Personnel: Dr. Patrick Hart, Dr. Kristina Paxton, Dr. Esther Sebastian-Gonzalez, Dr. Grady Weyenberg, Ann Tanimoto-Johnson
With bird populations declining across Hawaii, it is increasingly important to improve our ability to monitor population size, particularly for those difficult to detect rare species that live in remote areas. Bioacoustics is a rapidly evolving field and there is great potential to use bioacoustics to improve our ability to accurately monitor animal distribution and abundance, and to even allow us to better estimate the density of calling organisms. We are currently employing songmeters and other programmable recording devices to monitor birds across Hawaii and actively developing algorithms for the automated detection of recorded song from a variety of Hawaiian bird species. We also continue to use traditional survey techniques to relate bird distribution and abundance with habitat and other variables. Please see the “publications” section of this website for links to relevant manuscripts, including:
- Sebastian-Gonzalez et al. 2018. Density estimation of sound producing terrestrial animals using single automated acoustic recorders and distance sampling. Avian Conservation and Ecology 13.
- Camp et al. 2019. Large-scale tree mortality from rapid ohia death negatively influences avifauna in lower Puna, Hawaii Island USA. Condor
- Judge et al. 2018. Population estimates of the endangered Hawaii ‘akepa (Loxops coccineus) in different habitats on windward Maunaloa. Journal of Field Ornithology 89: 11-21.
- Sebastian-Gonzalez et al. 2015. Bioacoustics for species management: two case studies with a Hawaiian forest bird. Ecology and Evolution
- Hart, P. J., B. L. Woodworth, R. Camp, K. Turner, K. McClure, K. Goodall, Henneman, C. Spiegel, J. LeBrun, E. Tweed, and M. Samuel. 2011. Temporal Variation in Bird and Resource Abundance Across an Elevational Gradient in Hawaii. The Auk 128:113-126
- Camp, R. J., S. W. Judge, P. J. Hart, G. Kudray, J. M. Gaudioso, and B. H. Hsu. 2012. Birds in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park: Summary of the 2010 Inventory and Monitoring Program Survey. `Elepaio 72: 1-5
- Flaspohler, D.J., C. Giardina, G.P. Asner, P.J. Hart, J. Price, C.K. Lyons*, and X. Castaneda*. 2009. Long-term effects of fragmentation and fragment properties on bird species richness in Hawaiian forests. Biological Conservation 143:280-288.
- Boelman et al. Multi-trophic invasion resistance in Hawaii: bioacoustics, field surveys, and remote sensing. Ecological Applications 17:2137-2144.
- Spiegel et al. 2006. Distribution and abundance of forest birds in low altitude habitats on Hawai‘i Island: evidence for range expansion of native species. Bird Conservation International 16:175-185
- Hart, P.J. 2001. Demographic comparisons between high and low density populations of Hawaii Akepa. In J.M. Scott, S. Conant, and C. van Riper III. (editors). Studies in Avian Biology 22:185-193
