Coordinating Group on Alien Pest Species

This year, we celebrate and reinforce our collective aloha ʻāina responsibility with the theme, ‘Who Protects Hawaii? You do. Invasive Species are everyone’s kuleana.’

HISAM is an annual event dedicated to educating and mobilizing the residents of Hawaiʻi to protect our islands from the threats posed by invasive species. Join us throughout the month for educational webinars, local volunteer opportunities and events, HISAM community awards, and the premiere of the video series “Who protects Hawaiʻi?”

Visit https://dlnr.hawaii.gov/hisc/hisam2024/ to learn more and get involved!

How is Hawaiʻi protected from invasive species?

The Hawai’i State Legislature has defined invasive species as the “single greatest threat” to our economy, natural environment and health of our communities. Once invasive insects and plants become established and widespread, there are very few tools that can effectively limit the unwanted impacts of those pests and weeds at a large scale. One way to combat invasive species is biological control, or biocontrol for short, the science of controlling a pest or weed by using another organism. 

However, there are misconceptions about the process. When people in Hawaiʻi think of biocontrol the first thing that comes to mind is the mongoose, a small carnivorous mammal introduced by sugar planters in a misguided effort to control night-active rats. To explain the science behind modern biocontrol, the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa and the state’s Department of Land and Natural Resources developed a video to raise awareness and clear up misconceptions.

When a biocontrol is “host-specific,” when it only impacts the intended pest or weed and does not harm other species or the environment, the benefit-to-cost ratio can be between 30:1 and 300:1. This makes modern, host-specific biocontrol among the safest and most cost-effective control measures available.

To help raise awareness about the sophisticated science of selecting and testing potential biological control “agents,” the Coordinating Group on Alien Pest Species (CGAPS), a project of the UH Pacific Cooperative Studies Unit and the Hawaiʻi DLNR-Division of Forestry and Wildlife teamed up with local media communications company Hyperspective to produce a short video explaining how modern biocontrol research is conducted.

• Video: www.biocontrolhawaii.org

Not the mongoose

“It’s projects like this that highlight the university’s role in facilitating collaboration, research, and outreach to address cross-sector issues, like invasive species in Hawaiʻi,” said Shaya Honarvar, director of the Pacific Cooperative Studies Unit. “This video does a great job of clearly explaining the concepts, while still being engaging and short enough to watch in a single viewing.”

As part of its research tracking public awareness and opinions in invasive species issues, CGAPS found that although the majority of those polled (78%) said they somewhat or strongly support the use of biocontrol that has passed environmental and regulatory testing, only a handful of the 500 survey respondents could name a single successful biocontrol project. Nine percent even said, “mongoose.”

“A successful, host-specific biocontrol works 24 hours per day, seven days a week, without impacting the environment or other species. It’s definitely not the mongoose,” said David Smith, administrator of the Division of Forestry and Wildlife. “We’re happy to partner with CGAPS to put this video together and get the word out about biocontrol as an important invasive species management tool.”

Funding for this project was provided to CGAPS by the Hawaiʻi Invasive Species Council.

 

New Graphics available: 

During this time of physical distancing, many of our partners have made great efforts to continue to share information through electronic media. Here is a short list of pre-recorded webinars available for your viewing pleasure!

• Biocontrol Updates on Strawberry Guava and Himalayan Ginger by Tracy Johnson (May 2020)

 

• On-Demand Webinars by Oahu Invasive Species Committee

 

• Brown Bag Series by Hawai`i Invasive Species Council

 

 

• Plant Pono by Molly Murphy

Due to it’s popularity, a second installment of ROD Webinars are in swing! Please see information below.

·         Wednesday June 10: “Can we successfully plant ʻōhiʻa in Ceratocystis affected forests?” by Stephanie Yelenik and Jeff Stallman, USGS Pacific Islands Ecosystem Research Center.

·         Wednesday June 17: “Development and implementation of the suspect ROD trees management tracking system” by Brian Tucker, UH Pacific Cooperative Studies Unit.

·         Wednesday July 1: Detection and Management of ROD on Kaua’i by the Kaua’i Invasive Species Committee and Kaua’i Division of Forestry and Wildlife

These webinars will be via Zoom. Each webinar will be given at noon, Hawai’i Standard time, and reprised again at 6:00 pm.

**To receive the event links, please sign up on the ROD e-mailing list at rapidohiadeath.org or email ohialove@hawaii.edu to request the links directly.

Since we are not able to have our annual ROD symposia this year, the UH College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources (CTAHR) has developed a webinar series to keep the community up to date on advances in our understanding and management of the disease.

We have scheduled the following webinars:

• Wednesday April 22nd ROD Distribution and Abundance on Hawai’i Island (William Stormont, DLNR/DOFAW Hawai’i Island, and William Buckley, Big Island Invasive Species Committee)
• Wednesday April 29th Impact of ROD on Forest Stands (Ryan Perroy, Timo Sullivan, and  Eszter Collier, SDAV lab, University of Hawai’i at Hilo)
• Wednesday May 13th Importance of Beetles in Spreading ROD (Kylle Roy and Robert Peck, USGS Pacific Ecosystems Research Center)
• Wednesday May 20th Tree and Wood Treatments (Marc Hughes, USDA Forest Service Institute of Pacific Islands Forestry)
• Wednesday May 27th Community Member Actions to Manage ROD (J.B. Friday, University of Hawai’i Cooperative Extension Service)

These webinars will be via Zoom. Each webinar will be given at noon, Hawai’i Standard time, and reprised again at 6:00 pm.

**To receive the event links, please sign up on the ROD e-mailing list at rapidohiadeath.org or email ohialove@hawaii.edu to request the links directly.

Now it’s easier than ever to find the right plant for your garden or nursery with the Plant Pono website. New filter features and updated choices for searching streamline the your selection to not only find non-invasive choices but choices that fit your preferences and environment.

The Plant Pono website is an information center to help businesses and individuals make informed decisions about their plant choices for their personal gardens, plant stock, and landscaping needs. The website offers:

• Planting information on noninvasive plant choices for yards and landscapes
• Examples of invasive plants and their impacts in Hawai‘i
• Easy access to risk assessment results for more than 2,000 plants using the Hawai‘i-Pacific Weed Risk Assessment (HPWRA)
• Ways to request free risk assessments for plants

Check out https://plantpono.org/

Little fire ants, or “LFA” are tiny, stinging ants that can be moved around the state hidden in goods shipped from infested areas on Hawaiʻi island.

What goods, you ask?  They have been found nesting in a variety of items such as the tops of pineapples, stacks of roofing materials, and in potted plants after these items had been shipped. Thankfully, these were found before they could start new infestations.  However, there are always opportunities for these ants to slip through undetected and move into new neighborhoods, so early detection is the key.

“Spot the Ant, Stop the Ant” educates people about the impacts of this tiny ant and asks residents to collect and submit ants from their yard for identification EACH YEAR. Handy and FREE ant collection kits are provided by your local invasive species committee at locations statewide.  Visit www.stoptheant.org for information and locations.  Early detection can lead to eradication, as homeowners in a neighborhood in Mililani Mauka, Waimanalo, and other areas have learned. 

LFA are native to South America and were first discovered in Hawaiʻi in 1999 on Hawaiʻi Island. The ants are tiny (2 mm long, or about as long as a penny is thick), and tend to live in trees and vegetation, but also invade homes. Once established, LFA numbers can reach 10 million ants per 5,000 sf lot making stings unavoidable.  They also jeopardize agriculture and food security by increasing the numbers of plant pests like aphids and mealy bugs. Fruit trees become infested, making harvesting nearly impossible without getting covered in stings because of ants raining down on workers. The stings can even cause cloudiness and blinding in the eyes of domestic animals, including pets. A recent University of Hawaiʻi study found that LFA could cause $12.9 billion in economic damages and result in 3.4 billion stings to Hawaii’s people and visitors over the next 35 years on Hawaii Island alone.

The competition, launched by the U.S. Department of the Interior in partnership with Conservation X Labs in Washington, D.C., invites the global science, entrepreneurship and technology communities to submit ideas for tackling rapid ohia death, the fungal pathogens decimating thousands of native  ʻŌhiʻa lehua trees in Hawaiʻi.

The challenge winners receive $75,000 and the chance to make a difference in tackling one of the most devastating plant diseases introduced to Hawaii. More details, including deadlines for projects, will be revealed in coming weeks. If you’re interested sign up at SavetheOhia.org.

 

 

 

 

A team of researchers have confirmed that one of the two known species that causes Rapid ‘Ōhi‘a Death has tested positive in 5 ‘ōhi‘a trees on Kaua‘i. The species identified is Ceratocystis huliohia (formerly called Species B). This species, while slower-acting than Ceratocystis lukuohia, is just as deadly and a serious concern for Kaua‘i’s forests. There is still a lot unknown about this pathogen, but research to learn more is ongoing.

Check out the full story here:

In light of the recent detection of ROD on Kaua‘i, here is are recommendations to help prevent the spread of ROD across the state.

• Do Not Transport ‘Ōhi‘a Interisland
• Avoid areas known to have ROD whenever possible
• Always clean your shoes and gear before AND after visiting the forest

For more information, please visit: rapidohiadeath.org 

The latest updates are also on the facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/RapidOhiaDeath/