Mid-Pacific

The Hawaiian archipelago makes up the Mid-Pacific region of the United States, located in the central Pacific Ocean. Unique among U.S. states, the volcanic islands are highly isolated and support a rich and diverse array of species, many of which exist nowhere else in the world.

Melting ice and glaciers at the poles is causing sea levels to rise ten times faster than in the past, significantly threatening island systems like Hawai`i. Some studies have predicted that 65 percent of some low-lying Hawaiian islands could be underwater by the end of the century, and even more land could be lost in some areas.

Rising ocean temperatures will also have serious impacts on Hawai`i’s incredibly diverse coral reefs, and widespread coral “bleaching” is projected to increase. And warmer summer temperatures are allowing the avian-malaria carrying mosquito to expand its range into previously inaccessible mountain habitats, putting Hawai`i’s rare and unique forest birds increasingly at risk of the serious disease.

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Species in the region:

• Coral Reef
• Green Sea Tturtle
• Hawaiian Monk Seal