Welcome to the American Ornithological Society 2018 Annual Conference. We are pleased to have you join us at the lovely Hilton El Conquistador Resort in Tucson, AZ.
Forest birds in the Hawaiian archipelago have exhibited high extinction rates over the last century. Captive propagation, reintroduction and translocation are conservation tools that may be used to manage and recover some of the remaining endangered species. Population viability analyses can be used to assess risks to vulnerable populations and evaluate the probability of success and relative benefits of conservation strategies. Here we present a population viability analysis to assess viability for Maui parrotbill (Kiwikiu, Pseudonestor xanthophrys), a federally endangered species on Maui, Hawaii. To evaluate and compare management options involving captive rearing and translocation strategies we built a female-only age-structured, meta-population simulation model. Our model treated two extant populations in the remote high elevation rain forests as independent populations with limited immigration in between. We further treated experimental captive and potentially new wild populations on the leeward side of Maui as independent populations and translocation actions from existing wild populations to experimental populations were incorporated as specified immigration rates. We incorporated environmental stochasticities into population vital rates and management actions (i.e., partial controllability). Our model indicates and population viability is low under all management scenarios however a reintroduction strategy that incorporates minimal contribution from captivity and translocates mostly wild individuals was found to be the most feasible management option. Our model provides managers with benchmarks for fecundity and survival needed to ensure reintroduction success, and highlights the importance of establishing a new population in potentially favorable habitat to ensure long-term persistence.
