Loko Waka is an achialine pond, which means that it is a brackish pond fed by fresh water springs connected to the sea by small channels and cracks in the lava floor - so it rises and falls wit the tides. It is located in Keaukaha just south of Lihikai (the student's main project site).It was named for Waka, a mo'o woman who leaped into the pond, fleeing the jealous goddess Pele, who liked the same man.

The endangered 'Ala Ke'oke'o, or Hawaiian Coot (Fulica alai) lives in this pond and is doing pretty well here. These birds live nowhere else but in the Hawaiian Islands. In Old Hawai'i, there were associated with a deity, but they were also thought to be very tasty.

Uncle John explained that Loko Waka is a pu'uone type of fish pond, which means literally "sand hill" in Hawaiian. It is named so because its separated from the sea by a large hill of earth, rather than just a stone wall. He described how the ocean fish were attracted to the scent of the chain diatoms which cover the rocks in the pond. When young, fish from the sea find their way into the pond through narrow openings at high tides or during storms. The pond is leased by the owners of the Seaside Restaurant who also use it to farm fish including Tilapia, Carp and even Ulua.

The makaha is a type of gate system the Hawaiians used since ancient times. Uncle John explained that the fish, which have grown large grazing on diatoms, try and swim out to the sea again when the tides are very high during winter storms. To harvest the mature fish, all you need to do is to close the second gate of the makaha during one of these high water events and you'll catch the fish. He went on to tell us that the restaurant owners used to catch the fish using throw nets, but it took a lot of time and energy. Eventually, they built makaha and found out the old way was a lot easier.

Uncle John threw a net and pulled up a bucket full of Mexican Mollys, an invasive fish that spreads parasites to native fish. He stressed how important it is to never release fish or plants from an aquarium, bait or anywhere else into a natural body of water.

Gorilla Ogo (Gracilaria salicornia). is an invasive algae (limu) which was first brought to the Hawaiian Islands right here in Hilo Bay by a ship from the Philippines. It breaks very easily into tiny pieces and each piece can become a whole new plant, covering entire reefs and smothering coral. Because of this, its important to clean off your dive gear when you get out of the water to avoid spreading this invasive pest. Even pieces of this limu that have been dry for weeks or months may still be viable and can reproduce once released in the ocean.  On Oahu this limu is a serious pest. Conservationists have developed a kind of underwater vacuum cleaner called the "super sucker" to pull it off the reefs. Gorilla Ogo is edible, but it must be blanched with boiling water first. It resembles a close cousin, the native limu, called Manuea (G. cerivicornis) which is more tender and flavorful.

Marine Biologist Caitlin Kryss talked with the students about how monitoring and species counts are done and why they're important to let us know what's going on with the health of our oceans. She told us about the role of invertebrates in the ecosystem and how their health is a good indicator of the overall health of a reef.

She explained how to use transect tapes and quadrats to do an ongoing invertebrate density survey in a tidepool at Lihikai/Onekahakaha.

Caitlin lead us in the survey and we identified many interesting creatures we found there, including brittle stars, sea slugs and sea cucumbers.

Lahela and Emily from the Imi Pono no ka 'Aina environmental education program came to talk story about Hawaii's turtles, especially the Honu ea or Hawksbill. Unlike the Honu or Green Sea Turtle, these endangered turtles actually nest here on the Big Island on remote beaches, mostly in Ka'u. They are endemic to the Hawaiian Islands. They are threatened by introduced predators like mongoose and feral cats, development and light pollution, invasive plants where they nest, ocean debris and disease such as Fibropappilomatosis or FP.

Page Else, from the Big Island Invasive Species Committee, at Lihikai talking about the impact of invasive plants and animals. She brought a Guam Tree Snake in a jar which drew a lot of interest.

Many of the students go hunting for pig regularly and they discussed the changes in the environment they have seen where there are lots of pigs. We talked about how this impacts the watershed, especially the coastal areas and reefs, like at Lihikai.

Lanakila students doing water quality testing at Onekahakaha/Lihikai.

Recording results of water testing.

Lab Partners

Sampling