Introduced vector-borne diseases, particularly avian malaria (Plasmodium relictum) and avian pox
virus (Avipoxvirus spp.), continue to play significant roles in the decline and extinction of native forest birds in
the Hawaiian Islands. Hawaiian honeycreepers are particularly susceptible to avian malaria and have survived
into this century largely because of persistence...
Density estimation for marine mammal species is performed primarily using
visual distance sampling or capture-recapture. Minke whales in Hawaiian waters
are very difficult to sight; however, they produce a distinctive “boing” call, making
them ideal candidates for passive acoustic density estimation. We used an array of
14 bottom-mounted hydrophones, distributed...
Remote autonomous ecological acoustic recorders (EARs) were deployed in deep waters at five locations around the island of Kauai and one in waters off Ni'ihau in the main Hawaiian island chain. The EARs were moored to the bottom at depths between 400 and 800 m. The data acquisition sampling rate...
Estimation of cetacean abundance or density using visual methods can be cost-ineffective under many scenarios. Methods based on acoustic data have recently been proposed as an alternative, and could potentially be more effective for visually elusive species that produce loud sounds. Motivated by a dataset of minke whale (Balaenoptera acutorostrata)...
The number of wildland–urban interface communities affected by wildfire is increasing, and both wildfire suppression and losses are costly. However, little is known about post-wildfire response by homeowners and communities after buildings are lost. Our goal was to characterise rebuilding and new development after wildfires across the conterminous United States....
The wildland urban interface (WUI) delineates the areas where wildland fire hazard most directly impacts human communities and threatens lives and property, and where houses exert the strongest influence on the natural environment. Housing data are a major problem for WUI mapping. When housing data are zonal, the concept of...
Over the past 60 years, housing growth has outpaced population growth
in the United States. Conservationists are concerned about the far-reaching environmental
impacts of housing development, particularly in rural areas. We use
clustering analysis to examine the pattern and distribution of housing development
since 1940 in and around the Northern...
Studies examining the effects of human disturbance on avian parental behavior and reproductive
success are fundamental to bird conservation. However, many such studies fail to also consider the influence of
natural threats, a variable environment, and parental roles. Our work examines interactive relationships of cyclical
(time of day, tide, temperature,...
Most drivers underlying wildfire are dynamic, but at different spatial and temporal scales. We quantified temporal and spatial trends in wildfire patterns over two spatial extents in northern Wisconsin to identify drivers and their change through time. We used spatial point pattern analysis to quantify the spatial pattern of wildfire...
National-scale analyses of fire occurrence are needed to prioritize fire policy and
management activities across the United States. However, the drivers of national-scale
patterns of fire occurrence are not well understood, and how the relative importance of human
or biophysical factors varies across the country is unclear. Our research goal...