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Publications

Filter Total Items: 505

Hawaiian hoary bat occupancy at Kaloko-Honokōhau National Historical Park

Hawaiian hoary bat (Lasiurus cinereus semotus) vocalizations were recorded using Anabat SD1 and Song Meter SM2Bat ultrasonic recorders at four monitoring stations in Kaloko-Honokōhau National Historical Park on the island of Hawai‘i. We hypothesize that echolocation call events are more numerous during the reproductive season of this bat. Bat detectors recorded from 1700 to 0730 hrs on a total of
Authors
Frank J. Bonaccorso, Corina Pinzari, Kristina Montoya-Aiona

Strength of evidence for the effects of feral cats on insular wildlife: The Club Med Syndrome Part II

Various types of evidence have been promulgated as proof for the effects of feral cats on wildlife, typically including numerous studies on predation inferred from diet, mortality attributed to pathogens, and photographic or videographic documentation. The strength of these types of evidence is often short of conclusive. For example, studies of predation inferred from diet provide weak evidence fo
Authors
Steve C. Hess

Monitoring Hawaiian waterbirds: evaluation of sampling methods to produce reliable estimates

We conducted field trials to assess several different methods of estimating the abundance of four endangered Hawaiian waterbirds: the Hawaiian duck (Anas wyvilliana), Hawaiian coot (Fulica alai), Hawaiian common moorhen (Gallinula chloropus sandvicensis) and Hawaiian stilt (Himantopus mexicanus knudseni). At two sites on Oʽahu, James Campbell National Wildlife Refuge and Hamakua Marsh, we conducte
Authors
Richard J. Camp, Kevin W. Brinck, Eben H. Paxton, Christina Leopold

How much land is needed for feral pig hunting in Hawai'i?

Hunting is often considered to be incompatible with conservation of native biota and watershed functions in Hawai'i. Management actions for conservation generally exclude large non-native mammals from natural areas, thereby reducing the amount of land area available for hunting activities and the maintenance of sustainable game populations. An approach which may be useful in addressing the necessa
Authors
Steven C. Hess, James D. Jacobi

Status of forest birds on Rota, Mariana Islands

The western Pacific island of Rota is the third largest human inhabited island in the Mariana archipelago, and is designated an Endemic Bird Area. Between 1982 and 2012, 12 point-transect distance sampling surveys were conducted to assess population status. Surveys did not consistently sample the entire island; thus, we used a ratio estimator to estimate bird abundances in strata not sampled durin
Authors
Richard J. Camp, Kevin W. Brinck, P. Marcos Gorresen, Fred A. Amidon, Paul M. Radley, S. Paul Berkowitz, Paul C. Banko

Changing climate and the altitudinal range of avian malaria in the Hawaiian Islands: an ongoing conservation crisis on the island of Kaua'i

Transmission of avian malaria in the Hawaiian Islands varies across altitudinal gradients and is greatest at elevations below 1500 m where both temperature and moisture are favorable for the sole mosquito vector, Culex quinquefasciatus, and extrinsic sporogonic development of the parasite, Plasmodium relictum. Potential consequences of global warming on this system have been recognized for over a
Authors
Carter T. Atkinson, Ruth B. Utzurrum, Dennis A. LaPointe, Richard J. Camp, Lisa H. Crampton, Jeffrey T. Foster, Thomas W. Giambelluca

Colony social structure in native and invasive populations of the social wasp Vespula pensylvanica

Social insects rank among the most invasive of terrestrial species. The success of invasive social insects stems, in part, from the flexibility derived from their social behaviors. We used genetic markers to investigate if the social system of the invasive wasp, Vespula pensylvanica, differed in its introduced and native habitats in order to better understand variation in social phenotype in invas
Authors
Cause Hanna, Erin D. Cook, Ariel R. Thompson, Lyndzey E. Dare, Amanda L. Palaski, David Foote, Michael A. D. Goodisman

Evidence of low genetic variation and rare alleles in a bottlenecked endangered island endemic, the Lasan Teal (Anas laysanensis)

Genetic diversity is assumed to reflect the evolutionary potential and adaptability of populations, and thus quantifying the genetic diversity of endangered species is useful for recovery programs. In particular, if conservation strategies include reintroductions, periodic genetic assessments are useful to evaluate whether management efforts have resulted in the maximization or loss of genetic var
Authors
Michelle H. Reynolds, John M. Pearce, Philip Lavretsky, Peters Jeffrey L, Karen Courtot, Pedro P. Seixas

Dry forest restoration and unassisted native tree seedling recruitment at Auwahi, Maui

Efforts to restore highly degraded but biologically significant forests draw from a limited toolbox. With less than 10% of their former distribution remaining, Hawaiian dry forests, though critically endangered, remain important biological and cultural refugia. At restoration onset (1997), vegetation of restoration and control areas of degraded Auwahi dry forest, Maui Island, was similar, dominate
Authors
Arthur C. Medeiros, E. I. von Allmen, C.G. Chimera

Survival estimates of wild and captive-bred released Puaiohi, an endangered Hawaiian thrush

Estimating and monitoring adult and juvenile survival are vital to understanding population status, informing recovery planning for endangered species, and quantifying the success of management. We used mark–recapture models to estimate apparent annual survival of the Puaiohi (Myadestes palmeri), an endangered thrush endemic to the Hawaiian island of Kauai, from 2005 to 2011. Our sample included 8
Authors
Eric VanderWerf, Lisa H. Crampton, Julia Diegmann, Carter T. Atkinson, David L. Leonard

Habitat and food preferences of the endangered Palila (Loxioides bailleui) on Mauna Kea, Hawai'i

Seeds and flowers of the leguminous māmane (Sophora chrysophylla) tree are the primary food resource of the federally endangered Palila (Loxioides bailleui; Fringillidae: Drepanidinae), which is now restricted to dry subalpine woodland on Mauna Kea Volcano on the island of Hawai'i because of centuries of habitat degradation by non-native ungulates. Palila are morphologically and behaviorally adapt
Authors
Steven C. Hess, Paul C. Banko, Linda J. Miller, Leona P. Laniawe

Corridor- and stopover-use of the Hawaiian goose (Branta sandvicensis), an intratropical altitudinal migrant

We outfitted six male Hawaiian geese, or nene (Branta sandvicensis), with 45-g solar-powered satellite transmitters and collected four location coordinates d−1 from 2010 to 2012. We used 6193 coordinates to characterize migration corridors, habitat preferences and temporal patterns of displacement for 16 migration events with Brownian bridge utilization distributions (BBUD). We used 1552 coordinat
Authors
Christina R. Leopold, Steven C. Hess