USGS PIERC - PUAIOHI RECOVERY PROJECT 3

PUAIOHI RECOVERY PROJECT

Establishment of additional breeding populations of the critically-endangered Puaiohi in Kauai's Alakai Wilderness Area
Pacific Island Ecosystems Research Center, Biological Resources Division, USGS
Principle Investigator: B. L. Woodworth
Research Project Coordinator and Field Project Leaders:
E. J. Tweed (1999,2000), W. Monahan (2001), R. Pratt (2002)
Field Ornithologists:
J. T. Foster (1999,2000), J. Kellerman (2001), E. Rose (2002)

The Puaiohi (Myadestes palmeri) has been greatly reduced in numbers and range over the last century. Today no more 300 Puaiohi exist, most of them confined to a 10 km² area in the heart of the wilderness preserve. Dispersal distances of wild Puaiohi are typically small (BRD unpubl. data), and so natural dispersal and expansion of the Puaiohi population into recovering habitat will be slow. As long as the population remains small and is restricted to such a limited area, it will remain at serious risk from stochastic demographic and environmental factors. The current recovery strategy for the Puaiohi is to increase population size and expand the species distribution by establishing a captive breeding flock at The Peregrine Fund's captive breeding facility, and reintroducing juvenile Puaiohi to former habitat using methods developed and tested with Omao. In January and February of 1999, the first captive-bred birds were reintroduced into the Kawaikoi drainage in the Alakai swamp. Fourteen birds (8 females and 6 males) were released, and all 14 have been confirmed to have survived at least 30 days post-release. A BRD field crew is using radiotelemetry to study the birds' survival, disease, movements, dispersal, foraging ecology, breeding behavior and nesting success (picture of nestling below). These data will allow us to determine the causes for the success or failure of the release effort, and help us to evaluate the applicability of these techniques to other endangered Hawaiian forest birds.

Publications completed:
1. Kuehler, C., A. Lieberman, P. Oesterle, T. Powers, M. Kuhn, J. Kuhn, J. T. Nelson, T. Snetsinger, C. Herrman, P. Harrity, E. Tweed, S. Fancy, B. Woodworth and T. Telfer. 2000. Development of restoration techniques for Hawaiian thrushes: Collection of wild eggs, artificial incubation, hand-rearing, captive-breeding, and reintroduction to the wild. Zoo Biology 19:263-277.
2. Tweed, E. J., J. T. Foster, B. L. Woodworth, C. Kuehler, A. Lieberman, P. Oesterle, A. T. Powers, K. Whitaker, W. Monahan, and J. Kellerman. 2002. Survival, dispersal, and home-range establishment of reintroduced captive-bred Puaiohi, Myadestes palmeri. Biological Conservation (in press).

Publications in progress:
1. Tweed, E.J., B.L. Woodworth, J. T. Foster, W. Monahan, and J. Kellerman. Breeding behavior and success of a reintroduced population of the critically-endangered Puaiohi.
2. Woodworth, B. L., S. G. Fancy, A. Lieberman, C. Kuehler, T. J. Snetsinger, E. Tweed, T. Telfer (order of authors to be decided). Case Studies in Recovery of Forest Birds: Puaiohi, Myadestes palmeri. Chapter 23 in Conservation biology of Hawaiian forest birds (T. K. Pratt, B. L. Woodworth, J. Jacobi, and C. Atkinson, eds.).

Technical reports:
1. Tweed, E. J., J. T. Foster, and B. L. Woodworth. 1999. Initiating the recovery of the critically-endangered solitaire, the Puiaohi. Annual report to cooperators, July 1998 to June 1999.
2. Woodworth, B. L. 2000. Applied research and adaptive management for Puaiohi, Myadestes palmeri. Unpubl. report (38 pp) to the Hawaii Forest Bird Recovery Team. Pacific Island Ecosystems Research Center, Biological Resources Division, U.S.G.S.
3. Tweed, E. J., J. Foster, and B. L. Woodworth. 2000. Recommendations for controlling introduced rodent populations in the Alakai Wilderness Preserve. Special report to Hawaii Division of Forestry and Wildlife. Pacific Island Ecosystems Research Center, Biological Resources Division, U.S.G.S.
4. Tweed, E. J., J. T. Foster, and B. L. Woodworth. 2000. Initiating the recovery of the critically-endangered solitaire, the Puiaohi. Annual report to cooperators, July 1999 to June 2000.
5. Monahan, W., J. Khellerman, and B. L. Woodworth. 2001. Initiating the recovery of the critically-endangered solitaire, the Puiaohi. Annual report to cooperators, July 2000 to June 2001.
6. Pratt, R., E. Rose, and B. L. Woodworth. 2002. Initiating the recovery of the critically-endangered solitaire, the Puiaohi. Annual report to cooperators, July 2001 to June 2002.

Presentations:
1. Behavior of a reintroduced population of the critically-endangered Puaiohi, Myadestes palmeri. 1999 Hawaiian Conservation Conference, Honolulu, HI.
2. Behavior of a reintroduced population of the critically-endangered Puaiohi, Myadestes palmeri. 1999 American Ornithologists' Union annual meeting, Ithaca, NY.
3. Behavior of a Reintroduced Population of the Critically Endangered Puaiohi. 2001 Society for Conservation Biology, Hilo, HI.