Invasive Species

Risk to native marine macroalgae from land-use and climate change-related modification to groundwater discharge in Hawai’i

December 17, 2021

Dr. Henrietta Dulai in collaboration with UHERO and the Department of Life Sciences, sheds light on the links between submarine groundwater discharge and the health of coastal ecosystems. See press on Hawaiʻi Public Radio and UH News.

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Positive net benefits for an agricultural import rule designed to protect native Hawaiian forests

May 12, 2020

Photo by Forest & Kim Starr By Kimberly Burnett and Christopher Wada Since its first documented introduction to Hawai‘i in 2005, the rust fungus Puccinia psidii has already severely damaged Syzygium jambos (Indian rose apple) trees and the federally endangered Eugenia koolauensis (nioi). Fortunately, the particular strain has yet to cause serious damage to Metrosideros polymorpha (‘ōhi‘a), which comprises roughly 80% of the […]

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2019 Paper of the Year in Invasive Plant Science and Management

March 9, 2020

Congratulations to UHERO researchers Kimberly Burnett and Christopher Wada who were part of the team awarded the 2019 Paper of the Year in Invasive Plant Science and Management.

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Evaluating Protection Strategies for an Invasive Plant Species: Miconia calvescens

February 28, 2020

RESEARCH PAPERS ARE PRELIMINARY MATERIALS CIRCULATED TO STIMULATE DISCUSSION AND CRITICAL COMMENT. THE VIEWS EXPRESSED ARE THOSE OF THE INDIVIDUAL AUTHORS. WHILE RESEARCH PAPERS BENEFIT FROM ACTIVE UHERO DISCUSSION, THEY HAVE NOT UNDERGONE FORMAL ACADEMIC PEER REVIEW. The choice to shift among invasive species management strategies depends on ecological, biological, and economic conditions that vary […]

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Interpreting Life-History Traits of Miconia (Miconia calvescens) through Management over Space and Time in the East Maui Watershed, Hawaii (USA)

January 4, 2019

Miconia (Miconia calvescens DC) was introduced to the East Maui Watershed (EMW) a half-century ago with more than 25 years of management recorded. Using a historical spatiotemporal data set, we constructed a dispersal kernel for miconia in the EMW. Seedbank persistence, based on postdated recruitment, displayed an exponential decay projecting extinction beyond 20 years. In […]

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Economic Valuation of The Nature Conservancy’s Watershed Conservation Activities in Waikamoi Preserve, Maui

April 3, 2018

The objective of this research was to estimate the value of ecosystem services protected by watershed conservation activities at The Nature Conservancy’s Waikamoi Preserve on the island of Maui. Projections of monetized benefits, together with trajectories of conservation costs, were used to calculate net present value, payback period, and return on investment.

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Publication: Joint Management of an Interconnected Coastal Aquifer and Invasive Tree

April 1, 2018

Kiawe (Prosopis pallida), a mesquite tree considered invasive in many parts of the world including Hawai’i, has been shown to reduce regional groundwater levels via deep taproots. In areas where aquifers are primary sources of fresh water, kiawe control has the potential to be an integral component of water management planning. We develop an analytical […]

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Joint Management of an Interconnected Coastal Aquifer and Invasive Tree

October 5, 2017

Kiawe (Prosopis pallida), a mesquite tree considered invasive in many parts of the world including Hawai‘i, has been shown to reduce regional groundwater levels via deep taproots. In areas where aquifers are primary sources of fresh water, kiawe control has the potential to be an integral component of water management planning. We develop an analytical […]

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Cost-Effectiveness of Herbicide Ballistic Technology to Control Miconia in Hawaii

June 5, 2017

By James Leary, Kimberly Burnett and Christopher Wada UHERO is working with Dr. James Leary (CTAHR) to assess cost effectiveness of Herbicide Ballistic Technology (HBT) operations to control invasive miconia (Miconia calvescens) plants before reaching maturity. Based on studies in Costa Rica, Tahiti and Australia, we can interpret spatial and temporal implications of management driven […]

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