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Makahaiwaʻa - UH West Oʻahu's Weekly Newsletter - Week of May 19, 2025
No full textA Communications Department newsletter from University of Hawai'i - West O'ahu published on Monday, May 19, 2025, to the faculty and staff listserv.A web preservation file has been captured for this newsletter in addition to the PDF. Contact the UHWO Library for access
Makahaiwaʻa - UH West Oʻahu's Weekly Newsletter - Week of May 27, 2025
No full textA Communications Department newsletter from University of Hawai'i - West O'ahu published on Tuesday, May 27, 2025, to the faculty and staff listserv.A web preservation file has been captured for this newsletter in addition to the PDF. Contact the UHWO Library for access
Makahaiwaʻa - UH West Oʻahu's Weekly Newsletter - Week of June 16, 2025
No full textA Communications Department newsletter from University of Hawai'i - West O'ahu published on Monday, June 16, 2025, to the faculty and staff listserv.A web preservation file has been captured for this newsletter in addition to the PDF. Contact the UHWO Library for access
Makahaiwaʻa - UH West Oʻahu's Weekly Newsletter - Week of June 30, 2025
No full textA Communications Department newsletter from University of Hawai'i - West O'ahu published on Monday, June 30, 2025, to the faculty and staff listserv.A web preservation file has been captured for this newsletter in addition to the PDF. Contact the UHWO Library for access
Calcium signaling profiles in patient-paired high-risk neuroblastoma tumors - novel mechanisms driving chemotherapy resistance and targeted therapies
No full textPh.D
A monitoring framework to assess forest bird population response to landscape scale mosquito suppression using the Incompatible Insect Technique
Full text linkThe Birds, Not Mosquitoes Monitoring and Support Science Working Group detailed methods for monitoring the population response of Hawaiian forest birds during implementation of the Incompatible Insect Technique (IIT) on the islands of Maui and Kauaʻi. The group prioritized methods for measuring the influence of mosquito suppression on populations within IIT treatment and control areas and identified focal species for IIT efficacy monitoring in birds. Three primary metrics were established to assess the impact of IIT on vulnerable species: population demography, density, and geographic range. Each metric can be evaluated using multiple methods. This report reviews those methods, with emphasis on approaches supported by pre-IIT baseline data and compatible with a before-after control-impact (BACI) study design for evaluating population responses over time. Focal avian species were selected based on population size estimates, fecundity, and disease susceptibility. We identified ʻākohekohe (Palmeria dolei), ʻiʻiwi (Drepanis coccinea), Maui ʻalauahio (Paroreomyza montana), Hawaiʻi ʻamakihi (Chlorodrepanis virens), Kauaʻi ʻamakihi (Chlorodrepanis stejnegeri), Kauaʻi ʻelepaio (Chasiempis sclateri), and ʻanianiau (Magumma parva) as focal species for monitoring population level response to disease suppression.
Populations of kiwikiu (Pseudonestor xanthophrys), ʻakikiki (Oreomystis bairdi), akekeʻe (Loxops caeruleirostris), and the ʻiʻiwi population on Kauaʻi may be too small (e.g., <100 individuals) to effectively monitor, and it is unlikely that sufficient data can be collected from these birds to show IIT efficacy in a relatively short time frame (i.e., 5–10 years). Despite the logistical challenges to IIT implementation, there is potential to maintain disease-free status in individual populations of birds. Indeed, the continued existence of these critically endangered species in the wild within or near IIT treatment areas could be considered an accomplishment of IIT, given the current predictions for their extinction in the wild within 5–10 years. Demographic monitoring methods, including territory mapping, nest monitoring, mist-netting, and mark-recapture studies, provide direct evidence of survivorship and reproductive output.
When combined with disease surveillance, these approaches could provide the most robust evidence of increased survivorship and productivity resulting from avian malaria suppression via IIT. However, demographic studies require several years of monitoring to achieve statistically robust BACI comparisons of survivorship and are more difficult to implement relative to other approaches. Given that these field efforts are labor-intensive and heavily reliant on personnel availability and funding, demographic monitoring could be conducted when adequate resources permit.
On both Maui and Kauaʻi, passive acoustic monitoring (PAM) was identified as a priority method for monitoring the range, occupancy, and relative abundance of focal species. Autonomous recording units (ARUs) can record bird vocalizations in remote areas for several months.
Innovative machine learning techniques permit rapid and semi-autonomous identification of most endemic honeycreepers on each island, maximizing sampling efficiencies and minimizing data processing costs. We predict mosquito suppression could support expansion of focal species into areas where disease transmission is currently excluding these species and expect acoustic monitoring data of focal species to reflect these spatial patterns. Additionally, the relative occupancy and call densities can be monitored temporally and spatially to assess the efficacy of IIT for supporting positive growth in vulnerable bird species. It is not yet clear if PAM is more effective than other methods, such as distance sampling, for detecting trends in the densities of rare species. However, the increased detections resulting from the larger sample size per observation point using ARUs will likely improve accuracy in detecting changes in species’ ranges. Collection of during and after treatment data within the BACI design could help to provide critical information to track avian population response, recovery, and potential range expansion related to IIT efforts. Point-transect distance sampling (point-counts) was prioritized as a method for monitoring population densities of focal species. Extensive historical sampling across focal species’ ranges provides a robust baseline for detecting change. These counts provide updated population densities and can be used to assess the distribution of focal species within IIT treatment areas.
However, detecting subtle population changes with traditional distance sampling requires intensive spatial and temporal effort and may be less effective for rare species. To improve resolution, density surface modeling can integrate multiple data sources (e.g., point-counts, PAM, spot-mapping, and resightings) to estimate species-specific densities at finer spatial scales, including within and outside IIT treatment areas. This integrated modeling approach allows for detailed comparisons and may reveal early signs of recovery, including recolonization of formerly occupied sites. A coordinated monitoring strategy can allow managers to evaluate the success of mosquito suppression as a conservation intervention and support adaptive management in the face of emerging challenges
A Framework for Marine Stock Enhancement in Hawai`i
Full text linkWith declines in fish populations, marine stock enhancement programs have been used to restore fish stocks since the late 19th century. Marine stock enhancement, defined as the intentional release of wild or cultured fish with the aim of increasing population size and support fisheries, provides increased food security, opportunities for socioeconomic benefits, and support natural systems negatively impacted by overfishing and habitat loss. Early marine stock enhancement programs suffered from poor survival of released fishes and lacked effective management strategies; however, with recent advancements of aquaculture technologies, there was a renewed interest in marine stock enhancement. Based on experiences, success, and failures of previous marine stock enhancement programs along with this renewed interest, the need for a comprehensive marine stock enhancement framework was identified.
A framework for marine stock enhancement was developed in the late 20th century, in part from the experiences of marine stock enhancements in Hawai`i. In the 1990’s two marine stock enhancement programs in Hawai`i released `ama`ama (striped mullet, Mugil cephalus) and moi (Pacific threadfin, Polydactylus sexfilis) with some success but also identified needs for further research and refinement to the framework. The result was “Responsible approach to marine stock enhancement” (Blankenship and Leber, 1995) followed by an updated document titled the “Responsible approach to marine stock enhancement: An update” published by Lorenzen et al. in 2010. This document is widely accepted as the framework to be used for marine stock enhancement programs worldwide and consists of 15 elements broken down to three stages: the initial appraisal and goal setting, research and technology development including pilot studies, and operation implementation and adaptive management. However, this approach is a generic framework that needs to be adapted to local conditions and address the desires of the stakeholders and communities that rely on the fisheries to be enhanced.
What follows first in this document are the three stages and 15 elements presented verbatim from Lorenzen et al. (2010), copied directly as not to distort the intentions of the framework, followed by a short summary of each element of the framework to identify the decisions, research, and management approaches. The final section for each element highlights the decisions, conditions, approaches, and management strategies needed for marine stock enhancements in Hawai`i while providing recommendations based on research and experiences with the stakeholders and local communities. The literature cited serves as a starting point to inform the program manager though it needs to be noted that the intention of this document was not to provide an exhaustive literature review.
Developing a marine stock enhancement program is an iterative process that will require establishment of community-based working groups and providing a management structure that integrates Western science with Indigenous knowledge, and develop an open and participatory decision-making framework for a successful marine stock enhancement program
2022–2024 Status and trends of the palila (Loxioides bailleui)
Full text linkPalila (Loxioides bailleui) are critically endangered Hawaiian honeycreepers specializing on the seedpods of māmane (Sophora chrysophylla) and restricted to Mauna Kea volcano on the Island of Hawaiʻi. A previous analysis of survey data estimated an 89% population decline between 1998 and 2021. Using the most recent annual survey data from 2022, 2023, and 2024, we report updated annual population estimates and trends since 1998. The 2022 population estimate was 367–742 birds (point estimate: 545); the 2023 population estimate was 374–842 birds (point estimate: 596); and the 2024 population estimate was 412–970 birds (point estimate: 666). Our estimates for survey years prior to 2022 were within the confidence intervals of the estimates from the previous analysis. Our models likewise showed a population fluctuating between 4,000 and 6,800 birds from 1998 to 2005 (except for an unusually low estimate in 2000), and then a steep decline through 2010. For the next decade, palila abundance fluctuated between 776 and 1,346 birds, before declining again in 2021 to 679 birds. From 1998 to 2024, the population declined by >90% or 203 birds/year, with very strong statistical evidence of an overall downward trend
Evaluating high-resolution remote sensing data and machine learning for detecting strawberry guava (Psidium cattleyanum) and its biocontrol on Hawai'i island
Full text linkM.S
Makahaiwaʻa - UH West Oʻahu's Weekly Newsletter - Week of May 05 , 2025
No full textA Communications Department newsletter from University of Hawai'i - West O'ahu published on Monday, May 05, 2025, to the faculty and staff listserv.A web preservation file has been captured for this newsletter in addition to the PDF. Contact the UHWO Library for access