Charles Birkeland
PhD University of Washington 1970
Adjunct Associate Professor,
Hawai’i Cooperative Fishery Research Unit - retired
phone: 808-956-8617
fax:
charleb@hawaii.edu

Currently not accepting any new graduate students

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.

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Publications

2009 Birkeland, C. Important roles of natural history in ecology. Galaxea, Journal of Coral Reef Studies 11: 59-66

2009 Jayewardene, D., M.J. Donahue, and C. Birkeland. Effects of frequent fish predation on corals in Hawaii. Coral Reefs 28: 499-506

2008 Birkeland, C., P. Craig, D. Fenner, L. Smith, W.E. Keine, and B. Riegl. Geologic setting and ecological functioning of coral reefs in American Samoa. Pages 737 - 761 In B. Riegl and R.E. Dodge (eds.) Coral Reefs of the USA. Springer, NY. 803 p.

2008 Birkeland, C. Coastal saltwater ecosystems. Pages 133-151 In D. Mueller-Dombois, K.W. Bridges, C.C. Daehler (eds.) Biodiversity assessment of tropical island ecosystems. PABITRA manual for interactive ecology and management. Bishop Museum Press, Honolulu. 255 p.

2008 Smith, L.W., H. Wirshing, A.C. Baker, and C. Birkeland. Environmental versus genetic influences on growth rates of the corals Pocillopora eydouxi and Porites lobata. Pacific Science 62: 57-69

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., D. Barshis, and C. Birkeland. Phenotypic plasticity for skeletal growth, density and calcification of Porites 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 in Ecology and Evolution 20: 356 - 358

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

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: 185-189

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

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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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