spots.
- We can limit the model in any way needed such as to include some places
and lock others out
- This model can be run over and over so that we have various solutions,
each with a different purpose.
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| Examples of the process...
See Maps page |
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Hawaii
Biodiversity and Mapping Program
Univ. of Hawaii at Manoa, Biomed Bldg, RM B203, Honolulu HI 96822
Contact: Dwight Matsuwaki 808.956.7184
or dmatsuwa@hawaii.edu
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