Monitoring

Perhaps one of the most critical components to the Ka‘ena Point Ecosystem Restoration Project was to monitor biological changes, in both native and non-native species, in order to determine how successful the project has been in restoring native species, and to determine the most effective method of removing non-native species.
 
Extensive monthly seabird monitoring has been done for the past 7 years by both state and university biologists, and will continue to be conducted after construction. Botanists from the University of Hawai‘i completed an extensive botanical survey to determine the plant species present and where they are found in the Reserve, and invertebrate monitoring was also conducted so that all native species present are accounted for.
 
Biological monitoring of pest species was also done during four separate weeks in 2008 to document species present, their abundance, reproductive cycle, and home range in order to select the most effective removal method. Prior to the completion of the fence, cats, mongoose, mice and black rats were found in the Reserve, with mice being the most abundant pest animal.

In March, 2010, as part of the ongoing monitoring to measure what the effects would be of predator removal on the ecosystem at Ka‘ena Point Natural Area Reserve, Pacific Rim Conservation, in collaboration with the Hawai‘i Department of Land and Natural Resources and the US Fish and Wildlife Service Coastal Program, conducted an intensive three day long biological survey. Insects were collected and identified from points throughout the Reserve to document whether the removal of rats would cause changes in proportions of native insects, such as yellow faced bees, and non-native insects, such as ants. Small soil samples were also collected to determine whether increases in seabird numbers would impact the nutrients in the soils and the marine intertidal habitat was surveyed to document whether rats were having an impact on marine invertebrates, such as ‘opihi. Previous surveys were done on the plants and birds at Ka‘ena to look at similar questions. Overall, the removal of non-native predators, such as rats, mongoose and cats were expected to have a large benefit to the native species found at Ka‘ena Point.