LAND–USE CHANGES AND CONSERVATION OF THE HAWAI‘I ‘AMAKIHI

Hawai‘ian honeycreepers have undergone widespread extinction and population declines due to human disturbances, including habitat fragmentation, introduced predatory mammals, alien competitors, and introduced avian diseases. The Hawai‘i ‘amakihi (Hemignathus virens) is one of seven extant Hawai‘ian honeycreepers that, like all other native honey‐creepers, vanished from the low‐elevation native forests on the island of Hawai‘i due to these disturbances. But recent observations indicate that ‘amakihi have begun to recolonize low‐elevation forests in eastern Hawai‘i. In this article we discuss the current abundance of Hawai‘ian ‘amakihi in a suburban habitat on the island of Hawai‘i. We also examine the ‘amakihi's relative preference for native or exotic vegetation. Recolonization in low‐elevation habitats underscores the importance of the remaining native forests. However, concurrent with this recolonization, eastern Hawai‘i is undergoing a residential building boom that has resulted in increased deforestation and forest fragmentation. Thus the future of honeycreepers is uncertain, given the widespread environmental changes taking place in eastern Hawai‘i.