At certain times of the year, tiny red shrimp appear in the cave's brackish pond turning the water red. Noticing the reflection of the kahili in the water, Chief Kakae discovered Popoalaea’s hiding place and killed her. A faithful maid sat across from the princess, fanning her with a feather kahili, a symbol of royalty. Historical and Cultural Significance of ‘Ōpae‘ula:Īccording to an ancient legend, a Hawaiian princess named Popoalaea fled from her cruel husband, the Chief Kakae, and hid on a ledge just inside the underwater entrance to the cave at Waianapanapa. Habitat and rare species decrease or may disappear altogether.įun Fact: ‘Ōpae means shrimp and ‘ula means red Groundwater resources are impacted by water withdrawal for human use, pollutants and nutrients that enter the groundwater, interruptedgroundwater flow from coastal development. Another large threat to ‘ōpae‘ula today is habitat loss. Non-native fish such as tilapia, mosquitofish, and guppies prey upon ‘ōpae‘ula. The introduction of non-native (introduced) species to anchialine pools are one of the largest threats to ‘ōpae‘ula.
Even though ʻōpaeʻula are extremely hardy and capable of tolerating a wide range of salinity levels and temperatures, ʻōpaeʻula today live in much lower densities and are coping with habitat loss due to human activities." It is believed that ʻōpaeʻula used to be so abundant in the anchialine pools that, from a distance, the water in the pools appeared to be red. "Native Hawaiians used ʻōpaeʻula as fish food in their fishponds. Even though ʻōpaeʻula are extremely hardy and capable of tolerating a wide range of salinity levels and temperatures, ʻōpaeʻula today live in much lower densities and are coping with habitat loss due to human activities. Native Hawaiians used ʻōpaeʻula as fish food in their fishponds. Adults can live from 10-15 years if proper habitat is available. They are viable for reproduction and females can reproduce more than one time per year.
Larvae develop swimming legs and begin feeding on Post-Larvae: This stage is also called the megalopal stage.They do not have developed appendages and survive on yolk sac. Larvae: The larvae are only about 1/8” long.
Eggs: The female broods for 30-38 days before larvae hatch.Molting: After molting an adult female is able to receive the sperm from males Their colors range from red, pink, white, yellow/clear, orange, and pale cream. Lifespan of ‘ōpae‘ula is 10-15 years of age, an unusually long lifespan for a tiny crustacean. They reproduce one to two times per year. ‘Ōpae‘ula can carry about 12 fertilized eggs under their abdomen for a brood period of about 38 days. They are quite small, growing no longer than a half inch in length filter feeding on algae, plankton, bacteria, and diatoms in water.
‘Ōpae‘ula are indigenous to the Hawaiian islands and live in the dark crevices in the water table below the pools. One of the most common and well known species are ‘ōpae‘ula, ( Halocaridina rubra), or red shrimp. Many species rely on the anchialine pool habitat for survival. Not only are they a unique natural resource but also a very important cultural resource. Kaloko-Honokōhau National Historical Park alone harbors over 200 of them and early settlement was possible in West Hawai‘i because of the accessibility of fresh water in the pools. The state of Hawai‘i is the only state in the entire US that has these brackish water anchialine pools. There are an estimated 1000+ pools worldwide and a vast majority of these pools are found on the West coast of Hawai‘i Island. Fun Fact:’An-key-ah-lin’ from Greek ankhialos ‘near the sea’
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