NIHOA MILLERBIRD (Acrocephalus familiaris kingi) TRANSLOCATION PROTOCOLS FINAL August 2011 Chris Farmer1, Robby Kohley2, Holly Freifeld3, and Sheldon Plentovich4 R. Kohley/USFWS 1 American Bird Conservancy, Kīlauea Field Station, PO Box 44, Hawai‘i National Park, Hawai‘i 96718. [email protected] 2 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Kīlauea Field Station, PO Box 44, Hawai‘i National Park, Hawai‘i 96718. (current address: American Bird Conservancy, Kīlauea Field Station, PO Box 44, Hawai‘i National Park, Hawai‘i 96718). [email protected] 3 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Division of Migratory Birds and Habitat Programs, Pacific Region, 911 NE 11th Avenue, Portland Oregon 97232. [email protected] 4U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Pacific Islands Office, 300 Ala Moana Boulevard, Room 3-122, Box 50088, Honolulu, Hawai‘i 96850. [email protected] Nihoa Millerbird (Acrocephalus familiaris kingi) Translocation Protocols Table of Contents 1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ....................................................................................................... 1 2. BACKGROUND ....................................................................................................................... 1 2.1 Management Status .............................................................................................................. 1 2.2 Study Sites ........................................................................................................................... 1 2.3 Avian Extinctions in Hawai‘i ............................................................................................... 2 2.4 Ecology of the Nihoa Millerbird .......................................................................................... 3 2.4.1 Population Monitoring and Fluctuations ...................................................................... 4 2.4.2 Threats to the Population .............................................................................................. 5 2.5 Goals of Translocation ......................................................................................................... 6 2.6 Site Selection ....................................................................................................................... 7 3. TRANSLOCATION .................................................................................................................. 8 3.1 Timing of Translocation .................................................................................................... 10 3.2 Capture ............................................................................................................................... 10 3.2.1 Numerical Targets ....................................................................................................... 10 3.2.2 Age and Sex Targets ................................................................................................... 11 3.2.3 Capture Techniques .................................................................................................... 12 3.3 Holding .............................................................................................................................. 13 3.4 Transport ............................................................................................................................ 14 3.5 Release ............................................................................................................................... 16 3.6. Post-release Monitoring .................................................................................................... 18 3.6.1. Data Collection .......................................................................................................... 19 3.6.2. Monitoring Procedures ............................................................................................... 20 3.7. Recovery and Necropsy Protocols .................................................................................... 25 3.8 Translocation Assessment .................................................................................................. 25 3.8.1 Survival during Pre-release ......................................................................................... 25 3.8.2 Short-term Survival Post-release (<21 days) .............................................................. 26 3.8.3 Extended term Survival Post-release (>21 days) ........................................................ 27 3.8.4 Breeding ...................................................................................................................... 27 3.8.5 Movement and Habitat Use ........................................................................................ 27 3.9 Impacts from Translocation ............................................................................................... 28 4. FUTURE ACTIONS ................................................................................................................ 29 4.1 Additional Translocations .................................................................................................. 29 4.2. Preliminary and Final Progress Reports ........................................................................... 30 4.3. Population Model of Millerbirds on Laysan ..................................................................... 30 4.4. Continued Monitoring of Millerbirds ............................................................................... 31 5. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ..................................................................................................... 31 6. LITERATURE CITED ............................................................................................................ 32 i 7. APPENDIX I: Millerbird Translocation Timeline, 2010–2012 .............................................. 41 8. APPENDIX II: Nihoa Millerbird Husbandry Protocol ............................................................ 42 Diet per Feeding: ....................................................................................................................... 42 Husbandry Routine ................................................................................................................... 42 Morning Feeding ................................................................................................................... 42 Lunch Feeding ...................................................................................................................... 42 Evening Feeding ................................................................................................................... 42 Monitoring Birds ....................................................................................................................... 42 Criteria for Release ................................................................................................................... 43 9. APPENDIX III: Nihoa Island trip report for September 6–18, 2009 ...................................... 44 Nihoa Millerbird Captive Feeding Trials .................................................................................. 44 Base Camp Setup .................................................................................................................. 44 Avian Husbandry .................................................................................................................. 46 Food Storage ......................................................................................................................... 47 Live Food Acquisition .......................................................................................................... 47 Results ................................................................................................................................... 49 10. APPENDIX IV: Nihoa Island trip report, September 6–October 5, 2010 ............................. 51 Nihoa Millerbird Banding ......................................................................................................... 51 Nihoa Millerbird Captive Feeding Trials .................................................................................. 52 Background: .......................................................................................................................... 52 Results ................................................................................................................................... 52 REFERENCES ......................................................................................................................... 58 11. APPENDIX V: Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument Quarantine Protocol ..... 59 Definitions................................................................................................................................. 60 Additional Special Conditions for Travel to Nihoa and Necker (Mokumanamana) Islands: ... 61 Additional Special Conditions for Travel Within Pearl and Hermes Atoll: ............................. 62 Additional Special Conditions for Food: .................................................................................. 62 12. APPENDIX VI: Laysan Island trip report for March 18–April 1, 2010 ............................... 64 Goals of Laysan trip for the Nihoa Millerbird Project .............................................................. 64 Background ..............................................................................................................................