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2 Report Documentation Page Form Approved OMB No Public reporting burden for the collection of information is estimated to average 1 hour per response, including the time for reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the collection of information. Send comments regarding this burden estimate or any other aspect of this collection of information, including suggestions for reducing this burden, to Washington Headquarters Services, Directorate for Information Operations and Reports, 1215 Jefferson Davis Highway, Suite 1204, Arlington VA Respondents should be aware that notwithstanding any other provision of law, no person shall be subject to a penalty for failing to comply with a collection of information if it does not display a currently valid OMB control number. 1. REPORT DATE NOV REPORT TYPE 3. DATES COVERED to TITLE AND SUBTITLE Translocation as a Conservation Tool for Restoring Insular Avifauna 5a. CONTRACT NUMBER 5b. GRANT NUMBER 5c. PROGRAM ELEMENT NUMBER 6. AUTHOR(S) 5d. PROJECT NUMBER 5e. TASK NUMBER 5f. WORK UNIT NUMBER 7. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION NAME(S) AND ADDRESS(ES) University of Missouri,Fisheries and Wildlife, Suite 302,1105 E. Rollins Street,Columbia,MO, PERFORMING ORGANIZATION REPORT NUMBER 9. SPONSORING/MONITORING AGENCY NAME(S) AND ADDRESS(ES) 10. SPONSOR/MONITOR S ACRONYM(S) 12. DISTRIBUTION/AVAILABILITY STATEMENT Approved for public release; distribution unlimited 11. SPONSOR/MONITOR S REPORT NUMBER(S) 13. SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES Presented at the Partners in Environmental Technology Technical Symposium & Workshop, 29 Nov? 1 Dec 2011, Washington, DC. Sponsored by SERDP and ESTCP. U.S. Government or Federal Rights License 14. ABSTRACT Faced with climate change, species invasions and habitat alterations, conservationists are using triage approaches for biodiversity preservation on the islands of Pacific Oceania. Some islands are expected to disappear beneath rising seas and we may never restore the ecological integrity of other islands. For example, all but three of the seventy-nine islands in the Tuamotu Archipelago of French Polynesia will likely be inundated with sea level changes in coming years. Fauna from the Tuamotu islands, and from islands like Guam that are heavily impacted by anthropogenic activities, present tremendous challenges to conservationists. The Tuamotu Kingfisher (Todiramphus gambieri) from the island of Niau in French Polynesia, and the captive population of Micronesian Kingfishers (T. cinnamoninus), which previously inhabited Guam, are among the world?s most endangered birds. Both are endemic species from islands that are not likely to be restored within the foreseeable future. One approach to conservation includes establishing new communities of threatened species on islands where they did not previously exist. Some view conservation translocation as a necessary rescue tool in a crisis situation, and they advocate for guiding translocations with the theory of island biogeography and sophisticated methodological approaches. Others assert that?assisted colonization? only exacerbates the invasive species problem. The two Pacific kingfishers have been the focus of ongoing research aimed at determining how to establish rescue populations on islands that did not previously host similar species. Both programs incorporate ecological theory and structured approaches based on a series of field investigations, experiments, and synthetic population modeling. However, the programs have also faced substantial challenges and sometimes troubling ethical considerations associated with introducing species for the sake of conservation.

3 15. SUBJECT TERMS 16. SECURITY CLASSIFICATION OF: 17. LIMITATION OF ABSTRACT a. REPORT unclassified b. ABSTRACT unclassified c. THIS PAGE unclassified Same as Report (SAR) 18. NUMBER OF PAGES 42 19a. NAME OF RESPONSIBLE PERSON Standard Form 298 (Rev. 8-98) Prescribed by ANSI Std Z39-18

4 Pacific Island Restoration Challenges Technical Session No. 4A F TRANSLOCATION AS A CONSERVATION TOOL FOR INSULAR AVIFAUNA DR. DYLAN KESLER University of Missouri Fisheries and Wildlife, Suite E. Rollins Street Columbia, MO (573) keslerd@missouri.edu aced with climate change, species invasions and habitat alterations, conservationists are using triage approaches for biodiversity preservation on the islands of Pacific Oceania. Some islands are expected to disappear beneath rising seas and we may never restore the ecological integrity of other islands. For example, all but three of the seventy-nine islands in the Tuamotu Archipelago of French Polynesia will likely be inundated with sea level changes in coming years. Fauna from the Tuamotu islands, and from islands like Guam that are heavily impacted by anthropogenic activities, present tremendous challenges to conservationists. The Tuamotu Kingfisher (Todiramphus gambieri) from the island of Niau in French Polynesia, and the captive population of Micronesian Kingfishers (T. cinnamoninus), which previously inhabited Guam, are among the world s most endangered birds. Both are endemic species from islands that are not likely to be restored within the foreseeable future. One approach to conservation includes establishing new communities of threatened species on islands where they did not previously exist. Some view conservation translocation as a necessary rescue tool in a crisis situation, and they advocate for guiding translocations with the theory of island biogeography and sophisticated methodological approaches. Others assert that assisted colonization only exacerbates the invasive species problem. The two Pacific kingfishers have been the focus of ongoing research aimed at determining how to establish rescue populations on islands that did not previously host similar species. Both programs incorporate ecological theory and structured approaches based on a series of field investigations, experiments, and synthetic population modeling. However, the programs have also faced substantial challenges and sometimes troubling ethical considerations associated with introducing species for the sake of conservation. C-86

5 .,, ' }.... :.._t..,. I J... \,. Central Pacific and South Pacific....._.,. -'1-.t. "'.. ' ' ---. c ~ I '... IV* F. lometers American Samoa Cook Islands Federated States of Micronesia Fiji French Polynesia Guam Kiribati Marshall Islands Nauru New Caledonia Niue Northern Mariana Islands Palau Samoa Solomon Islands Tonga Tuvalu United States Vanuatu Wallis and Futuna country

6 Birds of Pacific Oceania 90% of avian extinctions from islands

7 Causes of Avian Decline Eben Gering

8 Approaches to Island Conservation Historically approached using continental techniques. Habitat preservation. In-situ/ex-situ protection. Genetic diversity. Stop invasive species. But islands differ from continents!!!

9 Island Species Island bird species are generalists. They are not very good at any one thing. BUT! Island species can tolerate a wide range of island conditions.

10 Island Colonizations Island species established through colonization events that originate from continents. Island Biogeography Theory tells us how the islands became populated. Species composition similar throughout island chains.

11 PaJau Northern Mariana Is. Guam ) Micronesia.. \oyijct IS. MarshaJI Is , Nauru Johnston Hawaii r:'c.p~m~ Howl~d/B~tr Is. Jwis Kiribati.., Australia.. ~. :. Solomon Is. TuvaJu.. Tokelau vanuatu.. CoraJ, Sea Is. New"":..... CaJedonia.. " Norfolk IS. Am. ~lis ls.sam., Samoa.. Cook Is.. Fiff. ~ Tonga ~ Niue French Polynesia Pitcajrn -1

12 North rn M 1M Is. 1 Guwn w.k 1$. Johns n ~ustraha. '.. Mtcronesa N ru. Pwrn, HOWIMdl r IS. JWI$ T uv u I Kartb ti I #. To elau S Am. YrtJhs '' am., 53mo Ton Naue Cook Is..,... French Polynesra.. Pitc lrn New.. Zealand

13 T. sanctus

14 T. sanctus T. chloris

15 T. sanctus T. chloris T. recurvirostris

16 T. sanctus T. chloris T. recurvirostris T. ruficollaris

17 T. sanctus T. chloris T. recurvirostris T. ruficollaris T. tutus

18 T. sanctus T. chloris T. recurvirostris T. ruficollaris T. tutus T. veneratus

19 T. sanctus T. chloris T. recurvirostris T. ruficollaris T. tutus T. veneratus T. gambieri

20 T. sanctus T. chloris T. recurvirostris T. ruficollaris T. tutus T. veneratus T. gambieri T. godeffroyi

21 Conservation Management Use knowledge of natural history. Guide management by ecological theory.

22 Conservation Management Use knowledge of natural history. Guide management by ecological theory. Conservation introductions and assisted colonization!

23 Assisted Colonization Translocation population movement. Reintroduction release within historic range. Assisted colonization release outside range.

24 Useful? Inspired by Re-wilding North America (Green et al. 2005) Under climate change scenarios, translocation may be the only rescue option. Decisions? (Hoegh-Gulderg et al. 2008) Risk of extinction? Technically possible? Benefits outweigh costs? Green HW, Berger J, Bock CE, Bock JH, Burney DA, Estes JA, Foreman D, Martin PS, Roemer GW, Soulé M Re-wilding North America. Nature 436:

25 Criticisms? Reasons for caution evidenced by previous introductions. tantamount to ecological roulette. (Richardson et al. 2009) ecological gambling. (Ricciardi and Simberloff 2009) Disrupt ecosystems. New pest species. Hybridization. Lag time for impacts.

26 Philippine Sea NORTH PACIFIC OCEAN Guam (UNITED STATES) "-

27 2000 BCE Human settlement European contact Pesticide use Brown tree snake introduced Example 1: Guam Micronesian Kingfisher 1960 Bird declines observed individuals Captive population established Extinct in the wild Captive population only 2010

28 Assisted colonization for the Micronesian Kingfisher???? 30,000 Pacific Islands

29 Bayesian Belief Networks Competitors Available area of suitable vegetation Nesting materials Habitat fragmentation Habitat suitability Presence of food items Hybridization species Rainfall Climate Temperature Prey Frequency of catastrophes Competitors Disease Introduced species Climate change effects Predators Roads and ground transport NGO s Airport Logistical infrastructure Vegetation protection laws Ecological requirements Effects on nontarget species Anthropogenic impacts Operational infrastructure Island suitability

30 Island selection

31 Yap Faichuk Fefan Weno Kosrae

32 How Should Translocations Occur? year interval year interval individuals 12 individuals 24 individuals Population size Kosrae worst 5% 3% 5% 3% 5% 3% 30% 20% 10% mean overall survival values adult survival Reduction in juvenile survival Reduction in survival reproduction Management strategy best case

33 Example 2: Tuamotu Kingfisher (Todiramphus gambieri) Critically endangered (IUCN 2008). Endemic to Niau (26 km 2 ). Almost nothing known about this bird.

34 Conservation Approach Conservation on Niau Establish rescue population on another island. Site identification. Translocation design. Translocation. Monitoring.

35 Tuamotu Islands, French Polynesia Makatea p#,, 0"-. ~ ~(1.,, ~.., ~ G (/ '1. 0 () ~ Niau },~ ' Ana a ~~. "' 0, " iles ~ '\.. ' ' /.... I.:11 Gambier Islands Mangareva

36 Climate Change Seal Level Change Makatea.,. Tahiti 2) ~ iles ~..... \ ~ :. ~ '. ~.:. ~. 'EJJ ~.. /. t.. ~.. t M~ Exten Gambier Islands fit Mangareva

37 High Islands t 2) iles ' ~ ~ '!"'itlll.'l!-:. ' ~.:. ~. 'EJJ ~.. t.. ~.. t M~ Exten

38 Translocation?

39 Test Translocation Translocation. Radio-marked. Donor territories. Translocated adults. Guidance for post-release behavior.

40 Movement Ecology and Natal Dispersal

41 Broader Considerations How do we distribute species with sea level change?

42 Broader Considerations How do we distribute species with sea level change?

43 A Pacific Reorganization Use existing decision support tools. Embrace ecological knowledge. Use theory to guide decisions. Move with all due speed.

44 Financial and Material Support University of Missouri, Disney Worldwide Conservation Fund, Sociètè d'ornithologie de Polynèsie, Birdlife International, US Fish and Wildlife Service, Pacific Islands Conservation Research Association, USGS, Virginia Tech Special thanks to citizens of Niau, Gambier Islands, Makatea, Anaa, and Tahiti. France and the government of French Polynesia also supported the Manu mission and conservation in French Polynesia.