Impact of Extreme Events on Native and Non-Native Freshwater Fishes in Hawai‘i
American Sāmoa | TUESDAY, JULY 7 from 1:00-2:00 p.m.Hawaiʻi | TUESDAY, JULY 7 from 2:00-3:00 p.m.Palau | WEDNESDAY, JULY 8 from 9:00-10:00 a.m.CNMI & Guam | WEDNESDAY, JULY 8 from 10:00-11:00 a.m.FSM | WEDNESDAY, JULY 8 from 10:00-11:00 a.m. (Weno) / 11:00 a.m. -12:00 p.m. (Palikir)RMI | WEDNESDAY, JULY 8 from 12:00-1:00 p.m. New Zealand | WEDNESDAY, JULY 8 from 12:00 -1:00 p.m.
A Webinar presented by the Pacific Regional Invasive Species and Climate Change Management Network (Pacific RISCC)
Webinar Details:![]()
Title:
Title. Impact of Extreme Events on Native and Non-Native Freshwater Fishes in Hawai‘i
Webinar Description:
Can invasive fish keep up with a changing climate? This research explores how three common non-native fish in Hawaiʻi perform when water gets warmer and currents become stronger. By testing how well these fish swim at different temperatures and flow conditions, the study helps predict where invasive species may spread in the future and what that could mean for Hawaiʻi’s native stream ecosystems. The study also found that differences in body shape and behavior influenced swimming ability. Some fish were naturally better suited to fast-moving water than others, suggesting that a species’ form and function may play an important role in determining where it can survive and thrive as Hawaiʻi’s streams continue to change.
Speaker details:
Leigh Engel is a 2026 Grau Fellow with the Hawaiʻi Department of Land and Natural Resources, Office of Conservation and Coastal Lands (OCCL), where she supports the Coastal Lands Program in managing and protecting Hawaiʻi’s shoreline resources. She focuses on supporting natural system based approaches to coastal erosion and hazard mitigation while advancing long-term goals of conserving beaches, dunes, and other critical coastal ecosystems. Through this fellowship, Leigh hopes to learn from and listen to the people and places that shape Hawaiʻi’s coastal identity and contribute collaborative solutions grounded in natural systems. Leigh holds an M.S. in Natural Resources and Environmental Management from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, where she was a Pacific Islands Climate Adaptation Science Center (PI-CASC) Scholar. Her thesis (below) evaluated the traits and swim performance of native and introduced freshwater fish species to understand how extreme high-flow events affect stream ecosystems in order to inform Mauka to Makai management and restoration efforts across Hawaiʻi.
Publications
Engel, Leigh A. (2024) Temperature enhances performance of invasive species in Hawaiian streams (Thesis, masters of Science in Natural Resources and Environmental Management), https://scholarspace.manoa.hawaii.edu/server/api/core/bitstreams/d26da3ed-e676-485a-a5ba-9b012df522b2/content