Hawaii Volcanoes National Park Measurements of Hawaii Elepaio Nest Trees and Surveyed Trees 1993-1994 and 2015-2019

Publication Date

2021-09-20

Start Date

1993

End Date

2019

Jaenecke, K.A., Banko, P.C., Peck, R.W., Sarr, Z. and Shema, N., 2021, Hawaii Volcanoes National Park Forest Composition and Hawaii Elepaio Breeding Behavior 1993-1994 and 2015-2019: U.S. Geological Survey data release, https://doi.org/10.5066/P9705MJ3.

Type: Related Primary Publication

Long-term ecological studies are valuable for detecting changes over time. We compared forest composition and Hawaii elepaio (Chasiempis sandwichensis) nesting behavior over a 25-year period in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park (HAVO). Both forest composition and elepaio nest tree characteristics changed over time, suggesting a response to habitat restoration efforts. In 1993–1994, Sarr et al. (1998) studied Hawaii elepaio nest site selection, territory size, and forest structure in mesic montane forest recovering from ungulate damage along Mauna Loa Road in HAVO. We used similar methods at the same site in 2016 to compare nest site selection (tree species, tree and nest height) and map territories held by nesting pairs. In 2019, we repeated the same point-center-quarter method to quantify forest composition (tree density, relative abundance, height, and DBH). Our results suggest that changes in forest structure may affect nesting behavior, but in ways that are not necessarily simple or consistent. Sarr, Z., N. P. Shema, and C. P. Stone (1998). Nesting Success and Population Status of the 'elepaio (Chasiempis sandwichensis) in the Mauna Loa Strip Section of Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park. PCSU Tech Report, 118.

• Pacific Island Ecosystems Research Center

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