2015 — Maui Invasive Species Committee (MISC)

Deck your hall with boughs of locally harvested plants

Posted on February 10, 2016 by Lissa Strohecker

Join the Friends of Haleakalā for their annual pine pull – a chance to remove invasives and take home some locally harvested holiday greenery. Photo by Matt Wordeman.

Friends' 2014 pine pull - down the hill - Matt wordeman

Collecting pine trees Maui style. Though the snow may be lacking it still warms the heart. Photo by Matt Wordeman

Deck the halls with boughs of….holly? ‘Tis the season to decorate your hale with holiday wreaths, sprigs, and boughs.

Fresh greenery, seeds, and flowers are as much or more a part of this season as pretty paper and bows. Using plants to adorn homes during the winter solstice is a tradition that goes back to ancient times, as many cultures celebrated the return of the sun. Egyptians filled their homes with palms to celebrate the recovery of Ra, their sun god, from the illness that left the days shorter. Early Romans brought fir trees inside during their solstice feast of Saturnalia, honoring Saturn, the god of agriculture. Vikings honored the sun god Balder with pine boughs, and the Druids decorated their temples with evergreen boughs symbolizing everlasting life. Evergreens hold particular significance as they remain fresh throughout the year, no matter the climate.

Traditionally, all of these decorative plants were collected locally. It’s only in today’s era of globalization that our traditions are tied to imported plants and food. This year, consider revising your definition of traditional and decorate with locally grown plants. In doing so, you share your love of Hawaiʻi and help protect our island way of life for future generations.

Pine trees and garlands:
Few decorations are as iconic as the Christmas tree. But almost every year, agricultural inspectors hold and treat or even reject shipments of pines from the mainland because they contain hitchhiking pest species that threaten Hawaiʻi. Each tree is shaken to check for unwanted pests: slugs and yellow jackets are not uncommon, and in 2010 salamanders and Pacific tree frogs were found. The Vespula wasp made its way to our islands via shipments of Christmas trees in the 1970s.

Alternatives: If you consider evergreens a necessary ingredient for the holidays, you’ll be pleased to know there are locally grown pines available, for sale or for harvest. Each year groups like Friends of Haleakala National Park remove invasive pines from the slopes of Haleakala. Volunteer with them and you and your family can get a free tree. If you missed the December 12^th event this year, mark your calendar to check the Friends’ website next year: www.fhnp.org

Wreaths:
A beautiful wreath of fresh foliage welcoming people to your home is a great way to set the tone for the holiday. Whether you create your own or purchase one ready-made, make sure the fresh decorations on your wreath are locally sourced. If you are using the reproductive parts of a plant (seeds or berries) it’s especially important to ensure that you are not helping spread an invasive pest or disease. For example, pampas grass has beautiful feathery plumes, but it’s a pest that the Maui Invasive Species Committee works to remove from Maui. Each plume is filled with thousands of wind-blown seeds that can compromise Maui’s watershed – not the message you want to send from your front door.

Alternatives: Locally grown pines, proteas, succulents, and herbs can be used to create beautiful and sturdy wreaths. If you need a little guidance, several organizations and local businesses have wreath making classes during December; Aliʻi Kula Lavender Farm still has classes so you can create a wreath in time for Christmas: www.aliikulalavender.com. Locally made wreaths are often available at farmers’ markets.

Houseplants and other vegetation:
Poinsettias are a holiday stable, and a houseplant or orchid is a great gift for the person who has everything. Purchasing plants from local growers lessens the likelihood that you’ll be giving an unintended gift.

Alternatives: Every year the Agricultural and Natural Resources Class at the University of Hawaiʻi Maui College grows poinsettias to sell as a fundraiser. Check the paper or the Facebook page for exact dates. Consider giving a native plant grown on Maui; ask your garden shop where the plants are grown.

Ancient and modern Hawaiians celebrate Makahiki at this time of year, a time of peace, feasting and festival, celebrating the prosperity of the land. It’s a time of family and gathering together, a time of creating and passing along traditions. This year, celebrate the prosperity of the islands and protect it for future generations. Hauʻoli makahiki hou from all of us at the Maui Invasive Species Committee.

Kia’i Moku, “Guarding the Island,” is prepared by the Maui Invasive Species Committee to provide information on protecting the island from invasive plants and animals that can threaten the island’s environment, economy and quality of life.

Written by Lissa Strohecker. Originally published in the Maui News on December 13th, 2015 as part of the Kia‘i Moku Column from the Maui Invasive Species Committee.

Iguanas on Maui may be more prevalent than we know

Posted on February 4, 2016 by Lissa Strohecker

On Maui, green iguanas, like this one photographed in the French Antilles, are sometimes seen when they come down from trees. Any sightings should be reported to the Hawaii Department of Agriculture. Photo by Tristan Nicot.

Chuck Chimera only caught a glimpse of the 3-foot long lizard dining on his neighbor’s nasturtiums, but it was enough. He knew he’d seen more than an abnormally large gecko, skink, or chameleon. “I thought my neighbor was just exaggerating when she said she kept seeing a huge lizard,” said Chimera.

The reptile was four feet long including its tail, and green with spines running down the length of its back. A loose flap of skin hung from its jaw. It turned and scrambled into the bushes with remarkable speed. It was not the first, nor is it likely to be the last iguana sighting on Maui.

In some places, iguanas are popular as pets, but it is illegal to possess a green iguana in Hawaiʻi. Getting caught with one here could mean a fine of up to $200,000. They are a threat to people and to the environment, and any sightings should be reported to the Hawaiʻi Department of Agriculture.

Over the last 20 years, keen observers have spotted the large reptiles on the loose in Kāʻanapali, Kanaio, Makawao, Haʻikū, and Kahului. Alert citizens captured two live turned them in to the Hawaiʻi Department of Agriculture, one from Kīhei and one from Central Maui, and two dead animals were turned from Makawao.

According to Dr. Fern Duvall of the Hawaiʻi Department of Land and Natural Resources, the frequency of these sightings suggests these animals might not merely be escaped contraband pets. He suspects that feral iguanas are breeding in Kanaio, Haʻikū, and the Puu Koliʻi neighborhood in Kāʻanapali. Before people arrived, lizards did not exist on the Islands. These invaders could cause trouble.

Green iguanas are vegetarian lizards native to low-elevation habitats ranging from Mexico through Central America to Brazil and Ecuador. Females lay a clutch of 20-70 eggs each year. In their natural habitat, juvenile iguanas and eggs become food for rats, hawks, owls, snakes, crocodiles, and people. In Central and South America they are a source of meat and called “gallina de palo,” chicken of the trees. They are so popular on dinner tables in Panama that they are protectively managed as a food source.

Iguanas come down from the trees to drink and several iguanas have been seen near reservoirs on Maui. Photo of iguana in Brazil by Charles Sharp.

But Floridians have yet to develop an appetite for this scaly reptile. In South Florida, green iguanas have become so prolific they are serious pests. They eat people’s landscape plants and gardens, dig up sidewalks and seawalls, and sneak into swimming pools–leaving behind smelly scat that can spread salmonella. The exotic lizards spread the seeds of invasive plants and boot Florida burrowing owls from their burrows. These invaders may be preventing the critically endangered Miami blue butterfly from reestablishing in the Florida Keys; they devour the leaves of the nickerbean vine, the butterfly’s host plant.

Hawaiʻi stands to suffer similar problems if the lizards become widely established here.

How could a large, dinosaur-like lizard live amongst us mostly unnoticed? Iguanas are quiet and docile, spending most of their lives in trees. Sightings generally happen when the scaly climbers descend from the trees to bask in the sun or seek out water.

So look twice at lizards in trees or basking in the sun – if it looks like an iguana, try to take a picture and report it. If you can safely capture the animal, do so, but be cautious as iguanas have sharp teeth and can be aggressive when cornered. Don’t confuse an iguana with the common Jackson’s chameleon, a much smaller, 3-toed lizard that is only 7-10 inches in length. Report any iguana sightings to the Maui Branch of the Hawaiʻi Department of Agriculture: 872-3848 or to the Pest Hotline – 643-PEST. Illegal pets can be turned in through the Department of Agriculture’s Amnesty Program.

Written by Lissa Strohecker. Originally published in the Maui News on November 8th, 2015 as part of the Kia‘i Moku Column from the Maui Invasive Species Committee.

Pigs and Pampas

Posted on January 12, 2016 by Lissa Strohecker

A spike camp in the East Maui rainforest. Camps like these are home for the crews working to protect and remove invasive species in this remote section of Maui. Photo by Maui Invasive Species Committee.

At about 4000’ elevation, just east of Koʻolau Gap above Keʻanae on the island of Maui, a four foot tall hogwire fence stretches from the cliff edge across ravines and gulches to the next cliff edge at Honomanū. This fence and a rudimentary shelter are the only indications that people have ever set foot up here. It’s a unique section of the mountain; the soil is slow to drain and the ground is boot-sucking wet, even in summer. Clouds drift through the branches of ‘ōhiʻa all day long, leaving everything soggy, though rain may not actually fall.

The fence protects this section of East Maui rainforest from the feral pigs that roam farther down the mountain, but that was not always the case. Pigs are not native to Hawaiʻi. But until a decade ago, they wandered freely up here, miles from the nearest road. Though they weren’t plentiful, they did plenty of damage as they rooted through the soil, leaving patches of bare dirt scattered over hundreds of acres.

Pigs were not the only invaders. Pampas grass, an ornamental once planted in upcountry residents’ yards, sprang up throughout this forest. The tall, clumping grass sends up a feather plume filled with seeds that travel on the wind for miles. Pampas seeds occasionally germinate in mossy tree trunks, but their preferred conditions are bare soil with regular moisture. Pigs in Honomanū cleared and prepped the forest floor for pampas grass. Once a few plants became established, conditions were ideal for spreading. They quickly began to outcompete native species.

Far from the landscaped yards, pampas grass flourishes in the East Maui rainforest, benefiting from the disturbance created by another invader, pigs. Photo by Maui Invasive Species Committee.

Of course it’s not just pampas grass that benefits from the disturbance created by pigs. Many notorious invasives spread into upland forest with the help of wild pigs–strawberry guava and banana poka, for instance. Pigs carry the seeds in their gut, then deposit them with a pile of fertilizer. Their rooting habits create wallows for mosquitoes that spread diseases to native birds. Pigs knock down native hāpu;u tree ferns to reach a starchy meal in the trunk, in the process destroying the fern’s native seedling “nursery.”

In Hawaiʻi, pig impacts are magnified. The rototilling action of a pig is a completely alien force in a forest that evolved for millions of years without a hoof or tusk. “Disturbances to the forest floor from pigs and weed problems go hand in hand,” says Dan Eisenberg, who manages the East Maui Watershed Partnership. His organization built the fence east of Koʻolau Gap and other fences that protect high elevation forest on East Maui.

Fencing out pigs and other hooved invaders is the first step in restoring native Hawaiian ecosystems. When these tusked tillers are removed, plants do better–regardless of whether they are native or introduced. Common native plants recover in under a decade, but rare species often take much longer, and face competition from exotics that became established prior to pig removal. “Invasive plant species are so fast growing compared to most plants in the native forest that our unique native species don’t have a chance without responsible management,” explains Eisenberg.

As pigs dig for roots and grubs, they rototill the soil. Disturbance and bare soil creates gaps in the forest floor opening it up for invasive plants. Photo courtesy of East Maui Watershed Partnership

The East Maui Watershed Partnership completed the fence in Honomanū in 2006, about the same time, crews from the Maui Invasive Species Committee switched from trying to spray pampas from the air to camping in the field while removing pampas on the ground. Weeklong work trips are a less soggy ordeal since the team built a tent platform. When crews find pampas hiding amongst the native foliage, they cut off any seed heads, bury them inside the plant, and then kill the pesky grass in place, being careful to not disturb the soil and open up an area for seeds to germinate again.

During the summer of 2014, crews found and controlled 87 pampas plants, only 4 of which were capable of making seeds. Compare this with the summer of 2008, when crews found 2,029 plants. Pampas grass seeds don’t remain viable for long, perhaps as short as 6 months. Soon the East Maui pampas may disappear entirely and the forest can rebound.

Read more about the efforts to remove pigs and pampas grass on East Maui at www.eastmauiwatershed.org and www.mauiisc.org.

Written by Lissa Strohecker. Originally published in the Maui News on October 11th, 2015 as part of the Kia‘i Moku Column from the Maui Invasive Species Committee.

How did that get here? Strange plants atop Haleakalā

Posted on November 5, 2015 by Lissa Strohecker

High atop Haleakalā winds whip across the summit, frost crystals sparkle in the morning sun – melting as the day progresses. But even in this harsh landscape, native plants and animals can thrive – and so can invasive species.

Pineapple chamomile, a native to the Northwestern US and other places, may have been carried to Haleakala summit via a seed on a boot. Photo courtesy of Forest and Kim Starr

One of these invaders is pineapple chamomile–about as authentically Hawaiian as a coconut bikini. But here it is, growing just outside the parking lot of the summit viewing area at 10,032 feet, comfortable in the extreme, high-elevation climate of a Pacific volcano. It’s no wonder; this aromatic herb’s home range includes a wide sampling of climates and terrains: Western North America from Baja through British Columbia to Alaska, the Russian Far East, and Hokkaido, Japan.

The weed likely hitched a ride up to Haleakalā on a tourist, as seed on a shoe or jacket, brushed off as the unwitting carrier geared up for the crisp mountain climate. This is not unusual. Without realizing it, people carry little hitchhiking seeds throughout the world in their socks and gear.

Pineapple chamomile is a relative of the chamomile in your tea bag and can also be brewed up. This small shrub thrives in disturbed areas with gravelly soil and full sun, just like Haleakalā. The fern-like leaves are somewhat sticky and the leaves and flowers smell like pineapple when crushed. It has a weedy reputation in many places, springing up across the United States.

Forest and Kim Starr do regular botanical surveys on Halakalā summit. Not a bad “office.” Photo courtesy of Forest and Kim Starr.

Isolated ecosystems are populated by a relatively small number of plants and animal species, generally highly specialized to survive. But introduced plants or animals often come from diverse environments, populated by many different species, and have developed strategies to compete and survive in their native range. When a plant or animal is introduced to an isolated ecosystem, like an island, it arrives with a competitive advantage the native species may not have.

In Antarctica, researchers spent 2007-2008 collecting seeds from tourists’ bags and clothing. They found that on average a visitor to Antarctica carried 9.5 seeds along with them. An estimated 33,054 tourists visited the frozen continent during the study period, demonstrating how many seeds could be introduced. Though not all seeds would germinate or survive in their new home, the researchers estimated that as many as 61% of the seeds carried to the Antarctic came from a part of the world with a climate similar enough that they could pose an invasion risk. Researchers working in Antarctica carried even more seeds on their clothing and gear though they visited Antarctica in much lower numbers.

The Starrs also found Henbit, a non-native mint, during surveys. Photo courtesy of Forest and Kim Starr

On Haleakalā, botanists Forest and Kim Starr found pineapple chamomile, henbit (a weedy member of the mint family common in North America), and a handful of other non-native plants during their surveys of the high-traffic areas of Haleakalā National Park, a project done in conjunction with the University of Hawaiʻi and National Park Service.

When the Starrs find a single weed or very few in a small area, they can remove the unwanted plants easily. Eradicating an invasive species at this stage of invasion is highly effective, second only to preventing its arrival in the first place.

If the plant has gone to seed, eliminating the resulting seedlings may take multiple visits. Pineapple chamomile has proven a little more persistent than some of the other plants. It produced seeds before the Starrs first found it, so they keep finding a few scattered plants.

Boots are a notoriously common vector for seeds of invasive species.

The Starrs are careful not to carry hitchhikers when they survey sensitive ecosystems. Follow their lead. Take a minute to brush off your boots, clothing, and gear before traveling or visiting pristine areas. You can help prevent new species from invading in the areas you frequent, whether your expeditions take you to Antarctica, Haleakalā, or the beach.

Written by Lissa Strohecker. Originally published in the Maui News on September 13th, 2015 as part of the Kia‘i Moku Column from the Maui Invasive Species Committee.

Clearing the weeds for albatross

Posted on October 15, 2015 by Lissa Strohecker

Space is at a premium for nesting Laysan albatross on Midway atoll. Removal of the invasive golden crownbeard may have helped provide more nesting area. Photo by Forest and Kim Starr

Midway Atoll has gone to the birds. Every year 3 million seabirds flock to 1,500 acres of land 1200 miles northwest of Honolulu. The former Naval Air Station is also the most remote seabird colony in the world, home to 1.5 million Laysan albatross (65% of the global population) as well as 19 other species of seabirds – shearwaters, terns, boobies, noddies, curlews, and most recently, the translocated Laysan duck. But albatross and their feathered kin were not nearly as plentiful some years ago.

Hungry rats that devoured seabird eggs were the most obvious cause, but after rats were eradicated in the 1990s and seabird populations began to rebound, biologists were concerned that the birds’ continued recovery was blocked – literally – by an invasive plant.

Drought tolerant and fast-growing golden crownbeard, Verbesina encelioides, thrives in the harsh tropical sun on Midway Atoll. This yellow-flowered daisy-like plant grows head-high, creating a dense barricade that seabirds can’t walk through, much less nest in. Photo by Forest and Kim Starr.

Golden crownbeard, or Verbesina encelioides, is an aggressive annual herb from the desert southwest. This yellow-flowered daisy-like plant grows head-high, creating a dense barricade that seabirds can’t walk through, much less nest in. For the birds who do find a place to lay their eggs, the tangle of flowering stems limit airflow to nests, leaving chicks vulnerable to dehydration and death.

Like all invasive species in Hawaiʻi, golden crownbeard made the long journey to the Islands with the help of people. In 1903, the Commercial Pacific Cable Company was building a trans-Pacific cable and Midway was one of three intermediate stations, along with Honolulu and Guam. To transform a seabird colony into the semi-permanent home of a handful of cable operators, the Company constructed four two-story concrete buildings and shipped over 9,000 tons of soil from Hawaiʻi and Guam so the new human residents could plant shade trees and grow food. It’s possible that seeds of golden crownbeard were mixed in the soil or on equipment, but it’s equally plausible that the new islanders or later residents stationed there with the military planted this North American native as a reminder of home.

Regardless of how it arrived, golden crownbeard flourished in the harsh tropical sun. This weed is the most invasive of the more than 225 non-native plants on the low-elevation islands of Midway. It’s very drought tolerant and needs only a monthly sprinkling once the roots are established. This yellow scourge goes from seedling to flowering plant within months of germination and a single plant can produce 350 seeds.

Native Cyperus grass is replanted on Midway after invasive species are removed. The native grasses allow for more airflow to the nest as well as more space to build nests. In 2012-2013 Laysan and black-footed albatross nested at near-record levels. Photo by Forest and Kim Starr

Only a few years ago, golden crownbeard covered 80 percent of the three islands that make up Midway. In the late 1990s, the US Fish and Wildlife Service began removing the head high plants. With more funding the work pace quickened; crews head out almost daily to spray this pest. Tractors or heavy equipment can’t be used with so many seabirds above and below ground, so hand spraying is the way to go. All this work is starting to pay off.

Golden crownbeard will hopefully be eradicated from the smaller Eastern Island and Spit Islands by early 2017. The last batch of seedlings will be removed from the bigger Sand Island by 2018. As the invader is knocked back, the native grasses and coastal plants are being replanted to stabilize dunes and protect the reef.

The seabirds seem pleased with the efforts to restore their habitat. In 2012-2013, Laysan and black-footed albatross nested at near-record levels, though biologists won’t know if this increase is a result of the golden crownbeard removal efforts for several more years.

To learn more about golden crownbeard and the amazing birds on Midway visit the Friends of Midway Atoll website: www.friendsofmidway.org or the Papahānaumokuākea website: www.papahanaumokuakea.gov

Originally published in the Maui News, August 9th, 2015 as part of the Kia‘i Moku Column from the Maui Invasive Species Committee.

From the Forest to the Faucet – Every Drop Counts

Posted on October 6, 2015 by Lissa Strohecker

Big Bog, high above Hāna on the windward slopes of East Maui, and Puʻu Kukui, on West Maui are some of the wettest places on the earth with 360-400 inches of rainfall a year, so it’s hard to imagine water could ever run short. When overrun with water, it’s easy not to think about times of scarcity, much like the flow of money. Knowing now how much, when, where the dollars are coming from helps, as does prioritizing needs versus luxuries. If needs exceed income, we can earn more, spend less, or combine the two approaches.

ear the summit of Puʻu Kukui on West Maui clouds are the norm. The rain that falls here and on the slopes of Haleakalā supplies Maui residents year-round.

Near the summit of Puʻu Kukui on West Maui clouds are the norm. The rain that falls here and on the slopes of Haleakalā supplies Maui residents and visitors throughout the year.

The same is true for managing our limited water resources. Studies in Hawaiʻi are looking to see how what happens in our forests affects what comes out of our faucets.

Stream runoff is captured from East Maui to meet the needs of upcountry residents and agriculture.

Hydrologists develop water “budgets” to quantify how water moves through our environment and how much is captured for our use. They look at all the drops that go into and out of the watershed, whether in by rainfall and fog drip or out by runoff and evaporation. Sometimes water goes into the savings account – absorbed by the soil, then into the water table or aquifer through infiltration and recharge. On Maui, the water we use is either captured from surface runoff or pumped from the aquifer.

The Maui County Department of Water Supply tracks overall water use while striving to meet the needs of the community. Understanding hydrological cycles and water budgets, helps the Department plan for the future by looking at how to capture more water from the sky or spend less through runoff and evaporation to meet the needs of tomorrow. But how? Many factors influence water budgets. Research done on the mainland might not be relevant for Hawaiʻi, a comparatively tiny sprinkling of islands in the middle of a massive ocean. So the Department is working with the U.S. Geological Survey to study water systems on Maui to help prepare for the future.

The plants in a native Hawaiian forest effectively capture more water than many of the invasive plants that make up the lower elevation forests.

Differences in land cover and use affect hydrological processes, including whether native or non-native plants rule our forests. The drip-drip of water, condensing and falling from plants, is a critical source of moisture; it can easily make up 20% of the total water collected. On Lānaʻihale (the forested top of Lānaʻi), fog drip accounts for a whopping 60-80% of water input. Cook pines were planted on the island because of their impressive ability to capture fog drip, but native plants may do better. One study in forests on Hawaiʻi Island showed that 27% of the total precipitation was collected as fog drip in an ʻōhiʻa-dominated forest, but that number decreased to 16% where a forest had been invaded by strawberry guava.

Not all water that falls from the heavens makes it into the aquifer. Soil in a forest absorbs more water, and does so more quickly, than soil in nearby fields, pastures, or grassland. Forests transformed into monotypic stands of miconia plants typically have bare soil which likely captures less moisture. Water also evaporates into the atmosphere from the ground and off leaf surfaces, but the rate varies for different species. Research has shown that non-native plants release more water into the atmosphere than our native ʻōhiʻa.

One study on Hawaiʻi Island found that restoring a forest dominated by invasive trees to a native forest increased aquifer recharge. But results aren’t always consistent. A restoration project on Molokaʻi actually yielded a slight decrease in recharge. Given the complexities of our forest systems and the number of changes humans have caused over the years, it’s clear there are many mysteries yet to unravel about water systems in Hawaiʻi.

We do know that overall demand for water will only increase. Over time, so too will our understanding of how to preserve or restore healthy forests to help ensure we will have the amount of water we need, now and for future generations.

Find more information about how water cycles through forests in Hawaiʻi and on Maui including a water-budget model. You can also find tips on stretching your water budget at home on the County of Maui – Department of Water Supply’s website.

Lissa Strohecker is the public relations and education specialist for the Maui Invasive Species Committee. She holds a biological sciences degree from Montana State University. Kia’i Moku, “Guarding the Island,” is prepared by the Maui Invasive Species Committee to provide information on protecting the island from invasive plants and animals that can threaten the island’s environment, economy and quality of life.

Originally published in the Maui News, July 14th, 2015 as part of the Kia‘i Moku Column from the Maui Invasive Species Committee.

A Haʻiku gulch full of suprises

Posted on July 24, 2015 by Lissa Strohecker

The prickly seed ponds on this climbing vine led to a concernd Ha'iku resident reporting it to MISC as a potential invader. Turns out it is a native plant, Mucuna sloanei. Photo by Hank Oppenheimer

The prickly seed pods on this climbing vine led to a concerned Ha’iku resident reporting it to MISC as a potential invader. Turns out it is a native plant, Mucuna sloanei. Photo by Hank Oppenheimer

“Anything that bristly has got to be invasive,” said the Haʻiku resident who reported a vine that she found in the gulch on her family property. She called the Maui Invasive Species Committee (MISC) when neither she nor her relatives could identify the strange climber with seedpods covered in fiberglass-like hairs. No one in the family had noticed it before and they had worked or played in the gulch since small-kid times. She collected a specimen, prickly seedpods and all, and brought it into the MISC office.

Though bristly, it turned out not to be an invasive species after all. The unusual creeper was a native plant once widespread in low elevations on Maui and other Hawaiian Islands. Commonly known as seabean, botanists call it Mucuna sloanei.

Mucuna comes in two varieties: sloanei, indigenous to Hawaiʻi; and persericea, endemic to windward East Maui and found nowhere else in the world. There are only a few of the persericea plants left. Because of the rarity of the persericea variety, and the damage caused by pigs and cattle to its habitat, the vine was recently listed as endangered by the U.S Fish & Wildlife Service. The possibility that it could be thriving in a Haʻiku gulch, only a stone’s throw from the Haʻiku Marketplace, was therefore pretty exciting. But it takes an expert to know the difference between the two varieties and Hank Oppenheimer fits the bill.

Oppenheimer is the Maui Nui Coordinator for the Plant Extinction Prevention Program (PEPP), a Pacific Cooperative Studies Unit project that works to protect the most rare and threatened plants in Hawaiʻi. Throughout the state, a handful of people like Oppenheimer and technician Keahi Bustamente hike deep into remote forests, scaling cliffs and doing whatever they can to prevent the rarest species’ extinction. This includes collecting seeds from rare Hawaiian plants, propagating them in greenhouses, and then outplanting the precious plants in protected habitat.

For plants, garnering listing as a PEPP species of interest is a mixed blessing; it means there are less than 50 individuals left in the wild. Oppenheimer is investigating the distribution of persericea to determine if it should be included with the other 236 PEPP targets.

Finding the native Mucuna sloanei was a pleasant surprise. Photo by Hank Oppenheimer

Oppenheimer and Bustamente headed to the Ha’iku gulch. The vine turned out to be the more common sloanei, but Oppenheimer was still excited. “It was really interesting to see Mucuna in a place like that,” he said. Most of the habitat for Mucuna has been turned into pasture, farmland, or long ago taken over by invasive plants.

But as the team was leaving the gulch, they made a troubling discovery. Bustamente noticed an unusual plant with massive 2-3 foot long leaves, purple on the underside. He knew it instantly as miconia. This notorious pest and MISC target was certainly out of place; miconia is primarily between Keʻanae and Hāna. The discovery marks the westernmost naturally occurring plant in recent history.

So when the Haʻiku resident reported what she thought was an invasive vine, she actually helped uncover a relatively rare native species as well as one of the most invasive plants in Hawaiʻi. A great example of the more you look, the more you find.

Can you spot the miconia plant? The characteristic large leaves with purple undersides cued botanists into this plant’s presence in a Ha’iku Gulch. MISC file photo

To learn more about the Plant Extinction Prevention Program, visit the website www.pepphi.org. And if you think you may have Mucuna on your property, contact Hank Oppenheimer at henryo@hawaii.edu. If you would like help identifying an unusual plant, native or not, you can find a number of resources available online, including the Flikr site “Hawaii Plant ID,” curated by some of the state’s best botanists, or you can call MISC at 573-6472, particularly if you think you’ve found miconia.

Originally published in the Maui News, April 12th, 2015 as part of the Kia‘i Moku Column from the Maui Invasive Species Committee.

Mapping the Kamehameha butterfly with your help

Posted on July 22, 2015 by Lissa Strohecker

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A Kamehameha butterfly on Waiheʻe ridge on Maui. Photo by Forest and Kim Starr

Brilliant orange and fluttering through the forest, the Kamehameha butterfly, or pulelehua, is our state insect. It’s one of only two butterfly species native to Hawaiʻi, and its ancestors flew to these Islands long before the first humans stepped ashore.

Knowing māmaki is in your area can cue you in to looking for Kamehameha butterflies. Photo by Forest and Kim Starr

“A lot of butterflies could have arrived here,” says University of Hawaiʻi researcher Will Haines. “But unless they could find a host plant they died.” The Kamehameha butterfly’s ancestors had suitable hosts: Hawaiian māmaki and other close relatives in the nettle family. The pulelehua caterpillars feed only on these native plants, once common throughout the Islands. But as humans transformed forests into fields and pastures, and invasive species spread from backyards, the māmaki, olonā, and ōpuhe plants became scarce. As this caterpillar food became less common at lower elevations, so did the Kamehameha butterfly. Today, any low-elevation populations of the butterfly depend on the scattered māmaki plants found in gulches, and this endemic butterfly is mostly found in the native forests higher in the mountains where food is more plentiful.

The ancestors of the Kamehameha butterfly found a food source in māmaki and related plants in the nettle family. Photo by Nathan Yuen

But thanks to an exciting citizen science activity, the Pulelehua Project, researchers are discovering that the Kamehameha butterfly is fluttering around in surprising places. Like a community on the North Shore of Oʻahu and a backyard in Kēōkea on Maui. “This butterfly is a strong flyer – it seems to be cruising through,” says Haines.

The Pulelehua Project emerged out of Haines’ research. With funding from the State of Hawaiʻi Department of Land and Natural Resources, Division of Forestry and Wildlife, Haines has been investigating various threats to the species’ survival in the field and mapping the Kamehameha butterfly’s distribution throughout the state. Mapping butterflies across the archipelago is a big job; Haines thought others may be interested in helping.

The tiny egg case of the Kamehameha butterfly. Photo by Will Haines

The tiny egg case of the Kamehameha butterfly resembles a sea-urchin shell. Photo by Will Haines.

Kamehameha butterflies are charismatic and relatively easy to recognize, so Haines started contacting other conservation groups for help for help. He created a website, www.kamehamehabutterfly.com, filled with resources to help amateur entomologists identify the species in its different and fascinating life stages, from tiny urchin-shell like eggs to colorful adults. The website has excellent photographs of the eggs, caterpillars, adults, and their favored host plants. Butterfly lovers across the state volunteered– reports came in from conservationists and the public alike.

The Kamehameha butterfly can be recogized by the pattern of white patches on the upper surface of the forewings. Pulelehua has only three main white patches in this area (though some are divided by dark wing veins). Look-alike butterflies have more white spots. Photo by Nathan Yuen

The Kamehameha butterfly can be recognized by the pattern of white or light patches on the upper surface of the forewings. Pulelehua has only three main white patches in this area (though some are divided by dark wing veins). Look-alike butterflies have more white spots. Photo by Nathan Yuen

To date, the reports have turned up 52 confirmed sightings of the iconic state insect. Anyone can participate and reports can be recent sightings or several years old, so long as there is a photo to accompany the information about when and where the butterfly, caterpillar, egg, or even feeding damage was observed. The data collected from the mapping project will help Haines and his colleagues better estimate the distribution of the pulelehua and could shape efforts to restore habitat for the Kamehameha butterfly.

The project is ongoing and you can help. Checking a māmaki patch is a good place to start. If you have māmaki in your area, or find māmaki while out hiking, inspect the leaves for eggs, caterpillars, and even feeding damage, and submit a report.

Caterpillars of the Kamehameha butterfly can be several different colors, from green to brown, but always covered in spines and bumps. Photo by Will Haines.

Use the photos on the website to make sure you’ve got the right butterfly. At one time, the Kamehameha butterfly was the only pair of orange wings around, but now, painted ladies, red admirals, monarchs, and gulf fritillary all flit through Hawaiʻi yards and forests. These exotic species, which can easily be confused with adult pulelehua, do not seem to pose a threat to the native butterfly. Other insects do. Ants, and potentially the little fire ant to a greater degree, can prey on caterpillars and the pupa in the chrysalis. Introduced katydids have an appetite for butterfly eggs. And, as the caterpillars of Kamehameha butterfly don’t dine on introduced nettles, it’s critical to protect their native food source.

The caterpillars create a distinctive pattern as the munch māmaki leaves. This distinct pattern can bu used to document the presence of the Kamehameha butterfly. Photo by Will Haines

These are all reasons to take your butterfly-hunting habit to the next level. To attract the Kamehameha butterfly to your yard, plant māmaki and encourage your neighbors to do the same. A single plant can support ten caterpillars, but according to Haines, it’s more about establishing a critical mass of māmaki across the landscape. Physical barriers, like tanglefoot, a tacky substance designed to keep crawling critters from climbing up plants, can protect eggs and caterpillars from ants and other predatory insects. Learn more about the Pulelehua Project and submit sightings at www.kamehamehabutterfly.com.

Originally published in the Maui News, June 14th, 2015 as part of the Kia‘i Moku Column from the Maui Invasive Species Committee.

Rapid ʻŌhiʻa Death – a new threat to our watersheds

Posted on May 19, 2015 by Lissa Strohecker

This ohia tree shows one of the characteristic symptoms of Rapid ʻŌhiʻa Death – the tree looks frozen or burnt, leaves still in place. Photo by J.B. Friday
This ʻōhiʻa tree shows one of the characteristic symptoms of Rapid Ohia Death – the tree looks frozen or burnt, leaves still in place. Photo by J.B. Friday

Five years ago, people living in the Puna district on Hawaiʻi Island started seeing native ʻōhiʻatrees in their yards dying. First, the leaves on a single limb or the whole tree would start to yellow and brown. Within days or weeks, the tree would be dead. “Trees look burnt or frozen,” explains Dr. Flint Hughes, a research ecologist with the USDA-Forest Service. He’s one of several scientists investigating the cause of Rapid ʻŌhiʻa Death, an apt description for a disease causing ʻōhiʻa to die so fast they don’t have time to drop their leaves.

Symptoms can appear in a single branch or the entire canopy of a tree. Pruning the affected brance will not save the tree since the Ceratocytis fungus is already established in throughout the tree. Photo by J. B. Friday

The disease spreads across landscapes nearly as fast. In 2012, it had killed ʻōhiʻa across about 1000 hectares (nearly 2500 acres). By last summer, it covered 6000 hectares. Healthy trees, young trees, old trees–it doesn’t matter—once symptoms appear, the tree will be dead within weeks.

A disease this virulent is potentially catastrophic for native species and watersheds. ʻōhiʻa are a keystone species for a Hawaiian rainforest. Like the uppermost stone in an arch, ʻōhiʻa is critical to the structure and function of the forest, both as refuge for native birds and other species, and as an effective way to transform what falls as rain into what comes out of the tap.

Last year, Hughes and his colleagues began to research what was happening. They knew it was a new phenomenon and not related to any previously known problems in ʻōhiʻa, such as ʻōhiʻa dieback or ʻōhiʻa rust. Within six months they had isolated the pathogen causing Rapid ʻŌhiʻa Death. The disease is caused by a fungus, Ceratocytis fimbriata. It gets into the sapwood of ʻōhiʻa, stopping the tree’s ability to transport water and sugars. “The fungus essentially strangles the tree,” says Hughes.

The ceratocytis fungus responsible for killing ohia accross 15,000 acres on Hawaii Island can be seen as a dark staining in the sapwood. Photo by J.B. Friday

Isolating the cause of Rapid ʻŌhiʻa Death, also called Ceratocytis wilt of ʻōhiʻa, is the first step. Ceratocytis has been present in Hawaiʻi for decades. In the Islands, it’s known only as a pathogen on sweet potato and taro, never before attacking ʻōhiʻa. In other parts of the world, Ceratocytis infects sycamore, eucalyptus, mango, coffee, cacao, citrus, poplar, fig, and rubber trees.

Researchers have yet to determine the origin of this recent outbreak—more than likely a new, more virulent strain of Ceratocytis was introduced but it is possible the existing strain jumped to ʻōhiʻa.

One of the researchers’ top priorities is determining how the disease is spreading. Other places

The Ceratocytis fungus spreads throughout the sapwood or vascular system of the ohia, eventually strangling the tree. The dark staining in this cross-section of an ohia is a symptom of infection by the Ceratocytis fungus. Photo by J.B. Friday

in the world, insects and contaminated equipment are vectors for spreading Ceratocytis, and that could be the case in Hawaiʻi. Until that’s determined, Hughes urges people not to move ʻōhiʻa—logs or seedlings. The fungus can survive in dead logs for a year or more. He suggests that it’s even possible that Ceratocytis spores may land on plants growing near ʻōhiʻa and movement of those plants may spread the disease

On Hawaiʻi Island some of the nicest stands of low-elevation ʻōhiʻa are gone, but researchers are not giving up. “One of the hopes is that we’ll see some genetic resistance in ʻōhiʻa, or there may be environmental constraints,” says Hughes. On Hawaiʻi Island, Ceratocytis has been found as high as about 1,400’ elevation in Mountain View, but that may reflect the relatively recent introduction rather than the full extent of its potential range.

Fungal spores of Ceratocytis on a dead log. The fungus can survive in dead logs for a year or more, and the disease can infect the plants for 2-3 months before symptoms appear. Help stop the spread by not moving ohia-logs or seedlings. Photo by J.B.Friday

They do know that the fungus can be present for months before any symptoms appear. During pathogenicity testing, ʻōhiʻa trees showed symptoms two or three months after inoculation. Pruning a symptomatic branch will not necessarily protect the tree as the fungus may have already spread throughout the tree and possibly to nearby trees.

Researchers have much to learn about Ceratocytis wilt on ʻōhiʻa. For now, they encourage people to clean boots and equipment after working on infested trees and caution against interisland movement of ʻōhiʻa logs and seedlings. Rapid ʻŌhiʻa Death is only known to occur on Hawaiʻi Island. If you are on Maui or elsewhere in the Islands and see symptoms: leaves quickly turning yellow or brown, dead trees looking burnt or frozen with leaves still in place, or tell-tale brown streaking on the dead wood, contact Hughes by phone, 808-854-2617, or e-mail fhughes@fs.fed.us Learn more online at http://www2.ctahr.hawaii.edu/forestry/disease/ohia_wilt.html

Originally published in the Maui News, May 10th, 2015 as part of the Kia‘i Moku Column from the Maui Invasive Species Committee.

Invasive species can sting aloha

Posted on April 15, 2015 by Lissa Strohecker

Photo courtesy of Forest and Kim Starr.

Aunty Penny Martin is a lei-maker on Molokaʻi. She was talking story one day with a friend visiting from Hawaiʻi Island, and the conversation turned as it often does, to lei-making. The friend had a lime-green hydrangea growing in her yard and offered to bring her some. “As a lei maker, the hydrangea are the best for making lei po‘o (lei for the head),” said Aunty Penny. “I was really excited to see.”

At their next meeting, her friend had brought the beautiful flowers from Hawaiʻi Island. “I was overcome by the hydrangea,” she said. “I was ooh-in and ahh-ing,” Then she noticed her friend must have picked them on the go, bagging them before leaving to go to the airport so they would be fresh. While the lei-maker was touched by the gesture, the sight of the freshly bagged hydrangea triggered a thought. “It was like an epiphany—I’m thinking fire ants, coqui. I really wanted it….my hands were just itching to make that lei.”

The lime-green hydrangea ended up double bagged to contain any pests and buried at the Molokaʻi landfill. “It would have been easy to stop thinking responsibly,” said Aunty Penny.

As every malahini (newcomer) soon learns, the expansive aloha spirit also celebrates the bounty

The aloha spirit celebrates the bounty of the land, but invasive species threaten to change the practice of bringing gifts from our homes.

of the land. Sharing in that bounty goes beyond good manners–it’s culture. Bringing gifts from your home, be they avocados or citrus, flowers or orchids, even cream puffs or manapua from a local bakery, is part of our way of life.

But as devastating pests like little fire ants become established on some islands and not others, our culture may change. “That kind of sharing and exchanging—pretty soon not going to be the norm, ‘cause you’re going to be worried about things,” says Aunty Penny.

Concerns about invasive species affect even the most traditional of cultural practices. Last summer, a group of students on Big Island helped place lei on every known burial site at Kalaupapa on Molokaʻi to remember those who lived and died there. The lei brought from the Big Island were made of ti leaves, chosen in part because they could withstand freezing to kill any little fire ants.

Invasive species have affected cultural practices in other ways: apple snails munch taro throughout much of the state, scale insects on hala can ruin the leaves for weavers in East Maui, and mites threaten the coconut groves planted for King Kamehameha V on Molokaʻi.

Lei-makers often share material between islands. Increasing concerns about transporting pests is beginning to hamper that practice. Photo courtesy of Maui Nui Botanical Garden.

“I grew up with the tradition of bringing lei from island to island,” says Aunty Penny. “It just crushes me that now I have to think about fire ants and coqui.” Hawaiʻi residents don’t have to stop sharing plants and flowers with friends, but taking a few minutes to check that the gifts are free of unintentional hitchhikers will help keep the natural environment and native culture intact. “I loved that hydrangea,” says Aunty Penny, “but I love Molokaʻi more.”

Originally published in the Maui News, March 8th, 2015 as part of the Kia‘i Moku Column from the Maui Invasive Species Committee.