Final Comprehensive Conservation Plan - U.S. Fish and Wildlife ...

Hakalau Forest National Wildlife Refuge
Comprehensive Conservation Plan
2. plant species (e.g., canopy tree species, understory species, rare species);
3. foraging substrates (e.g., foliage, branches);
4. foraging maneuvers (e.g., gleaning, probing); and
5. food types (e.g., nectar, fruit, arthropods).
To investigate forest bird foraging behavior, we will first identify the most effective methods for
observing birds and scoring their behavior. Bird behavior will be recorded while narrating behavioral
events. Recorded sessions will be transferred to computers and behaviors will be scored later for
analysis. Both methods require close tracking of individual birds under conditions that frequently
make bird behavior difficult to interpret; nevertheless, videography offers at least the promise of
being able to review questionable behaviors multiple times, whereas without it, the observer’s initial
interpretation is the final interpretation.
Appropriate criteria for distinguishing habitat types across Hakalau will be established. Old-growth
forest (both ‘ōhi‘a and mixed ‘ōhi‘a-koa), planted stands of koa, and patches of other planted species
(e.g., Clermontia pyrularia, Cyanea shipmanii) will be determined. Each observation will be
georeferenced using GPS, and forest community structure and composition will be characterized.
Foraging data will be collected near established bird survey stations to relate the foraging behavior of
particular species to the historical values of the frequency of occurrence and abundance of the same
or other species.
Plants species on which birds are foraging will be recorded. The foraging height of birds in the forest
(e.g., canopy, subcanopy, and understory) would also be noted along with the species of tree, shrub,
or epiphyte in which the bird is feeding. Substrates on which birds are foraging would be designated
by various categories, including foliage, terminal branches (i.e., twigs), medium branches (< 3 cm
diameter), large branches, and trunks. Finally, a characterization of the types of foods being
exploited, including nectar, fruit, and arthropods is required.
Cost Estimate: $50,000/year, $200,000 total
D) Avian disease distribution and climate change
To support Goal 6 and objective “monitor plant and animal disease (e.g., ‘ōhi‘a rust, koa wilt,
avian malaria and pox)”, a related subset of this strategy is research into climate change and avian
disease distribution at Hakalau Forest NWR. Avian disease and their mosquito vectors have not been
sampled at the Refuge since 1999. More than 300 native and nonnative birds were sampled at high
elevation Nauhi Camp, and mid-elevation Maulua and Pua ‘Ākala in 1998 and 1999 for avian
malaria, and detailed mosquito surveys were conducted at mid-elevation sites. This baseline data on
disease prevalence provides a reference point for measuring changes in malaria prevalence under
changing climatic conditions. Since that time a temperate mosquito, Aedes japonicus, has become
established on the island and malaria prevalence has increased elsewhere in the islands.
Cost Estimate: TBD
E) Climate change assessment and development of management options for endangered
species on NPS and Service lands in Hawai‘i
In supporting the development of Land Protection Planning and related species/habitat research
under goals 1, 5, and 6, working with the Pacific Islands Climate Change Cooperative will be key.
Appendix C. Plan Implementation C-17