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Haleakala Field Station

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What's new!

•  

  [New!]   USGS state fact sheet info available (draft text and images RE: the argentine ant [ Linepithema humile ] and Miconia calvescens )

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  [New!]   Hosmer Grove pamphlet (Haleakala National Park) now online!

• Study Distribution and Biology of Alien Plant Species of Maui which Threaten Native Ecosystems, with emphasis on Miconia calvescens

  • Project description:   We continue to participate in the deliberations of an interagency work group established in 1991 to focus on invasion of Miconia and other serious weeds. We have conducted reconnaissance to determine distribution and to develop strategies for on-the-ground control by cooperating agencies and helped to seek the funding for control from state and county sources. We have monitored the response of Miconia stands that have received aerial spraying (from helicopter) with Garlon 4. We are currently taking on the role of monitoring the effectiveness of the Miconia control effort. Meanwhile, we hope to work with others to expand this approach to other weeds on Maui.

  • Management implications:   The premise of this project is that unless 1) someone on each island is responsible for recognizing new weed problems and gathers information to facilitate cooperative interagency control, 2)others step in to conduct management efforts with minimal attention to political boundaries, and 3) cooperation and coordination are effective, biological reserves in Hawaii will be engulfed by weed invasions from their peripheries, regardless of industrious within-boundary efforts. We see ourselves as leading the information-gathering effort for Maui.
   

• Gather Information for Recovery Planning for Maui and Hawaii Endangered Plant Taxa

  • Project description:   We are still in the process of collecting data on endangered plant taxa of Haleakala National Park and evaluating how well the ecosystem management approach (feral ungulate and alien plant control) is working toward recovery of taxa. We are also focussing on endangered species of leeward (dryland) habitats of Maui, and attempting to become knowledgeable about endangered plant species islandwide.

  • Management implications:   Maui County has the second largest number of endangered species among counties in the U.S. The political, institutional, and biological conditions are such that an excellent opportunity exists for providing for extensive recovery. Refined information on biology of and threats to the endangered taxa is crucial.
   

• Develop Control for the Argentine Ant within Haleakala National Park

  • Project description:   A species with non-flighted queens, the Argentine ant has spread slowly since establishment in Haleakala National Park in the 1960s and now occupies two relatively small but expanding disjunct areas at 6200-7700 ft (775 acres) and 7300-9400 ft (350 acres) elevation. The latter population has more than tripled in size within the past ten years and has reached the edge of Haleakala Crater below Kalahaku. Experimental efforts were initiated in 1994 for ant control, using a hydromethylnon/ protein bait developed for Argentine ant control in agricultural sites in California. Initial results indicate that although even local eradication cannot likely be achieved with the hydramethylnon/protein bait (which is currently the most promising bait available), this bait may be effective in slowing or stopping the ant invasion, which is currently proceeding at up to 130 m per year.

  • Management implications:   The Argentine ant is an overwhelming threat to non-forested high-elevation ecosystems of Haleakala and Hawaii island. It is likely to eliminate most native insect species (including pollinators and numerous local endemics, many of which are flightless) in areas which it invades. At least two, and probably more, endangered plant species on upper Haleakala are dependent on native pollinators for seed set.
   

• Understand Mechanisms of Invasion of Intact Hawaiian Rain Forest by Non-native Plant Species

  • Project description:   Field research in Kipahulu Valley of Haleakala National Park is aimed at understanding how (by what means) and to what extent alien plant species can spread in near-pristine rain forest from which feral pigs have been removed. Emphasis is upon Kahili ginger, Clidemia, and strawberry guava, three species which park managers are actively controlling. Initial efforts are toward understanding phenology of these species, what are the dispersal agents (primarily Japanese white-eyes and other alien birds, rats?), what is the time of seed passage, and how far do these agents travel.

  • Management implications:   Understanding of the invasion process will assist development of short and long-term strategies for management of Haleakala National Park's Kipahulu Valley. Results can to some extent be extrapolated to other Hawaiian natural areas and should have much bearing on the understanding of the necessity of feral pig control.
   

• Hawaiian Ecosystems at Risk Project

  • The USGS/BRD Haleakala Field Station is home to a satellite office and part of the staff of the  Hawaiian Ecosystems at Risk (HEAR) project . The goal of the HEAR project is to provide resources (technology, methods, and information) to resource managers to aid in the fight against invasive alien species statewide.

Arthur Medeiros (1981-): program field leader; specialist in Hawaiian natural history; currently in Ph.D. program with Department of Botany, University of Hawaii. (no e-mail)

Chuck Chimera (1991-): specialist on Miconia, Pampas grass, other weeds & technical assistance. e-mail:  chimera@hawaii.edu

Philip Thomas (1992-): HEAR computer specialist & technical assistance; database design, software development, websites; alien species project assistance. e-mail: pt@hear.org

Paul Krushelnycky (1993-): specialist for Argentine ant project & technical assistance. e-mail:  krusheln@hawaii.edu

Stephanie Joe (1995-): HEAR GPS/mapping specialist & technical assistance. e-mail:  sjoe@hawaii.edu

Ellen van Gelder (1996-): M.S. in Zoology, University of San Francisco (1997); assisting in avian work with weed project in Kipahulu Valley. (no e-mail)

Jean-Yves Meyer (1996-97): Doctorate in Evolution and Ecology, Universite Montpellier, France (1994); visiting scholar from French Polynesia with much expertise on Miconia calvescens and alien plants of the Pacific. e-mail:  recherch@mail.pf

Catherine Davenport (1996-): assisting part-time with micro-analysis of bird-dispersed seeds in Kipahulu Valley. (no e-mail)

Kim Starr (1997-): Botanical research associate, specializing in alien plant information gathering & mapping, silversword monitoring, plants of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, and ecosystem restoration. e-mail:  kmartz@hawaii.edu

Forest Starr (1997-): Botanical research associate, specializing in alien plant information gathering & mapping, silversword monitoring, plants of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, and ecosystem restoration. e-mail:  fstarr@hawaii.edu

Tracy Erwin (2000-): Dryland forest restoration & research. e-mail:  auwahi@yahoo.com

Will Haines (2001-): Research specialist focusing on Argentine ant control, biology, and non-target effects of pesticides. e-mail:  whaines@hawaii.edu

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Loope, L.L., and C.F. Crivellone. 1986. Status of the Haleakala Silversword: Past and Present. Coop. Natl. Park Resources Studies Unit, Univ. Hawaii/Manoa, Dept. Botany. Tech. Rept. 58.

Medeiros, A.C., L.L. Loope, and R.A. Holt. 1986. Status of Native Flowering Plant Species on the South Slope of Haleakala, East Maui, Hawaii. Coop. Natl. Park Resources Studies Unit, Univ. Hawaii/Manoa, Dept. Botany. Tech. Rept. 59. 230p.

Loope, L.L., O.H. Hamann, and C.P. Stone. 1988. Comparative conservation biology of oceanic archipelagoes: Hawaii and the Galapagos. BioScience 34(4): 272-282.

Medeiros, A.C., and H. St. John. 1988. Geranium hanaense (Geraniaceae), a new species from Maui, Hawaiian Islands. Brittonia 40(2): 214-220.

Macdonald, I.A.E., L.L. Loope, M.B. Usher, and O. Hamann. 1989. Wildlife conservation and the invasion of nature reserves by alien species: a global perspective, p. 215-255. In J.A. Drake and others (eds.), Ecology of Biological Invasions: a Global Synthesis. John Wiley & Sons, Chichester, U.K.

Loope, L.L., and D. Mueller-Dombois. 1989. Characteristics of invaded islands, p. 257-280. In H.A. Mooney and others (eds.), Ecology of Biological Invasions: a Global Synthesis. John Wiley & Sons, Chichester, U.K.

Howarth, F.G., and A.C. Medeiros. 1989. Non-native invertebrates, p. 82-87. In C.P. Stone and D.B. Stone (eds.), Conservation Biology in Hawai'i. Coop. Natl. Park Resources Studies Unit, Univ. Hawaii/Manoa, Dept. Botany.

Gambino, P., A.C. Medeiros, and L.L. Loope. 1990. Invasion and colonization of upper elevations on East Maui (Hawaii, U.S.A.) by the western yellowjacket Vespula pensylvanica (Hymenoptera: Vespidae). Annals of the Entomological Society of America 83(6): 1087-1095.

Loope, L.L., A.C. Medeiros, and B.H. Gagne. 1991a. Aspects of the History and Biology of the Montane Bogs of Haleakala National Park. Coop. Natl. Park Resources Studies Unit, Univ. Hawaii/Manoa, Dept. Botany. Tech. Rept. 76. 43p.

Loope, L.L., A.C. Medeiros, and B.H. Gagne. 1991b. Recovery of Vegetation of a Montane Bog in Haleakala National Park following Protection from Feral Pig Rooting. Coop. Natl. Park Resources Studies Unit, Univ. Hawaii/Manoa, Dept. Botany. Tech. Rept. 77. 23p.

Medeiros, A.C., L.L. Loope, and B.H. Gagne. 1991. Degradation of Vegetation in Two Montane Bogs in Haleakala National Park: 1982-1988. Coop. Natl. Park Resources Studies Unit, Univ. Hawaii/Manoa, Dept. Botany. Tech. Rept. 78. 31p.

Cole, F.R., A.C. Medeiros, L.L.Loope, and W.W. Zuehlke. 1992. Effects of the Argentine ant (Iridomyrmex humilis) on the arthropod fauna of high-elevation shrubland, Haleakala National Park, Maui, Hawaii. Ecology 7(4): 1313-1322.

Medeiros, A.C., L.L. Loope, T. Flynn, L. Cuddihy, K.A. Wilson, and S. Anderson. 1992. The naturalization of an Australian tree fern (Cyathea cooperi) in Hawaiian rain forests. American Fern Journal 82(1): 27-33.

Loope, L.L., R.G. Nagata, and A.C. Medeiros. 1992. Introduced plants in Haleakala National Park, p. 551-576. In C.P. Stone, C.W. Smith and J.T. Tunison (eds.), Alien Plant Invasions in Native Ecosystems of Hawaii: Management and Research. Univ. Hawaii Press for Univ. Hawaii Cooperative National Park Resources Studies Unit, Honolulu.

Medeiros, A.C., L.L. Loope, and C. Chimera. 1993. Biological inventory and management recommendations for Kanaio Natural Area Reserve. Report to Hawaii Natural Area Reserve Commission. Haleakala National Park.

Medeiros, A.C., and L.L. Loope. 1993. Differential colonization by epiphytes on native (Cibotium spp.) tree ferns in a Hawaiian rain forest. Selbyana 14:71-74.

Waring, G., L.L. Loope, and A.C. Medeiros. 1993. Study on use of alien versus native plants by nectarivorous forest birds on Maui, Hawaii. The Auk 110(4): 917-920.

Medeiros, A.C., R.W. Hobdy, and W.H. Wagner. 1993. Notes on the rediscovery, status, and ecology of the very rare Hawaiian fern Christella boydiae (Thelypteridaceae). American Fern Journal 83(3): 86-89.

Medeiros, A.C., L.L. Loope, and R. Hobdy. 1993. Conservation of cloud forests in Maui County (Maui, Moloka'i, and Lana'i), Hawaii, p. 142-148. In Tropical Montane Cloud Forests, Proceedings of an International Symposium, L.S. Hamilton, J.O. Juvik, and F.N. Scatena (eds.). East-West Center, Honolulu, Hawaii.

Loope, L., M. Duever, A. Herndon, J. Snyder, and D. Jansen. 1994. Hurricane impact on uplands and freshwater swamp forest. BioScience 44(4): 238-246.

Loope, L.L., and A.C. Medeiros. 1994. Biotic interactions in Hawaiian high-elevation ecosystems, p. 337-354. In Tropical Alpine Environments: Plant Form and Function, P.W. Rundel, A.P. Smith, and F.C. Meinzer (eds.). Cambridge University Press. Cambridge, U.K.

Medeiros, A.C., and L.L. Loope. 1994. Rare Animals and Plants of Haleakala National Park. Illustrated by Nanci Sidaras. Hawaii Natural History Association. Hawaii National Park, HI. 56 p.

Loope, L.L., and A.C. Medeiros. 1994. Impacts of biological invasions on the management and recovery of rare plants in Haleakala National Park, Maui, Hawaiian Islands, p. 143-158. In Restoration of Endangered Species, M. Bowles and C.J. Whelan (eds.). Cambridge University Press. Cambridge, UK.

Cole, F.R., L.L. Loope, A.C. Medeiros, J.A. Raikes, and C.S. Wood. 1995. Conservation implications of introduced game birds (Phasianus colchicus and Alectoris chukar) in high-elevation Hawaiian shrubland. Conservation Biology 9(2):306-313.

Loope, L.L., and A.C. Medeiros. 1995. Strategies for long-term protection of biological diversity in native rainforests of Haleakala National Park and East Maui, Hawaii. Endangered Species Update 12(6).

Loope, L.L., and A.C. Medeiros. 1995. Haleakala silversword (Argyroxiphium sandwicense subsp. macrocephalum), p. 363-364. In Our Living Resources, U.S. Department of the Interior, Washington, D.C.

Loope, L.L. 1995. Climate change and island biological diversity, p. 123-134. In Biological Diversity and Ecosystem Function on Islands, P. Vitousek, L. Loope, and H. Adsersen (eds.). Springer-Verlag. New York.

Stone, C.P., and L.L. Loope. 1996. Alien species in Hawaiian national parks, p. 133-158. In W.L. Halvorson and G.E. Davis (eds.), Science and Ecosystem Management in the National Parks. The University of Arizona Press, Tucson.

Loope, L.L., and C.P. Stone. 1996. Strategies to reduce erosion of biodiversity by exotic terrestrial species, p. 261-279. In Biodiversity in Managed Landscapes: Theory and Practice, R.C. Szaro and D.W. Johnston (eds.). Oxford University Press, New York.

Vitousek, P.M., C.M. D'Antonio, L.L. Loope, and R. Westbrooks. 1996. Biological invasions as global environmental change. American Scientist 84:468-478.

Medeiros, A.C., W.H. Wagner, Jr., and R.W. Hobdy. 1996. A new Hawaiian hanging firmoss (Lycopodiaceae: Phlegmariurus)from the eastern Hawaiian Islands. American Fern Journal 86:89-97.

Medeiros, A.C., C.G. Chimera, and L.L. Loope. 1996. Ka'uhako Crater Botanical Resource and Threat Monitoring. Coop. Natl. Park Resources Studies Unit, Univ. Hawaii/Manoa, Dept. Botany. Tech. Rept.

Krushelnycky, P.D., and N.J. Reimer. 1996. Efforts at Control of the Argentine Ant in Haleakala National Park, Maui, Hawaii Coop. Natl. Park Resources Studies Unit, Univ. Hawaii/Manoa, Dept. Botany. Tech. Rept. 109. 33p.

Loope, L.L. 1997. The Hawaiian islands as a laboratory for addressing alien species problems. In G. Meffe and R. Carroll, Principles of Conservation Biology, 2nd edition. Sinauer Associates, Inc. Sunderland, Massachusetts.

Conant, P., A.C. Medeiros, and L.L. Loope. 1997. A multi-agency containment program for miconia (Miconia calvescens), an invasive tree in Hawaiian rain forests. In J. Luken and J. Thieret (eds.), Assessment and Management of Invasive Plants. Springer-Verlag.

Medeiros, A.C., L.L. Loope, P. Conant, and S. McElvaney. 1997. Status, ecology, and management of the invasive tree Miconia calvescens DC (Melastomataceae) in the Hawaiian Islands. In Records of the the Hawaii Biological Survey for 1996, N.L. Evenhuis and S.E. Miller (eds.), Bishop Museum Occasional Papers 48:23-36.

Loope, L.L. 1997. Hawaii and the Pacific. In A Report on the Status and Trends of the Biological Resources of the United States, U.S. Department of the Interior, Washington, D.C.

Starr, F., K. Martz, and L. L. Loope.  1999.  New plant records from East Maui for 1998 .  Bishop Mus. Occas. Pap.  59:11-15.

Martz, K., F. Starr, and A.C. Medeiros. 1999. New island record of Carposina nigronotata Walsingham on Maui (Lepidoptera: Carposinidae) .  Bishop Mus. Occas. Pap.  59:26-27.

Starr, F. and K. Martz.  2000.  New plant records for Midway Atoll .  Bishop Mus. Occas. Pap.  64:10-12.

Starr, F., K. Martz, and Lloyd Loope.  2001.  Botanical Inventory of Kure Atoll.   Report prepared for State Department of Land and Natural Resources, Honolulu, Hawai'i.

Starr, F., K. Martz, and L. L. Loope.  2002.  New plant records for the Hawaiian Archipelago.   Bishop Mus. Occas. Pap. 69:16-27.

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