3.2.1 The NWHI are one of the few marine regions
on earth where monitoring and research activities can be conducted
in the virtual absence of local human habitation and activities. It
thus provides ideal baseline conditions with regard to biota and environmental
characteristics because it has not had substantial perturbations and
is thus in a natural or near-natural condition. Remote, uninhabited,
and relatively pristine in comparison to the main Hawaiian Islands
and other marine ecosystems around the world, the NWHI serve as one
of the few modern sentinels for monitoring and deciphering short-term
and long-term responses to local, regional, and global environmental
and anthropogenic stressors.