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PROJECT REPORT TMT BIOLOGICAL MONITORING AND INSPECTIONS

March 15, 2016

To: Sandra Dawson, TMT Observatory Corporation

From: Big Island Invasive Species Committee (BIISC)

Subject: Final Project Report: Implementation of a Biological Monitoring and Inspection Protocol on Mauna Kea

BIISC has completed the 2015 required monitoring and inspections according to OMKM- approved Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs).

Inspections

Fifteen vehicles (mostly semi-trucks), fourteen trailers, seven pieces of heavy machinery were inspected by BIISC. All inspections except for two passed on the first inspection. Exceptions were one load of fencing material which was cleaned and passed inspection later that same day, and one dump truck which passed after the driver removed significant amounts of sediment while the inspector waited. The majority of the equipment and loads inspected were clean and had shown significant improvement from the previous years’ inspections. Of continued concern is the presence of ants, including little fire ants, which were sometimes detected at the baseyards of minor vendors, but not on vehicles. Nine cargo shipments were inspected. All cargo shipments passed inspection. One shipment had living inside of orange delineator cones. This problem was remedied by spraying insecticide (Raid) into the affected areas of the orange delineators prior to delivery. Biological Monitoring

Weekly monitoring

Weekly monitoring was carried out at the predetermined sites according to the OMKM- approved Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs). Location BA04 was omitted from the Batch Plant monitoring site due to the absence of the proposed office trailer. Location TMTE was added in April 2015 to monitor various pieces of equipment, machinery and security staff/vehicles that were staged in that particular area, at the entrance of TMT Access Way (location information provided in data file). Monitoring work followed the OMKM weekly Facility Monitoring Protocol, adapted for the outdoors. Twenty-two traps were set and collected weekly, including ant vials and non-specific arthropod sticky traps (Table 1).

After traps were set, each site was surveyed for plants and for at least 5 minutes and up to about 20 minutes. Weeds were pulled and root masses were checked for ants. All species encountered were recorded on weekly monitoring datasheets.

Insects were sorted, identified to order, and curated by BIISC staff. Higher-order identification was conducted or supervised by UH Hilo Entomologist Jesse Eiben, Ph.D. Model specimens were retained as vouchers by Dr. Eiben to add to the OMKM arthropod reference collection. Remaining specimens were disposed of.

Trap Type Description Purpose Provides carbohydrate, fat, protein, and moisture to attract ants. Vial is deployed for 1- A plastic vial baited with peanut 2 hours during warm sunny weather, collected Ant Vial butter, jelly, and spam the same day. Provides carbohydrate, fat, protein, and moisture to attract ants and other insects. A cardboard trap with a sticky base Traps occasional crawling and flying insects. (e.g. Hoy Hoy brand roach traps) Deployed for one whole week. Increase Baited Sticky baited with peanut butter, jelly, chances of capturing single foraging ants in Trap and spam. sticky traps. Table 1. Traps used during weekly monitoring Very few specimens were collected at any site using these methods. Commonly trapped insects included varieties of common flies and small wasps, native Lycosid spiders, and common native and non-native seed bugs (Nysius spp.).

Within the vicinity of the traps, the only weed species identified was Senecio madagascariensis also known as Madagascar ragwort or fireweed. Two native grass species (Agrostis sandwicensis and Trisetum glomeratum), and at least one native fern (Asplenium adiantum-nigrum) were found at the construction site, generally less than ten individual plants per site. The TMT Access Way was uniformly barren for most of the year with the exception of pockets of Senecio madagascariensis that had germinated after periods of heavy rainfall.

A few traps were lost of destroyed during this monitoring period. The days the traps went missing were during the heightened time of the protests, so it is assumed someone picked the traps up, possibly thinking they were cleaning up litter. The traps that were torn and destroyed were most likely due to dogs. During one of the weeks that torn traps were retrieved, the Maunakea Rangers had reported wild dogs on UH Managed Lands.

Rodents were not intended targets, but were commonly found in the sticky traps at the Hale Pohaku Staging area sites. There were also a few instances that rodents and/or evidence of rodents were found in the sticky traps at the TMT weekly monitoring sites.

Overall, the weekly monitoring protocol was relatively fast and simple. Traveling to the summit (4 hours including acclimatization) took longer than the field work 2-3 hours each day. The very low number of specimens in sticky traps was probably a fair reflection of the flightless arthropod populations in these sites. Although almost no specimens were caught in ant vials at the summit, they are the method of choice for field monitoring across the state, and is successful at attracting most species in Hawaii within 15-30 minutes. In addition, the weekly visits afforded opportunities to discuss invasive species issues informally with contractors and check for compliance with preventative measures, including keeping the site clean and free of garbage or debris, trucks clean and in good working order, weekly removal of cultural offerings, etc.

Monthly Arthropod Monitoring Protocol Monthly monitoring was carried out during the snow-free months at eleven predetermined sites found in the OMKM- approved Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs). Work followed the OMKM Annual Arthropod Monitoring Protocol, adapted for TMT. No TMT compliance sites were omitted or modified from the location codes given in the OMKM- approved Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs). Eleven TMT compliance sites were monitored monthly throughout 2015. Three types of traps were set at eight of the eleven sites (Table 2). The unbaited (wet) pitfall trap was omitted from the eight sites that are known Nysius wekiuicola (wekiu bug) habitat, to avoid impact to that species. All our types of traps were set at the remaining three sites which are not located in Nysius wekiuicola habitat.

After traps were set, each site was surveyed for plants and arthropods for about 20 minutes. Weeds were pulled and root masses were checked for ants. All species encountered were recorded on monthly monitoring datasheets and inputted on an excel data spreadsheet.

Traps were left out for three consecutive nights then all were collected in a single work day. Insects were sorted, identified to order, and curated by BIISC staff. Rare species and higher-order identification was conducted or supervised by UH Hilo Entomologist Jesse Eiben, Ph.D. Model specimens were retained as vouchers by Dr. Eiben to add to the OMKM arthropod reference collection.

Trap Type Description Purpose PBJS A chopstick baited with peanut Provides carbohydrate, fat, protein, and butter, jelly, and spam moisture to attract ants. Baited Pitfall A sunken cup trap baited with tuna Fish provides protein to attract predatory (wekiu trap) fish insects including wekiu. Water and shelter provided for wekiu survival.

Yellow Pan A weighted yellow bowl containing Yellow attracts flying insects, particularly propylene glycol Hymenoptera, which are social and predatory insects of concern. Unbaited A sunken cup containing food Passive collection method. Arthropods fall in Pitfall grade propylene glycol and are preserved by the glycol.

Annual Arthropod Monitoring Protocol (Biological Monitoring Along Access Way)

One round of biological monitoring was conducted at the TMT Construction Site, along the proposed TMT Access Way, at the Batch Plant, and at the HP Staging Area. Access Way sites were monitored twice. Trapping protocol and schedule followed guidelines of the Conservation District Use Application, Appendix E (Arthropod Monitoring Protocol). Additional trap types were included as recommended by the Office of Mauna Kea Management (OMKM) under their Early Detection and Wekiu Bug Monitoring S.O.P. Additional trap types were intended to broaden the ability to collect novel invasive species that might avoid baited pitfall traps. Plant species were listed at each trap site, and hand pulled at all sites except Hale Pohaku. Standard operating procedure with detailed methods is attached.

Biannual Monitoring

Monitoring results from TMT sites were incorporated into the TMT monthly reporting/database. Along with assisting OMKM with the biannual monitoring efforts, BIISC staff also helped with the annual Historic Property Surveys that took place in 2015.

Results

BIISC collected, identified and recorded thousands of arthropod specimens in 2015. The most common species were discarded after being identified and recorded. The rare species and higher-order identification was conducted or supervised by UH Hilo Entomologist Jesse Eiben, Ph.D. Model specimens were retained as vouchers by Dr. Eiben to add to the OMKM arthropod reference collection. No new arthropod threats were identified in 2015. Arthropod findings are discussed in more detail in Appendix 1: Final Entomology Report from the lab of Dr. Jesse Eiben (attached). No new plant species were found during the 2015 monitoring period. Plants at summit sites were infrequent, and included native Trisetum glomeratum, Agrostis sandwicensis, and Asplenium adiantum-nigrum. There was a notable increase of Senecio madagascariensis at all elevations during the periods of heavy rainfall. As this is a wind-dispersed species, it is not necessarily associated with human activity or transport pathways. At Hale Pohaku, plants were only counted within the mostly barren staging area/parking lot. These included three common weeds: Verbascum thapsus, Erodium cicutarium, and Oenothera stricta. The more densely vegetated surrounding areas were scanned on each visit for new species and conditions, with nothing of note to report.

Appendix 1: Final Report from the lab of Dr. Jesse Eiben

Potential threats collected during BIISC 2015 TMT arthropod monitoring

Final Report to Big Island Invasive Species Committee

March 8, 2016

Jorden Zarders and Jesse Eiben

University of Hawaii at Hilo TCBES and CAFNRM

Potential threats collected during BIISC 2015 TMT arthropod monitoring. Jorden Zarders, Jesse Eiben

Summary Compliance surveys of areas associated with the TMT construction activities conducted by BIISC in 2015 uncovered no new arthropod threats. The survey results and taxonomic lists indicate an increased interception rate and changes in diversity of ‘potential threat’ taxa over time. This apparent increase in taxa encountered has been due to intensified sampling (due to pre TMT construction activities and associated biological surveys) and taxonomic revision of several species and greater specimen level identification of focal taxa. None of the taxa encountered during TMT pre-construction arthropod monitoring in 2015 are novel to the high elevation ecosystem, although due to taxonomic naming changes, the family and species of taxa may appear new when compared to previous reports of taxa available from Office of Mauna Kea Management, the Bishop Museum, and University of Hawaii arthropod collections and projects. Potential threat species are defined as taxa and taxon groups with known predatory, competitive, or ecosystem function altering groups. Specifically, all spiders encountered may either directly consume native arthropods on Maunakea (major native taxa families are Lycosidae, Lygaeidae, Noctuidae), compete for the same food or water resources (mostly Aeolian deposited arthropod ‘debris’ that will likely die or be consumed by native or non-native taxa), or alter the ecosystem in some way that may impact native arthropod survival (ants are generally known as ecosystem engineers due to moving nutrients from ground surface to below ground by foraging for seeds, plants, and insects, thus changing nutrient flow/trophic interactions on a broad scale).

14 12 10 8 Lycosidae 6 Linyphiidae 4 Salticidae

Number Individualsof 2 unknown 0

Figure 1: Line graph showing the number of taxa collected by month through 2015 BIISC arthropod surveys.

Family Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Total Lycosidae 0 1 6 5 3 6 12 3 5 4 1 46 Trachelidae 0 1 3 1 2 3 6 6 0 0 0 22 Linyphiidae 0 0 2 3 3 7 3 0 3 0 0 21 Salticidae 0 0 0 0 3 6 2 1 3 1 0 16 Unknown* 1 1 0 1 0 3 0 1 8 12 6 33 Total individuals: 138 Table 1: Total number of individuals captured per spider family from 2015 BIISC arthropod survey. *unknown are individual specimens that are immature or degraded to an extent where definitive identifications are not possible morphologically

Araneae: Trachelidae (Previously Corinnidae and Clubionidae), sack spiders Trachelids were the second most commonly encountered spider taxa collected from the 2015 surveys and most of the identifiable specimens were determined to belong the same genus species (Trachelidae arcifera (Simon 1886) (see table 1). Trachelids that can be found on Maunakea typically small to medium (1-15 mm), and are mostly brown to orange in color, with orange legs. Trachelids are known as ground dwellers, occupying habitats under rocks and leaf litter, but are also know to occur on foliage and in or around buildings. This family is known to be nocturnal making detection sometimes difficult without the use of baited sticky traps, but presence in an area can be noted from the egg sacks and their sack-like retreats. Egg sacks of Trachelids are typically shaped like flat discs, and are often deposited on the under sides of rocks, and tree cracks or where spiders happen to make their webbed retreats.

Linyphiidae, sheet weavers These spiders are minute to small (<1-7 mm), with colors ranging from white, tan, brown to black and occasionally orange, red and yellow. Most species in this family live in leaf litter or on the ground surface, weaving sheet like webs, where the spider hangs under the web and traps its prey. Linyphiids generally feed on soft-bodied arthropods, such as flies and collembolla. Since spiders in this family are small in size, they have the ability to use threads of their web to enable them to be lifted into the air and disperse over wide ranges, which is particularly conducive to dispersal to and around the Maunakea summit region. Given the taxa in this family known to reside in Hawaii, all individuals are likely introduced and non-endemic. Linyphiidae was the third most collected spider taxa from the 2015 BIISC arthropod surveys. However, many of the small-unknown specimens may in fact be Linyphiids but could not be accurately identified due to the species quality (see table 1). Of the Linyphiids that could be identified to genus species, Lepthyphantes tenuis (Blackwall, 1852) was the most abundant (see table 2).

Genus Species Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Total Lepthyphantes tenuis 0 0 1 0 1 2 2 0 0 0 0 6 Eperigone tridentata 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 2 Unknown Brown/grey 0 0 1 1 1 1 0 0 1 0 0 5 Unknown Orange 0 0 0 0 1 2 0 0 1 0 0 4 Unknown Unknown 0 0 0 1 0 2 1 0 0 0 0 4 Total individuals: 21 Table 2: cumulative 2015 individual taxa count of the spider family Linyphiidae collected by month.

Salticidae, jumping spiders Salticids are the largest family of spiders, with 500 species currently described and can have a lot of variation but are easily distinguished from other families of spiders because of the shape of the cephalothorax and their eye patterns. Jumping spiders live in a variety of habitats. Tropical forests harbor the most species, but they are also found in temperate forests, scrublands, deserts, intertidal zones, and mountainous regions. Salticids are known to have excellent vision, making them effective predators that will prey on a myriad of arthropods. Jumping spiders are generally diurnal, active hunters and are carnivorous, posing a potential threat to native arthropods. Salticidae were the least encountered spider taxa collected from the 2015 surveys and most of the specimens were most likely to belong the same genus (grey morpho species)(see table 1). While the species is not identified at this time, it is a single taxa (i.e. the morphology indicates all specimens collected are of the same species), and is not consistent with the endemic genus Sandalodes. It is similar to spiders in the genus Ascyltus, Menemerus, Phintella, or Plexippus, but more comparative identified taxa will be required to know the exact identity. Regardless of the final determination of this species, the same is regularly encountered from 9,000 to 13,700ft on Maunakea, and it is not a new introduction.

Hyemntoptera: Formicidae, Cardiocondyla kagutsuchi The Hawaiian Islands do not have any native ant species, and introduced species have the potential to become invasive due to their natural social and predatory behavior. On the whole, ants are considered the primary invasive species threat to native arthropod biodiversity and ecological functions of the Maunakea. This particular ant species is not known to have large colony sizes, nor is it associated with major ecosystem perturbations. C. kagutsuchi is considered a tramp ant species throughout Asia and the Pacific, one that is moved primarily by human activity. Their wide distribution range is partly due to their ability to exploit small nesting spaces and the ability to tolerate water shortages. Seventeen individuals of this ant species were collected through 2015 in the Hale Pohaku area by BIISC staff and were collected twice (HP31: sticky trap/baited vial) by OMKM staff. No reproductive individuals observed.

References:

W.P. Maddison, M.P. Wayne, R. Bodner,; K.M. Needham. 2008. "Salticid spider phylogeny revisited, with the discovery of a large Australasian clade (Araneae: Salticidae)". Zootaxa 1893: 49–64.

R. W. Peck and P. C. Banko. 2011. Survey of invasive ants at Hakalau Forest National Wildlife Refuge. Hawai‘i Cooperative Studies Unit Technical Report HCSU-027. University of Hawai‘i at Hilo.

R.B. David, G.B. Edwards and C. Bruce. 2005. Salticidae p. 205 in D. Ubrick, P. Paquin, P.E. Cushing and V. Roth (eds). Spiders of North America: an identifaction manuael. American Arachnological Society.

M.L. Draney, D.J. Buckle. 2005. Linyphiidae p. 124 in D. Ubrick, P. Paquin, P.E. Cushing and V. Roth (eds). Spiders of North America: an identifaction manuael. American Arachnological Society.

U. Darrell, R. B. David. 2005. Corinnidae p. 79 in D. Ubrick, P. Paquin, P.E. Cushing and V. Roth (eds). Spiders of North America: an identifaction manuael. American Arachnological Society.

Vanderwoude, C., F. Klasner, J. Kirkpatrick and S. Kaye. 2015. Maunakea Invasive Species Management Plan. Technical Report No. 191. Pacific Cooperative Studies Unit, University of Hawai‘i, Honolulu, Hawai‘i. 84 pp.