Publications

The native ecosystems of Hawai‘i have been severely degraded by the introduction of herbivorous mammals and a myriad of invasive plant species. Left unmanaged, most natural areas would continue along a trajectory towards domination by nonnative species; however, several projects have undertaken the daunting task of ecological restoration, four of which are the subject of Restoring...

In less than 200 pages, Thom van Dooren aims in his ambitious book, Flight Ways, to reconnect humans empathetically with the rest of the planet's inhabitants, but especially vanishing species. This is asking a lot, but he succeeds—or at least makes great strides—using evocative storytelling and compelling discourse. A number of themes are carefully woven together with the goal of...

We studied the landscape distribution of endemic Hawaiian hoary bats (Lasiurus cinereus semotus) on the north Ko‘olau Mountains of O‘ahu, Hawai‘i, from May 2013 to May 2014, while simultaneously studying their behavior at wind turbines within the broader landscape. This research aimed to assess the risk that wind turbines pose to bats on the island and integrated a variety of methods...

Knowing the genetic variation that occurs in pathogen populations and how it is distributed across geographical areas is essential to understand parasite epidemiology, local patterns of virulence, and evolution of host-resistance. In addition, it is important to identify populations of pathogens that are evolutionarily independent and thus ‘free’ to adapt to hosts and environments. Here...

We documented nightly movements of Hawaiian hoary bats (Lasiurus cinereus semotus) on the island of Hawai’i. Based on data from 28 radiotagged individuals mean foraging range (FR) was 230.7±72.3 ha, core-use area (CUA) was 25.5±6.9 ha (or 11.1% of mean FR), and the mean long axis (LAX) across the FR was 3,390.8±754.3 m. There was almost no overlap in CUAs among 4 adult males having...

We report the first records of Peregrine falcon (Falco peregrinus) predation on endangered Laysan teal (or duck; Anas laysanensis) and predation on endangered Laysan finches (Telespiza cantans). At Midway Atoll, vagrant Peregrine falcons killed ≥4% of a newly translocated Laysan teal population in 2006 and ≥2% in 2008. On Laysan Island during 2008–2009, remains of >76 Laysan finches (

Advances in wildlife telemetry and remote sensing technology facilitate studies of broad-scale movements of ungulates in relation to phenological shifts in vegetation. In tropical island dry landscapes, home range use and movements of non-native feral goats (Capra hircus) are largely unknown, yet this information is important to help guide the conservation and restoration of some of the...

The Hakalau Forest Unit (HFU) of Big Island National Wildlife Refuge Complex (BINWRC) has intensively managed feral cattle (Bos taurus) and pigs (Sus scrofa) and monitored non-native ungulate presence and distribution during surveys of all managed areas since 1988. We: 1) provide results from recent ungulate surveys at HFU to determine current feral pig abundance and distribution; 2)...

Migratory songbirds are advancing their arrival to breeding areas in response to climatic warming at temperate latitudes. Less is understood about the impacts of climate changes outside the breeding period. Every spring, millions of migrating songbirds that overwinter in the Caribbean and Central and South America stop to rest and refuel in the first available habitats after crossing the...

This report assesses the trends in brown booby (Sula leucogaster), masked booby (S. dactylatra), and red-footed booby (S. sula) counts collected on Farallon de Medinilla and Mariana common moorhen (Gallinula chloropus guami) counts on Tinian, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands to help elucidate patterns in bird numbers. During either monthly or quarterly surveys between 1997...

In February 2011, a rancher in the rural southern part of Hawaii Island reported a large mammal on her land. Her call mobilized several agencies led by the Big Island Invasive Species Committee (BIISC), a partnership to prevent, detect, and control the establishment and spread of invasive species, to sit up and take notice. Agency biologists installed camera traps to identify the animal...

Conservation of genetic biodiversity in endangered wildlife populations is an important challenge to address since the loss of alleles and genetic drift may influence future adaptability. Reintroduction aims to re-establish species to restored or protected ecosystems; however, moving a subset of individuals may result in loss of gene variants during the management-induced bottleneck (i.e