San Diego Zoo Releases 7 Hawaiian Crows to Help Rebuild Species in Wild

POSTED BY CHRIS JENNEWEIN ON SEPTEMBER 24, 2019 IN TECH | 29 VIEWS

The San Diego Zoo announced Tuesday that its researchers in Hawaii released seven ‘alala, a critically endangered species also known as the Hawaiian crow, into the wild earlier this month.

Researchers at the zoo’s Hawaii Endangered Bird Conservation Program and their partners with the Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources’ Division of Forestry and Wildlife and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service released the birds into the Pu’u Maka’ala Natural Area Reserve on Mauna Loa.

The three entities launched a partnership two years ago known as the ‘Alala Project to reintroduce the species back into the wild. The team released five males and two females into the reserve to join other groups of ‘alala already living in the area. Roughly 20 birds now live in the reserve’s forests despite the species once being extinct in the wild.

“Recovering threatened and endangered species is bigger than any one community or agency: it takes everyone working together,” said Michelle Bogardus, a geographic team leader in Hawaii with the Fish and Wildlife Service.

The research and conservation group documented multiple pairs of `alala showing breeding and courtship behaviors, including birds that were first released in 2017. The ‘Alala Project members expect the species’ recovery to take many more years, but say they are already seeing positive signs.

“‘Alala form complex bonds as breeding pairs and must work together to build their nests,” said Alison Greggor, a research associate with the Hawaii Endangered Bird Conservation Program. “Having released ‘alala engage in the full suite of breeding and nest- building behaviors in their first season as adults represents a huge step forward for the program, and their recovery as a species.”

— City News Service

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‘Rapidly evolving’ birds taking over island prove we’re capable of stunning transformation

CREATURES evolving at breakneck speed have taken over a Hawaiian island and may have proven humans could be capable of rapid morphing in just a matter of months.

By Anders Anglesey / Published 16th June 2019

 “It is typically thought that evolution occurs over millennia but we see significant changes over only 50-90 years”

Dr Jason Gleditsch

Incredible research has shown how a series of invasive birds have replaced native species by transforming at shocking speeds, proving how beasts can be capable of spectacular transformations over a short period of time. 

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Critically Endangered Hawaiian Crows Build First Nest in Decades

Alicia Graef

May 19, 2019

Birds are building nests everywhere this spring, but for a pair of critically endangered crows in Hawaii it’s an especially big deal – it’s the first time they’ve made one in the wild in 20 years.

The ‘Alalā was once widespread throughout Hawaii, but a combination of threats ranging from habitat loss, disease and non-native predators to conflict with farmers drove their population down at an alarming rate. By the late 1970s, there were only estimated to be 50 to 150 left. The last two known individuals vanished from the wild in 2002.

Although they were declared extinct in the wild, a captive breeding program had begun years earlier and many have been hatched and raised at the Keauhou and Maui Bird Conservation Centers as part of a partnership between the State of Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources Division of Forestry and Wildlife, San Diego Zoo Global, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

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New effort to save Critically Endangered 'Kiwikiu'

15/04/2019

Hawaii state government is stepping up efforts to help the Critically Endangered Maui Parrotbill – of which fewer then 300 are thought to remain in the wild – in a bid to increase the species’ population.

Maui Parrotbill lives at high elevation in the rainforests of Maui and the birds were previously found throughout the forest in leeward Haleakala. However, this area has been badly damaged by hooved animals over the past few decades and state crews will now work to restore much of this forest.

Part of the restoration work includes installation of fencing and planting of native plants and trees. Once this part of the project has been complete, a team plans to release up to 20 Maui Parrotbills in the area later this year. Hannah Mounce, of the Maui Forest Bird Recovery Project, said: "We chose this spot for a future release site for the Critically Endangered birds from the windward side and step one was to bring the forest back."

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Novel Hawaiian communities operate similarly to native ecosystems

Date:  April 4, 2019

Source:  University of Illinois College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences

On the Hawaiian island of Oahu, it is possible to stand in a lush tropical forest that doesn't contain a single native plant. The birds that once dispersed native seeds are almost entirely gone too, leaving a brand-new ecological community composed of introduced plants and birds. In a first-of-its-kind study published today in Science, researchers demonstrate that these novel communities are organized in much the same way as native communities worldwide.

The discovery comes after an exhaustive examination of bird diets across Oahu and a subsequent network analysis describing bird-plant interactions on the island. Unexpectedly, the analysis showed introduced birds have developed complex patterns of interactions with plants, most of them non-native to the island. And when bird-plant interactions in Oahu were compared to native-dominated ecosystems around the world, they were strikingly similar.

"These birds on Oahu aren't interacting with these invasive plants randomly. They're actually selecting certain plants. What's interesting about this is that these birds didn't co-evolve with these plants. We think of specialization as a co-evolved trait that develops over millennia, but we are seeing it in completely novel ecosystems and in species that have only lived together for less than 100 years," says Jinelle Sperry, wildlife biologist for the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center, adjunct professor in the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences (NRES) at the University of Illinois, and co-author on the Science study.

Read on

Hidden Hawaiian Bird Nests Finally Found

Night vision binoculars, a scent dog, and video cameras have caught band-rumped storm petrels coming and going from their volcanic nests for the first time.

Authored by

by Frances Backhouse 

March 20, 2019

In the four years that Nicole Galase has been studying band-rumped storm petrels on the Island of Hawai‘i, she has worn through five pairs of hiking boots, thrashing their soles on the rough lava fields of Mauna Loa. But Galase isn’t complaining, as the countless kilometers of travel have paid off: she is the first biologist to unequivocally locate these secretive seabirds’ Hawaiian nesting sites, concealed deep in volcanic lava tubes.

“Stormies,” as Galase fondly calls the seabirds, are thought to be in decline globally and are officially listed as endangered in the United States. They spend most of their lives far out at sea, ranging across the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans and never touching land outside of the breeding season. They confine their nesting colonies to remote islands and hide their nests underground, coming and going only at night. Ancient bird bones found by archaeologists suggest that the seabirds have nested throughout the Hawaiian Islands since before Western contact, but modern-day evidence of breeding was, until now, circumstantial. While there were reports of nighttime calling, and occasional sightings of adults in breeding condition, or of fledglings, no researcher had ever found nests sheltering eggs or chicks.

Back in 2014, Galase arrived at the US Army’s Pōhakuloa Training Area on the Island of Hawai‘i to lead a seabird research project, a joint initiative of the army’s natural resource program and Colorado State University’s Center for Environmental Management of Military Lands. Previous acoustic monitoring showed that band-rumped storm petrels frequented the Pōhakuloa area—a high plateau between several volcanoes including Mauna Loa and Mauna Kea—during the May to November breeding season, yet no one could prove they were nesting there. The 28-year-old new hire’s assignment was to catch them in the act.

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Possible Oahu populations offer new hope for Hawaiian seabirds

January 22, 2019, American Ornithological Society

The two seabird species unique to Hawaii, Newell's Shearwaters and Hawaiian Petrels, are the focus of major conservation efforts—at risk from habitat degradation, invasive predators, and other threats, their populations plummeted 94% and 78% respectively between 1993 and 2013. However, a new study in The Condor: Ornithological Applications offers hope of previously undetected colonies of these birds on the island of Oahu, from which they were believed to have vanished by the late 1700s.

Shearwaters and petrels nest colonially in crevices, burrows, and under vegetation at mid to high elevations. They currently breed on other Hawaiian islands including Kauai and Maui, but were both believed to have extirpated from Oahu prior to European contact in 1778; biologists believed that occasional records from the island were birds thrown off-course at night by city lights.

Pacific Rim Conservation's Lindsay Young and her colleagues used a spatial model based on elevation, forest cover, and illumination to identify potential suitable breeding habitat for both species on Oahu, then deployed automated acoustic recording units at 16 sites on the island to listen for the birds' calls in 2016 and 2017, accessing remote mountain locations via helicopter. To their surprise, they detected petrels at one site and shearwaters at two sites.

"We were doing a statewide survey for these species for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service as part of recovery action planning, but Oahu was not initially included as one of the sites to survey, since evidence suggested they weren't there," says Young. "Since we're Oahu-based, we thought we would at least put a few recording units out to see if there was anything. And we were surprised, to say the least, that we not only had calls detected, but detected both species across two years."

Read more at: 

Homebody tendencies put Hawaiian gallinules at risk

Date: October 24, 2018

Source: American Ornithological Society Publications Office

The Hawaiian Islands are home to a range of unique, endangered bird species. Many waterbirds such as the Hawaiian Coot and Hawaiian Gallinule have been recovering in recent decades thanks to intensive wetland management, but past declines have left them with reduced genetic diversity. A new study from The Condor: Ornithological Applications looks at what the birds' genes can tell us about their behavior today and finds that one species' lack of wanderlust may be putting it at greater risk.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife's Jared Underwood and his colleagues trapped birds on Oahu and Kauai and took blood, tissue, and feather samples. Genetic analysis conducted at the U.S. Geological Survey by Sarah Sonsthagen and colleagues showed that Hawaiian Coots disperse regularly between islands, while Hawaiian Gallinules do not. The researchers believe that Hawaiian coot populations in some wetlands are reaching the maximum they can support, which is one factor causing them to leave in search of new territories. Historical evidence suggests that gallinules also moved around frequently prior to population declines, so either their behavior has changed, or, unlike the coots, they have yet to reach local carrying capacities.

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Source To survive in the wild, native alala birds undergo training to spot predators

Tuesday, September 18th 2018, 3:02 am BDTTuesday, September 18th 2018, 5:52 am BDT

By Pono Suganuma, Digital Content Producer

Alala birds raised in captivity are undergoing predator aversion training to learn how to survive in the wild.

The Alala Project is an innovative conservation program that seeks to bring these native Hawaiian birds back from extinction.

Raised in captivity within the Puu Makaala Natural Area Reserve, alala have never been exposed to predators like the io bird. Like many animals, alala don’t recognize potential predators if they don’t have anyone to learn from.

“We provide that learning opportunity by mimicking biologically relevant scenarios that they’d get had they been born in the wild,” said Alison Greggor, who works at the Panaewa Rainforest Zoo.

Source:  

ʻAlalā Doing Just Fine After Hurricane Lane Drenching

By Big Island Now

August 28, 2018, 1:49 PM HST (Updated August 28, 2018, 1:49 PM)

On the Big Island, in their forest home in the Pu‘u Maka‘ala Natural Area Reserve on Hawai‘i Island, eleven ʻAlalā  (native Hawaiian crows) appear to have little difficulty following several days of heavy rains generated by Hurricane Lane. The critically endangered birds, the first to have been successfully released into the wild from conservation breeding facilities last fall, are among the creatures who experienced more than 30 inches of rain during the storm.

As soon as it was safe, staff from the San Diego Zoo Global’s Hawai‘i Endangered Bird Conservation Program, a partner in The ʻAlalā Project, went into the field to check on the bird’s welfare. Dr. Alison Greggor, a post-doctoral research associate commented, “The Hawaiian forest is very resilient and, in that way, the ʻAlalā are also very resilient. Our team got out here as soon as it was safe, and they saw no ill effects on the birds. They weathered the storm very well.”  Department of Land and Natural Resources staff also accessed the site as soon as it was safe, to assess any damage to roads, infrastructure, and check the status of management actions. “Decades of intensive habitat management have made the reserve a unique ecosystem, home to some of the island’s rarest birds and plants”, said DLNR Division of Forestry and Wildlife (DOFAW) Biologist, Jackie Gaudioso-Levita.

The reintroduction team describes the eleven birds as being quite hardy.  They’ve lived in the forest for almost a year, including through one entire winter.

“They survive very well in wet conditions and they’re able to fend for themselves.” said Dr. Greggor. “We’ve seen over time that the birds have gotten much better seeking shelter in the forest and finding natural nooks and crevices where they can hide from the rain.” She explained that for forest bird species, individuals that get really wet from prolonged rain can see ill effects when their body temperatures drop. ʻAlalā are known to be highly intelligent but the field team was thrilled that in spite of nearly three feet of rain over just four days, the birds remained unharmed.  This is encouraging news, among known impacts on wild and establishing populations in low numbers, where a single storm can prove to be decimating.

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The Extinction of the Kauai ʻōʻō

03 AUG 2018

EMILY HEBER

ISLAND NEWS, NEWS

The Kauai ʻōʻō was driven to extinction due to the presence of invasive species and habitat destruction but for other native forest birds conservation efforts can help.

The Hawaiian Islands are a unique and wondrous hotspot of biodiversity, but due to the introduction of invasive predators and habitat destruction, many of these birds have been driven to extinction. The Kauai ʻōʻō is a prime example; the small black and yellow bird once thrived from the shores of Kauai up to through the rugged mountains but the bird was last seen in 1985 and potentially last heard in 1987. Dr. Jim Jacobi recounts his experience of seeing the last remaining ʻōʻō on a trip in 1984 as he says:

It was a beautiful day as I recall. We started off from this camp and it takes about an hour to go from where we were camped to down to the stream. We stopped there and started to listen.”

As they listened and recorded the sounds of the forest, the ʻōʻō called and flew onto a nearby branch. When the ʻōʻō flew away, Dr. Jacobi replayed the sound and suddenly the bird returned. He soon realized the bird was responding to a call he had not heard in a long time.

Today, the Kauai ʻōʻō is extinct but other native forest birds such as the I’iwi are still around, but face the threats of invasive species and climate change. Luckily, conservationists are dedicated to ensuring a thriving future for these rare birds. Conservationists are hopeful that by working to remove invasive species and use captive breeding programs to bolster populations they can help these forest birds fill the forests once again. The ʻōʻō serves as a reminder to strive to prevent extinctions of these endemic birds.

Experience that day in 1984 through this virtual reality video and maneuver through the sights and sounds of the forest using the controls in the upper left-hand corner.

Read on

It's go time for Hawaiian bird conservation, and luckily there's a playbook

Date:  June 27, 2018

Source:  American Ornithological Society Publications Office

A new study in The Condor: Ornithological Applications presents some of the best guidance to date on the priorities and actions that can be taken to help Hawaii's endemic birds. Hawaii's ecosystems, including its native bird populations, are struggling. Of the 21 species of forest birds left on the islands, almost two thirds (12 species) of are endangered or threatened. The current conservation status of the wildlife and vegetation on the island is almost entirely attributable to humans. The actions needed to stabilize or reverse these trends need stronger support and coordination, however funding and resources are limited. This new paper lays out a plan to better guide and empower conservation efforts for Hawaiian birds.

Eben Paxton of USGS Pacific Island Ecosystems Research Center and colleagues synthesized the key points that came out of a collaboration of more than 60 stakeholders in Hawaiian bird conservation. The focus is on actionable research and management approaches that can be employed today. Habitat loss, invasive plants, non-native predators, and introduced diseases were identified as the largest threats to Hawaiian birds. Climate change is projected to exacerbate all threats. Given limited resources, the stakeholders decided on eight main priorities as well as several actions specific to the island of Kauai. In addition to helping Hawaii and its birds directly, the goal of this collaborative report is to make Hawaii a model for other areas of the world, especially islands, that are in need of strong conservation efforts.

Read on 

New study points to rodents as real forest bird threat

By Jessica Else The Garden Island | Sunday, July 1, 2018, 12:05 a.m.

HANAPEPE — Destroying the rats is the best way to protect one of Kauai’s critically endangered forest birds.

That’s according to a new study, released by researchers at the University of Hawaii at Manoa and the Kauai Forest Bird Recovery Project, which looked at different ways to manage the Puaiohi population.

The Puaiohi is a native thrush that scientists say is critical for maintaining healthy forests.

Rat control, even at more conservative levels, appeared to be the most effective method of increasing the abundance of the Puaiohi population, according to the study.

Managing other predators like feral cats, avian malaria and things like habitat degradation due to invasive species and livestock were also included in the study.

“This study shows that practical, attainable management activities can increase Puaiohi numbers and prevent the extinction of this unique endemic species,” said lead author Jean Fantle-Lepczyk.

Fantle-Lepczyk continued: “Because many of the issues facing Puaiohi are the same as those faced by the other Hawaiian forest birds, the recommended management activities could have a substantial and valuable positive impact on the other remaining endemic birds of the Alakai.”

The Puaiohi is one of the last six endemic forest bird species remaining in Kauai’s Alakai Wilderness. There are fewer than 500 Puaiohi left in the wild.

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It's go time for Hawaiian bird conservation, and luckily there's a playbook

Date:  June 27, 2018

Source:  American Ornithological Society Publications Office

Summary:

    

A new study in The Condor: Ornithological Applications presents some of the best guidance to date on the priorities and actions that can be taken to help Hawaii's endemic birds. Hawaii's ecosystems, including its native bird populations, are struggling. Of the 21 species of forest birds left on the islands, almost two thirds (12 species) of are endangered or threatened. The current conservation status of the wildlife and vegetation on the island is almost entirely attributable to humans. The actions needed to stabilize or reverse these trends need stronger support and coordination, however funding and resources are limited. This new paper lays out a plan to better guide and empower conservation efforts for Hawaiian birds.

Read more  

The Invasive Rose-ringed Parakeet – a Threat from Hawai’i to Spain

24 MAY 2018

EMILY HEBER

The island of Kauai and a park in Seville, Spain are facing similar concerns over one invasive bird – the Rose-ringed Parakeet.

What do Kauai, Hawai’i and Seville, Spain have in common? Answer: the invasive Rose-ringed Parakeet.

The brightly colored bird is native in parts of Asia and Africa but the bright coloration has also led this species into  the pet trade industry. As an unfortunate by-product of their popularity as pets, the birds have been accidentally and intentionally released into non-native habitats around the world. The Kauai population was first established in the 1960s and grew to 200 individuals by the 1990s. Today experts estimate over 5,000 parakeets live on Kauai. Seville has a similar story of introduction that took place in the 1990s when 10 individuals were released after being confiscated from a pet shop. Now the populations are out of control and conservationists are concerned.

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Conservationists Begin Study to Analyze Vocalizations of ‘Alalā

By Big Island Now

April 18, 2018, 10:26 AM HST (Updated April 18, 2018, 10:27 AM) 

The Hawai‘i Department of Land and Resources reports that the eleven young ‘Alalā living in the Pu‘u Maka‘ala Natural Area Reserve on the Island of Hawai‘i continue to thrive, showing increased natural behaviors, foraging on native plants, and even challenging the occasional ‘Io, or Hawaiian Hawk.

Conservationists are cautiously optimistic about the birds’ continued success in native habitats and are working together with researchers at the University of Hawai‘i at Hilo to analyze vocalizations of these rare birds.  Foraging and other social behaviors are also being studied to determine if historically seen activities are increasing now that the group has access to the surroundings in which they evolved.

“When the only existing ‘Alalā were living in the protected aviaries at the Keauhou Bird Conservation Center, we saw fewer types of alarm and territory calls in the population and the frequency of alarm calls was greatly reduced.” said Alison Greggor, Postdoctoral Associate, San Diego Zoo Global.

“We are beginning to observe behaviors that appear to be responsive to the changes and threats available in natural habitat and we are working on evaluating this scientifically to see if the birds’ rich behavioral repertoire is being recovered now that they have been reintroduced into the forest.” said Joshua Pang-Ching, Research Coordinator of the San Diego Zoo Global’s Hawai‘i Endangered Bird Conservation Program. Some of these behaviors include foraging on native fruits, searching for insects within bark of native trees, and interacting with ʻIo,  which is their natural predator.

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Kauai bird recovery project seeks to eradicate bird illness in the islands

Thursday, March 15th 2018, 6:37 am GMTThursday, March 15th 2018, 6:42 am GMT

By HNN Staff

The Kauai Forest Bird Recovery Project is gearing up in the fight against avian malaria.

In an effort to preserve Kauai's dwindling bird population, the bird recovery group is raising money to support teams that plan to ride Kauai's forests of malaria-spreading mosquitoes.

The "Save Kauai's Spectacular Birds from Avian Malaria" campaign, nicknamed "Save a Bird, Swat a Skeeter" will send out bird researchers to monitor birds, as well as find and eliminate local mosquito populations.

Avian malaria is a mosquito-born disease that is infecting the health of rare Hawaiian Honeycreepers on Kauai.

Three endangered forest bird species on Kauai are at risk of imminent extinction. There are now less than 500 Akikiki and the Puaiohi and the ?Akeke‘e are also highly vulnerable, with less than 1,000 of the birds left left. The ‘Akeke’e population has dropped by more than 90 percent in the last 10 years. 

The bird recovery project and its partners plan to halt these trends by stamping out avian malaria, which is the single biggest threat to these species.

“To combat avian malaria, we need to know how many birds are infected and where the mosquito populations are breeding," said Lisa Crampton, project coordinator for the Kauai Forest Bird Recovery Project, in a news release.

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Scientists race to find genetic clues as malaria decimates rare Hawaiian honeycreepers

In Animals, Earth Science, Research News, Science & Nature / 9 January 2018 / 0 comments

By Michelle Z. Donahue

As average annual temperatures increase, mosquitoes have also been on the move—up the mountains of the Hawaiian islands. Once a refuge for native birds susceptible to mosquito-transmitted avian malaria, altitude no longer guarantees safety from a disease that can kill them in a matter of days.

The question of what may happen to these endangered birds as their environments continue to shift due to climate change is key to their ultimate survival. The answer may lie in their genes.

Over the next several years, bird, malaria and mosquito experts from Rutgers University, the Smithsonian, and other research organizations will be working to sequence genomes of the amakihi, a species of Hawaiian honeycreeper with populations that appear to be developing resistance or tolerance to avian malaria. They’ll also be sequencing genomes of the southern house mosquito (Culex quinquefasciatus) and the malaria parasite it carries, Plasmodium relictum, both invasive to Hawaii.

The National Science Foundation awarded the team a four-year, $2.5 million grant to conduct the work.

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Climate-influenced changes in flowering, fruiting also affect bird abundance, activities

Date:  November 8, 2017

Source:  USDA Forest Service - Pacific Southwest Research Station

A new study has documented shifts in Hawaiian bird abundance, breeding and molting based on climate-related changes to native vegetation. Researchers with the US Forest Service's Pacific Southwest Research Station recently reviewed extensive climate, vegetation and bird data collected between 1976 and 1982 at a 40-acre monitoring site about 5 miles outside Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park on Hawai'i Island. The study is featured in this month's issue of Ecology.

"You are what you eat" might give way to "you are when you eat," based on a new study tracking shifts in Hawaiian bird abundance, breeding and molting based on climate-related changes to native vegetation.

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Alala released into Hawaii Island native forest

Published September 27, 2017 - 10:58am

HILO — Six young Alala — critically endangered Hawaiian crows — were released Wednesday into Puu Makaala Natural Area Reserve on the Big Island.

The first group of birds: two females and four males took some time to emerge from the aviary where they had been temporarily housed and they appeared to show a natural curiosity for their surroundings. Plans are to release a second group of five birds: two females and three males in mid-October from the same release aviary.

Previously, in December, a reintroduction attempt was halted after challenges posed by winter storms and predation on Alala by Io, (Hawaiian hawk). The concerted reintroduction efforts, funded by the state Department of Land and Natural Resources, San Diego Zoo Global, and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service have addressed those challenges by changing the timing of release to avoid winter storms, changing the release site location, releasing a social group of both males and females, and enhancing the “antipredator training program” to teach the released birds how to better respond to predators like Io.

A high mortality rate is associated with releasing species into the wild. This is especially true for species like Alala that have been in captivity for longer periods of time. A successful conservation breeding program gives managers the flexibility to adapt their management techniques to improve successful transition to the wild. Conservation breeding programs are key tools for recovering threatened and endangered species.

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