Hawai‘i's reservoirs face increasing scrutiny due to heightened dam safety and flood control concerns, growing water demands, and uncertain water pollution effects. To promote long-term reservoir sustainability, it is vital that we improve our understanding of reservoir capacity. Because many of Hawai‘i's reservoirs are privately owned and unmonitored, the state of Hawai‘i lacks data on actual reservoir capacity. To conduct a statewide survey of reservoir capacity, we (1) collected, organized, and analyzed existing physical data characterizing reservoir capacity in the five main Hawaiian Islands; (2) interviewed reservoir managers throughout the state to assess current knowledge of reservoir capacity and its loss due to sedimentation; and (3) analyzed images to estimate available capacity and sedimentation. Results show that sedimentation is a serious concern for managers and is rarely measured and poorly documented. Approximately 79% of the total capacity of Hawai‘i's reservoirs are currently in use, and 40% of reservoirs (representing 24% of total capacity) are affected by sedimentation. Of these reservoirs, 60% are less than 1.23 million m³ (1,000 ac-ft) in size. Lack of maintenance for sediment is especially common in privately owned reservoirs. In the face of changing land use, reservoirs could be adapted for more appropriate uses in Hawai‘i, including flood control, hydropower, and recreation. Reservoir maintenance, including assessment and removal of sediments, is a critical consideration for proper stewardship of Hawai‘i's abundant water resources.

The blue shark, Prionace glauca (L.), is one of the most abundant pelagic sharks, and determining their feeding habits is important for understanding the ocean ecosystem. Generally, stomach contents analysis has been used to evaluate its feeding habits; however simply analyzing stomach contents reveals short-term feeding habits. In this study, we examined feeding habits of blue sharks in the Northwestern Pacific based on results of both stomach contents and stable isotope analyses. The most dominant species and taxonomic group in the stomach were identified as anchovy and Oegopsida species, respectively.Mean δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N values of blue sharks were 18.5‰ and 12.1‰, respectively, which were higher than those of the prey items. Estimated proportional distribution of prey species varied according to discrimination factors used for stable carbon and nitrogen isotope ratios. Proportion of neritic or mesopelagic nekton, such as anchovy and lanternfish, was higher than that of other prey items including squids. We conclude that blue sharks capture prey ranging from neritic to mesopelagic animals through diel vertical migration.

Biotic and abiotic factors determine presence and habitat use pattern of individuals within a population. In this study, presence, behavior, and resighting patterns of transient bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) were evaluated in relation to upwelling and downwelling events in a marine reserve in North-Central Chile, between 2005 and 2009. The study period was divided into four phases according to wind direction and intensity: upwelling-favorable (UF), transition I (TI), convergence (Cv) or downwelling, and transition II (TII). Results show that transient bottlenose dolphins are an open population with low resighting rates. Highest occurrence and a largest number of transient dolphins were identified during 2009, probably due to an increase in prey availability. The most frequent behavior observed was traveling, followed by feeding and socializing. Traveling was mainly recorded in individuals seen only once and in years with low productivity. In contrast, feeding was observed in individuals seen two or more times, was similar among phases, and was more frequent in moreproductive years. Social behavior was associated with the highest resighting rates. This study documents how transient bottlenose dolphins use the area based on their resighting patterns and suggests that periods of upwelling and downwelling modulate behavior displayed by these dolphins within the area.

When introduced to exotic ecosystems, feral cats can inflict irreversible harm on native fauna. This is especially true in insular ecosystems because endemic vertebrate species often lack predator defenses. Feral cat control programs have been implemented on islands throughout the world with varied success. Effective and responsible management of pest populations requires knowledge of the impact of control actions. Here, we examine a feral cat control program created for the protection of the critically endangered Mariana crow on Rota Island in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. We apply a discrete form of the Schaefer model to a 29-month time series of removal data. We use a negative log likelihood framework to determine maximum likelihood parameter estimates and Akaike's Information Criterion for small sample size (AIC_c) analysis to determine the best-fitting model. The model indicated that the removal program on Rota initially reduced cat abundance from an estimated 1,218 to 952 individuals within the first 18 months and then maintained the population near 1,000 individuals for the following 11 months. Given the current level of available funds, we suggest that application of uniform island-wide hunting effort may not be the optimal strategy to maximize crow protection; rather, we suggest a multifaceted, targeted approach focused on areas of high crow activity.

Nonnative invasive herbivores can create complex biotic interactions by differentially feeding on native and nonnative invasive plant species. The herbivores may act as enemies of nonnative plants and prevent them from becoming invasive, or they may facilitate invasion by having a greater negative impact on native plants compared with nonnative plants. It is also possible that within the same ecosystem nonnative herbivores could either facilitate or inhibit invasion under different abiotic or biotic conditions. In this study we experimentally investigated how abiotic (soil nutrients) and biotic (propagule density) conditions influence the effect of invasive generalist herbivores on Senecio madagascariensis, an invasive plant species in Hawaiian dry forest plant communities. We used fenced exclosures to manipulate presence or absence of invasive ungulates (feral goats and sheep), and we used seed addition to manipulate propagule supply of S. madagascariensis. The experiment was replicated in a recently burned and an unburned site to examine how a resource pulse following fire may alter plant-herbivore interactions. There were very few seeds of S. madagascariensis in the seed rain of both sites, and recruitment was four times higher when seeds were experimentally added, suggesting that S. madagascariensis is dispersal limited in this area. Recruitment of S. madagascariensis was five times higher in the burned site compared to the unburned site, suggesting that increased resources promote recruitment. Recruitment was three times higher when herbivores were present compared to when they were excluded, but plants were much smaller when herbivores were present. We conclude that herbivores can alter S. madagascariensis recruitment, even during dry conditions, and that propagule availability influences where S. madagascariensis can become established.

We used roadside surveys to examine abundance trends and spatial patterns for 11 terrestrial bird species from 1991 to 2010 on Saipan, Northern Mariana Islands. Relative abundances of the White-throated Ground-Dove, Mariana Fruit-Dove, Collared Kingfisher, Micronesian Starling, and Micronesian Myzomela all increased during the study period. Abundances of the Golden White-eye and Rufous Fantail followed a curvilinear trend that increased during the first half of the survey period (1991–2000) and decreased in the second half (2001–2010). Abundances of the remaining species (Island Collared-Dove, Bridled White-eye, Nightingale Reed-Warbler, and Eurasian Tree Sparrow) showed no significant trends. The most numerous species (over 40 individuals detected per survey), in decreasing order of abundance, were the Bridled Whiteeye, Rufous Fantail, Golden White-eye, Micronesian Starling, and Micronesian Myzomela. The total abundance of birds increased on average by 0.27 birds per year, per survey station, island-wide. Three stations out of 47 (6.4%) recorded a significant loss of total birds over the time period, and bird numbers increased significantly at only one station (2.1%). Stations at which we detected declines were clustered in the northern, less-populated, region of Saipan. We explored the relationship between typhoon frequency/severity and bird abundance to explain trend patterns but found no significant correlation. We suggest ways to improve roadside surveys as a management tool to aid in detecting avian declines that are of conservation concern.

Nonmarine mollusks recovered during archaeological excavations on the island of Mo‘orea, Society Islands, French Polynesia, were analyzed as part of a multidisciplinary study of anthropogenic environmental change. Records of now-extinct taxa in dated archaeological contexts were combined with historic collection data from the 1830s to the present to determine the chronology of extinction of the 10 species of land snails of the family Endodontidae that formerly inhabited the island. One species known only from a stratum antedating human settlement on the island and three known only archaeologically but from imprecisely dated strata were certainly extinct by the late nineteenth century but may have disappeared earlier. One species collected in 1838 was extinct by the late nineteenth century, and all of the described endodontid species present in the mid- to late nineteenth century are undoubtedly now extinct because none was collected by the 1934 Mangarevan Expedition or by subsequent collectors. Only a single unidentified living endodontid has been observed on Mo‘orea since the nineteenth century. Additional extinctions or extirpations have occurred among the Helicarionidae, terrestrial Assimineidae, and probably also in the Helicinidae. Four new species of Endodontidae are described: Libera kondoi, Minidonta opunohua, Nesodiscus nummus, and N. cookei. Libera jacquinoti, described in 1850 from poorly localized material and until now not collected subsequently, is shown to have inhabited Mo‘orea.

Six primnoid species are reported from depths of 280–480 m from the southern Emperor Seamounts, including two new species (Callogorgia imperialis and Thouarella taylorae). Only the new species are fully described and illustrated. Also, Callogorgia elegans, which has a confused taxonomic history, is discussed and illustrated. Not unexpectedly, the Emperor Seamount primnoids have a strong affinity with the fauna of the Hawaiian Islands, an affinity that is expected to increase as more collecting is done in the region.

Myripristis chryseres Jordan & Evermann, 1903, is recorded for the first time in the Easter Island Ecoregion. Two specimens were observed swimming along a rock cliff and entering a cavern at ∼163 m depth near the peak of Pukao seamount, located ∼85 km (46 nm) west of Easter Island. This report expands the geographic range of M. chryseres eastward by ∼3,800 km and is the first report of the species for the eastern Pacific. It is unclear whether this new record is indicative of a relatively recent range expansion or a lack of visual surveys in the region, which are especially important for surveying fishes that are less likely to be caught by line and trawls because of their behavior and the complex rocky habitats in which they live.

One of many ecosystem services essential to land management is carbon regulation, but presence of invasive species can influence carbon (C) in undesirable ways. Here we discuss early results of C accumulation from the Liko Nā Pilina hybrid wet forest restoration experiment. The focus of our project is to deliberately increase C storage through a functional trait-based approach to restoration. By choosing plant species mixes with specific functional trait values, a novel ecosystem can be assembled that supports desired ecosystem services such as C regulation. We designed species mixtures based on species rate of C turnover (slow or moderate) and their position in trait space (complementary or redundant functional trait values). New species mixes were planted as four treatments (Slow Redundant, Slow Complementary, Moderate Redundant, and Moderate Complementary), with an additional unmanaged Reference treatment. Our objective was to compare C in aboveground woody biomass using allometric equations to determine which mixture had the greatest potential for site restoration, balancing carbon storage with the eventual goal of creating forests better able to resist establishment by invasion species. Initially, we predicted the Moderate Complementary treatment would have increased C storage. However, we found that the Moderate Redundant treatment had the greatest C storage, largely driven by a few fast-growing species during early development. Even though our short-term results did not support our experimental prediction, these data serve as an important benchmark for contrasting with later results when ecological succession might favor complementary species mixes for sustainable biomass productivity and decreased management efforts.