Evaluating Population Viability and Conservation Options for The Endangered Puaiohi

Ph.D. University of Hawaii at Manoa 2016.Includes bibliographical references.Evolution in the Hawaiian Islands has produced a unique assemblage of forest birds. Unfortunately, many of these species are highly endangered or extinct. Despite numerous threats and great effort aimed at saving endemic birds, we lack basic science necessary for understanding many species of concern, including the endangered puaiohi (Myadestes palmeri). Currently, the puaiohi’s breeding population is estimated at 500 birds restricted to the Alaka‘i Wilderness Preserve on Kaua‘i. Given its small population and restricted range, understanding the conditions that affect the species’ population dynamics is essential. Hence, the goals of this dissertation were to: investigate links between precipitation and temperature in the puaiohi’s range and reproductive success; represent puaiohi population dynamics under current and potential management scenarios to determine management’s potential efficacy in aiding species recovery; and, investigate which management activities might supply the most cost-effective species management. Management scenarios included rat management, habitat improvement (habitat restoration or supplemental feeding), provision of nest boxes, and translocation of an additional population to another island. Total rainfall in the previous wet season and mean rainfall during the breeding season positively correlated with most nest success variables. Female and juvenile survival most influenced puaiohi population viability, indicating that management should focus on increasing female and juvenile survival. Rat control, even at conservative levels, was the most effective method of increasing puaiohi abundance. While translocation offers hope of increasing puaiohi population and decreasing extinction risk, success depends on the conditions established at the release site. In addition, re-establishment of the puaiohi captive breeding program may be necessary to provide enough birds to translocate. Management costs over the 25 years modeled ranged from $378,701 to$245,213,905, with translocation being one of the most cost-effective means of managing puaiohi and supplemental feeding the least. Cost-efficiency of rat control varied based on scale and method, and restoration of habitat was moderately cost-effective. Findings indicate that practical, attainable management activities can increase puaiohi and bring it back from the brink of extinction. These findings provide a model for other endangered species conservation efforts

Economic costs of protecting islands from invasive alien species

Funding Information: This work was conducted following a workshop funded by the AXA Research Fund Chair of Invasion Biology and is part of the AlienScenario project funded by BiodivERsA‐Belmont Forum Project “Alien Scenarios” (BL: FWF project no. I 4011‐B32). The authors also acknowledge the French National Research Agency (ANR‐14‐CE02‐0021) and the BNP‐Paribas Foundation Climate Initiative for funding the InvaCost project and enabling the construction of the database, with particular thanks to C. Diagne. T.W.B. acknowledges funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation program Marie Skłodowska‐Curie fellowship (grant 747120). J.F.L. thanks the Auburn University School of Forestry and Wildlife Sciences for travel support to attend the InvaCost workshop. Funding for E.A. came from the AXA Research Fund Chair of Invasion Biology of the University of Paris Saclay. We also thank J. Albers and 2 anonymous reviewers and for their comments that strengthened this manuscript. Publisher Copyright: © 2022 The Authors. Conservation Biology published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of Society for Conservation Biology.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Economic costs of invasive rodents worldwide : the tip of the iceberg

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS We are extremely grateful to the organizers of the InvaCost workshop that allowed the genesis of this project, as well as to all contacted people who kindly answered to our requests for information about the costs of invasive rodents. We thank L. Nuninger and C. Assailly for their work in the initial project, and María Angulo and Nuria Cerdá for their help in generating the Fig. 3. Last, the authors thank Dr. Steffen Oppel and another anonymous reviewer for their thorough revision of the article which greatly improved it. Funding Information: This work was supported by the French National Research Agency (ANR-14-CE02-0021) and the BNP-Paribas Foundation Climate Initiative for funding the Invacost project which allowed the construction of the InvaCost database. This work was initiated following a workshop funded by the AXA Research Fund Chair of Invasion Biology. This research was also funded through the 2017-2018 Belmont Forum and BiodivERsA joint call for research proposals, under the BiodivScen ERA-Net COFUND programme. Funds for Elena Angulo and Liliana Ballesteros-Mejia came from the AXA Research Fund Chair of Invasion Biology of University Paris Saclay. Christophe Diagne was funded by the BiodivERsA-Belmont Forum Project ‘‘Alien Scenarios’’ (BMBF/PT DLR 01LC1807C). Ross N. Cuthbert received funding from the Leverhulme Trust (ECF-2021-001). Thomas W. Bodey received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme Marie Skłodowska-Curie fellowship (Grant No. 747120). Jean Fantle-Lepczyk received travel support to attend the Invacost workshop from Auburn University School of Forestry and Wildlife Sciences. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

SNAPSHOT USA 2019 : a coordinated national camera trap survey of the United States

This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.With the accelerating pace of global change, it is imperative that we obtain rapid inventories of the status and distribution of wildlife for ecological inferences and conservation planning. To address this challenge, we launched the SNAPSHOT USA project, a collaborative survey of terrestrial wildlife populations using camera traps across the United States. For our first annual survey, we compiled data across all 50 states during a 14-week period (17 August - 24 November of 2019). We sampled wildlife at 1509 camera trap sites from 110 camera trap arrays covering 12 different ecoregions across four development zones. This effort resulted in 166,036 unique detections of 83 species of mammals and 17 species of birds. All images were processed through the Smithsonian's eMammal camera trap data repository and included an expert review phase to ensure taxonomic accuracy of data, resulting in each picture being reviewed at least twice. The results represent a timely and standardized camera trap survey of the USA. All of the 2019 survey data are made available herein. We are currently repeating surveys in fall 2020, opening up the opportunity to other institutions and cooperators to expand coverage of all the urban-wild gradients and ecophysiographic regions of the country. Future data will be available as the database is updated at eMammal.si.edu/snapshot-usa, as well as future data paper submissions. These data will be useful for local and macroecological research including the examination of community assembly, effects of environmental and anthropogenic landscape variables, effects of fragmentation and extinction debt dynamics, as well as species-specific population dynamics and conservation action plans. There are no copyright restrictions; please cite this paper when using the data for publication.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

Mammal responses to global changes in human activity vary by trophic group and landscape

Wildlife must adapt to human presence to survive in the Anthropocene, so it is critical to understand species responses to humans in different contexts. We used camera trapping as a lens to view mammal responses to changes in human activity during the COVID-19 pandemic. Across 163 species sampled in 102 projects around the world, changes in the amount and timing of animal activity varied widely. Under higher human activity, mammals were less active in undeveloped areas but unexpectedly more active in developed areas while exhibiting greater nocturnality. Carnivores were most sensitive, showing the strongest decreases in activity and greatest increases in nocturnality. Wildlife managers must consider how habituation and uneven sensitivity across species may cause fundamental differences in human–wildlife interactions along gradients of human influence.Peer reviewe

Long-term history of vehicle collisions on the endangered Nēnē (Branta sandvicensis).

Millions of birds in the United States die annually due to vehicle collisions on roads. Collisions may be of particular interest for species of conservation concern, such as the endangered Hawaiian goose (Nēnē), which is endemic to Hawai'i. Using a nearly 40-year dataset of Nēnē road mortality in and around Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park, we sought to answer the following research questions: 1) has Nēnē mortality changed over time? 2) are there times of the year in which mortality is greatest and does it relate to specific events in the species' lifecycle? 3) does age at mortality differ over time, space, or sex? 4) given that existing mortalities appear to occur only in certain locations, do the number of mortality events differ across these locations; 5) does mortality rate show any density dependence? and, 6) are mortality rates related to numbers of visitors or vehicles? Between 1977 and 2014, a total of 92 Nēnē died from vehicle collisions; while absolute mortality increased over this time, the mortality rate remained the same. Similarly, average age of mortality increased over time, but did not differ by location or sex. Between 1995 and 2014, Nēnē population size and mortality rates were not correlated. Mortality was greatest in November and December (breeding season) and lowest in June. Most of the mortality occurred along just three stretches of road in and around the park, with the number of mortalities split about evenly inside and outside of the park. Furthermore, Nēnē mortality was unrelated to the number of visitors or traffic volume in the park. These findings suggest vehicle collisions are a growing concern for Nēnē, but that management actions to reduce mortality can be targeted at specific road segments and times of the year

Key demographic factors for recovery of the endangered Nightingale Reed-Warbler (Acrocephalus hiwae) via population viability analysis

The Nightingale Reed-Warbler (Acrocephalus hiwae), a critically endangered songbird, is the last remaining of four reed-warbler species that once inhabited the Mariana Islands. The most recent population estimate for the species is 2915-3742 individuals distributed over the islands of Saipan (n = 2742, 95% CI = 1686-3956) and Alamagan (n = 946, 95% CI = 173-1000), which represents a significant decline for the species on Saipan. Though data on life history parameters such as survival rates are not widely available, other parameters such as clutch size and nest success have been studied. Given the extirpation of three of the four reed-warbler species from the Mariana Islands, the recent significant decline of the larger Saipan population, and the increasing threats faced by the species, it is critical to determine what additional life history information is needed to aid management decisions. Using Vortex, we developed stochastic population models to represent current reed-warbler population dynamics and used sensitivity analysis to identify the life history parameters to which the model was most sensitive. Baseline models without inbreeding indicated declines of the Nightingale Reed-Warbler populations on Saipan and Alamagan, as well as of the overall population. The inclusion of inbreeding further increases the modeled rate of population decline. Parameters such as initial population size, carrying capacity, and male survival have relatively little influence on reed-warbler population models, while female and juvenile survival and, to a lesser degree, fecundity measures, exhibit strong influences on the species' population dynamics. We recommend effort be placed on collecting updated survival data for all life stages, but particularly for females and juveniles. Given model predictions of vulnerability to extinction, we recommend management actions that may increase survival rates of juveniles and females

Legislative Documents

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Technical Bulletin No.: 33

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