Geological Survey scientists and partners have been working to identify bird populations experiencing rapid declines, the distribution of mosquitoes and avian malaria in critical bird habitat, and how changes in climate could alter distributions and disease prevalence. Habitat loss, invasive species, and non-native predators have negatively affected forest bird species for hundreds of years, but introduced diseases, particularly avian malaria, are the greatest threat to forest birds today. Rapid population declines have now pushed the ‘akikiki, ‘akeke‘e, kiwikiu and ‘ākohekohe to the brink of extinction.Īcross Hawai‘i, native forest birds have been experiencing population declines that have accelerated in the last one to two decades. Once, there were more than 50 species of honeycreepers spread across Hawai‘i – today, only 17 species remain, with a few species having less than 200 individuals remaining. This kinship increases the urgency to save four endangered species of Hawaiian honeycreepers from imminent extinction caused by climate change and other human caused factors. Through ‘ike ku‘una (traditional or inherited knowledge), the Kumulipo (cosmological and genealogical chants), hula (the indigenous dance of Hawai‘i), and Ka‘ao (traditional stories) Native Hawaiians are intimately tied to forest birds, their immediate habitat, and their broader island and archipelagic environment. An Endangered Honeycreeper, the `Akeke`e (Kauai Akepa), in Hawai‘i.
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