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| Status and Trends of Biological Resources |
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To close this window and return to the previous screen, please click the "x" in the top right of your screen. PTS: 9363BP9.4.0 Title: Food Ecology and Bird Restoration Leaders: * Banko, Paul C., pbanko@usgs.gov, 808-967-7396, FAX 808-967-8568, P.O. Box 44, Bldg. 344, Hawaii National Park, HI 96718 * Cobb, Debbie , dcobb@usgs.gov, 808-587-7453, FAX 808-587-7451, 677 Ala Moana Blvd. Suite 615, Honolulu, HI 96813-5417 * Helweg, David , dhelweg@usgs.gov, 808-933-0618, FAX 808-967-8568, P.O. Box 44, Bldg. 344, Hawaii National Park, HI 96718 * Vandyk, Dirk C., dvandyk@usgs.gov, 808-587-7454, FAX 808-587-7451, 677 Ala Moana Blvd. Suite 615, Honolulu, HI 96813-5417 Send EMail to Leaders Locations: United States,Western US,Hawaii Accomplishments: Field research was completed on all three objectives. Arthropods were sampled on ohia foliage along gradients of elevation and precipitation within and adjacent to Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. Specimens were processed to determine biomass and were identified to the lowest taxonomic level feasible. Parasitoid wasps also were sampled along environmental gradients using malaise traps. Seasonal bird surveys were conducted. Analyses of results have begun. Together with results from BASIS+ 9363BP7, Task 3, preliminary results of this study indicate that arthropod prey of Hawaiian forest birds are not distributed evenly across elevation gradients, although there may not be sufficient statistical power to detect effects that could be attributed to the precipitation gradient. Our results can provide insights about the food base potentially available to birds in areas where managers are planning restoration. Additionally, the distribution of important parasitoid threats to arthropod prey of birds can help explain the composition of bird communities. Ant surveys have provided important guidance for initiating new studies of alien ant distribution, impacts, and methods of control. Communication Plan: Scientific and technical results will be communicated through refereed journals; scientific symposia, conferences, workshops, and seminars; annual reports; Biocomplexity Project, PIERC and Hawaiian Ecosystems At Risk web pages; and fact sheets. Additional efforts to communicate information, including special meetings and seminars, will be directed at federal and state partners and other conservation managers. More general information will be provided to the public through coordinated outreach activities, including field trips, press releases, classroom visits, public events, and other venues, as appropriate. Completed data sets will be made available through the Pacific Basin Information Node. Highlights and Key Findings: Results of the first two objectives are still being analyzed and interpreted, but parasitoid distribution and abundance have been summarized in a manuscript, as described in the following. Through intentional and accidental introduction, more than 100 species of alien Ichneumonidae and Braconidae have become established in the Hawaii Islands. The extent to which these parasitic wasps have penetrated wet forests was investigated over an elevation gradient on Hawaii Island. For approximately 12 months, malaise traps set in nine sites were continuously monitored for parasitoid diversity and abundance. Overall, the fauna was dominated by alien parasitoids, with 44 of 58 species foreign to the Hawaiian Islands. Ichneumonidae was dominant over Braconidae in terms of both diversity and abundance, comprising 69.5% of the species and 67.4% of individuals collected. Total parasitoid abundance was significantly greater at mid and high elevations (1000-1306 m and 1725-1792 m, respectively) compared to low elevation (27-285 m). Seven species introduced for biocontrol measures were found, but one species, Meteorus laphygmae, comprised 95.8% of this assemblage. Native species, primarily within the genera Spolas and Enicospilus, were collected almost exclusively at mid and high elevation sites. Existing evidence indicates that alien parasitoids can have a profound impact on Hawaiian ecosystems, even in less modified habitats. Objectives: This research is designed to extend the scope of BASIS+ 9363BP, Task 7, by assessing arthropod availability and Japanese white-eye abundance at additional sites along an elevation gradient and by incorporating a rainfall gradient into the overall study design. However, this Task does not examine the diet composition of Japanese white-eyes. The major goals of this study are: 1) determine the availability of important arthropod prey on substrates commonly used by the Japanese white-eye and other forest birds at sites located along gradients of elevation and rainfall to provide managers with information about the potential for restoring native bird species, 2) relate population densities of Japanese white-eyes to arthropod availability data at all sites, 3) evaluate potential threats to important foods by parasitoid wasps and flies. Please also see BASIS+ 9363BP7, Task 3, for description of complementary work. NATIONAL GOALS: A) Terrestrial, Freshwater and Marine Ecosystems - Devise a restoration and adaptive management framework for impaired ecosystems. - Quantify and understand factors influencing patterns of temporal and spatial variability in key ecosystem components. B) Invasive Species - Monitoring and forecasting of established invaders - assess changes in populations and distributions of established invaders. - Effects of invasive species - determine effects of invasive species and susceptibility of habitats to invasion. C) Wildlife: Terrestrial and Endangered Resources - Provide the scientific foundation for the conservation of terrestrial plants, wildlife, and habitats by developing the basic biological information that partners need to formulate adaptive management strategies. - Provide tools and techniques useful for effective science-based management, such as predictive models, decision support systems, and expert systems. - Identify the factors that contribute to and/or limit the conservation and recovery efforts for terrestrial plant and wildlife species-at-risk. - Institute an adaptive science approach to support the adaptive management of terrestrial plants and wildlife and to provide technical assistance to natural resource managers. Engage USGS partners in defining high priority research needs for wildlife conservation and work closely with these partners to identify urgent wildlife issues, conduct effective research, and deliver timely results and technical assistance for natural resource management and decision making. - Conduct research that relates to species of common international concern, including migratory species, invasive species, and imperiled species. Statement of Problem: Resource managers at Hawaii Volcanoes National Park (HAVO) are keenly interested in restoring populations of Hawaiian forest birds as part of their commitment to restoring native community and ecosystem structure and function. Identifying causes that underlie declines in bird abundance is a critical first step toward restoration. Disease, transmitted by alien vector species (i.e., mosquitoes), and predators (i.e., rats and feral cats), have long been considered important factors limiting the distribution and abundance of Hawaiian forest birds. However, food availability, particularly the abundance of arthropods, may also limit bird populations, and may impede recovery efforts. Arthropod abundance may play an important role in disease transmission if the physical condition of a bird influences its susceptibility to disease. While considerable effort has gone into identifying the role of disease and predation, little work has investigated how food availability influences bird populations over the landscape. To plan restoration projects for Hawaiian forest birds, managers must be informed about the availability of food resources in addition to understanding threats posed by disease, predators, and other factors. Identifying threats to arthropod prey of birds will also support programs to inventory and monitor arthropod communities, and it will help managers understand the functional role of arthropods in forest recovery. Results from Hawaii Volcanoes National Park will help managers at Haleakala National Park appreciate some of the complexity involved in protecting and restoring forest bird communities on Maui. Additionally, this research will provide detailed information about the composition of arboreal forest arthropod communities, which have been poorly described. Complementary research (BASIS+ 9363BP9, Task 3) is revealing the diet composition of a widespread, introduced generalist, the Japanese white-eye (Zosterops japonicus), across an elevation gradient. The Japanese white-eye is a naturalized bird species that consumes arthropods, nectar, and fruit in virtually every forested habitat in Hawaii. By adding additional study sites along both an elevation and rainfall gradient, as this study will do, arthropod prey availability for birds in general can be assessed with greater resolution. These results, in combination with information about Japanese white-eye population density, can be used to infer the general suitability of habitats for restoring native bird species. 2005 Progress: Arthropods were sampled along gradients of elevation and precipitation within and adjacent to Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. Specimens were processed to determine biomass and were identified to the lowest taxonomic level feasible. Seasonal bird surveys were conducted at all study sites. 2005 Statement of Work: The major activities planned for FY05 are selecting suitable study sites and beginning arthropod sampling and Japanese white-eye censuses. We also will continue complementary studies on sites established under 9394A1V, subtask 4.2. 2006 Progress: Field and laboratory work were completed in 2006 and analysis of results was begun. A manuscript on the distribution of micro-Hymenoptera along an elevation gradient is being drafted, and preliminary results were presented at the Hawaii Conservation Conference. See BASIS+ 9363BP7, Task 3, for information on annual progress of complementary Bird Food Ecology (Biocomplexity) research. 2006 Statement of Work: We plan to complete arthropod sampling and bird surveys in FY06. We also will analyze data and begin to write manuscripts. Planned products; Peck, R., and P. Banko. Data base of arthropods associated with ohia (Metrosideros polymorpha). USGS data base. 2007 Progress: A manuscript on the distribution of parasitoid wasps along an elevation gradient was submitted to FSP review in September 2007. Two other manuscripts are in preparation and will be submitted to FSP in 2008. 2007 Statement of Work: Data analysis and reporting are the focus of this year¿s work. Planned Products: 1. Report, Planned: Peck, R., P. Banko, et al. Distribution of micro-Hymenoptera along an elevation gradient. To be submitted to Bioinvasions. 2. Report, Planned: Peck, R., and P. Banko. Arthropod communities associated with ohia (Metrosideros polymorpha) along an elevation gradient. To be submitted to an ecological journal. 3. Report, Planned: Peck, R., and P. Banko. Diet of the Japanese white-eye. To be submitted to an ornithological journal. 2008 Progress: Analysis and reporting of all results have been nearly completed. Manuscripts will be submitted for publication in September or October 2008. 2008 Statement of Work: Complete data analysis and writing on two manuscripts. 2009 Statement of Work: Complete data analysis and writing on two manuscripts. Product: Presentations Delivered Banko, P. C., and W. E. Banko. 2006. Feeding specialization and the historical decline of Hawaiian forest birds. 2006 Hawaii Conservation Conference, 26-28 July 2006, Honolulu, HI. Product: Presentations Delivered Schwarzfeld, M., R. Peck, C. J. Van Bers, M. Euaparadorn, and P. Banko. 2005. Infiltration of Hawaiian wet forests by alien parasitoid wasps: patterns of abundance and implications for bird food resources. 2005 Hawaii Conservation Conference, 28-29 July 2005, Honolulu, HI. Product: Delivered Banko, P. C. In Press. Recovery programs: ¿alalā. Chapter 20 in Conservation biology of Hawaiian forest birds: implications for insular avifauna (T. K. Pratt, C. T. Atkinson, P. C. Banko, J. D. Jacobi, B. L. Woodworth, eds.). Yale University Press, New Haven, CT. Product: Delivered Banko, P. C., and W. E. Banko. In Press. Evolution and ecology of food exploitation. Chapter 7 in Conservation biology of Hawaiian forest birds: implications for insular avifauna (T. K. Pratt, C. T. Atkinson, P. C. Banko, J. D. Jacobi, B. L. Woodworth, eds.). Yale University Press, New Haven, CT. Product: Delivered Banko, W. E., and P. C. Banko. In Press. Decline and extinction in the historic period. Chapter 2 in Conservation biology of Hawaiian forest birds: implications for insular avifauna (T. K. Pratt, C. T. Atkinson, P. C. Banko, J. D. Jacobi, B. L. Woodworth, eds.). Yale University Press, New Haven, CT. Product: Delivered Peck, R. W., P. C. Banko, M. Schwarzfeld, M. Euaparadorn, and K. W. Brinck. 2008. Alien dominance of the parasitoid wasp community along an elevation gradient on Hawai¿i Island. Biological Invasions (DOI10.1007/s10530-008-9218-1 http://www.springerlink.com/content/v874q75511u11856/fulltext.html; publ. online 6 Feb 2008). Product: Delivered Pratt, T. K., C. T. Atkinson, P. C. Banko, J. D. Jacobi, B. L. Woodworth, and L. A. Mehrhoff. In Press. Can Hawaiian forest birds be saved? Chapter 24 in Conservation biology of Hawaiian forest birds: implications for insular avifauna (T. K. Pratt, C. T. Atkinson, P. C. Banko, J. D. Jacobi, B. L. Woodworth, eds.). Yale University Press, New Haven, CT. Product: Planned Peck, R., and P. Banko., Arthropod communities associated with ohia (Metrosideros polymorpha) along an elevation gradient., Ecological journal (TBD) Product: Planned Peck, R., and P. Banko., Diet of the Japanese white-eye., Ornithological journal (TBD) |
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