The Ka`ena Point Natural Area Reserve Ecosystem Restoration Project: A Predator Exclusion Fence

Abstract

Author(s): Miller, Christopher J.; Young, Lindsay C.; VanderWerf, Eric A.; Smith, David G.; Kennedy, Randy; Takahama, Talbert K.; Liesemeyer, Brent R.; Leong, Homer | Abstract: The Hawaiian Islands’ first predator exclusion fence project is planned for spring 2010 at the Ka`ena Point Natural Area Reserve, on the Island of Oahu. The Reserve hosts one of the largest seabird colonies in the main Hawaiian Islands and is home to threatened and endangered Hawaiian plants. Both avian and plant species in the Reserve are impacted by non-native mammalian predators. Although predator control operations have been ongoing for over a decade, predator ingress into the Reserve is continual and results in the annual loss of up to 15% of fledgling seabirds. It is projected that the planned predator exclusion fence and subsequent mammal removal will be more cost effective and provide an impervious means of keeping mammalian predators out of the Reserve, thus preserving and improving critical habitat. Because non-native mammalian predators cause biological damage to many of Hawai`i’s fragile avian and plant species in almost every ecosystem island-wide, this project will lead the way in further developing a new management strategy for the protection and preservation of island ecosystems.