Kauai Endangered Species Additions

Endangered species listings were finalized for 48 species from Kauai along with designation of critical habitat for all but one of them. Two of the species are Hawaiian honeycreepers, one is a Hawaiian picture-wing fly, and the rest are plants. Also more than forty square miles were designated as critical habitat, which will help the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service adopt a new approach to protecting imperiled species by restoring health to the broad ecosystems they inhabit. Previously, the service tried to protect endangered species by adopting separate plans to revive their respective habitats, which led to disjointed and overlapping efforts. These 48 highly endangered species now have a shot at survival and recovery.

The two bird species added to the endangered species list are both Hawaiian honeycreepers – the akekee (Kauai akepa) and the akikiki (Kauai creeper). The akekee population dropped from 8,000 birds in 2000 to 3,500 birds by 2007. The akikiki population has declined even further, by about 80 percent in the last 40 years, to approximately 1,300 birds in 2007. These two species join 33 other Hawaiian bird species listed as endangered and another listed as threatened. Photo of the akekee by Jack Jeffrey.

Hawaii is inhabited by 111 species of picture-wing flies with colorful wing patterns and intricate mating rituals that evolved from a single female that migrated from the mainland some five million years ago. Drosophila sharpi is a large species of Hawaiian picture-wing fly found in Kauai’s wet forests, and joins 12 other Hawaiian picture-wing flies on the endangered species list.

The 45 plant species now listed as endangered include ferns, vines, shrubs and trees found nowhere else in the world. Twenty-three of the plant species have fewer than 50 individuals remaining in the wild, and some have not been seen for several years, although they are still believed to exist in remote areas. One fern, Diellia manii, was thought to be extinct since the early 1900s, but a single individual was rediscovered in 2002 at Kokee State Park. The addition of these plant species to the endangered species list brings the total number of endangered Hawaiian plants to 309, and another 10 are considered threatened.

The one species that will not receive critical habitat is being excluded for its own protection. Critical habitat for the plant Pritchardia hardyi (loulu) was determined not to be prudent because biologist believe a designation for this rare palm could alert collectors to its location.