ʻIʻiwi receives protection under the endangered species act

Once one of the most common forest birds in the Hawaiian Islands, the U.S. Department of the Interior will now classify the ʻiʻiwi (scarlet Hawaiian honeycreeper) as a threatened species, protected under the Endangered Species Act. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service determined the classification was warranted based on a review of data on the ʻiʻiwi collected through exhaustive research, public comments and independent scientific peer reviews.

The service’s final listing rule will be published in the Federal Register on Sept 20, 2017, and will become effective on Sept 20, 2017. Next steps include development of a recovery plan, which will be bolstered by input from other federal and state agencies, other conservation partners and the public.

In the past, ʻiʻiwi could be found from the coastal lowlands where they foraged for food, to the high mountain forests where they nested. Today, 90 percent of the ʻiʻiwi population is confined to a narrow band of forest on East Maui and the windward slopes of the island of Hawaiʻi, between 4,265–6,234 feet in elevation. The birds are virtually gone from the islands of Lanaʻi, Oʻahu and Molokai, as well as from west Maui. Less than 1 percent of the population remains on the island of Kauaʻi.

“In recent years, the ʻiʻiwi population has been in sharp decline, due to threats from habitat loss, invasive species and avian diseases, particularly avian malaria,” said Mary Abrams, project leader for the service’s Pacific Islands Fish and Wildlife Office. “These threats have affected all forest birds, not just the ʻiʻiwi. Conservation that benefits the ʻiʻiwi will undoubtedly benefit other Hawaiian forest birds.”

Carried by invasive mosquitos, Avian malaria is the primary driver in the decline of the ʻiʻiwi population and has already caused the decimation of dozens of other Hawaiian forest birds. The disease kills approximately 95 percent of infected ʻiʻiwi. Mosquitos, which are not native to the Hawaiian Islands, breed and thrive at lower and warmer elevations where they infect birds like the ʻiʻiwi.

“ʻIʻiwi have virtually disappeared from any habitat where mosquitoes are found,” Abrams continued. “This has caused their range to shrink dramatically—they are almost entirely limited to higher elevation ‘ōhiʻa forests for their habitat, dietary, and nesting needs.

Higher and cooler elevation ʻōhiʻa forests, where mosquitoes do not thrive, remain the only habitat for the ʻiʻiwi, but even those areas are under threat. As temperatures rise, mosquitoes, and the avian diseases they carry, are able to survive at higher elevations and spread upwards into the mountains, further constricting the ʻiʻiwi’s range.

ʻIʻiwi are dependent for their survival on forests of native ʻōhiʻa. On the island of Hawaiʻi, home to 90 percent of the remaining ʻiʻiwi population, those ʻōhiʻa forests have been under attack from rapid ʻōhiʻa death, an invasive tree pathogen.

“Working with the state, our conservation partners and the public will be crucial as we work to recover the ʻiʻiwi,” said Abrams. “The service is committed to building on our record of collaborative conservation to protect Hawaiʻi’s native species.”

Photos of ʻiʻiwi can be found at bit.ly/iiwiphotos