A new species of red algae from Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument, Croisettea kalaukapuae, was named after highly respected community and conservation leader Laura Kalaukapu Thompson, who passed away in August 2020 at the age of 95. A team of international researchers recently published the scientific description of the new species in the journal “Phycologia.”
Kalaukapu, translated to “the sacred leaf,” was Thompson’s Hawaiian middle name given to her by her grandmother.
Former President Bill Clinton established the Reserve Advisory Council for the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Coral Reef Ecosystem Reserve in 2000. As a founding member of the council, Thompson’s leadership led to some of the highest levels of protection for Papahanaumokuakea when it was designated as a marine national monument by former President George W. Bush in 2006, according to a NOAA news release. She strongly supported Papahanaumokuakea as a place to perpetuate Native Hawaiian cultural practices, while also advocating to protect Hawaii’s natural and cultural resources.
“What a joy and honor to name a new species after a beloved kupuna who made strides for the community to arrive in the present, celebrating 2022 as the Year of the Limu,” said lead author of the paper, Feresa Corazon P. Cabrera, in a release. Cabrera is a University of Hawaii Ph.D. candidate with Dr. Alison Sherwood in the School of Life Sciences.
“Having been shaped by the same evolutionary pressures in these cold twilight depths, these red limu blades look similar to each other, making it hard to initially classify them,” she said. “So we relied on both morphological and molecular data to tell them apart.” Three other Hawaiian red algae were also found during the expedition.
Scientists discovered the new algae species using technical closed-circuit rebreathers that allowed them to dive to extreme depths of 300 feet and lower. These deep coral reefs, or Mesophotic Coral Ecosystems, sit mostly unexplored, and are home to a wealth of yet-undiscovered biodiversity.
NOAA research ecologist Dr. Randy Kosaki discovered the new species in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. He remembers the 280-foot dive as “one of the darkest and coldest dives I’ve ever been on, with California-like water temperatures in the high 50s.”
“Given all of Aunty Laura’s contributions to the protection of Papahanaumokuakea, it seems especially fitting that a rare species from these kupuna islands will now carry her name in perpetuity,” he said.
Thompson was affectionately known as “Aunty Laura” to her friends and conservation colleagues. She was mother to Lita Blankenfeld, Myron Thompson Jr. and master navigator Nainoa Thompson. Her husband, Myron “Pinky” Thompson, was a renowned social worker, former Bishop Estate trustee, and former president of the Polynesian Voyaging Society.
One of the three other red algae, Croisettea haukoaweo, is a deep reef species from over 300 feet found off Maui. Its name honors Skippy Hau, renowned long-time Maui biologist with the Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources. Hau was known for his lifelong dedication to saving Hawaii’s unique endemic stream fauna and love of the ocean and Maui community. The limu received the epithet haukoaweo referring to “the vibrant limu entwined with pukoakoa (Halimeda spp.) found in cool deep waters.”
The remaining two species were named pakualapa and ohelouliuli.
The Papahanaumokuakea Native Hawaiian Cultural Working Group, coordinated by the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, named the species in Olelo Hawaii (Hawaiian language) to continue its goal of naming new species “in an attempt to define and articulate a present-day relationship to elements and species within the Hawaiian universe, as a place-holder for future generations.”
Sarah Yamanaka covers events, environmental and community news for Spectrum News Hawaii.