Progress 10/01/16 to 09/30/21
Outputs
Target Audience:Policy makers in the Board of Water Supply, Honolulu, State Department of Agriculture Farmers in O' ahu, Hawai'i General Public in O' ahu, Hawai'i Water consumers in O' ahu, Hawai'i Researchers and other scientists (University of Hawai'i, State of Hawai'i, Hawai'i State Department of Agriculture. Changes/Problems:Due to Covid, we did our best to get a representative study sample and comparing social demographics to Census data. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? Graduatestudent Rupananda Widanage is writing his Ph.D. dissertation using the survey data Rupanada received a training from Statistical Innovation Inc on GOL6.0 statistical software which is used to estimate multinomial logit models and latent class models. In addition, Rupananda trained SAWTOOTH 9.0 lighthouse software which was used for collecting conjoint choice experient data. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? Conference Papers and Presentations Student Presentations Manuscripts for publishing in peer reviewed journals Ph.D. Dissertation (Please see Sections Products, Other Products, & Accomplishments for more details on results dissemination What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? Progress of Rupananda's Ph.D. dissertation Details of the manuscripts published in peer reviewed journals Details of the conference presentations to disserminate research findings of among researchers and policy makers
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
The Conjoint Experiment Survey was completed Preliminary data analysis is carrying out A draft paper on the preffered water management attributesand their Willingess to Pay (WTP) was produced A draft paper on the heterogeneity in public preferences for water management attributes and their welfare impact wasproduced A draft paper on social cost of water pricing was produced
Publications
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Accepted
Year Published:
2021
Citation:
Widanage, R., and Catherine, C., 2021. Policy Strategies for Managing Agricultural & Environmental Water in Hawaii in Oahu, Hawaii, International Tropical Island Water Conference, 12th -15th April, Honolulu, Hawaii
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Accepted
Year Published:
2021
Citation:
Widanage, R., and Catherine, C., Yin-phan Tsang, and Mellissa, Price 2021. Agricultural Water Pricing, Local Food Production and Wildlife Conservation: Policy Analysis of Sustainable Water Management in Hawaii, Annual Conference, Hawaii Conservation Allience
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Submitted
Year Published:
2022
Citation:
Widanage, R., and Catherine, C., Market Failures and Social Cost of Water Pricing: Policy Implications for Sustainable Water Management In Hawaii. Annual Conference 2022, Hawaii Conservation Alliance
|
Progress 10/01/19 to 09/30/20
Outputs
Target Audience:Farmers, University academics (Ecologists and Economists), and water consumers. Changes/Problems:In the presence of COVID-19, it is not possible to conduct face to face interviews with farmers and water consumers. Hence, we are planning to conduct online interviews with those groups. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?The project provided opportunity for a Ph.D. student to develop a research proposal based on the interviews with farmers and the literature survey. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?We do not have results yet. After the field survey and data analysis, the student will write his doctoral dissertation and also he will intend to publish articles in peer reviewed journals. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?We plan to conduct a survey to obtain necessary data for the choice experiment.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
We identified necessary variables for choice experiment to evaluate water diversion in terms of economic opportunities and ecological trade-off.
Publications
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Accepted
Year Published:
2019
Citation:
Widanage, R., Chan, C., Tsang, Y., and Price, M. 2019. Agricultural Water Pricing, Local Food Production & Wildlife Conservation: Policy Analysis of Sustainable Agricultural Water Management in Hawaii. Hawaii Agriculture Conference, Oct. 15-16, 2019, Honolulu, Hawaii, USA.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Under Review
Year Published:
2019
Citation:
Widanage, R. and Chan, C. 2020. Water use efficiency, crop diversification and technical efficiency in food crop agriculture in Hawaii. will be submitted for presenting on 20th April, 2020, CTAHR research day, College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources, University of Hawaii, Manoa, USA.
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Submitted
Year Published:
2020
Citation:
Harmon K.C., Wehr, N.H., and Price, M.R. 2020. Nesting time impacts nest depredation of the Hawaiian Stilt (Himantopus mexicanus knudseni). Journal of Field Ornithology.
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2020
Citation:
Harmon, K.C, Winter, K.B., Kurashima, N., Fletcher, C.H., Kane, H., and Price, M.R. 2020. The potential of Indigenous Resource Management to achieve recovery of rare and endangered waterbirds in Hawai'i in the context of climate change. Submitting to Pacific Conservation Biology, Special Issue: Transforming Conservation Biology through Indigenous Perspectives.
|
Progress 10/01/18 to 09/30/19
Outputs
Target Audience:The research team approached farmers to collect data on agricultural water use and farming practices in Oahu, Hawai'i. Papers were presented in Hawaii to reach out to local farmers, extension and government officials. Changes/Problems:Currently, we are interviewing farmers to collect data. It is very difficult to find farmers to collect necessary information for estimating the frontier production function to estimate technical efficiency in food crop agriculture.As a result, we are considering non-parametric approach like DEA analysis for measuring technical efficiency. In addition, we will use Conjoint Choice Experiment (CCE) to value the impact of negative externality created by water diversion. We will also use CCE approach to identify the preferred water management options which balances economic and ecological trade-off in water diversion. Furthermore, we will conduct a policy analysis of social cost pricing of agricultural water in Hawai'i. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?
Nothing Reported
How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Our following publications, technical reports and presentations were disseminated among various interested parties such as farmers, decision makers, scientistsand general public. Presentations 11/19/2018: Poster Presentation NOAA Symposium in Support of Archipelagic Management "Impacts of Surface Water Levels and Predation on Hawaiian Stilt Nesting Success" 04/02/2019: Meeting with Division of Forestry and Wildlife Met with wetland managers from the Hawai'i Department of Land and Natural Resources, Division of Forestry and Wildlife to discuss results from 2018 nesting season, as well as plan for 2019 nesting season 05/15/2019: Hawaiian Waterbird Survey Meeting Met with wetland managers to discuss survey methods for the biannual Hawaiian waterbird survey 06/26/2019: Oral Presentation at the American Ornithological Society Annual Conference "Nest Initiation Time Impacts Nesting Success of the Hawaiian Stilt" 07/10/2019: Oral Presentation Hawai'i Conservation Conference "Nest Initiation Time and Distance to Water Predict Nesting Success of the Ae'o (Hawaiian Stilt - Himantopus mexicanus knudensi) in Wetlands on O'ahu 07/10/2019: Poster Presentation Hawai'i Conservation Conference "Mammal-Exclusion Fencing and the Reproductive Success of an Endangered Native Waterbird" 10/16/2019: Oral Presentation Hawai'i Agriculture Conference Widanage, R., C. Chan, Y. Tsang, and M. Price. Agricultural Water Pricing, Local Food Production & Wildlife Conservation: Policy Analysis of Sustainable Agricultural Water Management in Hawai'i. 04/20/20 Oral Presentation CATHAR research day, College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources, University of Hawai'i, Manoa Water use efficiency, crop diversification and technical efficiency in food crop agriculture in Hawai'i. Publications Harmon K.C., Wehr N.H., Price, M.R. 2020. Nesting time impacts nest depredation of the Hawaiian Stilt (Himantopus mexicanus knudseni). Submitting to Journal of Field Ornithology. Harmon K.C, Winter K.B., Kurashima N., Fletcher C.H., Kane H., Price M.R. 2020. The potential of Indigenous Resource Management to achieve recovery of rare and endangered waterbirds in Hawai'i in the context of climate change. Submitting to Pacific Conservation Biology, Special Issue: "Transforming Conservation Biology Through Indigenous Perspectives". Reports Harmon K.C., Christensen D.L., Idle J.L., Opie E.N.P, and Price M.R. 2019. Nesting Ecology of the Hawaiian Stilt (Himantopus mexicanus knudseni) in Wetlands on O'ahu. Technical Report to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Harmon K.C., Christensen D.L., Idle J.L., and Price M.R. 2019. Nest-Site Selection and Nesting Success of the Hawaiian Stilt (Himantopus mexicanus knudseni) in Kawainui Marsh and Hamakua Marsh on O'ahu. Technical Report to the Department of Land and Natural Resources, Division of Forestry and Wildlife. Harmon K.C., Christensen D.L., Idle J.L., and Price M.R. 2019. Endangered Waterbird Research and Monitoring at Marine Corps Base Hawaii: First Year Report. Technical Report to the Marine Corps Base Hawai'i-Kaneohe Bay. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?We will conduct remaining interviews with farmers during the spring 2020 to collect rest of the data for estimating frontier production function. In addition, we will conduct Conjoint Choice Experiment survey in summer 2020. Then, we will estimate Conjoint Choice Model to identify the preferred water management options which balances economic and ecological trade-off. In addition, findings of the study will be presented CTAHR research symposium and Hawai'i agricultural conference. In 2020 we also plan to continue collecting data on Hawaiian Stilt hatching success and chick home-range and survival. We plan to present findings at the CTAHR Student Research Symposium, as well as the Hawai'i Conservation Conference. We plan to give a presentation of our research at the World Wetlands Day event hosted by Livable Hawai'i Kai Hui. We will meet regularly with wetland managers to provide updates on research findings, and we will provide formal reports to managers of our results. We also plan to construct and submit publications on the impact of mammal-exclusion fencing on hatching success of the Hawaiian Stilt.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Formulating a baseline water efficiency model to assess water use under different scenarios of climate change and water rates. In addition, we estimated water demand function using preliminary data collected. Our estimate shows that 12,000,000 water gallons is required to double the food production produced in year 2018. Based on the preliminary interviews with farmers, water experts, and ecologist, we identified introduction of payment for the protection of ecosystem services in the watershed may be more appropriate to balance economic and ecological trade off. In this study we found that Hawaiian Stilts preferred to nest in short vegetation and preferred to use Water Hyssop and Pickleweed for nesting, but we did not observe a preference for proximity to water, as nests were found at a variety of distances to water. We found that the likelihood of nest depredation of Hawaiian Stilt nests was greatest earlier in the nesting season. Our results did not indicate that seasonality in nest depredation was linked to nest-site characteristics. Rather, it is likely that differences in traits or behavior of parents, changes in predator activity, or changes in nest abundance are responsible for the temporal differences observed in this study. We also found that 80% of nest depredation events were cause by introduced mammals and that hatching success was greater at a wetland with a mammal-exclusion fence, compared to a nearby wetland where trapping was the only method for introduced mammal control. Our study is the first to identify seasonality in nest depredation of the Hawaiian Stilt, and as such, our results have important implications for the timing of management actions. Our results suggest that management of predators, particularly mammals, is key to improving stilt nest survival, as preferred nest-site characteristics do not reduce the likelihood of nest depredation. The majority of confirmed predators in this study were mammals, 35% of which were Small Indian Mongooses, which have negatively impacted other avifauna in Hawai'i. Land managers likely need to increase predator control, particularly for introduced mammalian predators, as the stilt nesting season progresses. Land managers should also consider increasing mammalian trapping in high density nesting areas. Further, mammal-exclusion fencing may be a useful tool to help recover endangered waterbirds, by increasing nesting success. Additionally, tall, invasive vegetation, such as California Grass, should continue to be controlled by wetland managers, as it was rarely used for nesting by stilts, and more desirable vegetation, such as Pickleweed and Water Hyssop, should be made available. Further, making desirable habitat more available throughout wetlands may encourage larger spacing between nesting pairs, which may help to reduce depredation pressure. While stilt chicks were often found using vegetated mudflats near water, behaviors and home-ranges varied by wetland, and a second year of data is needed better understand these dynamics.
Publications
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Accepted
Year Published:
2019
Citation:
11/19/2018: Poster Presentation at the NOAA Symposium in Support of Archipelagic Management. "Impacts of Surface Water Levels and Predation on Hawaiian Stilt Nesting Success"
- Type:
Other
Status:
Accepted
Year Published:
2019
Citation:
04/02/2019: Meeting with Division of Forestry and Wildlife. Met with wetland managers from the Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources, Division of Forestry and Wildlife to discuss results from 2018 nesting season, as well as plan for 2019 nesting season.
- Type:
Other
Status:
Accepted
Year Published:
2019
Citation:
05/15/2019: Hawaiian Waterbird Survey Meeting. Met with wetland managers to discuss survey methods for the biannual Hawaiian waterbird survey.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Accepted
Year Published:
2019
Citation:
06/26/2019: Oral Presentation at the American Ornithological Society Annual Conference. Nest Initiation Time Impacts Nesting Success of the Hawaiian Stilt
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Accepted
Year Published:
2019
Citation:
07/10/2019: Oral Presentation Hawaii Conservation Conference. Nest Initiation Time and Distance to Water Predict Nesting Success of the Aeo (Hawaiian Stilt - Himantopus mexicanus knudensi) in Wetlands on Oahu
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Accepted
Year Published:
2019
Citation:
07/10/2019: Poster Presentation Hawaii Conservation Conference. Mammal-Exclusion Fencing and the Reproductive Success of an Endangered Native Waterbird
- Type:
Other
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2019
Citation:
Harmon, K.C., Christensen, D.L., Idle, J.L., Opie, E.N.P, and Price, M.R. 2019. Nesting Ecology of the Hawaiian Stilt (Himantopus mexicanus knudseni) in Wetlands on Oahu. Technical Report to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
- Type:
Other
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2019
Citation:
Harmon, K.C., Christensen, D.L., Idle, J.L., and Price, M.R. 2019. Nest-Site Selection and Nesting Success of the Hawaiian Stilt (Himantopus mexicanus knudseni) in Kawainui Marsh and Hamakua Marsh on Oahu. Technical Report to the Department of Land and Natural Resources, Division of Forestry and Wildlife.
- Type:
Other
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2019
Citation:
Harmon, K.C., Christensen, D.L., Idle, J.L., and Price, M.R. 2019. Endangered Waterbird Research and Monitoring at Marine Corps Base Hawaii: First Year Report. Technical Report to the Marine Corps Base Hawaii-Kaneohe Bay.
|
Progress 10/01/17 to 09/30/18
Outputs
Target Audience:Fellow graduate students, scientists, practitioners, wildlife manager. Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Two undergraduate students were hired as research technicians to assist with waterbird and nesting surveys, as well as to perform data organization and analysis. One undergraduate student presented results from this project at the NOAA Symposium on Science in Support of Archipelagic Management How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? We have held meetings with wildlife managers from the Hawai'i Department of Land and Natural Resources, Division of Forestry and Wildlife (DOFAW) and the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS). During meetings with DOFAW we provided managers with information about habitat characteristics that our project results suggest are important for increasing habitat use of ponds by native Hawaiian waterbirds (Hawaiian stilt, Hawaiian coot, and Hawaiian gallinule) in Kawainui Marsh. We suggested potential water depth ranges for each species of waterbird and provided a water quality assessment of nearby water sources that may potentially be used to fill ponds. During meetings with the USFWS we provided an evaluation of potential threats to Hawaiian stilt nesting success, such as predation, flooding, and habitat characteristics. Using this evaluation, we discussed potential changes to invasive predator, as well as invasive vegetation, removal strategies. Additionally, we provided our results to DOFAW and the USFWS in the form of technical reports. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?The plan is to look at the technical efficiency of the farmers with current water allocations. Scenarios will be conducted to look at changes in efficiency. Scenarios such as less water allocations and climate change will be conducted. We will continue to collect waterbird survey data.Within the next six months we expect to have more data that will confirm pond water depths necessary for Hawaiian waterbird foraging and nesting. We also expect to have developed more complex models that can be used to predict Hawaiian waterbird habitat use given future climate scenarios. We will evaluate other potential variables that may impact nesting success of the Hawaiian stilt, such as nest-site competition and parental involvement. We expect to have banded 40Hawaiian stilt chicks from wetlands across O'ahu in order to quantify the number of Hawaiian stilt chicks recruited into the breeding population, as well as to calculate Hawaiian stilt survival.We will continue to work towards developing models to predict nest survival probability given future climate scenarios.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Determine habitat use:Hawaiian stilts were detected most in water depths less than one foot during the dry season. This is likely because, with the exception of two survey days, pond water depths were less than one foot. Additionally, our dry season surveys coincided with the stilt nesting period, and stilts generally prefer shallow water for nesting. During the wet season Hawaiian stilts were detected most in water depths between one and two feet. Stilts were not nesting during the wet season, and most likely utilized deeper water depths for foraging. Hawaiian coots were detected most in water depths below one foot during the dry season, as most pond water depths were less than one foot. During the wet season coots were detected most in water depths between one and two feet, which is likely explained by foraging behavior, as coots often use deeper water to dive for prey. Hawaiian gallinules did not appear to be selective of water depth, as they were found in all water depths that were available during our surveys. Identify habitat quality: Nesting success was not correlated with any nest-site characteristics. This could be due to differences in habitat conditions among wetlands, such as managed and unmanaged water levels, or vegetation type. Additionally, some habitat characteristics vary within wetlands, such as vegetation type. Early nests were closer to water than late nests, most likely due to a decrease in average precipitation across O'ahu late in the nesting season that caused some wetlands to dry out. Early nests were located in significantly taller vegetation than late nests, which could be due to differences in precipitation, or differences in vegetation management, between early and late periods. Despite no direct correlation between nest success and nest-site characteristics, early nests were more successful than late nests. Other factors, such as food availability, parental involvement, and nest-site competition, may impact nest success. We will use water depth and habitat data to identify water flow needed to sustain waterbird productivity in Kawainui Marsh under various climate scenarios.
Publications
- Type:
Other
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2018
Citation:
Harmon, K., Tsang, Y., Strauch, A., Chan, C., and Price, M. 2018. Evaluating Impacts of Rainfall Intensity and Surface Water Levels on Hawaiian Stilt Nesting Success. Poster session presented at: Student Research Symposium 2018. Page 6. 30th Annual Student Research Symposium of the University of Hawaii at M?noas College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources (CTAHR) and College of Engineering (COE); 2018, April 6-7; Honolulu, HI.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2018
Citation:
Harmon, K., Tsang, Y., Strauch, A., Chan, C., and Price, M. 2018. Impacts of Surface Water Levels and Predation on Hawaiian Stilt Nesting Success. Poster session presented at: Symposium on Science in Support of Archipelagic Management 2018. Page 61. Symposium of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; 2018, November 19-20; Honolulu, HI.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Accepted
Year Published:
2018
Citation:
Harmon, K., Tsang, Y., Strauch, A., Chan, C., and Price, M. 2018. Evaluating Impacts of Rainfall Intensity and Surface Water Levels on Hawaiian Stilt Nesting Success. Oral session presented at: Hawaii Conservation Conference 2018. Page 49. 25th Annual Conference of the Hawaii Conservation Alliance; 2018, July 24-26; Honolulu, HI.
|
Progress 10/01/16 to 09/30/17
Outputs
Target Audience:Results from the first year of the study, as well as the overall project design, were presented at the Hawaii Conservation Conference, with over 1000+ attendees, largely including conservation and natural resource management professionals from across the state of Hawaii. These results were also presented at the Waterbird Society Meetings in Iceland, reaching a global audience of waterbird researchers and managers. We also met with waterbird managers at the Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources, Division of Forestry and Wildlife, to discuss the results of our study from the first year, the management implications, and the direction of the study for the next year. Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Funding for one graduate student. This graduate student has provided training for two undergraduate students. The graduate student attended three conferences, one agricultural, one conservation, and one waterbird focused. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Yes, through conference presentations and meetings with natural resource managers. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?In the next year we will continue to collect and analyze data to identify water levels necessary to ensure viable endangered waterbird populations for the next 100 years, and identify optimal habitat quality to sustain biodiversity and ecosystem services. We are also beginning to collect farmer water use decisions and crop data to identify food security supply usingcognitive mapping. Finally, we are also gathering data necessary to identify land use change and cover impact with optimal water levels.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
We collected the first year of data necessary to identify "water levels necessary to ensure viable endangered waterbird populations for the next 100 years", including weekly water levels, precipitation, stream flow into wetlands, Hawaiian stilt chick nesting success, predation on Hawaiian stilt chicks, and nest failure due to flooding events.
Publications
|
|