Abstract
The aims of this project were to assess the biological community and environmental variables in the Pūpūkea tide pools on the North Shore of Oahu, Hawaii. These data were compared to a historical baseline and relevant literature to better understand the ecological role of the Pūpūkea tide pools within the Pūpūkea Marine Life Conservation District (MLCD). Depth and tide were significant factors effecting fish abundance in the Pūpūkea tide pools. The fish community was dominated by large schools of Kuhlia spp. (āholehole), and the tide pool fauna differed significantly between day and night. Depth data were used to improve the bathymetric resolution of existing maps of the study area, and bottom composition results suggested the important role of macroalgae in the tide pools. Results indicated that the Pūpūkea tide pools are habitat for several nearshore fish species, has maintained and possibly increased biological diversity since the 1970’s, and is unique from the surrounding MLCD and nearby intertidal areas.