Identifying Conservation Introduction Sites for Endangered Birds through the Integration of Lidar-Based Habitat Suitability Models and Population Viability Analyses

Similar to other single-island endemic Hawaiian honeycreepers, the critically endangered ‘ākohekohe (Palmeria dolei) is threatened by climate-driven disease spread. To avert the imminent risk of extinction, managers are considering novel measures, including the conservation introduction (CI) of ‘āko...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Remote sensing (Basel, Switzerland) Switzerland), 2024-02, Vol.16 (4), p.680
Main Authors: Gallerani, Erica Marie, Berio Fortini, Lucas, Warren, Christopher C., Paxton, Eben H.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Applications programs
Birds
Canopies
Climate change
Clusters
Conservation
conservation introductions
Decision making
Disease spread
Endangered & extinct species
Endangered animals
Endangered species
Forests
habitat suitability models
Habitats
Home range
Indigenous species
Lidar
Managers
National parks
Population viability
population viability analysis
Remote sensing
sensor fusion
Sex ratio
Species extinction
Wildlife conservation
ākohekohe
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Summary:Similar to other single-island endemic Hawaiian honeycreepers, the critically endangered ‘ākohekohe (Palmeria dolei) is threatened by climate-driven disease spread. To avert the imminent risk of extinction, managers are considering novel measures, including the conservation introduction (CI) of ‘ākohekohe from Maui to higher elevation habitats on the Island of Hawai’i. This study integrated lidar-based habitat suitability models (LHSMs) and population viability analyses (PVAs) to assess five candidate sites currently considered by managers for CI. We first developed an LHSM for the species’ native range on Maui. We then projected habitat suitability across candidate CI sites, using forest structure and topography metrics standardized across sensor types. Given the structural variability observed within the five candidate sites, we identified clusters of contiguous, highly suitable habitat as potential release sites. We then determined how many adult individuals could be supported by each cluster based on adult home range estimates. To determine which clusters could house the minimum number of ‘ākohekohe birds necessary for a stable or increasing future population, we conducted PVAs under multiple scenarios of bird releases. We found that canopy height and relative height 90 had the greatest effects on model performance, possibly reflecting ‘ākohekohe’s preference for taller canopies. We found that a small release of at least nine pairs of equal sex ratios were sufficient for an 80% chance of success and a
ISSN:2072-4292
2072-4292
DOI:10.3390/rs16040680