TRUMP DEFENDS HUNTING ENDANGERED SPECIES

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43. Invasive Species Endanger Native Wildlife in Hawaii don't they?

Invasive Species Control Threatens Endangered Native Birds: The Case of the ‘I’iwi and the Banana Poka

BY SYDNEY ROSS SINGER – It’s not easy being a native bird in Hawaii. And now, as a result of invasive species control, native bird survival is getting even tougher.

The problem is that certain plant weeds are serving as an important food source for some native birds, which have come to rely on the introduced plants for survival. Kill the weeds, and you starve the birds.

Consider the case of the banana poka (Passiflora mollissima). This relative of the passionfruit, or lilikoi, grows as a vine and produces a delicious fruit, grown commercially in some places. Here in Hawaii, the vine escaped cultivation and entered the forests, where it grows into the canopy of trees. Declared a noxious weed by the Hawaii Department of Agriculture, control and eradication efforts have attacked this vine for decades with biocontrol insects, fungus, and herbicides.

While pest controllers comb the forests for banana poka to kill, the native Hawaiian ‘I’iwi bird searches for banana poka to eat. The red plummaged, curve-billed ‘I’iwi bird is now rare on most islands. It is a nectar feeding bird, preferring the o’hia and mamane, but also feeding on nonnative species, especially the banana poka. In fact, the banana poka blossoms at a different time of year than the o’hia and mamane, providing food for the birds at an important time of shortages. http://www.hawaiireporter.com/invasive-species-control-threatens-endangered-native-birds-the-case-of-the-iiwi-and-the-banana-poka