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December 2011 Volume 22, Number 6 December 2011 Price: $5.00 This Little Piggy… Hawai‘i’s Imperiled Species Receive t may star in GEICO commercials and be National Attention at Wildlife Convention Ifeatured in children’s nursery rhymes, but in Hawai‘i’s forests, there’s nothing ast month, The Wildlife Society, a cent watershed initiative. “We have to con- funny or cute about Sus scrofa, the wild pig Lnational association made up mostly of trol ungulates. Fencing and removal of ungu- that does more damage to Hawai‘i’s native specialists in the area of wildlife research lates, especially in watersheds, is a major part ecosystems than any other animal in the and management, held its annual conven- of our plan going forward,” Aila said. “We islands. tion at the Waikoloa resort, on the Big have made a conscious decision that in prior- And if anyone harbored doubts about it, Island. ity watersheds, we are going to double the they only had to sit through a few of the Over the four days of discussions and amount of fencing and protection.” many presentations at the recent symposia connected with the meeting, some Fencing, removal of introduced game convention of The Wildlife Society, held of the most respected names in Hawai‘i species, and restoration of habitat for native last month on the Big Island. Pigs directly biology took to the lectern, providing a largely wildlife was an undercurrent in nearly all of tear up trees and the forest floor. They mainland audience with their perspectives on the talks by Hawai‘i presenters. In a few create hospitable environments for what it will take to conserve and restore cases, their reports on recent research broke mosquito larvae, completing the vector Hawai‘i’s unique fauna – birds, of course, but new ground. For the most part, they simply cycle for malaria and possibly other also monk seals and humpback whales, bats, tried to carry the message of Hawai‘i’s dire parasites. They spread seeds of invasive snails, and other invertebrates. straits to an audience generally unaware of plants, such as waiawi, that threaten native During one of the two plenary sessions, its problems. And they did so often with an forests. And, to top it off, they have, in William Aila, head of the Department of eloquence and strength not usually found hunters, a vocal and powerful lobby in the Land and Natural Resources, made a moving in dry academic discussions. halls of government. plea for the need to control game animals, We present highlights here: To be sure, other culprits in the demise of Hawaiian forest birds and their habitat taking note of Governor Abercrombie’s re- are out there: cats, rats, sheep, goats, and deer among the worst of them. But if only the pig could – oh, go to market! Stay home! Eat roast beef or have none – somewhere else! Lowland Bird Populations May Be Developing IN THIS ISSUE Malaria Tolerance 2 The Honeycreeper Family Tree; vian malaria, one of the scourges of Earthstars; OTEC AHawaiian forest birds, is a major rea- 3 son why they are found so rarely in lowland Board Talk: Wildlife Rule Changes; forests. For years, it was generally thought Malama Solomon Gets a Pass that birds could only survive above the so- 5 called “mosquito line” – elevations above which mosquitoes, which carry the disease, Hogs Gone Wild: A Growing PHOTO: USGS do not thrive. Problem Throughout U.S. ‘Amakihi (Hemignathus virens virens) But a few years ago, in connection with a 6 major survey of biological complexity in the virens) at low elevations than at high sites. Feral Cats: A Conundrum islands, Carter Atkinson and colleagues with “We were amazed,” Atkinson told a crowded For Wildlife Managers the U. S. Geological Survey, Pacific Island meeting room at the conference. 11 Ecosystems Research Center were finding “We were capturing ‘amakihi at rates Rat Lungworm Disease: Has A New-to-Hawai‘i more Hawai‘i ‘amakihi (Hemignathus virens to page 6 Mollusk Made it Worse? Page 2 ■ Environment Hawai‘i ■ December 2011 Volume 22, No. 6 December 2011 NEW AND NOTEWORTHY Rewriting the Family Tree: In a development did adaptive radiation really take off. This “burst” made possible only with the latest techniques in occurred, the authors wrote, during “a time period DNA sequencing, researchers at the Smithsonian that encompasses the formation of O‘ahu, yet Conservation Biology Institute’s Center for Con- precedes the formation of Maui Nui.” Six of 10 servation and Evolutionary Genetics have tracked major “morphological lineages” evolved during down the ancestor of Hawaiian honeycreepers, this time frame, while only two evolved after. This, those birds that present such an amazing example they write, “emphasizes the importance of the of adaptive radiation. formation of O‘ahu, more so than Maui Nui, to And the result? the present-day morphological diversity of Hawai- PHOTO: DESJARDIN & HEMMES The Hawaiian birds trace back to a Eurasian ian honeycreepers…. O‘ahu, as a newly formed Gaestrum litchiforme Desjardin & Hemmes in ironwood rosefinch – and not, as had been widely thought, island initially without avian residents, likely pro- duff. The white scale bar (lower-left corner) equals 1 cm. a North American or European finch. vided a blank slate allowing ecological and mor- Authors Heather Lerner, Matthias Meyer, phological differentiation.” the dry kiawe groves at Puako, or at higher eleva- Helen James, Michael Hofreiter, and Robert As to the mechanism by which the initial tions, including the ‘ohi‘a-koa forests at Koke‘e on Fleischer published their findings in Current Biol- colonizers arrived, the authors note that rosefinches Kaua‘i, or even in forested kipukas along the ogy. Their conclusions were based on analysis of “often move in large mixed-sex groups to new Saddle Road of the Big Island. mitochondrial DNA from 47 bird taxa, including wintering grounds” in a behavior called “irrup- 19 honeycreepers that still exist or are recently tion.” “It is possible that colonization by the NELHA Tries Again on OTEC: The board of extinct. ancestral species was aided by the arrival of a large directors of the Natural Energy Laboratory of The ancestral colonists arrived in the Hawai- mixed-sex flock in the islands, representing a siz- Hawai‘i Authority has approved the proposal of a ian islands sometime between 7.2 million years able gene pool. Thus, a diverse initial gene pool company based in Baltimore to develop an ocean- ago (mya) and 5.8 mya, but not until a couple of may have facilitated speciation and the evolution thermal energy conversion plant at the NELHA million years later, with the emergence of O‘ahu, of extreme morphological diversity in the honey- facility near the Kona-Keahole airport. The com- creeper radiation.” pany, OTEC International (OTI), LLC, was one of four to respond to a request for information put Earthstars in Hawai‘i: Some of the prettiest out by NELHA in September. Environment Hawai‘i In reviews by NELHA staff as well as the 72 plants in Hawai‘i are also among the most obscure. Kapi‘olani Street In the fall 2011 edition of Pacific Science, Don NELHA board’s research advisory committee, Hilo, Hawai‘i 96720 Hemmes, recently retired from the University of OTI received top scores. But certain issues still Patricia Tummons, Editor Hawai‘i at Hilo Department of Biology, and need to be ironed out before the company gets the Teresa Dawson, Staff Writer Dennis Desjardin, of the Biology Department at final go-ahead. At the board’s meeting last month, Susie Yong, Office Administrator San Francisco State University, describe the results NELHA executive director Greg Barbour de- of surveys over the last 15 years that looked for scribed how the demand for deep seawater by the Environment Hawai‘i is published monthly by Environment Hawai‘i, Inc., a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation. earthstars – tiny fungi that produce spores within OTEC plant may not be met without shorting Subscriptions are $65 individual; $100 non-profits, libraries; a shell that splits open to release them, forming existing NELHA tenants who use the water for $130 corporate. Send subscription inquiries, address changes, star-like patterns. everything from abalone aquaculture to desali- and all other correspondence to Environment Hawai‘i, Their article, “Earthstars (Gaestrum, nated bottled water products. 72 Kapi‘olani Street, Hilo, Hawai‘i 96720. Telephone: 808 934-0115. Toll-free: 877-934-0130. Myriostoma) of the Hawaiian Islands Including “The next step is for us to begin negotiations E-mail:[email protected] Two New Species…” describes the 17 previously immediately,” Barbour said. “We would like to Web page: http://www.environment-hawaii.org known species and adds descriptions of two more. come back to the board with more detailed find- Twitter: Envhawaii If you want to find some on your own, the best ings and hopefully a proposal … at the next board Environment Hawai‘i is available in microform through months to do so are from September through meeting,” scheduled for January. University Microfilms’ Alternative Press collection (300 February, typically the wetter months in Hawai‘i. OTI is already in negotiations with Hawaiian 48106-1346 North Zeeb Road, Ann Arbor, Michigan ). Look in the duff under ironwood trees along Electric for a power purchase agreement to cover Production: For Color Publishing coasts, in the koa haole thickets above Lanikai, in production from an offshore 100-megawatt Copyright © 2011 Environment Hawai‘i, Inc. OTEC plant proposed near Kahe Point, O‘ahu. 1050-3285 ISSN ◆ According to Barry Cole, executive vice presi- A publication of dent of OTI, the NELHA plant will be a demon- Environment Hawai‘i, Inc.
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