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pinnacles
Gardner
Pinnacles
 When
the two pinnacles of volcanic rock between French Frigate Shoals and
Maro Reef come into view, mariners know they have reached Gardner Pinnacles.
This 5-acre island comprises the smallest land area of any of the Northwestern
Hawaiian Islands (NWHI). Underwater shelves reach outward from the
pinnacles and extend over an area of 2,446 square kilometers (604,000
acres).
In 1820,
Captain Joseph Allen of the Nantucket whaler, Maro, reported seeing "a
new island or rock not laid down on any of our charts. . . . It has
two detached humps. . . . We call it Gardner's Island."
 Gardner
Pinnacles is known for its abundance of giant opihi, the endemic Hawaiian
limpet. The islands' rocky inter-tidal areas are an ideal habitat for
opihi. Twenty-seven documented species of stony coral are distributed
throughout the pinnacles' reef system. Acropora table corals have been
noted on the leeward side, while tube, stony, and soft corals have
been found throughout the reef. The underwater shelves around Gardner
Pinnacles provide habitat for some of the highest recorded numbers
of fish species in the Northwest Hawaiian Islands. It is interesting
to note that the number of coral species found at Gardner is nearly
twice that found at the similar basalt islands of Nihoa and Mokumanamana.
Also, many main Hawaiian fish species not found at other NWHI areas
are found here.
Gardner
Pinnacles is home to seabirds, insects, and only one species of plant,
the succulent sea purslane. Scientists have
 observed
19 species of seabirds, 12 of which breed on the steep
cliffs, including the rare blue gray noddy.
Despite
its small size and isolation, the island has a surprisingly wide array
of insects. Spiders, mites, moths, centipedes, flies, beetles, isopods
and earwigs, among others, are found on Gardner Pinnacles. Recently
a researcher visiting the island found what he believes are two new
species of spiders. He also found a third spider previously not known
from Gardner Pinnacles.
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