Restoration

Biocultural Restoration of Key Habitats

ʻInā e lepo ke kumu wai, e hō‘ea ana ka lepo i kai.”

-ʻŌlelo Noeau 1238

If the source of water is dirty, the muddy water will travel on to the ocean. Native Hawaiians have long recognized the health of the land affects the health of the sea. Building on a strong community legacy, the Heʻeia NERR is guided by a philosophy of biocultural restoration — reviving the connections between biodiversity and humanity to sustain ecosystem services.

“The stream is the physical indicator of the health of this ahupua‘a.”

- Rick Barboza, Native Hawaiian practitioner and ahupuaʻa resident

Read below about key habitats in the Reserve and some of the species that depend on proper habitat functioning to thrive. Some, like the ‘Ae‘o, are beginning to thrive again in Heʻeia due to the restoration work in the Reserve by its community partners.

ʻAeʻo

Hawaiian Stilt.
Himantopus mexicanus knudseni

Photo: Melissa Price

ʻAlae ʻula

Hawaiian Moorhen.
Gallinula chloropus sandvicensis

Photo: Melissa Price

‘Alae ke‘oke‘o

Hawaiian Coot.
Fulica alai

Photo: Melissa Price

‘O‘opu ʻakupa

Flathead Stream Goby Eleotris sandwicensis

Photo: Keoki Stender

Loʻi kalo (flooded field agroecosystems for the cultivation of taro) fed by the He‘eia Stream provide habitat for a variety of native fish, waterbirds, and invertebrates; and act as settling ponds, removing sediment from floodwaters before they reach the ocean. Reserve partner Kākoʻo ʻŌiwi has restored 13 acres of loʻi kalo since 2008, and removed invasive mangrove from another 6 acres of wetland. Photo by Shimi Rii.

ʻAmaʻama

Hawaiian Striped Mullet.
Mugil cephalus

Photo: Keoki Stender

Āholehole

Hawaiian Flagtail.
Kuhlia sandvicensis

Photo: Keoki Stender

Moi

Threadfin.
Polydactylus sexfilis

Photo: Keoki Stender

Pualu

Yellowfin Surgeonfish.
Acanthurus xanthopterus

Photo: Keoki Stender

Traditional Hawaiian fish ponds located in estuaries managed beneficial phytoplankton blooms to augment the base of the food web, resulting in increased fish stocks. These estuarine aquaculture systems functioned as nutrient sinks for excess run-off from intensive agriculture upstream. Reserve partner Paepae o Heʻeia has removed invasive mangrove and rebuilt over 4,000 feet of traditional kuapā (rock wall) since 2001.

Manō kihikihi

Scalloped Hammerhead.
Sphyrna lewini

Photo: Mark Royer

Snapping Shrimp

Alpheus heeia

Photo: Shimi Rii

‘Ōmilu

Bluefin Trevally.
Caranx melampygus

Photo: Keoki Stender

Hāwaʻe maoli

Collector sea urchin.
Tripneustes gratilla

Photo: Keoki Stender

Coral reefs provide critical habitat for many species important both culturally and economically, and provide ecosystem services such as shelter for coasts from ocean waves. Scientists at the Hawaiʻi Institute of Marine Biology, a Reserve partner, are intensively studying coral reefs and linked ecosystems in the ocean and on land, to better understand what makes them resilient to stresses including climate change. Photo: DLNR

He‘eia National Estuarine Research Reserve

Ko‘olaupoko, O‘ahu, Hawai‘i

Restoration

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