Advancing Wildlife Monitoring to Improve Management of Endangered Hawaiian Birds in a Changing Climate Active

Mosquito-borne disease is the biggest threat to Hawai‘i’s remaining native forest birds, of which more than half are threatened or endangered. Currently, disease-carrying mosquitoes are unable to move into colder high-elevation forests, but as the islands warm due to climate change, mosquitoes are steadily moving into the last native bird strongholds. Mosquito suppression efforts are planned for three Hawaiian Islands, however, there is currently no monitoring program to assess the effectiveness of those efforts.



To address this pressing need, this project will develop new monitoring tools and protocols to provide managers with information about changes in bird and mosquito numbers that are related to climate change and conservation actions across the Hawaiian Islands. Recent technology advances make it possible to monitor bird populations using a combination of automated devices that record the sounds of the forest, or soundscapes, and machine learning algorithms that identify birds singing within those soundscapes. Researchers use these technologies (1) to analyze historical and current soundscape data to better understand how bird populations have changed over time in areas where mosquito suppression is planned and, (2) to track how bird populations respond to conservation efforts. Researchers will also implement a mosquito monitoring program in one of Hawai‘i’s most intact native forests to serve as an early warning system for any expansion of mosquitoes into higher elevations.



With multiple bird species extinctions predicted to occur within years to decades if immediate and effective action is not taken, this project will provide managers with critical information to inform strategic conservation decisions. Specifically, the results from this project can be used to direct mosquito suppression efforts to areas that are in greatest conservation need.