Charles Birkeland
PhD University of Washington (Zoology), 1970
Adjunct Associate Professor, Department of Zoology
Assistant Leader, Hawai’i Cooperative Fishery Research Unit
Department of Zoology, University of Hawai`i
2538 McCarthy Mall, Edmondson 152
Honolulu, HI 96822
phone: (808) 956-8350
fax: (808) 956-4238
charlesb@hawaii.edu

Coral reef ecology and management, marine community ecology
My research has been mainly on coral reef communities: 1) why some recover from damage by human activities and others do not; and 2) how coral reef resources should be managed. For the first topic, I’ve focused on the interactions of crustose coralline algae, coral recruitment and herbivorous fishes, and especially how these interactions are affected by overfishing and by nutrient input. For the second topic, I’ve focused on the biological characteristics and life histories of the targeted coral-reef species and on the nature of ecosystem processes of coral reefs. These aspects are both so different from those of other marine communities that the resources of coral reefs must be managed in a fundamentally different way.

Since I’ve come to Hawaii, I have started to examine whether Marine Protected Areas affect ecosystem processes such as coral recruitment and substratum binding and whether MPAs increase the fisheries yield beyond the MPA boundaries. The Hawaiian concept of ahupua’a, or management on the basis of watershed, is being examined in American Samoa and on Moloka’i. Two of my graduate students are investigating the means by which corals adjust to climate change by acclimatization or adaptation (physiological or genetic mechanisms), and how aspects of the physical environment facilitate these mechanisms. Another two graduate students are examining the role of an introduced species of grouper on the coral-reef communities of Hawaii and how the ecology of this grouper has changed in its new habitat. One of my students is determining whether Marine Protected Areas affect ecosystem processes such as grazing intensity, coral recruitment, bioerosion, and substratum binding and another is investigating the effects of sedimentation on the coral community and the associated microbial communities.

Books
1997 Birkeland, C. (ed.) Life and death of coral reefs. Chapman & Hall, New York. 536 p.

1997 Grigg, R.W., and C. Birkeland (eds.) Status of coral reefs in the Pacific. University of Hawaii Sea Grant College Program, Honolulu. 144 p.

1990 Birkeland, C., and J.S. Lucas. Acanthaster planci: major management problem of coral reefs. CRC Press, Boca Raton. 257 p.

[1998 Chapter 24 in Exploring Ecology and its Applications, edited by P. Kareiva, printed by Sinauer Associates, is a reprint of my 1989 article in American Scientist.]

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Journal and Proceedings Publications

2008 Birkeland, C., P. Craig, D. Fenner, L. Smith, W.E. Keine, and B. Riegl. 2008 Geologic setting and ecological funtioning of coral reefs in American Samoa. In B. Riegl and R.E. Dodge (eds.) Coral Reefs of the USA. Springer, NY

2007 Smith, L.W., and C. Birkeland. Effects of intermittent flow and irradiance level on back reef Porites corals at elevated seawater temperatures. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 341: 282-294

2007 Smith, L.W., H. Wirshing, A.C. Baker and C. Birkeland. Environmental versus genetic influences on growth rates of the corals Pocillopora eydouxi and Porities lobata. Pacific Science 62: 57-69

2007 Smith, L.W., D. Barshis and C. Birkeland. Phenotypic plasticity for skeletal growth, density and calcification of Prorites lobata in response to habitat type. Coral Reefs 26: 559-667

2006 Jayewardene, D., and C. Birkeland. Fish predation on Hawaiian corals. Coral Reefs 25:328

2005 Birkeland, C., and P.K. Dayton. The importance in fishery management of leaving the big ones. Trends Ecol Evol 20: 356-358

2004 Birkeland, C. Ratcheting down the coral reefs. BioScience 54: 1021-1027

2003 Birkeland, C. Coastal Saltwater Ecosystems: coral reefs, seagrass meadows, and mangrove stands. Pages 139 – 158 In D. Mueller-Dombois (ed.), Biodiversity assessment of tropical island ecosystems. PABITRA Manual for Interactive Ecology and Management

2002 D. Turgeon and R.G. Asch (eds.), The state of coral reef ecosystems of the United States and Pacific freely associated states. NOAA

2002 Birkeland, C. Coral reef fisheries. In B. Best and R.S. Pomeroy (eds.), Relevant findings from the 9th International Coral Reef Symposium: implications for Coral reef management and policy. USAID and World Resources Institute

2001 Birkeland, C. Can ecosystem management of coral reefs be achieved? Pages 21-25 In B.A. Best and A.H. Bornbusch (eds.) Global trade and consumer choices: coral reefs in crisis. AAAS Publications, Washington, D.C. 39 p.

2001 Craig, P., C. Birkeland, and S.A. Belliveau. High temperatures tolerated by a diverse assemblage of shallow water corals. Coral Reefs 20 (in press)

2000 Birkeland, C. The future of coral reefs. Galaxea 2: 13-16

1999 Green, A.L., C. Birkeland, and R.H. Randall. Twenty years of disturbance and change in Fagatele Bay, National Marine Sanctuary, American Samoa. Pacific Science 53 (4): 376-400

1999 Birkeland, C. Emphasis on colony size distributions in coral-reef surveys. Pages 65-72 In J.E. Maragos and R. Grober-Dunsmore (eds.), Proceedings of the Hawai'I Coral Reef Monitoring Workshop, June 9-11, 1998, Honolulu, Hawaii. East-West Center and Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources. 334 p.

1997 Birkeland, C. Symbiosis, fisheries and economic development on coral reefs. Trends in Ecology and Evolution 12: 364-367

1997 Birkeland, C. Disposable income in Asia - a new and powerful external pressure against sustainability of coral reef resources on Pacific islands. Reef Encounter 22: 9-13

1997 Green, A.L., C.E. Birkeland, R.H. Randall, B.D. Smith, and S. Wilkins. 78 years of coral reef degradation in Pago Pago Harbor: a quantitative record. Proc. 8th Internat. Coral Reef Symp., Panama 2: 1883-1888

1996 Birkeland, C. Why some species are especially influential on coral reefs and others are not. Galaxea 13: 77-84

1990 Birkeland, C. Caribbean and Pacific coastal marine systems: similarities and differences. Nature & Resources 26: 3-12

1989 Birkeland, C. The Faustian traits of the crown-of-thorns starfish. American Scientist 77: 154-163

1989 Birkeland, C. The influence of echinoderms on coral-reef communities. Pages 1-79 In M. Jangoux and J.M. Lawrence (eds.), Echinoderm Studies 3. Balkema, Rotterdam

1988 Birkeland, C. Second-order ecological effects of nutrient input into coral communities. Galaxaea 7: 91-100

1988 Birkeland, C. Geographic comparisons of coral-reef community processes. Proc. 6th Internat. Coral Reef Symp., Townsville 1:211-220

1988 Birkeland, C., and S.S. Amesbury. Fish-transect surveys to determine the influences of neighboring habitats on fish community structure in the tropical Pacific. Pages 195-202 In A.L. Dahl (ed.), Co-operation for environmental protection in the Pacific. UNEP Regional Seas Reports and Studies No. 97

1987 Birkeland, C. (ed.) Comparison between Atlantic and pacific tropical marine coastal ecosystems: community structure, ecological processes, and productivity. UNESCO Reports in Marine Science 46. 262 p.

1987 Hillman-Kitalong, A., and C. Birkeland. 1987. Comparative biases from pushnet and pullnet zooplankton samples. Mar. Ecol. Progr. Series 38: 131-135

1985 Birkeland, C., S.G. Nelson, S. deC. Wilkins, and P. Gates. Effects of fish grazing on coral reef community metabolism. Proc. 5th Internat. Coral Reef Congr., Tahiti 4:47-51

1985 Birkeland, C., and D. Grosenbaugh. Ecological interactions between tropical coastal ecosystems. UNEP Regional Seas Reports and Studies No. 73. 71 p.


1984 Birkeland, C. Influence of topography of nearby land masses in combination with local water movement patters on the nature of nearshore marine communities. Pages 16-31 In J.R.E. Harger (ed.), Productivity and processes in island marine ecosystems. UNESCO Reports in Marine Science 27

1984 Birkeland, C. A contrast in methodologies between surveying and testing. Pages 11-26 In J.R.E. Harger (ed.), Comparing coral reef survey methods. UNESCO Reports in Marine Science 21

1984 Birkeland, C. Sources and destinations of nutrients in coral reef ecosystems. Pages 3-10 In J.R.E. Harger (ed.), Comparing reef survey methods. UNESCO Reports in Marine Science 21

1982 Birkeland, C. Terrestrial runoff as a cause of outbreaks of Acanthaster planci (Echinodermata: Asteroidea). Mar. Biol. 69:175-185

1982 Birkeland, C., and R.H. Randall. Facilitation of coral recruitment by echinoid excavations. Proc. 4th Internat. Coral Reef Symp., Manila 1:695-698

1982 Birkeland, C., and T.L. Smalley. Comparison of demersal plankton from comparable substrata from a high island and an atoll. Proc. 4th Internat. Coral Reef Symp., Manila 1: 437-442

1982 Birkeland, C., D. Rowley, and R.H. Randall. Coral recruitment patterns at Guam. Proc. 4th Internat. Coral reef Symp., Manila 2: 339-344

1982 Birkeland, C., P.K. Dayton, and N.A. Engstrom. A stable system of predation on a holothurian by four asteroids and their top predator. Records of the Australian Museum 16: 175-189

1982 Kropp R.K., and C. Birkeland. Comparison of crustacean associates of Pocillopora verrucosa from a high island and an atoll. Proc. 4th Internat. Coral Reef Symp., Manila 2: 627-632

1981 Birkeland, C. Acanthaster in the cultures of high islands. Atoll Res. Bull. 255: 55-58

1981 Birkeland, C., L. Cheng, and R.A. Lewin. Motility of didemnid ascidian colonies. Bull. Mar. Sci. 31(1): 170-173

1981 Birkeland, C., and S. Neudecker. Foraging behavior of two Caribbean chaetodontids: Chaetodon capistratus and C. aculeatus. Copeia 1981(2): 169-178

1979 Glynn, P.W., G.M. Wellington, and C. Birkeland. Coral reef growth in the Galapagos: limitation by sea urchins. Science 203: 47-49

1977 Birkeland, C. The importance of rate of biomass accumulation in early successional stages of benthic communities to the survival of coral recruits. Proc. 3rd Internat. Coral Reef Symp., Miami 1: 331-336

1976 Birkeland, C. An experimental method for studying corals during early stages of growth. Micronesia 12: 319-322

1875 Birkeland, C., and B. Gregory. Foraging behavior and rates of feeding of the gastropod, Cyphoma gibbosum (Linnaeus). Pages 57-67 In S.A. Earle and R.J. Lavenberg (eds.) Results of the Tektite program: coral reef invertebrates and plants. Nat. Hist. Museaum of L.A. County Science Bull. 20

1975 Birkeland, C., D.L. Meyer, J.P. Stames, and C.L. Buford. Subtidal communities of Malpelo Island. Pages 55-68 In J.B. Graham (ed.) The Biological Investigation of Malpelo Island, Colombia. Smithsonian Contributions to Zoology 176. 98 p.

1974 Birkeland, C. Interactions between a sea pen and seven of its predators. Ecol. Monogr. 44: 211-232

1974 Birkeland, C. The effect of wave action on the population dynamics of Gorgonia ventalina Linnaeus. Pages 115-126 In F.M. Bayer (ed.) Prostaglandins from Plexaura homomalla: Ecology, utilization and conservation of a major medical marine resource. Studies in Tropical Oceanography 12.165 p.

1974 Spight, T.M., C. Birkeland, and A. Lyons. Life histories of large and small murexes (Prosobranchia: Muricidae). Marine Biology 24: 229-242

1971 Birkeland, C. Biological observations on Cobb Seamount. Northwest Science 45: 193-199

1971 Birkeland, C., F.-S. Chia, and R.R. Strathmann. Development, substratum selection, delay of metamorphosis and growth in the seastar, Mediaster aequalis Stimpson. Biol. Bull. 141: 99-108

1971 Birkeland, C., and F.-S. Chia. Recruitment risk, growth, age and predation in two populations of sand dollars Dendraster excentricus (Eschscholtz). J. Exp. Mar. Biol. Ecol. 6: 265-278

1968 Mauzey, K.P., C. Birkeland, and P.K. Dayton. Feeding behavior of asteroids and escape responses of their prey in the Puget Sound region. Ecology 49: 603-619

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Printed Technical Reports
2002 Fisk, D., and C. Birkeland. Status of coral communities in American Samoa: a re-survey of long-term monitoring sites. A report prepared for Department of Marine and Wildlife Resources, American Samoa Government, August 2002. 11 + 135 p.

2000 Birkeland, C., and S.A. Belliveau. Resurvey of the Aua Transect After the Ship Removal. Report to the Government of American Samoa and NOAA, U.S. Department of Commerce.

1997 Birkeland, C. Disposable income in Asia is a new and powerful external pressure against sustainability of coral reef resources on Pacific islands. Pages 65-70 In M.M. Piazza and P. Young (eds.) Sustainable development in the Pacific islands. Proc. 16th Ann. Pac. Is. Conf., Pohnpei, FSM. 186 p.

1995 Birkeland, C. UNEP-IOC(UNESCO)-ASPEI-IUCN Global Task Team on the implications of climate change on coral reefs. Pages 281-290 In J.E. Maragos, M.N.A. Peterson, L.G. Eldgredge, J.E. Bardach, and H.F. Takeuchi (eds.), Marine and coastal biodiversity on the tropical island Pacific region. Volume 1. Species systematics and information management priorities. East-West Center, Honolulu. 424 p.

1991 Birkeland, C. The coral community, macroinvertebrate community, and algae. In A.M. Wilson and L.S. Lawrence (eds.) Kosrae island integrated coastal resources assessment for biodiversity/cultural concervation and nature-based tourism. Prepared for the Kosrae State Government by the East-West Center, Honolulu.

1988 Birkeland, C., R.H. Randall, and S.S. Amesbury. Coral and reef-fish assessment of the Fagatele Bay National Marine Sanctuary. Report to the U.S. Department of Commerce National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association. NOAA Technical Memorandua Series NOS/MEMD

1989 Birkeland, C., and H. Manner (eds.) Resource survey of Ngerukewid Islands Wildlife Preserve, Republic of Palau. A report to the Government of Palau, the South Pacific Regional Environment Programme, World Wildlife Fund, and the International Union for the Conservation of Nature.
192 p.

1989 Birkeland, C., R.H. Richmond, E.A. Matson, P. Holthus, and N.S. Convard. Visual surveys of the coastal marine communities of Babelthaup and Koror (Belau): some implications for potential effects of proposed coastal developments. A cooperative study by East-West Cebter, SPREP, UOG Marine Laboratory, and the Environmental Quality Protection Board of the Government of Belau. 27 p.

1987 Birkeland, C., R.H. Randall, R.C. Wass, B.D. Smith, and S. Wilkins. Biological resource assessment of the Fagatele Bay National Marine Sanctuary. NOAA Technical Memoorandum, NOS MEMD 3. 229 p.

1982 Birkeland, C. Soft coral survey. Pages 43-44 In R.H. Randall and T.S. Sherwood (eds.) Resurvey of Cocos Lagoon, Guam, Territory of Guam. U.O.G. Marine Lab. Tech. Rept. No. 80. 104 p.

1981 Birkeland, C. (ed.) A working list of marine organisms from Guam. U.O.G. Marine Lab. Tech. Rept. No. 70. 88 p.

1980 Birkeland, C. (ed.) Marine biological survey of northern Ponape Lagoon. U.O.G. Marine Lab. Tech. Rept. No. 62. 102 p.

1979 Birkeland, C. Report on the Acanthaster planci (rrusech) survey of Palau, 18-26 May, 1979. Final report submitted to Palau Marine Resources Division, U.S. Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands. 30 p.

1979 Birkeland, C., R.H. Randall, and G. Grimm. Three methods of coral transplantation for the purpose of reestablishing a coral community in the thermal effluent area at the Tanguisson Power Plant. U.O.G. Marine Lab. Tech. Rept. No. 60. 24 p.

1978 Birkeland, C. Other macroinvertebrates. Pages 77-90 In R.H. Randall (ed.) Guam's reefs and beaches: Part II: Transect studies. U.O.G. Marine Lab. Tech. Rept. No. 48. 90 p.

1978 Randall, R.H., and C. Birkeland. Guam's reefs and beaches: Part II: Sedimentation studies at Fouha Bay and Ylig Bay. U.O.G. Marine Lab. Tech. Rept. No. 47. 77 p.

1978 Randall, R.H., C. Birkeland, S.S. Amesbury, D. Lassuy, and J.R. Eads. Marine survey of a proposed resort site at Arakabesan Island, Palau. U.O.G. Marine Lab. Tech. Rept.
No. 44. 73 p.

1977 Amesbury, S.S., R.T. Tsuda, R.H. Randall, and C.E. Birkeland. Marine biological survey of the proposed dock at Colonia, Yap. U.O.G. Marine Lab. Tech. Rept. No. 35. 22 p.

1977 Amesbury, S.S., C. Birkeland, M. Chernin, R. Clayshulte, F. Cushing, J. Day, R. Dickinson, J. Eads, L.G. Eldredge, D. Hamel, S. Hedlund, L. Kock, J.A. Marsh, Jr., C. Neubauer, S. Neudecker, R.H. Randall, and R.T. Tsuda. Marine environmental baseline report, Commercial Port, Apra Harbor, Guam. U.O.G. Marine Lab. Tech. Rept. 34. 96 p.

1976 Birkeland, C., R.T. Tsuda, R.H. Randall, S.S. Amesbury, and F. Cushing. Limited current and underwater biological surveys of a proposed sewer outfall site on Malakal Island, Palau. U.O.G. Marine Lab. Tech. Rept. No. 25. 59 p.

1976 Amesbury, S.S., R.T. Tsuda, R.H. Randall, C.E. Birkeland, and F. Cushing. Limited current and underwater biological survey of the Donitsch Island sewer outfall site, Yap, western Caroline Islands. U.O.G. Marine Lab. Tech. Rept.
No. 24. 49 p.

1976 Birkeland, C., A.A. Reimer, and J.R. Young. Survey of marine communities in Panama and experiments with oil. U.S. EPA-600/3-76-028. 177 p.

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Articles in the Popular Press
2001 Birkeland, C. and A.M. Friedlander. The importance of refuges for reef fish replenishment in Hawai'i. The Hawaii Audubon Society and Pacific Fisheries Coalition, Honolulu, Hawaii. 19 p.

2001 Birkeland, C. Back for the future. Calypso Log. June/July (in press)

1992 Birkeland, C., and V. Paul. Sponges are the tiny filters of the vast ocean. Pacific Daily News - The Islander, 24 May 1992: 10-11

1988 Birkeland, C. Crowning blows. There have been great changes recently in abundances of animals on coral reefs. Are they natural events? Pacific Daily News - The Islander, 17 January 1988: 6-9

1983 Birkeland, C. Large-scale fluctuations of tropical marine populations. Are they natural events? The Siren 22: 13-17

1980 Birkeland, C. Population postulation. Glimpses of Micronesia and the Western Pacific 20 (4): 76-77

1977 Birkeland, C. Surrounded by whales. Pacific Daily News - The Islander, 12 June 1977: 12-14

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