KPNWR

Kealia Pond National Wildlife Refuge (KPNWR) is a non-profit organization bent on protecting the Native Hawaiian Life birds that take refuge in this wonderful pond. Many of these birds are slowly decreasing in population which has helped keep this pond going smoothly; except for one thing. California Bulrush is a type of plant that originated in California and takes its home in sunny marsh areas, such as the pond. The only thing is, that it is fast growing and very hard to get rid of. The plants can grow up to 10 feet and in large masses. They provide nothing to the birds and the birds can’t even nest in them because of their size and type. This is putting some of the most beloved Native Hawaiian birds in danger, such as the Hawaiian Stilt and the Hawaiian Coot. It is taking away the room for these birds to populate in, causing them to leave, dying off even faster due to human causes outside of the pond area.

The study we created was to figure out how to get rid of the California Bulrush in a peaceful and effective manner. All sorts of ideas popped up but after getting to the pond we decided to test out three different options; Cut, spray (special animal safe poison), and cut+spray.

We split into three teams, one for each test stated above, and each team got one paper in which we had to put down all the proper information on (Density, average height, pH, turbitity, ect.). After taking down all the data that we needed, each team did their job. After a week we came back and recorded the same data with a new sheet once again.

After reviewing the data we turned it into these four graphs. The first two are made with the data we collected during our first visit, as the last two graphs are made by the data we collected after the treatments have been done. As you can tell by the data collected and the graphs shown, blah blah turns out to be the most effect way to kill off the bulrush as blah blah is the second best choice.

Still want to learn about Kealia Pond? Visit their website at:

Want to find out ad watch these native birds for yourself? Here is a link to a map on how to get there and where they are located! Have fun and till next time! <3

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REEF?

REEF is an organization with a mission as followed, " To conserve marine ecosystems for their recreational, commercial, and intrinsic value by educating, enlisting and enabling divers and other marine enthusiasts to become active stewards and citizen scientists. REEF links the diving community with scientists, resource managers and conservationists through marine-life data collection and related activities." Simply put, they want to save the marine wild-life.

What About The Surveys? How Are They Done?

"To collect data for the Project, REEF volunteers use the Roving Diver Technique (RDT), a visual survey method specifically designed forvolunteer data. The only materials needed are an underwater slate and pencil, a scantron form available at no charge from REEF, and a good reference book. "

"The Survey Method:
During RDT surveys, divers swim freely throughout a dive site and record every observed fish species that can be positively identified. The search for fishes begins as soon as the diver enters the water. Thegoal is to find as many species as possible so divers are encouraged to look under ledges and up in the water column. Any sea turtle speciesseen during your dive should also be marked. At the conclusion of each survey, each recorded species is assigned one of four abundance categories based on about how many were seen throughout the dive [single (1); few (2-10), many (11-100), andabundant (>100)]."

Put into a small sentence, you take a waterproff paper and pencil and mark down the fish you see while you dive at the dive site. After which, REEF looks over it and figures out how the ponds are doing marine life wise.

"REEF surveys can be conducted in any of REEF's Project areas:
*Tropical Western Atlantic/Northeast US & Canada (Florida, Caribbean, Bahamas, and Gulf of Mexico), southern Atlantic states (Georgia and South Carolina), and Virginia through Newfoundland
*West Coast of the United States and Canada (California, Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia)
*Tropical Eastern Pacific (Gulf of California to the Galapagos Islands).
*Hawaiian Islands. "

Our class went down to one of the fish ponds located in Kihei next to the Whale Foundation and did a survey. Although, I personally did not get into the water, other kids did. From what I heard the population wasn't all that high and it was a bit hard for them to figure out which fish was which. All in all, I haven't much data to present and for that, I apologize.

For more information about REEF and what they are all about please visit their website at www.reef.org/ ! These are where the quotes came from so please if your intrested give it a look-see!