Publications

The state of Hawai'i (USA) has few regulations to limit plant introductions. A network of interagency islandbased invasive species committees has evolved over the past decade to address this vulnerability, with the aim of stopping invasions before they threaten natural areas. On Maui, Moloka‘i, and Lāna‘i, which comprise three of the four islands of Maui County, single-island...

No abstract available

This report describes the results of a pilot forest bird survey and a consequent forest bird monitoring protocol that was developed for the O'ahu Forest National Wildlife Refuge, O'ahu Island, Hawai'i. The pilot survey was conducted to inform aspects of the monitoring protocol and to provide a baseline with which to compare future surveys on the Refuge. The protocol was developed in an...

Documenting how different regions across a species' breeding and nonbreeding range are linked via migratory movements is the first step in understanding how events in one region can influence events in others and is critical to identifying conservation threats throughout a migratory animal's annual cycle. We combined two studies that evaluated migratory connectivity in the Willow...

Miconia calvescens (Melastomataceae) is a notorious plant invader in the tropical islands of French Polynesia, Hawaii and New Caledonia. A small tree native to Central and South America, it was first introduced as an ornamental in private botanic gardens in Tahiti (1937), Honolulu (1961), and Nouméa (1970s) where it escaped, became naturalised, and formed dense monospecific stands. More...

Kamehameha Schools, in conjunction with several federal, state, and private organizations, has proposed to conduct conservation management on approximately 5,340 ha (~13,200 acres) of land they own in the vicinity of Kīpukalupea in the North Kona District on the island of Hawai'i. The goal of this program is to restore and enhance the habitat to benefit native plant and animal...

In April 2005, the rust fungus Puccinia psidii (most widely known as guava rust or eucalyptus rust) was found in Hawai'i. This was the first time this rust had been found outside the Neotropics (broadly-defined, including subtropical Florida, where the rust first established in the 1970s). First detected on a nursery-grown 'ohi'a plant, it became known as ''ohi'a rust'in Hawai'i. The...

Coral reef resources in the territory of American Samoa face significant problems from overfishing, non-point source pollution, global warming, and continuing population growth and development. The islands are still relatively isolated relative to other parts of the Pacific and have managed to avoid some of the more devastating invasive species that have reached other archipelagoes. As a...

More than half of the Hawaiian honeycreepers (Drepanidinae) known from historical records are now extinct. Introduced mosquito-borne disease, in particular the avian malaria Plasmodium relictum, has been incriminated as a leading cause of extinction during the 20th century and a major limiting factor in the recovery of remaining species populations. Today, most native Hawaiian bird...

An expected significant population increase on Guam has raised concern about the sustainability of groundwater resources. In response, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in collaboration with the University of Guam's Water and Environmental Research Institute of the Western Pacific (WERI) and with funding from the U.S. Marine Corps (USMC), is conducting a 3.5-year study to advance...

At least three variants of avian pox virus are present in Hawai‘i - Fowlpox from domestic poultry and a group of genetically distinct viruses that cluster within two clades (Pox Variant 1 and Pox Variant 2) that are most similar to Canarypox based on DNA sequence of the virus 4b core protein gene. We tested whether Hawai‘i ‘Amakihi can be protected from wild virus isolates with an...

Groundwater resources in Cape Verde provide water for agriculture, industry, and human consumption. These resources are limited and susceptible to contamination. Additional groundwater resources are needed for continued agricultural development, particularly during times of drought, but increased use and (or) climatic change may have adverse effects on the quantity and quality of...