A living guide to Kauaʻi
Kauaʻi species, habitats and conservation records
Explore the island’s native and introduced species, habitats, watersheds and conservation work. Each record connects its description, images and sources with the interactive Atlas.
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Talitroides alluaudi
Talitroides alluaudi
Talitroides alluaudi is an amphipod crustacean in the family Talitridae. Published sources characterize its origin status as introduced/adventive. Published Kauaʻi evidence documents the species from Kauaʻi cave habitat. Evidence types incl
Talitroides topitotum
Talitroides topitotum
Talitroides topitotum is an amphipod crustacean in the family Talitridae. Published sources characterize its origin status as introduced/adventive. Published Kauaʻi evidence documents the species from Kauaʻi cave habitat. Evidence types inc
Thalamita integra
Thalamita integra
Thalamita integra is a decapod crustacean in the family Portunidae. Its current scientific name is cited as Thalamita integra Dana, 1852. Published Kauaʻi evidence documents the species from Nawiliwili Harbor. The cited evidence includes re
Trapezia bidentata
Trapezia bidentata
Trapezia bidentata is a decapod crustacean in the family Trapeziidae. Its current scientific name is cited as Trapezia bidentata (Forskål, 1775). Published Kauaʻi evidence documents the species from Port Allen Harbor. Evidence types include
Trapezia cymodoce
Trapezia cymodoce
Trapezia cymodoce is a decapod crustacean in the family Trapeziidae. Its current scientific name is cited as Trapezia cymodoce (Herbst, 1801). Published Kauaʻi evidence documents the species from Port Allen Harbor. Evidence types include mu
Trapezia digitalis
Trapezia digitalis
Trapezia digitalis is a decapod crustacean in the family Trapeziidae. Its current scientific name is cited as Trapezia digitalis Latreille, 1828. Published Kauaʻi evidence documents the species from Port Allen Harbor. Evidence types include
Trapezia rufopunctata
Trapezia rufopunctata
Trapezia rufopunctata is a decapod crustacean in the family Trapeziidae. Its current scientific name is cited as Trapezia rufopunctata (Herbst, 1799). Published Kauaʻi evidence documents the species from Port Allen Harbor. Evidence types in
Trichorhina heterophthalma
Trichorhina heterophthalma
Trichorhina heterophthalma is a terrestrial isopod in Platyarthridae, reported as an adventive species in the Hawaiian Islands. Taiti and Howarth (1996, p. 63) identified three Kauaʻi specimens from Casuarina humus at Hāʻena along Highway 5
Trichorhina tomentosa
Trichorhina tomentosa
Trichorhina tomentosa is a minute, pale terrestrial isopod in Platyarthridae. Taiti and Howarth (1996, p. 63) report six female specimens from Acacia decurrens humus along Highway 55 near Waimea, 5.7 miles (9.2 km) beyond its junction with
Tropicana minuta
Tropicana minuta
Tropicana minuta is a terrestrial isopod placed in Philosciidae in the Atlas source taxonomy. Taiti and Howarth (1996, pp. 62–63) report many individuals in Casuarina humus and one in Hibiscus tiliaceus litter at Hāʻena on 13 May 1969, plus
Venezillo parvus
Venezillo parvus
Venezillo parvus is a small terrestrial pill woodlouse in Armadillidae, capable of rolling into a ball. Taiti and Howarth (1996, p. 67) report two Kauaʻi specimens from a pineapple field at Moloʻaʻa and one from Puʻu Konanae on 6 August 192
Xanthias latifrons
Xanthias latifrons
Xanthias latifrons is a decapod crustacean in the family Xanthidae. Its current scientific name is cited as Xanthias latifrons (De Man, 1887). Published Kauaʻi evidence documents the species from Port Allen Harbor. Evidence types include mu
Xiphonectes macrophthalmus
Xiphonectes macrophthalmus
Xiphonectes macrophthalmus is a decapod crustacean in the family Portunidae. Its current scientific name is cited as Xiphonectes macrophthalmus (Rathbun, 1906). Published Kauaʻi evidence documents the species from Port Allen Harbor. Evidenc
Zeuxo insularis
Zeuxo insularis
Zeuxo insularis is a minute tanaid crustacean in the family Tanaididae. Coles et al. (2004), Bishop Museum Technical Report 29a, printed page 133, lists the historical name Anatanais insularis Miller, 1940 under its 2002 Present Study with
Horn-eyed Ghost Crab
Ocypode urvillii
Horn-eyed Ghost Crab (Ocypode urvillii) is a fast-moving shore crab in the family Ocypodidae. Historical Hawaiian sources also used Ocypode ceratophthalmus and O. ceratophthalma for this record concept. Hawaiian museum literature describes
Pallid Ghost Crab
Ocypode pallidula
Pallid Ghost Crab (Ocypode pallidula), also called ʻŌhiki, is a small pale shore crab in the family Ocypodidae. It is associated with sandy beaches and burrows at the upper edge of the intertidal zone. Published Hawaiian ghost-crab literatu
Greater Hawaiian Land Crab
Geograpsus severnsi
Greater Hawaiian Land Crab (Geograpsus severnsi) was a large endemic terrestrial crab. Subfossil evidence from Kauaʻi includes coastal dune and cave contexts at Poʻipū, Keālia, Makawehi, and Māhāʻulepū. Research places its extinction after
Coastal dry shrubland & grassland
Not applicable
Dry, wind- and salt-exposed coastal vegetation system above active shorelines.
Lowland dry forest & shrubland
Not applicable
Low-elevation dry woody system structured by water limitation and disturbance.
Lowland mesic forest & shrubland
Not applicable
Intermediate-moisture lowland woody system bridging dry and wet Kauaʻi landscapes.
Lowland wet forest & shrubland
Not applicable
High-rainfall lowland forest/shrubland tightly coupled to perennial streams and riparian systems.
Montane mesic forest & shrubland
Not applicable
Upland mesic forest/shrubland including koa–ʻōhiʻa communities documented on Kauaʻi.
Montane wet forest & shrubland
Not applicable
High-rainfall upland forest/shrubland forming a major headwater and endemic-biodiversity system.
Montane bog & dwarf wet shrubland
Not applicable
Waterlogged upland bog/dwarf wet-shrub system characteristic of the Alakaʻi.
Sea-cliff & wet-cliff ecosystem
Not applicable
Steep cliff system with strong exposure/seepage gradients and specialized biota.
Perennial stream ecosystem
Not applicable
Continuously flowing freshwater system linking headwaters to estuaries and the sea.
Intermittent stream ecosystem
Not applicable
Intermittent/ephemeral channels providing event-driven terrestrial–freshwater–coastal connectivity.
Riparian corridor ecosystem
Not applicable
Vegetated stream-edge/floodplain corridor regulating shade, banks, organic inputs and habitat connectivity.
Freshwater marsh & palustrine wetland
Not applicable
Shallow freshwater wetland with emergent vegetation, open-water patches and saturated soils.
Forested wetland & swamp ecosystem
Not applicable
Woody freshwater wetland/swamp in saturated lowlands or floodplains.
Spring & seep groundwater-dependent ecosystem
Not applicable
Spring/seep ecosystem where aquifer discharge sustains surface/coastal biota and connects subsurface hydrology to living systems.
Estuary / muliwai ecosystem
Not applicable
Brackish river-mouth/lower-channel system where stream, groundwater and marine waters mix.
Brackish coastal wetland & lagoon ecosystem
Not applicable
Shallow coastal wetland/lagoon with brackish conditions created by marine, groundwater, rain and/or stream inputs.
Sandy beach & dune ecosystem
Not applicable
Dynamic sand-sharing beach/dune system buffering the coast and supporting specialized coastal biota.
Rocky intertidal & tidepool ecosystem
Not applicable
Rocky shoreline/tidepool system alternately submerged and exposed by tides and waves.
Coral reef & colonized hardbottom ecosystem
Not applicable
Coral reef/hardbottom system structured by substrate, depth, exposure and water quality.
Reef flat, backreef & lagoon mosaic
Not applicable
Shallow reef-flat/backreef/lagoon mosaic of hardbottom, sand, rubble and vegetation.
Nearshore soft-bottom sand & mud ecosystem
Not applicable
Unconsolidated nearshore sand/mud system supporting infauna, benthic feeders and sediment exchange.
Macroalgal-dominated submerged vegetation ecosystem
Not applicable
Nearshore system where macroalgae form dominant cover/canopy and distinct habitat/food-web structure.
Seagrass & rooted submerged-vegetation ecosystem
Not applicable
Rooted submerged-vegetation system recognized in Hawaiʻi benthic classifications; Kauaʻi extent is conservatively unresolved.
Nearshore pelagic coastal-water ecosystem
Not applicable
Nearshore water-column system connecting benthic habitats, estuaries, reefs and open ocean.
Limestone cave & subterranean karst ecosystem
Not applicable
Limestone cave/karst system with darkness, buffered microclimate, groundwater/seep interfaces and specialized cave biota.
Offshore islet coastal & seabird ecosystem
Not applicable
Small-islet system where coastal vegetation, seabird colonies, invertebrates and adjacent marine waters are tightly coupled.
Loʻi kalo wetland agroecosystem
Not applicable
Managed wetland agroecosystem built around loʻi kalo, ʻauwai and associated wetland/riparian habitat.
Managed conservation wetland ecosystem
Not applicable
Wetland whose hydroperiod, vegetation and/or predator regime are actively managed for conservation.
Agricultural & pasture mosaic ecosystem
Not applicable
Human-modified mosaic of pasture, crops, orchards, fallow fields, hedgerows and remnant vegetation affecting conservation pathways.
Reservoir, ditch & canal aquatic system
Not applicable
Engineered standing/flowing-water network redistributing water and sometimes functioning as habitat/pathway.
Terrestrial photosynthetic primary production
Conversion of solar energy and CO₂ into plant biomass across forests, shrublands, grasslands and coastal vegetation.
Forest canopy primary production
Biomass production by canopy trees and epiphyte-bearing forest crowns that drives forest energy flow and litter inputs.
Understory primary production
Production by ferns, shrubs, herbs, mosses and seedlings beneath forest canopies.
Freshwater periphyton primary production
Photosynthesis by attached algae and microbial films on stream substrates.
Wetland and macrophyte primary production
Biomass production by emergent, floating and submerged wetland vegetation, including managed loʻi mosaics.
Phytoplankton primary production
Photosynthesis by planktonic algae in estuarine, nearshore and offshore waters.
Benthic limu and turf-algal primary production
Photosynthetic production by macroalgae and algal turfs on rocky shores and reefs.
Coral-symbiont primary production
Photosynthesis by algal symbionts within reef-building corals, transferring energy to coral hosts.
Ecosystem respiration
Biological oxidation of organic matter by plants, animals and microbes, returning CO₂ and consuming oxygen.
Litterfall
Transfer of leaves, flowers, fruits, bark and small woody material from vegetation to the ground or water.
Leaf-litter decomposition
Microbial and detritivore breakdown of leaf litter with carbon loss and nutrient release or immobilization.
Deadwood decomposition
Breakdown of fallen branches, logs and standing dead wood by fungi, microbes and invertebrates.
Organic-matter mineralization
Conversion of organic nutrients into inorganic forms available for biological uptake.
