The Akikiki

The Akikiki

By Dana Mason

In class we learned a lot about how endemic species, species specific to a singular area, are common on islands. Hawaii has the most endemic species in the US. One of these species is the Akikiki. The Akikiki was listed as critically endangered by the US Fish and Wildlife Service on May 13^th 2010.

Description:

From: carolinabirds.org

Pictured to right the Akikiki is a small Hawaiian honeycreeper. It has dark gray to olive feathers on its head, back, sides and flanks but white feathers on its throat, belly, breast, and tail coverts. The Akikiki also have dull pink legs, feet, nails, and bills contrasting the dark olive and white feathers. The young birds have patches around their eyes that appear similar to spectacles (“Species Profile”).

The Akikiki are K-selected species and often forage and fly in pairs. They have a strong family bonds ("Akikiki." Kaua'i Forest Bird Recovery Plan). When foraging they search for insects and other invertebrates, their main food source ("Akikiki (Oreomystis bairdi)").   

Geography and Population:

This rare bird is endemic to the Kaua’I island of Hawaii ("Akikiki (Oreomystis bairdi)"). At one point in history they inhabited the entire island down to sea level but their current range is only the upper range of the island with an elevation of at least 1140 feet ("Akikiki." Kaua'i Forest Bird Recovery Plan).  This bird can be found in the ‘ohi’a and koa-‘ohi’a forests ("Akikiki (Oreomystis bairdi)").  With a decreased range comes a decreased population. Once in the thousands in 2012 the Akikiki were estimated to only have 468 individuals left ("Akikiki (Oreomystis bairdi)").

From: voices.nationalgeographic.com/

Main Threats:

What has caused this large decline in a species—a few different things. First, development of the island, as people started to settle and Hawaii started to become a large tourist destination the lower parts of the islands started to become developed. The forests that the Akikiki inhabited were cut down ("Akikiki (Oreomystis bairdi)"). The second threat to these birds is feral pigs. Not because the pigs will eat the birds but because of what the pigs carry. As the feral pigs trek around they disperse alien plants and mosquitoes. The mosquitoes carry avian malaria and pox that kill off the Akikiki ("Akikiki (Oreomystis bairdi)"). The third threat to this species is Hurricanes. Hurricanes cause massive destruction and degrade the bird’s habitat. This causes the birds to have to try to adjust to lower climates and higher temperatures that they are no longer accustomed to ("Akikiki (Oreomystis bairdi)").

Recovery Plan:

The Kaua’I Forest Bird Recovery Project has created a recovery work plan for 2010-2015 in order to help the Akikiki. The first steps the project intends on taking are doing more surveys in order to learn more about the bird. They state developing a captive breeding program will be critical, as will be translocating the birds to higher Hawaiian Islands like Maui (“AKIKIKI FIVE-YEAR”). These are the interim steps and need to be completed before recovery can move forward. Once these are completed the project will move forward with the captive breeding program and other various research objectives like determining survival and dispersal of adults and juveniles (“AKIKIKI FIVE-YEAR”). The project strongly believes that their recovery plan will be effective.

Personal Action:

Although I do not live in Hawaii I hope I can to volunteer remotely. Since donations and funding are always needed in order to help the recovery effort I intend to work with the Kaua’I Forest Bird Recovery Project to increase their funding through emails and campaigning. I hope that Californians will see the importance in helping this species. 

You can donate here: http://kauaiforestbirds.org/get-involved/donate/

Works Cited

"‘AKIKIKI FIVE-YEAR RECOVERY WORK PLAN 2010-2015." Kaua'i Forest Bird Working Group (n.d.): n. pag. Web. 25 Nov. 2015.

"Akikiki." Kaua'i Forest Bird Recovery Plan. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Nov. 2015.

"Akikiki (Oreomystis bairdi)." Bird Life International. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Nov. 2015.

"Species Profile for Akikiki (Oreomystis Bairdi)." ECOS Environmental Conservation Online System. US Fish and Wildlife Service, n.d. Web. 26 Nov. 2015.