WEBVTT
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Alright, Aloha kākou,
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welcome to our third Thursday webinar lecture series,
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and also our State of the Monument lecture series.
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We're so happy to have you.
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We have people joining us from all over the United States
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and also several countries around the world.
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So we're really excited to have you.
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Just quickly, technical issues before we start.
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If you have any problems with your audio,
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the best way to resolve that
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is on the right-hand side of your screen.
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There's a control panel,
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and in it is a tab that says audio.
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Just make sure your audio is set to
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whatever your input and output are,
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particularly your speakers,
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whether it's speakers or headphones.
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That's usually where people have problems with the audio.
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you do have problems,
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please type your issue into the question bar or the chat.
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We monitor those throughout the webinar,
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and we can try to help you resolve that during the talk.
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So hopefully nobody has any issues,
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but that's primarily where it comes up.
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And also we will be typing in resources and other things
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into the chat or the question bar on your control panel.
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So keep an eye out for that for links and other things.
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That's where we'll put that information.
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So before we start,
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the regular way we open up things in Hawai'i
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is with either opening chant or oli
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so, we're going to start with that.
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We're going to start with a very special oli,
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a mele, or song called Mele no Papahānaumokuākea,
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that was written specifically for Papahānaumokuākea
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and unfortunately this is a recording.
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We don't have the live version for you today
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because one of our people is on another meeting,
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but I'm going to share this and we'll start.
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(sings in Hawaiian language)
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All right.
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That's always the most wonderful and proper way to start.
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So today we have a very wonderful presentation for you
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by Dr. Sheldon Plentovich
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who works with the Fish and Wildlife Service.
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Her talk is
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"Ensuring the survival of endemic songbirds
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"in Papahānaumokuākea."
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Before we start, this webinar series is hosted by NOAA
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and the Office of National Marine Sanctuaries.
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The National Marine Sanctuaries
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are a system of underwater parks across the United States.
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In the Pacific, we have 15 sites in our system,
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several on the East Coast,
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a few in the Great Lakes,
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also down on the Florida Keys and Flower Garden Banks.
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Some of these are recently established
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such as the Wisconsin Shipwreck Coast site,
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and also Mallows Bay, Potomac River are two new sites.
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We also recently expanded the Flower Garden Banks site
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and the Gulf of Mexico.
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So our system is still growing
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and there's a proposed site in Lake Ontario
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that's going through
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a sanctuary designation process right now.
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On the West Coast, we have Olympic Coast,
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Monterey Bay, Channel Islands.
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Then we move out into the Pacific
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where we have two National Marine Sanctuary sites
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The Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale
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National Marine Sanctuary, and down in Samoa,
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the American National Marine Sanctuary of American Samoa.
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Also included in here are two sites
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that are co-managed with other partners
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like Fish and Wildlife Service, and that includes our site
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Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument,
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co-managed by the State of Hawai'i
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and the US Fish and Wildlife Service
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or Department of Interior and Department of Commerce
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and NOAA and Office of Hawaiian Affairs.
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Also, we have another and Marine National Monument,
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Rose Atoll, down in American Samoa.
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So all these sites represent your
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National Marine Sanctuary system,
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and they act to preserve our special,
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unique marine areas around the United States
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The area that Justin and I work for,
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and Sheldon also does a lot of work up here
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is the Papahānaumokuākea National Marine Monument.
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We're the world's largest, fully protected area,
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meaning no extractive uses within this boundary
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it includes 582,578 square miles, it's enormous,
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overlaying over the United States,
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it extends from about New Orleans,
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all the way to Las Vegas.
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You could see that little inset map
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on the lower left-hand corner.
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So it's a pretty good chunk of the United States area.
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Today our hosts are myself, Andy Collins,
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I'm the Education Coordinator for Papahānaumokuākea
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and work over in Hilo
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at our Mokupāpapa Discovery Center
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We also have Justin Umholtz,
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who is the Education Specialist at Mokupāpapa,
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and Malia, who hopefully will join us a little later
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when she comes back from her other meeting,
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who's our Native Education
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and Native Hawaiian Outreach specialist.
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We are your hosts for today,
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and this is the place that we work at.
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We work at a wonderful 20,000 square foot facility in Hilo
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that interprets and brings the wonder
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of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands
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to the people here in Hawai'i.
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We have a gorgeous 3,500 gallon aquarium,
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exhibits in English and Hawaiian,
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and many other fascinating exhibits.
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Unfortunately were closed due to COVID,
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but we really do hope to hope to be open soon.
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We've been doing a lot with online programming.
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We just recently launched a series of lessons
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that you can sign up for if you're an educator or teacher,
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you can see that on our website.
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Also we've been doing these webinars,
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which have been a really great success.
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Over 7,000 people have attended these webinars
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that we've hosted so far.
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But today we are here to listen to a wonderful presentation
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from Dr. Sheldon Plentovich.
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She leads the US Fish and Wildlife Service
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Pacific Islands Coastal Program
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where she works with partners to find innovative ways
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to protect and restore ecosystems.
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Her pet project involves
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expanding Hawaiian yellow-faced bee populations
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via translocation and habitat restoration,
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protecting new Laysan albatross colonies
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in the main Hawaiian Islands,
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monitoring sea turtle nesting sites on Oahu
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and killing invasive plants on Nihoa.
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She hopes that a Palihoa translocation
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will be a new pet project in the near future.
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So Sheldon is a superhero
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for many of Hawaiian native species.
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At this time Sheldon, you can turn on your webcam.
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I'm going to change the presenter to you,
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and we should be ready to turn it over now.
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Perfect.
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Okay.
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Thank you so much.
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I really appreciate this opportunity
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to talk about one of my favorites things,
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songbirds in Papahānaumokuākea.
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Let me make sure I know how to forward this,
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there we go.
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So I'm going to start
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by touching on biodiversity loss in the Hawaiian Islands,
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and then go into an introduction to the history and status
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of land birds in Papahānaumokuākea,
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and then focus on what's been done
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to monitor, maintain, and increase populations
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of surviving species and what can be done in the future
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to down list and potentially delist
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these species off the Endangered Species List.
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This is going to involve translocation to high islands
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in the main Hawaiian Islands,
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and it will be necessary for us to control,
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introduced mosquitoes before we do that
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because they spread avian malaria,
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which these birds do not have any resistance to.
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Okay. So in the Hawaiian Islands,
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more than most places in the world,
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we're facing a biodiversity crisis.
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We've lost an estimated 90% of Hawai'i's dry land habitat,
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61% of the mesic or wet habitat, 42% of wetlands,
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60% of land snails and 68% of native bird species.
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Sadly, most of the remaining bird species
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are listed as threatened or endangered.
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The picture here is ʻakikiki.
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It's a Hawaiian honey creeper,
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it's endemic to the island of Hawai'i.
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It has an estimated population of 200 birds,
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and the primary threat to this species is avian malaria.
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Sadly, this is not an uncommon story
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in the main Hawaiian Islands with our forest birds,
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many of them.
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We could lose up to four species
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within the next five or 10 years due to avian malaria,
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which is vectored by introduced mosquitoes.
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Okay.
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So the reasons for this biodiversity loss
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in the Hawaiian Islands is varied,
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but the things that are at the forefront
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are introduced predators like cats, rats, and mongooses,
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and then introduced diseases like avian malaria,
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habitat loss, and alteration
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due to development and other land uses,
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and then more recently, at least in my lifetime,
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climate change is a big driver.
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So we're really lucky to have places like Papahānaumokuākea.
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These places are protected
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from some of those threats or most of those threats.
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There are threats for invasive species,
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but those are mitigated through bio-security protocols.
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Although climate change is still a big issue
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in the Monument, as you all know.
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So within the Monument,
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we have seven species of known land birds.
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Each are endemic to their namesake islands
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of Laysan and Nihoa.
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Andy, can you see my cursor?
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Move it again.
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Yeah, I can see it.
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Okay, great.
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No?
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I could see it, but it's small.
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Okay, got it.
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So starting from the left and go into the right,
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we've got the Laysan millerbird, the Laysan rail,
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the Laysan duck, Laysan finch,
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and then there in the bottom middle, the Laysan 'apapane,
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and then the Nihoa endemics,
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which are the Nihoa millerbird, and the Nihoa finch.
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In the late 1800s
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there was a period of resource exploitation on Laysan,
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and that included guano mining, egg and feather collection.
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You can see that these carts are full
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of thousands of Laysan albatross eggs.
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This period culminated with the introduction of rabbits
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by this dude named Max Schlemmer,
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who brought his family up to Laysan.
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He he was managing
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the guano mining and egg and feather collection.
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He thought he would bring rabbits
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and start a meat canning business.
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So, eventually the rabbits
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ate virtually all the plants on the island.
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Max and his family had to be
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basically rescued from the island,
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and sadly, there were a lot of species
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that could not be rescued.
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We lost an unknown number of native plants
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an unknown number of native invertebrates,
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and we lost three species of native birds.
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So we lost the Laysan millerbird,
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the Laysan rail there in the middle and the Laysan ʻapapane.
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At Bishop museum, if you're interested,
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you can still see specimens of the rail and the 'apapane,
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and they're quite interesting.
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Although we have lots of 'apapane
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in the main Hawaiian Islands,
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the ones on Laysan look quite different.
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They had sort of this orange hue
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and then the rail,
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many of us are used to larger rail species
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that are about a foot tall.
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These rails were tiny, and just very interesting.
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So, this is Laysan by 1923, but in 1909,
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the area was designated as a bird sanctuary by Roosevelt,
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and there were still rabbits on the island at that time,
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so there was a lot of work to do.
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The island was eventually protected,
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the rabbits were removed, eventually became a refuge,
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Monument, it's now a World Heritage site.
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After these decades of restoration,
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Laysan looks quite different now.
267
00:16:01.090 --> 00:16:02.830
So after all of that,
268
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we're left with four surviving land birds,
269
00:16:07.070 --> 00:16:08.900
the Laysan duck, which is actually,
270
00:16:08.900 --> 00:16:10.892
I guess you call it a wetland bird,
271
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and that species has been translocated to Kure and Midway.
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It's doing pretty well,
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and it's not going to be the focus of this talk,
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but it's a very cool animal,
275
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and it probably deserves a talk all on its own.
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But today we're going to focus on the Nihoa finch,
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which is there on the top right,
278
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the Nihoa millerbird bird and the Laysan finch.
279
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These birds are very interesting.
280
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I wanna tell you a little bit about each of the species.
281
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The ulūlu, or the Nihoa millerbird is small
282
00:16:51.740 --> 00:16:56.390
and likes to be surrounded by cover, so it's hard to see.
283
00:16:56.390 --> 00:17:00.520
People go to Nihoa and they don't encounter it.
284
00:17:00.520 --> 00:17:02.531
It's not a Hawaiian honeycreeper
285
00:17:02.531 --> 00:17:06.280
like the Laysan finch and the Nihoa finch,
286
00:17:06.280 --> 00:17:08.190
which are both Hawaiian honeycreepers
287
00:17:08.190 --> 00:17:11.650
and are related to the honeycreepers in the main islands.
288
00:17:11.650 --> 00:17:13.970
The millerbird is an old world warbler,
289
00:17:13.970 --> 00:17:18.690
and it colonized the Hawaiian Islands
290
00:17:18.690 --> 00:17:21.370
through Australasia or island hopping,
291
00:17:21.370 --> 00:17:23.630
basically, through Oceania.
292
00:17:23.630 --> 00:17:26.573
It's endemic to its namesake island, Nihoa,
293
00:17:29.770 --> 00:17:32.463
which is one of the coolest islands in the world.
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It's pretty small, it's only 63 hectares.
295
00:17:36.720 --> 00:17:39.687
Its elevation is 275 meters.
296
00:17:39.687 --> 00:17:42.953
Not only is it home to the Nihoa millerbird
297
00:17:42.953 --> 00:17:46.440
and the Nihoa finch, it is home to all sorts of
298
00:17:46.440 --> 00:17:49.790
super cool and fantastical invertebrates
299
00:17:49.790 --> 00:17:52.100
that we've lost pretty much everywhere else
300
00:17:52.100 --> 00:17:53.440
in the Hawaiian Islands.
301
00:17:53.440 --> 00:17:56.813
There's a giant trapdoor spider and a giant earwig.
302
00:17:57.710 --> 00:18:00.070
I could probably go on for hours just about
303
00:18:00.070 --> 00:18:03.627
the invertebrates, but trust me, they're cool.
304
00:18:03.627 --> 00:18:06.530
So all of these species are vulnerable.
305
00:18:06.530 --> 00:18:08.290
All of these species are vulnerable
306
00:18:08.290 --> 00:18:10.656
to invasive species introductions
307
00:18:10.656 --> 00:18:13.956
and stochastic events like storms.
308
00:18:13.956 --> 00:18:18.060
This is especially true as we see changes in storm patterns
309
00:18:18.060 --> 00:18:21.730
and intensity that are associated with climate change.
310
00:18:21.730 --> 00:18:25.970
As the water further north from the equator is warming,
311
00:18:25.970 --> 00:18:28.250
storms are able to track further north,
312
00:18:28.250 --> 00:18:29.700
and so this puts
313
00:18:29.700 --> 00:18:32.403
the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands in danger.
314
00:18:33.750 --> 00:18:35.170
The millerbird, like I said,
315
00:18:35.170 --> 00:18:40.170
is pretty secretive, but it's very inquisitive
316
00:18:40.170 --> 00:18:43.718
and if you happen to right place at the right time,
317
00:18:43.718 --> 00:18:48.718
you can be the subject of its curiosity,
318
00:18:48.970 --> 00:18:50.790
which is what's happening here.
319
00:18:50.790 --> 00:18:53.053
So I am videoing this bird,
320
00:18:54.060 --> 00:18:58.320
which is about to jump on my camera right there,
321
00:18:58.320 --> 00:19:02.153
and then stare deeply into my eyes,
322
00:19:03.308 --> 00:19:05.453
looking for something to eat.
323
00:19:07.050 --> 00:19:09.530
Thank God it didn't find anything.
324
00:19:09.530 --> 00:19:12.590
So the second species is the palihoa.
325
00:19:13.990 --> 00:19:17.390
It is the Nihoa finch. It's omnivorous.
326
00:19:17.390 --> 00:19:19.810
It is a Hawaiian honeycreeper.
327
00:19:19.810 --> 00:19:21.420
Unlike the millerbird,
328
00:19:21.420 --> 00:19:26.420
this species is super curious and some would call nefarious.
329
00:19:28.100 --> 00:19:30.900
This bird will follow us as we move around the Nihoa
330
00:19:30.900 --> 00:19:35.900
and when we accidentally flush seabirds off their eggs,
331
00:19:35.970 --> 00:19:38.380
it will quickly swoop down
332
00:19:38.380 --> 00:19:43.150
and take advantage of anything it possibly can.
333
00:19:43.150 --> 00:19:45.710
That's how all these birds have made it
334
00:19:45.710 --> 00:19:47.470
in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands.
335
00:19:47.470 --> 00:19:50.450
They're on islands where there's few resources,
336
00:19:50.450 --> 00:19:53.980
so they're really good at figuring out
337
00:19:53.980 --> 00:19:56.950
what they can exploit for food and shelter.
338
00:19:56.950 --> 00:20:00.540
The Laysan finch, or 'ekupu'u is no different.
339
00:20:00.540 --> 00:20:04.980
This is a species that is very curious.
340
00:20:04.980 --> 00:20:07.600
I have a whole reel from my last trip to Laysan
341
00:20:07.600 --> 00:20:12.290
a couple of years ago of the species investigating my feet.
342
00:20:12.290 --> 00:20:13.640
But it's not just feet.
343
00:20:13.640 --> 00:20:15.800
You have to watch out for everything.
344
00:20:15.800 --> 00:20:20.050
They are infamous for investigating tents and buckets
345
00:20:20.050 --> 00:20:22.700
and getting themselves in big trouble.
346
00:20:22.700 --> 00:20:23.780
So while we're on island,
347
00:20:23.780 --> 00:20:27.460
we have to make sure that our behavior
348
00:20:27.460 --> 00:20:30.283
is careful around this species.
349
00:20:33.170 --> 00:20:36.470
Okay, and that goes to our first questions.
350
00:20:36.470 --> 00:20:37.887
Questions one and two.
351
00:20:39.266 --> 00:20:41.690
So we have our questions.
352
00:20:41.690 --> 00:20:44.520
So if you are in full screen mode,
353
00:20:44.520 --> 00:20:48.050
you wanna pop out using your control panel
354
00:20:48.050 --> 00:20:49.960
and answering this question.
355
00:20:49.960 --> 00:20:51.460
So the first question,
356
00:20:51.460 --> 00:20:55.240
how many endemic land birds are known to have existed
357
00:20:55.240 --> 00:20:59.660
within Papahānaumokuākea National Monument?
358
00:20:59.660 --> 00:21:02.120
Go ahead and register your vote.
359
00:21:02.120 --> 00:21:06.320
Is it three, five or seven?
360
00:21:06.320 --> 00:21:08.763
Let's see, who's been paying attention.
361
00:21:09.670 --> 00:21:12.970
All right, I'm going to close the poll out.
362
00:21:12.970 --> 00:21:17.873
We've got lots of good responses, in about 5, 4, 3, 2,
363
00:21:19.910 --> 00:21:22.670
and one I'm closing up the poll.
364
00:21:22.670 --> 00:21:26.723
Let's see what the audience has come up with.
365
00:21:28.910 --> 00:21:30.450
Okay, Sheldon.
366
00:21:30.450 --> 00:21:35.220
So three, 6% of the audience said,
367
00:21:35.220 --> 00:21:40.220
on five, 19% and seven endemic land birds at 75%.
368
00:21:42.420 --> 00:21:44.233
Nice job, everybody!
369
00:21:45.260 --> 00:21:48.093
Seven is the right answer, excellent work.
370
00:21:49.523 --> 00:21:51.570
Okay, and so now we are gonna
371
00:21:51.570 --> 00:21:53.663
go to poll number two.
372
00:21:55.163 --> 00:21:59.780
So here is our question for you all,
373
00:21:59.780 --> 00:22:03.840
how many endemic songbirds survive within
374
00:22:03.840 --> 00:22:07.770
Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument today?
375
00:22:07.770 --> 00:22:11.380
So you've got three, two or five.
376
00:22:11.380 --> 00:22:13.550
Go ahead and register your vote.
377
00:22:13.550 --> 00:22:16.590
Hope you guys are very attentive.
378
00:22:16.590 --> 00:22:19.810
I'll give you a couple more seconds.
379
00:22:19.810 --> 00:22:22.840
We've got half of you that voted so far
380
00:22:22.840 --> 00:22:26.630
and we are reaching almost 70% voting.
381
00:22:26.630 --> 00:22:29.550
So I am going to close out the poll
382
00:22:29.550 --> 00:22:31.300
and let's see what you all thought.
383
00:22:33.860 --> 00:22:37.150
All right, so three, 75%.
384
00:22:37.150 --> 00:22:39.300
What say you Sheldon?
385
00:22:39.300 --> 00:22:40.133
Yes!
386
00:22:40.133 --> 00:22:43.020
I'm liking this audience, it's amazing!
387
00:22:43.020 --> 00:22:43.970
Good job everybody.
388
00:22:49.792 --> 00:22:51.959
Okay, I'm gonna continue,
389
00:22:55.310 --> 00:22:56.860
but it sounds like everyone's
390
00:22:58.640 --> 00:23:01.850
probably knows everything I'm saying already here.
391
00:23:01.850 --> 00:23:04.780
So now that I've given you an introduction to the birds
392
00:23:04.780 --> 00:23:06.470
and I've hopefully convinced you
393
00:23:06.470 --> 00:23:09.340
that they're awesome and that you should care about them,
394
00:23:09.340 --> 00:23:10.780
if you didn't already.
395
00:23:10.780 --> 00:23:13.050
Now, I want to talk about what's been done
396
00:23:13.050 --> 00:23:14.454
to try and protect them.
397
00:23:14.454 --> 00:23:17.560
The Monument manager's plan has a strategy
398
00:23:17.560 --> 00:23:20.460
and activities associated with that strategy
399
00:23:20.460 --> 00:23:22.442
to protect these species.
400
00:23:22.442 --> 00:23:24.410
The strategy is to maintain
401
00:23:24.410 --> 00:23:26.800
stable or increasing populations,
402
00:23:26.800 --> 00:23:29.340
and the activities associated are to
403
00:23:29.340 --> 00:23:32.560
continue to conduct annual censuses of the population
404
00:23:32.560 --> 00:23:35.159
and monitor food and habitat requirements.
405
00:23:35.159 --> 00:23:39.380
Also, to implement translocations of each species
406
00:23:39.380 --> 00:23:41.630
and site restoration as needed,
407
00:23:41.630 --> 00:23:44.100
mostly to develop appropriate capture,
408
00:23:44.100 --> 00:23:47.253
translocation and release techniques.
409
00:23:53.260 --> 00:23:58.260
So, we have made progress, and in doing those things here,
410
00:23:58.644 --> 00:24:02.160
since the manager's plan has been enacted,
411
00:24:02.160 --> 00:24:04.420
but there was progress before.
412
00:24:04.420 --> 00:24:05.970
There's been translocation efforts
413
00:24:05.970 --> 00:24:07.780
starting as early as 1891.
414
00:24:08.950 --> 00:24:11.820
I wanted to just kind of go over what's been done.
415
00:24:11.820 --> 00:24:16.420
So, recall we have three passerines as this audience knows.
416
00:24:16.420 --> 00:24:19.260
Two of them are endemic to Nihoa.
417
00:24:19.260 --> 00:24:21.193
One of them is endemic to Laysan.
418
00:24:24.100 --> 00:24:26.760
Each of them are single island endemics
419
00:24:26.760 --> 00:24:29.210
with high population variability,
420
00:24:29.210 --> 00:24:31.800
and so they're vulnerable to species introductions.
421
00:24:31.800 --> 00:24:36.590
This is the way it started in the 1800s,
422
00:24:36.590 --> 00:24:41.590
and so we have used translocations since then,
423
00:24:42.420 --> 00:24:45.610
since they saw that birds were declining on Laysan,
424
00:24:45.610 --> 00:24:46.960
people have wanted to help.
425
00:24:46.960 --> 00:24:49.660
So translocations were used in an effort
426
00:24:49.660 --> 00:24:52.370
to decrease extinction risk
427
00:24:52.370 --> 00:24:56.304
by increasing population size and expanding range.
428
00:24:56.304 --> 00:25:01.304
So, we've had six different efforts to translocate birds
429
00:25:02.580 --> 00:25:04.570
in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands.
430
00:25:04.570 --> 00:25:07.880
The Laysan finch was translocated.
431
00:25:07.880 --> 00:25:12.880
Efforts started in 1891 to translocate to Eastern island.
432
00:25:13.430 --> 00:25:16.720
There was a subsequent translocation in 1910,
433
00:25:16.720 --> 00:25:18.210
and then birds were moved,
434
00:25:18.210 --> 00:25:19.400
Laysan finches were moved
435
00:25:19.400 --> 00:25:22.515
to Sand Island on Midway in 1905.
436
00:25:22.515 --> 00:25:26.330
These translocations worked, they were great.
437
00:25:26.330 --> 00:25:31.330
Birds were doing fine until 1944 when rats were introduced.
438
00:25:31.840 --> 00:25:32.870
The Laysan finch
439
00:25:32.870 --> 00:25:37.350
was also translocated to Pearl and Hermes in 1967.
440
00:25:37.350 --> 00:25:40.160
We'll talk more in more detail about these other ones.
441
00:25:40.160 --> 00:25:43.500
Nihoa finch translocated to French Frigate Shoal,
442
00:25:43.500 --> 00:25:44.333
and there was an effort
443
00:25:44.333 --> 00:25:46.580
to move millerbirds to Mokumanamana,
444
00:25:46.580 --> 00:25:48.140
and then our more recent effort
445
00:25:48.140 --> 00:25:52.633
to move millerbirds to Laysan in 2011 and 12.
446
00:25:54.110 --> 00:25:58.410
So here's just a few details on those translocations.
447
00:25:58.410 --> 00:25:59.950
They were kind of hard to come by
448
00:25:59.950 --> 00:26:02.490
because they're pretty old, and so Sheila Conant
449
00:26:02.490 --> 00:26:06.630
helped me compile all of this information.
450
00:26:06.630 --> 00:26:09.690
Laysan finches were moved to Midway Eastern Island
451
00:26:09.690 --> 00:26:14.690
in 1891 and 1910, and then Sand Island in 1905.
452
00:26:15.070 --> 00:26:19.230
They did well until they were extirpated in 1944,
453
00:26:19.230 --> 00:26:21.063
due to the introduction of rats.
454
00:26:22.350 --> 00:26:27.020
The Laysan finch was moved to Pearl and Hermes in 1967.
455
00:26:27.020 --> 00:26:29.960
59 males and 51 females were translocated
456
00:26:29.960 --> 00:26:32.250
to Southeast Island and then moved
457
00:26:32.250 --> 00:26:35.870
to the remaining vegetated islands over the next six years.
458
00:26:35.870 --> 00:26:40.870
In 1986 there was an estimated 18 plus birds
459
00:26:41.760 --> 00:26:46.208
on Southeast, North, Grass, and Seal Kittery.
460
00:26:46.208 --> 00:26:49.408
So, this was good news, but as you know,
461
00:26:49.408 --> 00:26:52.880
Pearl and Hermes is composed
462
00:26:52.880 --> 00:26:55.450
of very, very low-lying islets
463
00:26:55.450 --> 00:26:57.770
and they are getting washed over.
464
00:26:57.770 --> 00:27:00.400
So as of November, 2018,
465
00:27:00.400 --> 00:27:02.880
we could only find approximately 200 birds
466
00:27:02.880 --> 00:27:05.390
and they were only surviving on Southeast.
467
00:27:05.390 --> 00:27:07.240
So this population is not gonna
468
00:27:07.240 --> 00:27:09.163
survive long into the future.
469
00:27:10.630 --> 00:27:12.360
Nihoa finch.
470
00:27:12.360 --> 00:27:15.450
So the Nihoa finches were moved to French Frigate Shoals
471
00:27:15.450 --> 00:27:19.940
in 1967, 42 birds were moved.
472
00:27:19.940 --> 00:27:23.220
They went to Tern Island and to East Island,
473
00:27:23.220 --> 00:27:27.080
and by 1974, unfortunately only six were left,
474
00:27:27.080 --> 00:27:31.380
and then none survive long after that.
475
00:27:31.380 --> 00:27:33.563
So this was a failed translocation.
476
00:27:33.563 --> 00:27:35.781
Then the Nihoa millerbird.
477
00:27:35.781 --> 00:27:38.440
We had a really hard time tracking this down,
478
00:27:38.440 --> 00:27:41.760
but sometime around 1968 or 1969,
479
00:27:41.760 --> 00:27:45.340
Kridler and Syncock, two pretty famous biologists
480
00:27:45.340 --> 00:27:49.247
attempted to translocate the bird to Mokumanamana.
481
00:27:50.171 --> 00:27:52.960
The birds didn't do well in captivity, as I mentioned,
482
00:27:52.960 --> 00:27:56.750
they're insectivorous, so they're pretty hard to keep,
483
00:27:56.750 --> 00:28:00.723
and so they just gave up and released them on Nihoa.
484
00:28:02.210 --> 00:28:05.420
We tried again to translocate millerbirds,
485
00:28:05.420 --> 00:28:10.420
this time to Laysan, to replace lost interactions
486
00:28:11.910 --> 00:28:15.150
that were lost when the Laysan millerbird went extinct.
487
00:28:15.150 --> 00:28:19.540
So we translocated those birds in 2011 and 2012,
488
00:28:19.540 --> 00:28:22.610
we had a really high quality team of aviculturists,
489
00:28:22.610 --> 00:28:24.830
and our vet was Thierry Work.
490
00:28:24.830 --> 00:28:27.710
All the birds survived captivity,
491
00:28:27.710 --> 00:28:31.630
most of them gained weight on the translocation.
492
00:28:31.630 --> 00:28:32.520
We were making jokes
493
00:28:32.520 --> 00:28:34.030
that they weren't gonna be able to fly
494
00:28:34.030 --> 00:28:35.930
after they had their mealworm buffet
495
00:28:35.930 --> 00:28:39.363
on the Searcher during their voyage to Laysan.
496
00:28:40.260 --> 00:28:43.410
But, we moved a total of 50 birds over two years
497
00:28:43.410 --> 00:28:46.440
and that population continues to increase.
498
00:28:46.440 --> 00:28:47.560
We released those birds
499
00:28:47.560 --> 00:28:50.510
just in the Northern section of Laysan,
500
00:28:50.510 --> 00:28:54.780
where there's a dense patch of naupaka or scaevola.
501
00:28:54.780 --> 00:28:57.340
Those birds had never even seen that species before,
502
00:28:57.340 --> 00:29:00.440
it does not exist on Nihoa, but they loved it,
503
00:29:00.440 --> 00:29:02.650
and they reproduced immediately,
504
00:29:02.650 --> 00:29:04.460
and they've been expanding ever since.
505
00:29:04.460 --> 00:29:06.040
There are over 100 birds.
506
00:29:06.040 --> 00:29:07.880
We're having a hard time getting good estimates
507
00:29:07.880 --> 00:29:09.770
because the error bars are large
508
00:29:09.770 --> 00:29:12.730
because the population's still relatively low,
509
00:29:12.730 --> 00:29:16.360
but they have expanded to island wide now.
510
00:29:16.360 --> 00:29:21.360
Okay. So as of 2021, we still have three species,
511
00:29:22.124 --> 00:29:25.160
which is good that we still have three species,
512
00:29:25.160 --> 00:29:27.310
but now they're on more islands.
513
00:29:27.310 --> 00:29:29.830
So the Nihoa millerbird is now in Laysan
514
00:29:30.670 --> 00:29:33.603
and the Laysan finch is on Pearl and Hermes.
515
00:29:34.729 --> 00:29:38.030
The Nihoa finch, sadly, is still on one island,
516
00:29:38.030 --> 00:29:41.877
and so is very subject to...
517
00:29:41.877 --> 00:29:45.130
Has a higher extinction risk because of that.
518
00:29:45.130 --> 00:29:48.643
So in general, the species status has improved,
519
00:29:48.643 --> 00:29:50.820
Nihoa millerbirds and Laysan finches,
520
00:29:50.820 --> 00:29:52.200
are on two islands,
521
00:29:52.200 --> 00:29:54.610
but it's important to remember that both of those islands
522
00:29:54.610 --> 00:29:56.800
are susceptible to sea level rise
523
00:29:56.800 --> 00:30:01.150
and Pearl and Hermes is already having washover events
524
00:30:01.150 --> 00:30:04.370
and Laysan will have those events also
525
00:30:04.370 --> 00:30:05.843
at some time in the future.
526
00:30:06.986 --> 00:30:09.000
All right, and so with that,
527
00:30:09.000 --> 00:30:11.723
let's move on to the last two questions.
528
00:30:14.538 --> 00:30:19.538
Okay, friends, our first question.
529
00:30:19.640 --> 00:30:23.740
The Laysan finch has populations on which islands?
530
00:30:23.740 --> 00:30:26.755
Your choices, Laysan and Lisianski,
531
00:30:26.755 --> 00:30:31.256
Laysan only, Laysan and Pearl and Hermes.
532
00:30:31.256 --> 00:30:34.147
Go ahead and register your votes.
533
00:30:34.147 --> 00:30:35.440
I just wanted to share
534
00:30:35.440 --> 00:30:37.190
the Hawaiian names of these places.
535
00:30:37.190 --> 00:30:41.230
So for Pearl and Hermes it's Manawai,
536
00:30:41.230 --> 00:30:43.570
for Laysan it's Kamole,
537
00:30:43.570 --> 00:30:45.850
and for Lisianski it is Kapou.
538
00:30:45.850 --> 00:30:49.270
These are the traditional Hawaiian names for these places.
539
00:30:49.270 --> 00:30:51.940
So go ahead, register your vote.
540
00:30:51.940 --> 00:30:55.960
I see that almost 70% of you have voted
541
00:30:55.960 --> 00:31:00.400
and I'm gonna close down the poll in a few seconds.
542
00:31:00.400 --> 00:31:02.790
Let's see, I know you folks are very attentive
543
00:31:02.790 --> 00:31:05.730
and have been paying great attention.
544
00:31:05.730 --> 00:31:08.260
Okay. Closing the poll.
545
00:31:08.260 --> 00:31:10.100
So let's see.
546
00:31:10.100 --> 00:31:12.523
Sheldon, let's see if they've been paying attention.
547
00:31:14.350 --> 00:31:19.350
So 70% say Laysan and Pearl and Hermes, is that correct?
548
00:31:20.175 --> 00:31:21.070
Yes!
549
00:31:21.070 --> 00:31:22.860
Again, they are correct.
550
00:31:22.860 --> 00:31:24.950
Good job everybody.
551
00:31:24.950 --> 00:31:27.370
Alrighty, and now we're gonna go on
552
00:31:27.370 --> 00:31:29.750
to our last and final poll.
553
00:31:30.649 --> 00:31:34.794
The question is how many translocations
554
00:31:34.794 --> 00:31:38.760
of Papahānaumokuākea songbirds have been attempted
555
00:31:38.760 --> 00:31:41.400
since the late 1800s?
556
00:31:41.400 --> 00:31:45.793
So your choices are one, six, or three.
557
00:31:45.793 --> 00:31:48.573
Go ahead and register your votes.
558
00:31:49.610 --> 00:31:53.650
Oh yeah, you guys are on, it got almost 60% of you.
559
00:31:53.650 --> 00:31:56.290
I'm gonna close out in a few seconds
560
00:31:57.200 --> 00:32:00.423
and let's see what the results are.
561
00:32:01.770 --> 00:32:03.430
Okay, Sheldon, here we go.
562
00:32:03.430 --> 00:32:06.678
So 90% of our attendees have said
563
00:32:06.678 --> 00:32:10.840
that it's been six translocations, is that true?
564
00:32:10.840 --> 00:32:13.760
That is true, and obviously my questions were too easy,
565
00:32:13.760 --> 00:32:15.860
but Andy told me I could make them easy,
566
00:32:15.860 --> 00:32:18.683
but this crew obviously needs harder questions.
567
00:32:21.291 --> 00:32:22.233
All right.
568
00:32:23.110 --> 00:32:25.210
Moving forward.
569
00:32:25.210 --> 00:32:28.230
Okay. So there has...
570
00:32:30.560 --> 00:32:34.310
So, as I mentioned prior to the poll questions,
571
00:32:34.310 --> 00:32:36.230
species status has improved,
572
00:32:36.230 --> 00:32:40.220
and so we have millerbirds and finches on two islands
573
00:32:40.220 --> 00:32:45.010
or Millerbirds and Laysan finches on two islands.
574
00:32:45.010 --> 00:32:48.400
Each of those islands are vulnerable to ocean inundation.
575
00:32:48.400 --> 00:32:51.087
Then we still have the Nihoa millerbird
576
00:32:51.087 --> 00:32:53.210
that's just on a single island.
577
00:32:53.210 --> 00:32:54.360
So we're doing pretty good
578
00:32:54.360 --> 00:32:58.470
in terms of the Monument manager's plans.
579
00:32:58.470 --> 00:33:00.400
We're protecting these birds.
580
00:33:00.400 --> 00:33:02.150
Populations are stable or increasing.
581
00:33:02.150 --> 00:33:03.640
We're doing an okay job,
582
00:33:03.640 --> 00:33:06.020
but the next step beyond that is like,
583
00:33:06.020 --> 00:33:08.890
how do we get them off the Endangered Species Act?
584
00:33:08.890 --> 00:33:11.330
What steps need to be taken
585
00:33:11.330 --> 00:33:13.801
for them to be downlisted to threatened
586
00:33:13.801 --> 00:33:16.454
and then ultimately delisted.
587
00:33:16.454 --> 00:33:18.810
So, the US Fish and Wildlife Service
588
00:33:18.810 --> 00:33:22.960
Draft Recovery Criteria for these species are,
589
00:33:22.960 --> 00:33:25.630
viable self-sustaining populations
590
00:33:25.630 --> 00:33:29.150
of each species on two high islands,
591
00:33:29.150 --> 00:33:32.950
so, islands that are resistant to ocean inundation,
592
00:33:32.950 --> 00:33:37.620
stable or increasing population trend over 15 years
593
00:33:37.620 --> 00:33:41.713
and threats are sufficiently managed or addressed,
594
00:33:43.000 --> 00:33:45.810
and genetic diversity is maintained and represented
595
00:33:45.810 --> 00:33:48.640
in translocated populations.
596
00:33:48.640 --> 00:33:53.610
So the main take home message is,
597
00:33:53.610 --> 00:33:56.070
that this is totally possible.
598
00:33:56.070 --> 00:33:59.877
Like there are some obstacles to overcome,
599
00:33:59.877 --> 00:34:02.390
but we can definitely do this.
600
00:34:02.390 --> 00:34:04.570
So the rest of this talk is just a vision
601
00:34:04.570 --> 00:34:06.220
on how to make that happen
602
00:34:06.220 --> 00:34:11.220
and a table showing just one of many possible ways
603
00:34:12.490 --> 00:34:13.530
to make it happen.
604
00:34:13.530 --> 00:34:16.970
But what we'll need to do first is have regular,
605
00:34:16.970 --> 00:34:18.790
preferably annual monitoring
606
00:34:18.790 --> 00:34:21.680
just to identify the trends of these species
607
00:34:21.680 --> 00:34:23.300
so that we can know what's happening
608
00:34:23.300 --> 00:34:26.483
and make better decisions around translocating them.
609
00:34:28.380 --> 00:34:30.060
We have pretty good data.
610
00:34:30.060 --> 00:34:32.080
These data go up to 2013
611
00:34:32.080 --> 00:34:34.380
they're from our last published paper.
612
00:34:34.380 --> 00:34:38.113
We have a new paper that we're working on right now
613
00:34:38.113 --> 00:34:42.000
that covers data up through 2020,
614
00:34:42.000 --> 00:34:44.150
and we're seeing similar trends,
615
00:34:44.150 --> 00:34:46.570
the millerbird on Nihoa here on the top,
616
00:34:46.570 --> 00:34:48.690
you can see it's pretty variable.
617
00:34:48.690 --> 00:34:52.220
Our last estimate for 2020 was around,
618
00:34:52.220 --> 00:34:54.340
it was actually around a thousand birds.
619
00:34:54.340 --> 00:34:57.120
So it's possible that in the last five years we had
620
00:34:57.120 --> 00:34:59.800
kind of an increased trend in millerbird.
621
00:34:59.800 --> 00:35:03.300
Finches had a positive trend since 1990.
622
00:35:03.300 --> 00:35:06.206
It seems to have leveled off in the more recent data
623
00:35:06.206 --> 00:35:08.751
that we're seeing now.
624
00:35:08.751 --> 00:35:10.300
Then the Laysan finch.
625
00:35:10.300 --> 00:35:12.963
This is from Underwood 2013.
626
00:35:14.640 --> 00:35:16.190
There's a lot of variability,
627
00:35:16.190 --> 00:35:20.260
but in general, this population is staying pretty steady.
628
00:35:20.260 --> 00:35:22.410
So we need to keep tracking these populations,
629
00:35:22.410 --> 00:35:24.073
figuring out what they're doing.
630
00:35:25.880 --> 00:35:30.430
The second thing we need to do is identify high islands
631
00:35:30.430 --> 00:35:32.270
where threats can be managed.
632
00:35:32.270 --> 00:35:35.893
So think about what they're gonna, and then,
633
00:35:36.740 --> 00:35:39.130
and think about what they're gonna be
634
00:35:39.130 --> 00:35:42.800
and we can choose them carefully
635
00:35:42.800 --> 00:35:44.810
by looking at the fossil record.
636
00:35:44.810 --> 00:35:48.040
So telespiza, which is the genus of the Nihoa finch,
637
00:35:48.040 --> 00:35:52.500
and the Laysan finch, that genus was widespread
638
00:35:52.500 --> 00:35:55.120
in the lowlands of the main Hawaiian Islands.
639
00:35:55.120 --> 00:35:58.070
There are five known species that include
640
00:35:58.070 --> 00:36:01.770
the Laysan and Nihoa finches and the fossil record shows
641
00:36:01.770 --> 00:36:05.690
that two or more species were known to occur
642
00:36:05.690 --> 00:36:08.070
on each of the main Hawaiian Islands.
643
00:36:08.070 --> 00:36:13.060
So we have options for translocation here where we could,
644
00:36:13.060 --> 00:36:17.310
just be re-introducing them into their previous range.
645
00:36:17.310 --> 00:36:20.778
So Laysan finch was found at Barbers Point on Oʻahu.
646
00:36:20.778 --> 00:36:24.510
It was also found at ʻĪlio Point on Molokaʻi.
647
00:36:24.510 --> 00:36:27.260
The Nihoa finch co-occurred
648
00:36:27.260 --> 00:36:29.750
with the Laysan finch atʻĪlio Point,
649
00:36:29.750 --> 00:36:33.033
and it's also present at Mo'omomi on Molokaʻi.
650
00:36:37.410 --> 00:36:39.250
For the Nihoa millerbird, it's different,
651
00:36:39.250 --> 00:36:41.950
there's no evidence that the genus occurred
652
00:36:41.950 --> 00:36:44.990
in the Hawaiian archipelago outside of Nihoa
653
00:36:44.990 --> 00:36:46.803
and now in Laysan.
654
00:36:46.803 --> 00:36:49.340
So a translocation to one of the high islands
655
00:36:49.340 --> 00:36:50.860
in the main Hawaiian Islands
656
00:36:50.860 --> 00:36:53.470
would be classified as a conservation introduction
657
00:36:53.470 --> 00:36:55.490
under the IUCN guidelines,
658
00:36:55.490 --> 00:37:00.103
and it would be necessary to reduce extinction risk.
659
00:37:01.020 --> 00:37:04.690
So there's a ton of possible paths
660
00:37:04.690 --> 00:37:08.720
for downlisting these species, and here is just one.
661
00:37:08.720 --> 00:37:10.660
So starting on the left side,
662
00:37:10.660 --> 00:37:13.850
the Nihoa finch is present on the high island of Nihoa
663
00:37:14.870 --> 00:37:17.110
and only there, so it could be
664
00:37:17.110 --> 00:37:20.240
translocated to Lisiasnki or Kure,
665
00:37:20.240 --> 00:37:21.800
those two were identified
666
00:37:21.800 --> 00:37:24.250
in a structured decision making workshop.
667
00:37:24.250 --> 00:37:28.110
Kure is a little problematic right now
668
00:37:28.110 --> 00:37:30.860
because we know there's mosquitoes on Midway
669
00:37:30.860 --> 00:37:33.410
and Kure and Midway are quite close
670
00:37:33.410 --> 00:37:35.682
and we know that the finches
671
00:37:35.682 --> 00:37:39.520
have basically no resistance to avian malaria.
672
00:37:39.520 --> 00:37:40.880
So we wouldn't really wanna put them
673
00:37:40.880 --> 00:37:43.130
in an area where there were mosquitoes,
674
00:37:43.130 --> 00:37:46.160
but Lisianski could be an appropriate place
675
00:37:46.160 --> 00:37:50.050
for the short term, we need to have those discussions.
676
00:37:50.050 --> 00:37:53.170
Another option for the main Hawaiian Islands
677
00:37:53.170 --> 00:37:55.475
to get them on a second high island
678
00:37:55.475 --> 00:37:56.873
could be Kaho'olawe.
679
00:37:58.600 --> 00:38:01.290
For the Laysan finch, it's present on Laysan,
680
00:38:01.290 --> 00:38:02.610
it's a low island,
681
00:38:02.610 --> 00:38:07.122
it's not resistant to sea level rise, obviously,
682
00:38:07.122 --> 00:38:10.268
so we need to get that bird on two high islands.
683
00:38:10.268 --> 00:38:14.730
We know the bird was present on Oahu and on Molokai,
684
00:38:14.730 --> 00:38:17.810
so we could put that bird on both of those islands
685
00:38:17.810 --> 00:38:20.570
inside a predator-proof fence, for example,
686
00:38:20.570 --> 00:38:25.340
at Kaʻena on Oʻahu, and at the Mokio predator-proof fence
687
00:38:25.340 --> 00:38:28.700
that is under construction right now on Molakaʻi.
688
00:38:28.700 --> 00:38:30.910
Those would be appropriate places.
689
00:38:30.910 --> 00:38:33.360
And, since I forgot to mention to everyone
690
00:38:33.360 --> 00:38:36.540
that the finches appear to eat anything.
691
00:38:36.540 --> 00:38:38.200
Our joke is that they eat dirt.
692
00:38:38.200 --> 00:38:40.929
When we're on the islands we think that
693
00:38:40.929 --> 00:38:45.120
they would do well in most translocated areas.
694
00:38:45.120 --> 00:38:47.320
Okay, and then the Nihoa millerbird,
695
00:38:47.320 --> 00:38:50.147
it is present on the high island of Nihoa
696
00:38:50.147 --> 00:38:53.850
and low island Laysan now, and so if we moved it
697
00:38:53.850 --> 00:38:57.050
to Lehua, we now have rats eradicated,
698
00:38:57.050 --> 00:38:59.960
we're able to control mosquitoes in that area.
699
00:38:59.960 --> 00:39:02.010
We can translocate it to Lehua
700
00:39:02.010 --> 00:39:05.660
and then it's possible that these birds could be downlisted.
701
00:39:07.210 --> 00:39:08.800
There are unknowns related to
702
00:39:08.800 --> 00:39:11.920
translocations to the main Hawaiian Islands.
703
00:39:11.920 --> 00:39:16.920
One of the main things that that we're concerned about
704
00:39:16.950 --> 00:39:20.650
is how long will it take to create safe places
705
00:39:20.650 --> 00:39:22.230
in the main Hawaiian Islands?
706
00:39:22.230 --> 00:39:24.420
We have some predator free areas,
707
00:39:24.420 --> 00:39:27.690
but we need successful mosquito control.
708
00:39:27.690 --> 00:39:32.650
Those techniques are under development right now.
709
00:39:32.650 --> 00:39:35.530
They may be available within the next five years,
710
00:39:35.530 --> 00:39:38.700
but they will be prioritized in high elevation areas
711
00:39:38.700 --> 00:39:41.610
in the main Hawaiian Islands to protect those birds.
712
00:39:41.610 --> 00:39:44.920
Like the ʻakikiki that I mentioned at first,
713
00:39:44.920 --> 00:39:48.180
those birds could be going extinct in the next five years,
714
00:39:48.180 --> 00:39:52.314
so those areas need mosquito control first.
715
00:39:52.314 --> 00:39:55.413
Another unknown is because the millerbirds,
716
00:39:56.583 --> 00:39:58.807
they're not Hawaiian honeycreepers
717
00:39:58.807 --> 00:40:01.790
and they colonized in a different manner,
718
00:40:01.790 --> 00:40:04.350
they could be resistant to avian malaria.
719
00:40:04.350 --> 00:40:07.070
So if we wanted to move millerbirds
720
00:40:07.070 --> 00:40:09.570
before mosquito control was in place,
721
00:40:09.570 --> 00:40:12.520
or we needed to, for some reason, we could do it,
722
00:40:12.520 --> 00:40:14.740
what's called a challenge experiment
723
00:40:14.740 --> 00:40:17.300
where we get a limited number of birds
724
00:40:17.300 --> 00:40:19.710
and expose them to infected mosquitoes
725
00:40:19.710 --> 00:40:23.800
and see if they show symptoms of avian malaria.
726
00:40:23.800 --> 00:40:27.140
Other things that would have to be carefully analyzed
727
00:40:27.990 --> 00:40:31.230
are indirect effects to the receiving ecosystems
728
00:40:31.230 --> 00:40:34.740
for where the birds will be translocated to,
729
00:40:34.740 --> 00:40:36.890
and then also public sentiment on this.
730
00:40:36.890 --> 00:40:39.260
Obviously we would need public support
731
00:40:39.260 --> 00:40:42.710
and we would want everyone to be behind
732
00:40:42.710 --> 00:40:44.060
any kind of translocations
733
00:40:44.060 --> 00:40:46.273
to protect these birds from extinction.
734
00:40:49.210 --> 00:40:54.210
Okay, so, the take home message is, we can recover.
735
00:40:55.040 --> 00:40:57.870
We can get to a point where we can downlist and potentially
736
00:40:57.870 --> 00:41:02.773
delist Papahānaumokuākea's endemic songbirds.
737
00:41:04.140 --> 00:41:09.080
It's going to require regular, preferably annual monitoring,
738
00:41:09.080 --> 00:41:10.460
which is no small feat
739
00:41:10.460 --> 00:41:14.530
given how far and isolated these islands are
740
00:41:14.530 --> 00:41:18.290
and how difficult it is to work in some of these locations.
741
00:41:18.290 --> 00:41:21.720
We need to identify suitable high islands,
742
00:41:21.720 --> 00:41:24.910
get to work to manage threats, remove predators,
743
00:41:24.910 --> 00:41:29.070
control mosquitoes, and then we can use translocations
744
00:41:29.070 --> 00:41:32.043
to establish populations on the safe high islands
745
00:41:32.043 --> 00:41:34.860
and suitable low islands when needed
746
00:41:34.860 --> 00:41:36.700
as is the case with the Nihoa finch
747
00:41:36.700 --> 00:41:39.793
which as you recall is still just on a single island.
748
00:41:43.550 --> 00:41:46.863
I know I talked a few times about avian malaria.
749
00:41:48.380 --> 00:41:51.180
The islands in the Monument are far for most of us,
750
00:41:51.180 --> 00:41:53.880
and it's difficult to get out there
751
00:41:53.880 --> 00:41:55.660
and to see what's happening,
752
00:41:55.660 --> 00:41:58.380
but there are things that you can do here in Hawai'i
753
00:41:58.380 --> 00:42:01.877
and that is learn more about this approach
754
00:42:04.330 --> 00:42:06.960
to control mosquitoes in the main Hawaiian Islands.
755
00:42:06.960 --> 00:42:08.490
You can go to this website,
756
00:42:08.490 --> 00:42:11.110
it's called birdsnotmosquitoes.org,
757
00:42:11.110 --> 00:42:14.360
and you can learn all about what is happening
758
00:42:14.360 --> 00:42:18.100
and how you can be involved and make this happen.
759
00:42:18.100 --> 00:42:19.800
Because if we don't make this happen,
760
00:42:19.800 --> 00:42:24.430
we're going to not only lose more of our forest birds
761
00:42:24.430 --> 00:42:26.000
in the main Hawaiian Islands,
762
00:42:26.000 --> 00:42:28.070
but we also could lose our forest birds
763
00:42:28.070 --> 00:42:30.123
in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands.
764
00:42:33.006 --> 00:42:35.420
So I just wanted to acknowledge a few people.
765
00:42:35.420 --> 00:42:38.930
Chris Farmer and Rachel Rounds are collaborators
766
00:42:38.930 --> 00:42:40.470
on all of this work
767
00:42:40.470 --> 00:42:42.260
in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands.
768
00:42:42.260 --> 00:42:44.980
Sheila Conant, who was my PhD advisor,
769
00:42:44.980 --> 00:42:48.370
provided information on the historical translocations.
770
00:42:48.370 --> 00:42:51.080
Megan Laut at US Fish and Wildlife Service
771
00:42:51.080 --> 00:42:53.770
provided draft recovery criteria.
772
00:42:53.770 --> 00:42:57.370
Amanda Boyd and James Kwon provided the data
773
00:42:57.370 --> 00:42:59.890
from Pearl and Hermes in 2018.
774
00:42:59.890 --> 00:43:02.710
We didn't have any data from Pearl and Hermes
775
00:43:02.710 --> 00:43:05.550
for like a decade, I think it was.
776
00:43:05.550 --> 00:43:07.250
No, it was actually over a decade.
777
00:43:08.090 --> 00:43:09.800
Beth Flint and Holly Freifeld
778
00:43:09.800 --> 00:43:12.090
helped with background information.
779
00:43:12.090 --> 00:43:15.580
and then I wanna thank Jared, Kate, Dan and Amanda
780
00:43:15.580 --> 00:43:17.970
for support with all of this work,
781
00:43:17.970 --> 00:43:20.663
behind the scenes support and logistical support.
782
00:43:22.390 --> 00:43:23.312
Then with that,
783
00:43:23.312 --> 00:43:26.523
I wanna answer any questions anybody has.
784
00:43:28.260 --> 00:43:29.670
Great, thank you so much
785
00:43:29.670 --> 00:43:32.440
for that insightful presentation.
786
00:43:32.440 --> 00:43:35.923
I apologize, this is Justin, but my camera doesn't work,
787
00:43:36.818 --> 00:43:37.900
but as long as you can hear me,
788
00:43:37.900 --> 00:43:40.740
I'll start with a more general question.
789
00:43:40.740 --> 00:43:43.140
Are there any volunteer or potential jobs
790
00:43:43.140 --> 00:43:45.943
in relation to the translocation projects?
791
00:43:47.257 --> 00:43:48.090
Yes.
792
00:43:49.080 --> 00:43:52.970
If you are interested contact me and I will let you know.
793
00:43:52.970 --> 00:43:55.950
We don't have anything that we're planning right now
794
00:43:55.950 --> 00:44:00.950
for our Nihoa translocation, but I mean,
795
00:44:01.007 --> 00:44:03.130
the first thing we need to tackle
796
00:44:03.130 --> 00:44:04.810
is some of the compliance work.
797
00:44:04.810 --> 00:44:07.830
We need to get the translocation out of our heads
798
00:44:07.830 --> 00:44:10.990
and written on paper and then the NEPA,
799
00:44:10.990 --> 00:44:12.860
which I'm sure this person who's asking this question
800
00:44:12.860 --> 00:44:15.480
does not wanna write our NEPA document,
801
00:44:15.480 --> 00:44:17.053
but we need help with that.
802
00:44:18.520 --> 00:44:22.133
But yeah, if anyone wants to be involved, let me know.
803
00:44:24.370 --> 00:44:26.980
We're doing two trips a year to Nihoa right now
804
00:44:26.980 --> 00:44:31.686
to control cenchrus, which is an invasive grass.
805
00:44:31.686 --> 00:44:34.910
We often have a hard time finding people to come.
806
00:44:34.910 --> 00:44:37.723
So if you're interested in that, just let me know.
807
00:44:40.870 --> 00:44:44.727
And billy goat, you forgot to mention that part.
808
00:44:45.638 --> 00:44:47.483
Say that again?
809
00:44:47.483 --> 00:44:49.440
And to be part billy goat.
810
00:44:55.250 --> 00:45:00.180
And to love the idea of ramming a Zodiac onto the rocks
811
00:45:00.180 --> 00:45:02.590
in between waves and jumping off the island,
812
00:45:02.590 --> 00:45:04.403
because that's how the landing is.
813
00:45:06.887 --> 00:45:09.713
Let's see. One question we have here is,
814
00:45:10.850 --> 00:45:12.980
are there any concerns about competition
815
00:45:12.980 --> 00:45:15.150
with main Hawaiian Islands species
816
00:45:15.150 --> 00:45:17.450
being stressed by any of these translocations?
817
00:45:19.290 --> 00:45:20.810
That's a great question,
818
00:45:20.810 --> 00:45:23.890
and that is something that we're more concerned about
819
00:45:23.890 --> 00:45:27.313
when we talk about translocating honeycreepers
820
00:45:28.840 --> 00:45:31.870
in the main islands from say, like Hawai'i
821
00:45:31.870 --> 00:45:35.673
to the Big Island, that would be more of a concern there,
822
00:45:35.673 --> 00:45:38.780
and the reason it's not so much of a concern
823
00:45:38.780 --> 00:45:42.100
for the birds in Papahānaumokuākea
824
00:45:42.100 --> 00:45:44.030
is because those birds are gonna be going to
825
00:45:44.030 --> 00:45:45.860
coastal lowland sites
826
00:45:45.860 --> 00:45:50.730
where we have no native songbirds left anywhere really,
827
00:45:50.730 --> 00:45:55.080
except for maybe a couple of places around the Big Island
828
00:45:55.080 --> 00:45:56.860
where there might be some 'apapane,
829
00:45:56.860 --> 00:46:00.010
But we have no birds left, and it's comical.
830
00:46:00.010 --> 00:46:01.510
As we talk about this,
831
00:46:01.510 --> 00:46:05.460
I'm watching this bulbul hunt on my lanai,
832
00:46:05.460 --> 00:46:08.415
so it would not be an issue into the lowlands.
833
00:46:08.415 --> 00:46:10.646
I have this vision that,
834
00:46:10.646 --> 00:46:13.560
and I'm sure it's shared by a lot of people,
835
00:46:13.560 --> 00:46:15.800
once we're able to control mosquitoes,
836
00:46:15.800 --> 00:46:18.150
we might have some of our native birds,
837
00:46:18.150 --> 00:46:19.614
the few that are left,
838
00:46:19.614 --> 00:46:21.740
they might be able to come down
839
00:46:21.740 --> 00:46:23.840
from these high elevations where they're stuck,
840
00:46:23.840 --> 00:46:26.730
because that's the only place there's no mosquitoes.
841
00:46:26.730 --> 00:46:28.700
So, once mosquitoes are controlled,
842
00:46:28.700 --> 00:46:31.120
we're hoping they can expand their range
843
00:46:31.120 --> 00:46:33.320
down to lower elevation sites,
844
00:46:33.320 --> 00:46:36.450
and that would be as someone who's lived here,
845
00:46:36.450 --> 00:46:37.950
20-something years,
846
00:46:37.950 --> 00:46:41.100
I can't tell you how amazing it would be
847
00:46:41.100 --> 00:46:45.933
to see a 'apapane on my lanai instead of a bulbul.
848
00:46:49.324 --> 00:46:51.760
Sheldon, is it okay, you had mentioned
849
00:46:51.760 --> 00:46:53.160
people should contact you
850
00:46:53.160 --> 00:46:55.490
about the volunteering and other stuff.
851
00:46:55.490 --> 00:46:58.170
Is it okay for us to post your email here in the chat?
852
00:46:58.170 --> 00:46:59.370
Yeah, you can do it.
853
00:46:59.370 --> 00:47:01.127
Post my official Fish and Wildlife Service email,
854
00:47:01.127 --> 00:47:02.963
and you can find it online.
855
00:47:04.220 --> 00:47:05.053
Okay, great.
856
00:47:05.053 --> 00:47:07.950
The next question is, well, first of all,
857
00:47:07.950 --> 00:47:10.980
great presentation and information, thank you.
858
00:47:10.980 --> 00:47:12.413
Are there chances of protecting
859
00:47:12.413 --> 00:47:15.633
some of the named species without relocation?
860
00:47:17.100 --> 00:47:21.803
Yeah, so right now, if those species,
861
00:47:22.851 --> 00:47:26.870
a species like Nihoa finch is just on Nihoa,
862
00:47:26.870 --> 00:47:28.910
so we're basically could be,
863
00:47:28.910 --> 00:47:31.967
we are one rat introduction
864
00:47:31.967 --> 00:47:35.400
or one yellow crazy ant introduction away
865
00:47:35.400 --> 00:47:37.593
from losing everything on that island.
866
00:47:40.060 --> 00:47:44.100
We're up there every year and we hope that we would see
867
00:47:44.100 --> 00:47:45.300
something like that and we have
868
00:47:45.300 --> 00:47:50.300
biosecurity protocols in place, but ants are easy to miss,
869
00:47:51.410 --> 00:47:55.040
and also the storm, just stochastic events,
870
00:47:55.040 --> 00:47:59.240
having all your eggs, literally in one basket on Nihoa
871
00:47:59.240 --> 00:48:02.760
is definitely not a way to recover that species.
872
00:48:02.760 --> 00:48:05.680
It's going to need to be translocated,
873
00:48:05.680 --> 00:48:09.450
to increase the population and the range so that we can
874
00:48:09.450 --> 00:48:12.430
reduce extinction risks for those species.
875
00:48:12.430 --> 00:48:14.934
And unfortunately, the only high islands
876
00:48:14.934 --> 00:48:17.970
in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands
877
00:48:17.970 --> 00:48:20.480
are Nihoa and Mokumanamana.
878
00:48:20.480 --> 00:48:25.480
So given that the current projected climate change models
879
00:48:25.570 --> 00:48:27.770
that we're all aware of, and I know
880
00:48:27.770 --> 00:48:29.863
that Dan gave a talk last month,
881
00:48:31.270 --> 00:48:32.850
those islands are gonna be underwater.
882
00:48:32.850 --> 00:48:37.010
Pearl and. Hermes is pretty much barely habitable right now
883
00:48:38.149 --> 00:48:40.410
and Laysan's gonna get there sometime in the future.
884
00:48:40.410 --> 00:48:42.930
It might be a hundred years, it might be 200 years,
885
00:48:42.930 --> 00:48:44.663
but it's gonna happen.
886
00:48:47.300 --> 00:48:50.330
Yeah, and kind of relation to the mosquito issue.
887
00:48:50.330 --> 00:48:52.450
There's a few questions around
888
00:48:53.380 --> 00:48:56.330
what are the mosquito control procedures?
889
00:48:56.330 --> 00:48:59.900
And then there's another question about this whole project
890
00:48:59.900 --> 00:49:04.580
to genetically modify mosquitoes, to make them sterile,
891
00:49:04.580 --> 00:49:07.020
or they introduced sterile males.
892
00:49:07.020 --> 00:49:08.830
So if you could talk a little bit about that problem,
893
00:49:08.830 --> 00:49:11.360
I think there was mosquito control procedures
894
00:49:11.360 --> 00:49:13.610
was related to lehua and then maybe the other
895
00:49:13.610 --> 00:49:16.190
ones related to the main Hawaiian Islands.
896
00:49:16.190 --> 00:49:17.023
Okay.
897
00:49:17.023 --> 00:49:18.960
So the mosquito control technology
898
00:49:18.960 --> 00:49:23.490
that's being worked on now is not genetic modification.
899
00:49:23.490 --> 00:49:27.140
It's using a naturally occurring bacteria called wolbachia
900
00:49:27.140 --> 00:49:29.920
that is present like we have a bunch of bacteria,
901
00:49:29.920 --> 00:49:33.730
different species of bacteria in the us, mosquitoes do too,
902
00:49:33.730 --> 00:49:38.200
and if you introduce a different bacteria into mosquitoes,
903
00:49:38.200 --> 00:49:39.870
then it can make them sterile,
904
00:49:39.870 --> 00:49:42.540
and so that is what ha what's happening now.
905
00:49:42.540 --> 00:49:45.650
So we have a bunch of different mosquitoes
906
00:49:45.650 --> 00:49:47.050
in the main Hawaiian Islands.
907
00:49:47.050 --> 00:49:49.000
All of them are introduced.
908
00:49:49.000 --> 00:49:50.450
We have no native mosquitoes,
909
00:49:50.450 --> 00:49:53.460
just like we have no native ant species.
910
00:49:53.460 --> 00:49:56.900
So, the one mosquito that is spreading avian malaria
911
00:49:56.900 --> 00:50:00.543
is called Culex quinquefasciatus, and so,
912
00:50:02.085 --> 00:50:06.130
the scientists that are working in the mosquito lab
913
00:50:06.130 --> 00:50:09.350
are just introducing this other wolbachia,
914
00:50:09.350 --> 00:50:12.000
this other strain of wolbachia to the mosquitoes
915
00:50:12.000 --> 00:50:13.610
that would make them sterile.
916
00:50:13.610 --> 00:50:17.260
So the idea would be to release males
917
00:50:17.260 --> 00:50:20.470
in the areas where we wanted to do mosquito control.
918
00:50:20.470 --> 00:50:22.260
They would mate with females
919
00:50:22.260 --> 00:50:27.000
and would not produce viable offspring.
920
00:50:27.000 --> 00:50:28.373
So that's the idea.
921
00:50:30.710 --> 00:50:32.020
It's gonna take a lot of work
922
00:50:32.020 --> 00:50:34.280
and there's a chance it might not even work,
923
00:50:34.280 --> 00:50:37.270
which is super scary because we don't have a lot of
924
00:50:37.270 --> 00:50:39.580
different options for mosquito control.
925
00:50:39.580 --> 00:50:41.840
Obviously spraying them with pesticides
926
00:50:41.840 --> 00:50:43.650
and things like that is not an option,
927
00:50:43.650 --> 00:50:44.890
but this is a way
928
00:50:44.890 --> 00:50:47.590
where you would not have to spray any pesticides.
929
00:50:47.590 --> 00:50:48.490
You would not be putting
930
00:50:48.490 --> 00:50:50.170
anything harmful into the environment.
931
00:50:50.170 --> 00:50:53.883
So it's the best option we have right now.
932
00:50:56.760 --> 00:51:00.110
Okay. This one goes a little different direction.
933
00:51:00.110 --> 00:51:02.970
How distinct are the two finches genetically,
934
00:51:02.970 --> 00:51:05.580
is that known and how about compared to
935
00:51:05.580 --> 00:51:07.860
the main Hawaiian island species
936
00:51:07.860 --> 00:51:09.300
and then related to that...
937
00:51:09.300 --> 00:51:12.120
Well, I'll stop there, that's probably enough.
938
00:51:12.120 --> 00:51:12.953
That's a good question,
939
00:51:12.953 --> 00:51:14.880
and I don't know the answer to that.
940
00:51:14.880 --> 00:51:19.880
I know that I think the two finches look very similar,
941
00:51:20.420 --> 00:51:24.290
and so I am guessing that they're closely related,
942
00:51:24.290 --> 00:51:26.730
but I don't know if, if there have,
943
00:51:26.730 --> 00:51:28.575
I don't think there's been genetics done
944
00:51:28.575 --> 00:51:30.330
looking at the differences.
945
00:51:30.330 --> 00:51:32.205
I know for the millerbirds,
946
00:51:32.205 --> 00:51:35.270
the Laysan millerbird and the Nihoa millerbird
947
00:51:35.270 --> 00:51:37.860
were subspecies, so they're the same species,
948
00:51:37.860 --> 00:51:39.680
but were split out to subspecies,
949
00:51:39.680 --> 00:51:41.640
but there had been some argument
950
00:51:41.640 --> 00:51:43.830
that they should be a full species.
951
00:51:43.830 --> 00:51:47.750
So I guess my answer to that is they're closely related,
952
00:51:47.750 --> 00:51:52.282
but how closely, I should not be talking about
953
00:51:52.282 --> 00:51:53.623
because I don't really know.
954
00:51:54.900 --> 00:51:56.030
Awesome.
955
00:51:56.030 --> 00:51:59.208
Now, I'll just take two more questions.
956
00:51:59.208 --> 00:52:01.001
So, looks like a friend of yours, Kiefer,
957
00:52:01.001 --> 00:52:05.092
asks if there's any captive breeding,
958
00:52:05.092 --> 00:52:10.092
any bird captivity and safely reproduce,
959
00:52:10.560 --> 00:52:13.287
or I guess so any captive breeding programs
960
00:52:13.287 --> 00:52:15.730
and are they able to reproduce?
961
00:52:15.730 --> 00:52:19.590
Yeah, so the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands,
962
00:52:19.590 --> 00:52:22.850
because their populations are relatively stable,
963
00:52:22.850 --> 00:52:25.134
but they are at risk, we don't have any
964
00:52:25.134 --> 00:52:30.134
captive breeding projects happening with them.
965
00:52:30.470 --> 00:52:32.650
For the birds in the main Hawaiian Islands,
966
00:52:32.650 --> 00:52:35.520
like the Kiwikiu or Maui Parrotbill,
967
00:52:35.520 --> 00:52:39.830
or the ʻakikiki also called the Kauaʻi creeper
968
00:52:39.830 --> 00:52:44.830
or the ʻakekeʻe those birds are probably going to disappear
969
00:52:47.300 --> 00:52:49.650
within the next five years unless we do something about it,
970
00:52:49.650 --> 00:52:54.650
and so there is a move towards deciding which birds
971
00:52:56.070 --> 00:52:59.350
and how many we want to get in captive breeding.
972
00:52:59.350 --> 00:53:01.460
If there are some present in captive breeding,
973
00:53:01.460 --> 00:53:05.160
like ʻakikiki has some, if we want to expand,
974
00:53:05.160 --> 00:53:07.810
but unfortunately, a bird like the 'akeke'e,
975
00:53:07.810 --> 00:53:10.420
which I know is not a topic of this of this talk,
976
00:53:10.420 --> 00:53:12.000
but feel free to look it up.
977
00:53:12.000 --> 00:53:15.940
It's one of those weird birds that's not super territorial.
978
00:53:15.940 --> 00:53:17.900
It has flocking behavior,
979
00:53:17.900 --> 00:53:20.370
and so it hasn't done well in captivity,
980
00:53:20.370 --> 00:53:23.154
and so captivity is not an option for that bird,
981
00:53:23.154 --> 00:53:26.660
really translocation to some suitable habitat
982
00:53:26.660 --> 00:53:30.263
on the Big Island might be the only hope for that bird.
983
00:53:32.900 --> 00:53:35.760
Okay, and I'm gonna end with a question
984
00:53:35.760 --> 00:53:38.010
I know has a little bit of a happy answer to it.
985
00:53:38.010 --> 00:53:40.360
What does Laysan island or Kauō
986
00:53:40.360 --> 00:53:43.590
look like now after the historical habitat destruction?
987
00:53:43.590 --> 00:53:46.220
Does it have a functioning ecosystem?
988
00:53:46.220 --> 00:53:47.360
That is a great question,
989
00:53:47.360 --> 00:53:49.770
and of course probably would depend
990
00:53:49.770 --> 00:53:53.973
on who you talk to because ecosystem restoration
991
00:53:56.861 --> 00:53:59.610
assumes that you understood
992
00:53:59.610 --> 00:54:04.240
how that ecosystem functioned prior to the perturbation.
993
00:54:04.240 --> 00:54:08.250
So we don't really understand how Laysan's ecosystem
994
00:54:08.250 --> 00:54:11.010
was functioning prior to the 1800s.
995
00:54:11.010 --> 00:54:13.440
We don't even know what native insects were lost,
996
00:54:13.440 --> 00:54:15.853
we don't even know what native plants were lost,
997
00:54:16.760 --> 00:54:21.760
but I can tell you that there that Laysan is amazing.
998
00:54:21.880 --> 00:54:24.320
It's dominated by native species.
999
00:54:24.320 --> 00:54:28.770
Yes, it is missing whatever has fallen extinct,
1000
00:54:28.770 --> 00:54:33.380
but we are translocating not only birds there.
1001
00:54:33.380 --> 00:54:36.010
Fish and Wildlife Service has translated some,
1002
00:54:36.010 --> 00:54:39.020
some Pritchardia remota or Loulu back there,
1003
00:54:39.020 --> 00:54:40.790
and some other plant species,
1004
00:54:40.790 --> 00:54:42.490
and the millerbird is doing well.
1005
00:54:42.490 --> 00:54:45.000
So we are making steps in the right direction,
1006
00:54:45.000 --> 00:54:50.000
at Laysan, but we'll never have it functioning
1007
00:54:51.570 --> 00:54:52.980
the way it was functioning
1008
00:54:52.980 --> 00:54:56.370
prior to all of that resource exploitation
1009
00:54:56.370 --> 00:54:58.930
in the late 1800s and early 1900s.
1010
00:54:58.930 --> 00:55:00.870
But Andy, sorry, that's a negative.
1011
00:55:00.870 --> 00:55:02.931
It is beautiful and amazing now
1012
00:55:02.931 --> 00:55:07.931
and filled with life and native plants and animals.
1013
00:55:10.210 --> 00:55:11.253
Great. Thank you.
1014
00:55:12.260 --> 00:55:13.650
A good thing to remember.
1015
00:55:13.650 --> 00:55:16.930
Laysan is certainly a quote unquote "hope spot"
1016
00:55:16.930 --> 00:55:20.410
for a restoration in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands,
1017
00:55:20.410 --> 00:55:23.751
such incredible work over decades and decades,
1018
00:55:23.751 --> 00:55:27.610
just to restore the native vegetation to that island
1019
00:55:27.610 --> 00:55:29.810
is absolutely phenomenal.
1020
00:55:29.810 --> 00:55:33.740
The successes there have been just amazing.
1021
00:55:33.740 --> 00:55:36.400
So mahalo, mahalo, mahalo Sheldon.
1022
00:55:36.400 --> 00:55:38.250
That was a wonderful talk.
1023
00:55:38.250 --> 00:55:42.047
Thank you so much and great questions everybody.
1024
00:55:42.047 --> 00:55:46.710
We had 147 people listening in on our talk
1025
00:55:46.710 --> 00:55:51.020
and I am going to share a few closing slides
1026
00:55:51.920 --> 00:55:53.010
before we end it,
1027
00:55:53.010 --> 00:55:56.573
but thank you so much for your talk.
1028
00:55:57.470 --> 00:56:01.530
So this webinar was recorded
1029
00:56:01.530 --> 00:56:04.850
and it will be posted to our archive site,
1030
00:56:04.850 --> 00:56:08.450
and that's the one that's the URL right there,
1031
00:56:08.450 --> 00:56:10.360
the website for that.
1032
00:56:10.360 --> 00:56:13.720
But if you just type in ONMS webinars
1033
00:56:13.720 --> 00:56:17.570
O, M, N, S, webinar, that'll take you to it.
1034
00:56:17.570 --> 00:56:19.480
We have, oh gosh, I don't know,
1035
00:56:19.480 --> 00:56:23.260
we've done 15 or so of these during the pandemic,
1036
00:56:23.260 --> 00:56:26.780
you could practically take a course in Papahānaumokuākea
1037
00:56:26.780 --> 00:56:28.830
by watching all those wonderful talks
1038
00:56:28.830 --> 00:56:30.480
from so many different presenters.
1039
00:56:30.480 --> 00:56:33.680
So please check it out and we'll have this one up there
1040
00:56:33.680 --> 00:56:35.652
within about a week and a half.
1041
00:56:35.652 --> 00:56:40.040
We have to, for the Americans with Disabilities Act,
1042
00:56:40.040 --> 00:56:41.490
we have to caption it
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00:56:41.490 --> 00:56:45.214
so that everybody can enjoy it, but it takes a little time.
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00:56:45.214 --> 00:56:47.870
You will get a certificate of attendance
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00:56:47.870 --> 00:56:49.010
from attending this,
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00:56:49.010 --> 00:56:51.620
it's for one hour of professional development,
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00:56:51.620 --> 00:56:54.653
and you'll have that in your email by tomorrow.
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00:56:55.565 --> 00:56:59.850
We also have our next webinar in October.
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00:56:59.850 --> 00:57:03.690
This kind of focuses a good segue from Sheldon's talk
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00:57:03.690 --> 00:57:08.550
because they've done some translocations of Laysan ducks
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00:57:08.550 --> 00:57:10.700
to Kure Atoll, and so,
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00:57:10.700 --> 00:57:13.110
we have Cynthia Vanderlip and the State of Hawai'i
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00:57:13.110 --> 00:57:15.210
Division of Forestry and Wildlife.
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00:57:15.210 --> 00:57:18.840
She's the Kure Biological Field Station Supervisor,
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00:57:18.840 --> 00:57:21.210
and it's been, gosh, she's been working up there for,
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00:57:21.210 --> 00:57:24.416
I don't know, 30, 40 years, a long time.
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00:57:24.416 --> 00:57:29.120
So she will talk about Kure Atoll Seabird Sanctuary.
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00:57:29.120 --> 00:57:32.657
You will see an email for this advertising this pretty soon,
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00:57:32.657 --> 00:57:35.370
but that's next month, October 21st.
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00:57:35.370 --> 00:57:37.660
So hopefully we can see you there
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00:57:37.660 --> 00:57:39.860
and don't forget to take the survey.
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00:57:39.860 --> 00:57:42.800
We wanna know what we can do better,
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00:57:42.800 --> 00:57:44.300
what you liked, what you didn't like,
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00:57:44.300 --> 00:57:48.170
and if we can offer any other kinds of presentation,
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00:57:48.170 --> 00:57:51.380
that might be more of interest to you, please let us know.
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00:57:51.380 --> 00:57:53.130
That's how we justify these programs,
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00:57:53.130 --> 00:57:55.359
so please fill that out,
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00:57:55.359 --> 00:57:58.610
and with that, mahalo, go forth, have a wonderful day,
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00:57:58.610 --> 00:57:59.740
be safe out there,
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00:57:59.740 --> 00:58:02.183
and thank you so much for joining us today.