Conservation Biology, Resource Management, and Alien Species

Dr. Paul Banko (Associate Faculty) - terrestrial ecology on islands with emphasis on avian foraging ecology and population restoration; restoration of endangered Hawaiian lowland bird populations.

Dr. Charles Birkeland - coral reef recovery from damage by human activities (overfishing and nutrient input), and interactions of crustose coralline algae, coral recruitment and herbivorous fishes on the process of recovery; coral reef resource management (e.g., Marine Protected Areas); the affect of biological characteristics and life histories of coral-reef species and ecosystem processes.

Dr. Sheila Conant - life history, ecology and conservation of Hawaiian birds, primarily geographic variation in morphology, genetics, and behavior of endangered passerines in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands; plant-pollinator interactions; conservation biology of rare plants and invertebrates; seabird behavior and conservation; impacts of alien species on native Hawaiian biota.

Dr. Robert Cowie - specific impacts of certain alien species, patterns and processes of faunal homogenization in Hawaii and throughout the islands of the Pacific, and the worldwide pathways via which aliens are spread; using non-marine snails as a model to address the underlying causes of invasiveness and the dynamics of invasions; the ecological characteristics, biogeographic origins and phylogenetic relationships of the pest and native species.

Dr. Leonard Freed - evolutionary and behavioral ecology using native and introduced species in Hawai'i as model systems; life history theory, mating system theory, and optimal foraging theory; adaptation, particularly with bird species that display geographical variation in the characteristics of interest.

Dr. Michael Hadfield - demography and conservation biology of Hawaiian tree snails; comparing genetic identities of endemic tree snails, analyzing the degree of inbreeding in very small, remnant field populations, and devising breeding plans for captive-rearing.

Dr. Paul Jokiel - coral reef ecology, reef monitoring, and environmental management of tropical marine coastal ecosystems.

Dr. Kenneth Kaneshiro - the dynamics of sexual selection of Hawaiian Drosophilidae and the role it plays in the speciation process; the biology of small populations and the role of sexual selection in populations faced with extinction.

Dr. James Parrish - aquatic species interactions and community ecology in relation to nearshore fisheries; predation, trophic ecology, and the trophic structure of communities; competion between native and alien coastal marine fishes, with emphasis on the introduced snapper, Lutjanus kasmira.

Dr. Richard Radtke - characterizing the processes that affect the life history of fishes (i.e., age, growth, recruitment and reproduction) using structural and chemical patterns of otoliths; modeling population structure of commercially and ecologically important species.

Dr. Andrew Taylor - the effects of aspects of parasitoid biology on population dynamics; the effects of population spatial structure and metapopulation processes; and the application of these ideas to conservation biology and biological pest control.

Dr. Robert Toonen - evolution of larval life history modes, patterns and consequences of larval dispersal and settlement cues for marine species; phylogeography and population structure in marine invertebrates; quantifying patterns of connectivity and distribution of genetic structure for the purpose of designing marine protected areas (MPAs); stock structure and management of fisheries species; the ecology, biogeography and impact of invasive marine species on Hawaii's coral reef communities.