Talofa lava! My name is Josie and Iʻm from the Island of Upolu in Samoa. I left the comfort of my family home to pursue my education at UH Hilo, where I graduated with dual degrees in Environmental Studies and Geography. I have been working in conservation with different agencies in Hawaiʻi Island, assisting in scientific research, restoration, and management efforts, from eradicating invasive species, native plants restoration, banding and tracking native Hawaiian forest birds, ʻŌpeʻapeʻa roost monitoring to assisting with mosquito monitoring project. These conservation opportunities and many other professional experiences inspired and motivated me to pursue a master’s degree with the TCBES program at UH Hilo. With support from the Pacific Islands Climate Adaptation Science Center, I am fortunate to pursue this dream, collaborate with passionate conservationists in Hawaiʻi, and join the LOHE lab. I will be doing my thesis research at Hakalau Forest National Wildlife Refuge, examining the impacts of climate change on the population abundance of native Hawaiian forest birds.

Hi, I'm Paulo, and I've come a long way following birds. I'm from Brazil, but I did my undergraduate and graduate studies in Berlin, Germany. Now I've flown here from literally halfway across the world to do my Thesis research on a topic I’m very passionate about. I've done quite a bit of bird-related work over the years, from the icy shores of the North Sea to the Atlantic Rainforest, but I keep getting drawn back to islands. Something about the unique evolutionary processes happening in these special places never ceases to amaze me. For my thesis I'm recording 'apapane songs, to analyze their huge repertoire size, song structure and local dialects in order to get an insight into their vocal learning process.

Like a vagrant bird caught in a storm, I didn’t choose to work in Hawai’i, rather, it chose me. Like many animal enthusiasts, I pursued a pre-veterinary track in college until I discovered that I was happiest in wild spaces, like those near my hometown of Spokane, Washington, and wanted to protect them. After graduating from Cornell University in 2015, with my B.S. in Biology, I returned near home to study deer responses to forestry treatments in Colville National Forest. After applying far and wide for my next job, I seemingly randomly found myself on O’ahu, studying seed dispersal by introduced birds and rodents. I fell in love with Hawai’i’s diverse ecosystems, birds, and people, and after learning about the dramatic history of resource exploitation, invasive species introduction, and mass extinction of birds and plants, I endeavored to get involved with managing invasive predators. I worked in Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park for 9 months studying benefits of invasive rat removal for ‘Elepaio nesting. Other exciting opportunities drew me to work with fairy-wrens in Australia, Canada jays in Denali National Park, and migratory songbirds on the Colorado River, but my heart kept drawing me back to Hawai’i, including in 2019 when I worked with the Kaua’i Forest Bird Recovery Project on the critically endangered ‘Akikiki, ‘Akeke’e, and Puaiohi. My experiences have influenced my choice in master’s project, which is funded by a joint Department of Defense grant with my alma mater, Cornell University. I am interested in applications of passive acoustic monitoring as a tool for estimating bird population density and answering questions about avian ecology, while creating minimal disturbance and drawing less time and resources away from other management tasks. I am excited to be working in a tight-knit community with so much passion and talent, and grateful that the trade winds blew me back this way.

Aloha! I'm Dan ‘Dio’ Mikros. I grew up on the Southside of Chicago without much more than steel and concrete around me. After discovering the natural world late in life, I became so fascinated chasing all manner of creatures around that I pursued a bachelor’s degree in integrative biology from the University of Illinois. Since then, I have worked in 12 states across the country on a wide variety of projects. But I have primarily focused on the ecology of arthropod-borne pathogens, including West Nile virus, dengue fever and Lyme disease. In 2018 I was lucky enough to bring my skills in this field to the Big Island where I started work with the HCSU researching the role ambrosia beetles play in vectoring rapid ohi’a death. I feel truly grateful to be able to continue developing this research within the TCBES program and alongside the LOHE lab. Here I hope to investigate how ambrosia beetles affect the spatial distribution of Ceratocystis inoculum in the environment, develop more effective ambrosia beetle management strategies, and monitor the potential threat of Ceratocystis to other endemic Hawaiian tree species.

Aloha! My name is Emma and I am from Westfield, New Jersey. I graduated from Lafayette College in Pennsylvania in 2020 with a B.S. in Biology and a minor in Environmental Studies. While there, I carried out several studies on songbird behavior and physiology, through which I discovered my love for wildlife research. After graduating, I worked in a COVID-19 testing lab for a year, but eventually got to re-enter the conservation world implementing a marsh bird study under the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission for a field season. I joined the LOHE Lab in 2021, and am conducting research on the behavioral and physiological effects of chronic avian malaria on Hawai'i 'amakihi. I am collaborating with folks from USGS and the National Park Service to conduct this study at Ainahou Ranch in Hawai 'i Volcanoes National Park where 'amakihi persist despite the extremely high malarial infection rate (~50%). We are hoping to learn more about what allows them to survive despite such a high disease rate and the long-term impacts of this disease on individuals in the population.

Lisa Lālani Kapono Mason was born and raised in Hawaiʻi and currently resides in Keaʻau with her ʻohana and three dogs. She works in Volcano, Hawaiʻi, as the Wildlife Care Supervisor for the Keauhou Bird Conservation Center helping to support some of Hawaiʻiʻs rarest birds in human-care and preparing for their future releases to the wild. Lisa has over a decade of experience as a science and STEM educator to Hawaiʻiʻs youth and is actively completing her graduate thesis to further understand relationships between animal culture, vocal behavior, and evolution of endemic honeycreepers on Maunakea. She is an active member of the UH Hilo LOHE Lab and ʻAhuimanu, a community-centered storytelling group that promotes kānaka perspectives of abundance and the power of moʻolelo to support our native bird friends. She also serves as a Director with Nextech Hawaiʻi and is the community member coordinator for The Wildlife Society Hawaiʻi Chapter

Aloha! I am a first-generation, Vietnamese-American college student. During my first semester of college, I decided to go against my parents' wishes and switch my major from Marketing to Animal Behavior. Fast forward some years and I have traveled to Wyoming x2, Panama, and Louisiana for avian research. I am incredibly fortunate for these experiences because they opened my eyes to the world of avian conservation and ecology. And where else would I go to continue following this dream of mine other than Hawaiʻi? My current research will determine the feasibility in using AudioMoths (low-cost, customizable acoustic device) and vocal activity rate for population density estimates of the iconic ‘i‘iwi. In addition, we want to look at potential abiotic impacts on vocal activity rates, and consequently examine how these components may influence density estimations. We hope to refine this particular methodology so that it can be applied to avian monitoring efforts across the Hawaiian Islands and beyond

Chris Kluzak is working on Palila foraging behaviors in captivity at the Keauhou Bird Conservation Center.