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Reef is the largest coral reef in the Northwestern Hawaiian
Islands, with over 1,934 square kilometers (approximately
746 square miles or 478,000 acres) of reef area. Unlike the
classic ring-shaped atoll, Maro is a complex maze of linear
reefs that radiate out from the center like the spokes of
a wheel. It is named after the whaling ship Maro, which traveled
these waters in 1820.
habitats of Maro Reef range from sandy lagoons to steep reef
slopes, large coral heads, ocean pinnacles, and patch reefs.
Gaps in the reef cause waves to sweep into the lagoon clouding
some areas with silt and sand.
Reef is very large and hard to navigate, making it difficult
for scientists to study. Historic sailing vessels found
the area equally treacherous, and castaways lost at Maro
Reef were forced to set out to the northwest in search
of Laysan Island. Maro Reef has a greater abundance and
diversity of coral than most any other reef system in the
NWHI chain with thirty-seven species of stony corals documented
by coral scientists during the 2000-2001 NOWRAMP Research
expeditions. Many areas of the reef, particularly on the
west side, have a large number of coral species, including
rice corals, Montipora capitata and finger corals, Porites
compressa. Maro Reef has a large amount of the hard, pink
crusty algae that grows on coral called "coralline
algae" that acts like cement and holds the coral together
in high surf. The reefs support numerous butterflyfish
and surgeonfish species. Large
ulua and omilu have been seen in the reef's open waters,
along with white-tip and
gray reef sharks. Large schools of six to eight foot Galapagos
sharks are also a common sight in the reef's shallow waters.
researchers believe that, while Maro Reef has very healthy
reefs, it may be "on the verge of drowning" because
the reefs are narrow, unconnected, and unprotected from storm
waves. Others feel that the health of the corals suggest that
Maro Reef is a complicated reef system on a large seamount,
living in balance with the elements.