Final report: Workshop to Assess the Hawaii Biannual Waterbird Survey

Dates

Metadata Creation Date: 2023-08-16

Citation

Adonia Henry(Author), 2020-02-28(Transmitted), Final report: Workshop to Assess the Hawaii Biannual Waterbird Survey

Summary

The Hawai‘i Biannual Waterbird Survey (Survey) has evolved since its establishment in 1955 to meet changing information needs for the conservation of endemic and migratory waterbirds in Hawai‘i. From 2005 to 2015, information needs for the management and recovery of endemic, endangered waterbirds were not being addressed by the Survey. Although waterbird counts continued during this time, data entry and management lapsed and reconciliation of spatial and tabular data was only partially completed by 2007. As a result, analyses of count data, distribution, and population trends were out of date and of limited utility for informing recovery objectives and waterbird conservation efforts. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and the state [...]

Summary

The Hawai‘i Biannual Waterbird Survey (Survey) has evolved since its establishment in 1955 to meet changing information needs for the conservation of endemic and migratory waterbirds in Hawai‘i. From 2005 to 2015, information needs for the management and recovery of endemic, endangered waterbirds were not being addressed by the Survey. Although waterbird counts continued during this time, data entry and management lapsed and reconciliation of spatial and tabular data was only partially completed by 2007. As a result, analyses of count data, distribution, and population trends were out of date and of limited utility for informing recovery objectives and waterbird conservation efforts. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and the state Division of Forestry and Wildlife (DOFAW) have legally mandated responsibilities for four species of federal-and state-listed endangered, endemic waterbirds on the main Hawaiian Islands (see Table 1). National Wildlife Refuges (NWRs) and State Wildlife Sanctuaries (SWSs) on the islands of Kaua‘i, O‘ahu, Maui, Moloka‘i, and Hawai‘i are managed to support the conservation of indigenous wildlife, including waterbird species, and their habitats. Both agencies and other stakeholders are involved in the Survey and monitor other waterbird attributes to inform management and recovery objectives. Efforts to improve the Survey have been implemented since its establishment. The most recent efforts date to 2011 when DOFAW, USFWS, U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), and Pacific Birds Habitat Joint Venture (PBHJV) were interested in using the data for various population-related analyses. Partners collaborated with USGS to complete an assessment of the current Survey methods and other avian sampling designs (Camp et al. 2014, R. Camp, USGS, unpublished data). Recommendations to improve Survey methods were presented and discussed at a 2013 workshop of over 100 waterbird conservation professionals. However, no consensus on how to improve the Survey methods was reached. This was because several biologists expressed a desire to implement more robust methods for accurate population estimates, but habitat managers and other biologists (who are primarily responsible for completing the survey) were concerned about capacity to implement these more time-consuming survey methods. Despite those differences, addressing the backlog of data entry and management remained a high priority need among 2013 workshop participants. As a result, USFWS partnered with DOFAW during 2014 by providing in-kind database management and funding for 2007–2015 data entry, as well as reconciliation of associated spatial and tabular data errors. DOFAW funded 2016–2018 data entry and provided in-kind support for spatial data management. On-going and future efforts to improve the Survey must address current information needs of all stakeholders to be effectively implemented. The objectives of this current project are the following: 1. Collectively prioritize current information needs of multiple stakeholders; 2. Identify limitations of the current Survey; 3. Identify and evaluate options to enhance the Survey; and 4. Prioritize solutions and action items that address identified limitations. To meet these objectives, the following tasks were completed: 1. Developed an on-line questionnaire (Appendix A); 2. Asked a diversity of stakeholders to complete the on-line questionnaire and attend a Waterbird Survey Technical Meeting; 3. Facilitated a Waterbird Survey Technical Meeting on 15-16 May 2019 (Appendix B); 4. Led a follow-up project Core-team meeting on 17 May 2019; and 5. Organized and led other subsequent meetings and conference calls with stakeholders to advance recommendations and action items identified at the Technical and Core-team meetings. This strategy increased sharing of ideas and allowed participants to reach consensus so that solutions have buy-in from multiple stakeholders. The goal of this report is to document how the process we went through, and the changes agreed to by the meeting participants, will improve the Survey and our ability to manage endangered waterbirds.

Contacts

Point of Contact :: Georgia Hart-Fredeluces, Jeff Burgett
Principal Investigator :: Adonia Henry

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metadata.xml Original ISO Metadata	View	23.85 KB	application/vnd.iso.19139-2+xml
md_metadata.json		9.12 KB	application/json
metadata_iso1.xml		31.69 KB	application/vnd.iso.19139-1+xml
HWBS Assessment Report Final.docx		1.93 MB	application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.wordprocessingml.document

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urn:uuid	urn:uuid	29d418ca-e938-4c5a-a5f0-45ffeb577146
File Identifier	file identifier	29d418ca-e938-4c5a-a5f0-45ffeb577146

Final report: Workshop to Assess the Hawaii Biannual Waterbird Survey

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