Biodiversity Survey of the Freshwater algae of the Hawaiian Islands

Dr. Johansen recently received funding from the National Science Foundation to study the freshwater algal flora of Hawaii.  This is a collaborative award that includes researchers from Hawaii, Colorado, and Ohio.  The grant to John Carroll University for $130,000 will support graduate students and summer undergraduate research interns to conduct research on the blue-green algae (cyanobacteria).  Research opportunities include microscopical and molecular systematics study under Dr. Johansen’s supervision.  The grant will last three years.  Dr. Johansen and one student will travel to Hawaii in July 2009.  Subsequent trips to the islands are planned for other years.  The project also includes funds for student travel to regional meetings.

Summary of the Research Plan

This project will provide the first comprehensive illustrated freshwater algal flora of a tropical region for anywhere in the world. We will survey the principal freshwater habitats of the Hawaiian Islands (streams, wet walls, lakes, bogs, and taro fields) and identify collections using morphological and molecular analyses to develop a checklist of freshwater algae for this unique archipelago. The Hawaiian Islands are well known as a biodiversity hotspot, and examples abound of adaptive radiations and endemic species, which render this location ideal for a survey of such an understudied group as the freshwater algae. The objectives are to 1) establish long-term archived collections of Hawaiian freshwater algae as both morphological and genetic vouchers, 2) to make all data to available worldwide through a project database and website, and 3) to describe newly discovered freshwater algal taxa from the Hawaiian Islands.

This biodiversity survey brings together a top-tier team of freshwater algal taxonomists, all of whom have previous experience collecting and identifying the Hawaiian algal flora, to collect, document and describe the non-marine algae of the Main Hawaiian Islands. Through twice annual field expeditions to the six largest islands, we will collect approximately 4,000 samples (an estimated 1,500-2,000 species) from streams, wet walls, lakes, bogs, and taro fields.  An educational website will also be prepared with support from the grant.