Schimmel/Conrades Science Center 163

“Endemics, Invasives, and Volcanoes: My (Very Small) Contribution to the Struggle to Save Hawaii's Native Birds”

Dustin Reichard is an Assistant Professor of Zoology at Ohio Wesleyan University.

Over the past 200 years, Hawaii's native birds have been rapidly declining due introduced diseases, predators, and avian competitors that were brought to the islands by humans. In the summer of 2016, Dr. Reichard traveled to the island of Hawaii for two weeks to assist with a new research project focusing on the conservation of the Amakihi, a small songbird species found only in Hawaii.  In this seminar, he will review some of the history of Hawaii's native birds including our notable successes and failures at saving these unique species from extinction. He will also discuss some current research being conducted on the islands with a particular emphasis on what we can learn from focusing on the Amakihi.