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Revised Recovery Plan for the Laysan Duck

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Revised Recovery Plan for the Laysan Duck U.S. Department of the Interior U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Region 1, Pacific U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Ecological Services 911 NE 11th Ave. Portland, OR 97232 http://www.fws.gov Revised Recovery Plan July 2009 for the Laysan Duck (Anas laysanensis) Main cover image of Laysan ducks courtesy of James Breeden, USGS. Lower-right image of hen and ducklings walking courtesy of Michelle H. Reynolds, USGS. Revised Recovery Plan for the Laysan Duck DISCLAIMER Recovery plans delineate reasonable actions that are believed to be required to recover and protect listed species. We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, publish recovery plans, sometimes preparing them with the assistance of recovery teams, contractors, State agencies, Tribal agencies, and other affected and interested parties. Objectives will be attained and any necessary funds made available subject to budgetary and other constraints affecting the parties involved, as well as the need to address other priorities. Costs indicated for action implementation and time for achievement of recovery are only estimates and are subject to change. Recovery plans do not obligate other parties to undertake specific actions, and may not represent the views nor the official positions or approval of any individuals or agencies involved in recovery plan formulation, other than the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Recovery plans represent our official position only after they have been signed by the Director or Regional Director as approved. Recovery plans are released for public comment and submitted to peer review before we adopt them as approved final documents. Approved recovery plans are subject to modification as dictated by new findings, changes in species status, and the completion of recovery actions. Literature citation of this document should read as follows: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. 2009. Revised Recovery Plan for the Laysan Duck (Anas laysanensis). U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Portland, Oregon. ix + 114 pp. Electronic copies of this document will be made available at: http://www.fws.gov/pacific/ecoservices/endangered/recovery/plans.html and http://www.fws.gov/endangered/recovery/index.html#plans. i Revised Recovery Plan for the Laysan Duck ACKNOWLEDGMENTS We would like to offer special acknowledgment to Michelle Reynolds of the U.S. Geological Survey, Pacific Island Ecosystems Research Center, for a decade of dedication to the study and conservation of the Laysan duck and for her extensive contributions to many drafts of this revised recovery plan. Updates, final revisions, and editing were completed by Holly Freifeld and Grant Canterbury, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Helen James of the Smithsonian Institution Museum of Natural History provided information about the distribution of subfossil remains. Maps were produced by Ron Salz and Rod Lowe, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Reviews of drafts of this document were kindly provided by Colleen Henson, Paul Henson, John Klavitter, Patrick Leonard, Gina Shultz, Chris Swenson, Eric VanderWerf, Ron Walker, Marilet Zablan, and Michele Zwartjes (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service); Paul Banko, Michelle Reynolds, George Ritchotte, and Thierry Work (U.S. Geological Survey, Biological Resources Discipline); Marie Morin (private consultant); Jeff Walters and his students (Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University Avian Ecology Lab); Brian Bowen (University of Hawai`i); Pete McClelland and Murray Williams (New Zealand Department of Conservation); and Alan Lieberman (Hawai`i Endangered Bird Conservation Program). ii Revised Recovery Plan for the Laysan Duck EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Current Species Status: The Laysan duck (Anas laysanensis), also called the Laysan teal, is an endemic Hawaiian species and has been federally listed as endangered since 1967 (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service [USFWS] 1967). The species is identified as Critically Endangered by the World Conservation Union (IUCN 2004). The Laysan duck currently has the most restricted range of any duck in the world, with a single naturally occurring population on Laysan Island in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, and a small but growing population at Midway Atoll founded by birds translocated from Laysan. Viability models for small populations of isolated species predict a high risk of extinction due to catastrophic, environmental, genetic, and demographic stochasticity. The species was extirpated from most other islands in the Hawaiian Archipelago after the arrival of humans about 1,500 years ago. To date, Laysan duck bones have been found on six islands where the species no longer occurs: Hawai`i, Maui, Moloka`i, O`ahu, Kaua`i, and Lisianski. The total estimated population size on Laysan Island has fluctuated from seven to more than 600 adult birds in the last century. The most recent (2005) population estimate of adult birds on Laysan is 611 (95% CI 538-714). The population at Midway was founded with a total of 42 wild birds translocated from Laysan in 2004 and 2005. Of this original total, an estimated 25 or 26 birds are believed to have bred. After successful breeding seasons in 2005 through 2007, the number of ducks at Midway had increased to nearly 200 individuals. Another successful breeding season at Midway in 2008 added significantly to the population, but an outbreak of botulism in August of 2008 caused the death of more than 140 ducks and a temporary set-back to this new population. Habitat Requirements: The habitat requirements of the Laysan duck include vegetation in which to take cover, a year-round prey base of invertebrates, a source of fresh water, and protection from mammalian predators. On Laysan Island and at Midway Atoll, the ducks use all available habitats: upland vegetation, ephemeral wetlands, freshwater seeps, mudflats, the hypersaline lake, and coastal areas. The ducks feed on wetland and terrestrial invertebrates, seeds, and succulent plants. Ducklings have more restrictive requirements than adults because of their high nutritional needs for growth and initial inability to process salt water. Duckling activities therefore are concentrated near sources of fresh water with nearby cover and high prey densities. Historically, this species occurred in a diverse range of habitats on Hawaiian islands other than Laysan. Paleoecological evidence indicates the Laysan duck likely was a habitat generalist. On high elevation islands, ducks once were found both in upland forests far from standing water and in coastal wetlands. The duck’s diet probably consisted mainly of arthropods from the forest floor and wetlands. Limiting Factors: Five factors are considered in the decisions to list, delist, or reclassify a species. These factors are: A – The present or threatened destruction, modification, or curtailment of its habitat or range; B – Overutilization for commercial, recreational, scientific, or educational purposes; iii Revised Recovery Plan for the Laysan Duck C – Disease or predation; D – Inadequacy of existing regulatory mechanisms; and E – Other natural or man-made factors affecting its continued existence. The Laysan duck was included in the first listing of endangered species (USFWS 1967); this first listing rule was published prior to the institution of the five listing factors for threats analysis. Therefore we provide here an informal summary of how the five listing factors apply to this species rather than summarizing the threats analysis from a published listing rule. Prehistoric extirpation of the Laysan duck from the Main Hawaiian Islands most likely was caused by a combination of predation by introduced mammals, especially rats (Rattus exulans), hunting by humans, and habitat destruction and degradation. Alien species (e.g., rabbits, mice, invasive weeds, and possibly predatory insects) alter the Laysan duck’s habitat; erosion on Laysan Island dating from the island’s devegetation by rabbits in the early 20th century continues today, and can be seen in the accelerated filling of Laysan’s freshwater seeps and saline lake (Factor A). High duckling mortality from 1999 through 2004 suggests a lack of sufficient brood rearing habitat on Laysan (Factor A). Introduced mammalian predators would pose the most severe threat to Laysan ducks reintroduced to the Main Hawaiian Islands (Factor C). Storms, drought-related food reduction, disease, and limited carrying capacity are among the factors limiting numbers of Laysan ducks today (Factors C and E). The Laysan duck’s small total population size and extremely limited distribution make the species highly vulnerable to demographic fluctuation and chance environmental occurrences such as droughts, severe storms, and epizootics (Factor E). Habitat degradation and loss in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands may be intensified by increased storm severity and sea level rise associated with global climate change (Factor E). The actions proposed in this plan to achieve recovery are designed to address these threats to the Laysan duck and reestablish the species on additional islands. Recovery Priority Number: The recovery priority number for the Laysan duck is 2 on a scale of 1C (highest) to 18 (lowest), reflecting a high degree of threat, high potential for recovery, and its status as a full species. Recovery Goal: Conserve and recover the Laysan duck in order to downlist to threatened status, with the ultimate goal of removing the Laysan duck from the Federal list of endangered species (delisting). Recovery Objective: Restore the Laysan duck to multiple self-sustaining populations in suitable habitats
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