7th ICEF Abstract Booklet - UH Manoa
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7th ICEF Abstract Booklet
Session Theme 1: What is the importance of islands to environmental
conservation?
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What is the importance of islands to environmental conservation?
CHRISTOPH KUEFFER1 and KEALOHANUIOPUNA KINNEY2
(1) Institute of Integrative Biology, ETH Zurich, Universitätsstrasse 16, CH-8092 Zurich,
Switzerland
(2) Institute of Pacific Islands Forestry, US Forest Service, 60 Nowelo St. Hilo, HI, USA
This article discusses four features of islands that make them places of special importance to
environmental conservation. First, investment in island conservation is both urgent and cost-effective.
Islands are threatened hotspots of diversity that concentrate unique cultural, biological and geophysical
values, and they form the basis of the livelihoods of millions of islanders. Second, islands are
paradigmatic places of human–environment relationships. Island livelihoods have a long tradition of
existing within spatial, ecological and ultimately social boundaries and are still often highly dependent on
local resources and social cohesion. Island cultures and their rich biocultural knowledge can be an
important basis for revitalizing and innovating sustainable human–nature relationships. Third, islands
form a global web that interlinks biogeographic regions and cultural spaces. They are nodes in a global
cultural network: as multicultural island societies, through diaspora islander communities on continents
and through numerous political and trade relationships among islands and between islands and countries
on continents. Fourth, islands can serve as real-world laboratories that enable scientific innovation,
integration of local and generalized knowledge and social learning and empowerment of local actors. We
conclude that island systems can serve as globally distributed hubs of innovation, if the voices of islanders
are better recognized.Session Theme 2: How have humans changed island ecosystems
through history?
Monday, April 16, 2018 (1:30 - 5:00 PM)
Pacific Room
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Archaeology, historical ecology and anthropogenic island ecosystems
TODD J. BRAJE1 , THOMAS P. LEPPARD2 , SCOTT M. FITZPATRICK3 and JON M. ERLANDSON4
(1) Department of Anthropology, San Diego State University, San Diego, CA 92182–6040, USA
(2) McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research, University of Cambridge, Downing Street,
Cambridge CB2 3ER, UK
(3) Department of Anthropology, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR 97403, USA
(4) Museum of Natural and Cultural History, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR 97403-1224, USA
In the face of environmental uncertainty due to anthropogenic climate change, islands are at the front lines
of global change, threatened by sea level rise, habitat alteration, extinctions and declining biodiversity.
Islands also stand at the forefront of scientific study for understanding the deep history of human
ecodynamics and to build sustainable future systems. We summarize the long history of human
interactions with Polynesian, Mediterranean, Californian and Caribbean island ecosystems, documenting
the effects of various waves of human settlement and socioeconomic systems, from
hunter–gatherer–fishers, to agriculturalists, to globalized colonial interests. We identify degradation of
island environments resulting from human activities, as well as cases of human management of resources
to enhance productivity and create more sustainable systems. These case studies suggest that within a
general global pattern of progressive island degradation, there was no single trajectory of human impact,
but rather complex effects based on variable island physiographies, human subsistence strategies,
population densities, technologies, sociopolitical organization and decision-making.SESSION LEADSession Theme 2: How have humans changed island ecosystems
through history?
Monday, April 16, 2018 (1:30 - 5:00 PM)
Pacific Room
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Whose right to manage? Distribution of property rights affects, equity and power
dynamics in Hawai‘i co-management
ADAM L AYERS1 , JOHN N. KITTINGER2 , MEHANA B. VAUGHAN3
(1) Joint Institute of Marine and Atmospheric Research, University of Hawai’i at Mānoa 1000
Pope Road, Marine Sciences Building 312 Honolulu, HI 96822 USA
(2) Conservation International, Center for Oceans, Suite G-230, 7192 Kalanianaole Hwy, Honolulu, HI
96825
(3) Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Management, University of Hawai‘i at
Mānoa 2525 Correa Road, HIG 21, Honolulu, Hawai‘i 96822
Rights-based fisheries management approaches are increasingly being applied to global fisheries as an
alternative to deficiencies associated with centralized or top-down management. Rights-based fisheries
management includes a diversity of approaches such as catch shares, territorial user rights for fishing
(TURFs), individual transferrable quotas (ITQs), fisheries concessions, cooperatives, and
co-management. Many of these approaches are also being implemented in small-scale fisheries, without
full consideration of how the legacy of previous governing institutions or tenure arrangements may affect
implementation. Likewise, few case studies examine where the rights-based fishery management
approach resides within a larger nested administrative hierarchy or describe the shared property rights
components. This knowledge gap may obscure key stewardship incentives, veil existing power relations,
and in practice, can prolong or prevent governance transformations. To address this gap, we examined a
case study of institutional change in Hawai‘i small-scale coral reef fisheries. We used institutional
analysis to examine changes in coral reef fisheries management across two time periods: historical marine
tenure in the Hawaiian Kingdom (1810-1893) and under contemporary centralized management
(1982-present). We then compared these management regimes to co-management in Hawai‘i
(1994-present), an emerging rights-based management approach. Our analysis reveals that few rights are
devolved to communities looking to co-manage coral reef fisheries. We also discovered a considerable
level of administrative complexity within historical marine tenure regimes, dispelling notions that
traditional management systems were simplistic. We conclude by considering several issues relevant to
the performance of rights-based approaches such as co-management, including the devolution of property
rights at the local level; matching administrative and social-ecological complexity; the importance of
historical context and narratives in shaping solutions; and the legitimacy of governance arrangements.Session Theme 2: How have humans changed island ecosystems
through history?
Monday, April 16, 2018 (1:30 - 5:00 PM)
Pacific Room
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Three centuries of impact: How the chemical and physical environment of west
Maui has responded to changing land use
KIM FALINSKI1 , KIRSTEN OLESON2 , HLA HTUN2 , RUSSELL YOST3 , and TOVA CALLENDER4
(1) The Nature Conservancy, 923 Nuuanu Ave, Honolulu, HI 96817
(2) UH Manoa, NREM, 3050 Maile Way, Honolulu, HI 96822
(3) UH Manoa, TPSS, 3050 Maile Way, Honolulu, HI 96822
(4) West Maui Ridge to Reef, Kihei, HI
Drastic land use changes since European contact have altered ecosystem services in small island states in
the Pacific. Planned future developments will likely continue to change the landscape from agricultural to
suburban. Massive long-term changes in land use on ecosystem services include changes to sediment
retention, nitrogen retention, water yield, carbon sequestration and agricultural production. Using five
land use scenarios at key points in Hawaii’s history spanning from 1778 to 2100, and an alternative
climate change scenario, we compared how these ecosystem services changed over time by modeling
each parameter. To do this, we adapted the InVEST modeling tools for high volcanic islands for each of
the services. We then predicted hotspots to constrain where ecosystem service supply is highest and
lowest using and compared two methods of spatial prediction of multiple ecosystem services. This
approach offers opportunities for current land managers to focus their conservaiton efforts to benefit
multiple services. Results showed that the greatest changes to ecosystem services occurred during peak
sugarcane and pineapple production years in Hawaii (~1920), when there was a 18 fold increase in
sediment export, 11 fold increase in nitrogen export and 43% and 25% decreases in carbon storage and
water availability, respectively. Our analysis concludes that for sediment retention services and water
availability, land use changes pose more of a threat to adjacent reefs than anticipated climate change
impacts.Session Theme 2: How have humans changed island ecosystems
through history?
Monday, April 16, 2018 (1:30 - 5:00 PM)
Pacific Room
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The links between wildlife health and environmental conservation on islands
THIERRY WORK1
(1) US Geological Survey, National Wildlife Health Center, Honolulu Field Station, PO Box 50187,
Honolulu, HI 96850
Terrestrial biota in island ecosystems have high endemism, low dispersal, reduced defenses, and faunal
depauperation making them particularly susceptible to habitat loss and invasive species. In contrast,
marine biota have higher dispersal and diversity; however threats to them include land based pollution,
climate change, and overfishing. Managing these threats can be daunting, particularly when the specific
causes of decline in island biota are unknown or speculative. For instance, it is often assumed that
invasive predators lead to declines of avian endemics, but are these assumptions always justified? Here,
we argue that developing the biomedical tools to understand the health of biota in island ecosystems can
lead to significant insights into actual causes of their decline and can often shatter assumptions as to why
particular organisms are declining. By identifying the actual cause of species declines, this empowers
managers to implement meaningful conservation strategies to recover ecosystems. We show several case
studies where these concepts have been implemented in terrestrial and marine ecosystems in Hawaii and
the Pacific islands to help recover organisms as diverse as birds and coral reefs. The key to success in
such endeavours is close collaborations between those specializing in species biology and those
specializing in biomedical science. This is because the biologists frames the conceptual context for the
ecology of the organism in question and its decline trajectory whilst the biomedical scientists sheds
insights on interactions between the organism, the cause of decline, and its environment leading to
management recommendations.Session Theme 2: How have humans changed island ecosystems
through history?
Monday, April 16, 2018 (1:30 - 5:00 PM)
Pacific Room
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Comparing evidence for shifting cultivation on high latitude European and
Polynesian islands
MATTHEW PREBBLE1 , NICK PORCH2 , REBECCA PHILLIPS3 , THEGN LADEFOGED4 , SIMON
HOLDAWAY5
(1) Dept. Archaeology & Natural History, College of Asia & Pacific, The Australian National
University, Canberra, Australia
(2) School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Deakin University, 221 Burwood Highway, Burwood,
Victoria, Australia
(3) Dept. Anthropology, School of Social Science, University of Auckland, New Zealand
(4) Dept. Anthropology, School of Social Science, University of Auckland, New Zealand
(5) Dept. Anthropology, School of Social Science, University of Auckland, New Zealand
Polynesians first adapted tropical crops to subtropical islands and the temperate sub-continent of New
Zealand after 700 years BP, over 5000 years after east Mediterranean crops were transferred to the islands
off Northern Europe. Critical to these transfers was the associated crop ecosystems including weeds and
other commensal organisms, but also the ecological transformation of forests through fire. There has been
a long-running debate both in Northern Europe and in Polynesia over the role shifting cultivation in forest
clearance. In both regions, existing evidence emphasizes a minimal role for shifting cultivation. Central to
the evidence from the British Isles is the abundance and diversity of annual weeds recorded from
excavated grain storage features, but also palaeoecological indicators of forest clearance from fire and
crop cultivation. Here we present comparable evidence for the transfer of taro (Colocasia esculenta
Schott) to the sub-tropical islands of French Polynesia and northern offshore islands of New Zealand.
Swamp deposits on these islands also archive weed seeds and invertebrates directly associated with taro
pollen. Sedimentary charcoal and charred seeds indicate that fire reduced competing vegetation, and may
have been seasonally scheduled, particularly in the wetter and cooler New Zealand, to enhance soil
nutrients for the limited taro growing season. The near-time archives from French Polynesia and New
Zealand are unique, but suggest that similar bodies of evidence may be found in many locations, but offer
some potential insights into how temperate crop adaptation may have operated in other locations
including Northern Europe.Session Theme 2: How have humans changed island ecosystems
through history?
Monday, April 16, 2018 (1:30 - 5:00 PM)
Pacific Room
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What islands can teach us about wildland fire, the consequences of land use change
and community-based management
CLAY TRAUERNICHT1
(1) University of Hawaii at Manoa, 1910 East-West Rd 101, Honolulu, HI, 96822
The role that wildland fire plays in shaping island ecosystems has been transformed by human activities.
We are the primary source of ignitions and have radically increased the propensity for island landscapes
to burn through the large-scale modification of island ecosystems and, more recently, the introduction of
fire-prone nonnative species. In this presentation, I will first briefly review the fire history and fire
ecology of Hawaii and other Pacific Islands. At present, the proportion of land area affected by wildland
fire in Hawaii and western Pacific Islands such as Yap, Guam, and Palau is equal to, and in some years
greatly exceeds, that of the Western US. The impacts of fires are also particularly acute on islands given
the proximity and tight linkages among communities, watersheds, and nearshore resources. I will then
discuss how novel tools and analyses are allowing us to overcome limitations of ‘traditional’ fire risk
assessment tools developed for continental ecosystems by linking historical fire occurrence to climate,
vegetation, and land cover change. Using Hawaii as an example, I will illustrate how our ability to model
and predict large-scale patterns in ‘landscape flammability’ and explicitly link fire to climatic thresholds
are being used to inform management decisions and public education. Finally, I will discuss how various
efforts on Pacific Islands are using fire science in their work to reduce wildland fire risk and impacts
through bottom-up, community-based approaches.Session Theme 3: What are the future challenges for island ecology
and evolution?
Thursday, April 19, 2018 (8:30 AM - 12:00 PM)
Koi Room
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Island ecology and evolution: challenges in the Anthropocene
NATALIE R. GRAHAM1 , DANIEL S. GRUNER2 , JUN Y. LIM1,3
and ROSEMARY G. GILLESPIE1
(1) Department of Environmental Sciences Policy and Management, University of California
Berkeley, Mulford Hall, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
(2) Department of Entomology, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA
(3) Department of Integrative Biology, University of California, Berkeley, Valley Life Sciences
Building, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
Islands are widely considered to be model systems for studying fundamental questions in ecology and
evolutionary biology. The fundamental state factors that vary among island systems – geologic history,
size, isolation and age – form the basis of mature phenomenological and predictive theory. In this review,
we first highlight classic lines of inquiry that exemplify the historical and continuing importance of
islands. We then show how the conceptual power of islands as ‘natural laboratories’ can be improved
through functional classifications of both the biological properties of, and human impact on, insular
systems. We highlight how global environmental change has been accentuated on islands, expressly
because of their unique insular properties. We review five categories of environmental perturbation:
climate change, habitat modification, direct exploitation, invasion and disease. Using an analysis of
taxonomic checklists for the arthropod biotas of three well-studied island archipelagos, we show how
taxonomists are meeting the challenge of biodiversity assessment before the biodiversity disappears. Our
aim is to promote discussion on the tight correlations of the environmental health of insular systems to
their continued importance as singular venues for discovery in ecology and evolutionary biology, as well
as to their conservation significance as hotspots of endemism.Session Theme 3: What are the future challenges for island ecology
and evolution?
Thursday, April 19, 2018 (8:30 AM - 12:00 PM)
Koi Room
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Time to abandon the loss of dispersal ability hypothesis?
KEVIN BURNS1
(1) School of Biological Sciences, PO Box 600, Victoria University of Wellington, Wellington, New
Zealand, 6023
When asked to explain the existence of flightless organisms on isolated islands, Darwin responded with a
famous analogy involving shipwrecked sailors. He argued there were two strategies for sailors to survive
a shipwreck. The first was to be a strong enough swimmer to reach the shore. The second was to be a poor
swimmer and cling to the wreck. This second strategy has played in the minds of island biogeographers
ever since and ultimately led a long-standing hypothesis of how dispersal evolves on island islands. The
loss of dispersal ability hypothesis predicts that islands are initially colonised by individuals with
relatively good powers of dispersal, but through time, island populations evolve poorer disperser ability to
avoid being swept out to sea. Here I present the results of a comprehensive review of empirical tests of
the loss of dispersal ability hypothesis in island plant populations, along with some new data from the
Chatham Islands. Results showed that nearly half of all empirical tests to date have failed to document
support for the loss of dispersal ability on islands. Furthermore, results also showed that when reduced
dispersal potential is documented, it may often evolve as a passive bi-product of selection for large seeds,
for reasons that are wholly unrelated to their dispersal. Lastly, the hypothesis doesn’t readily apply to all
plant dispersal modes, particularly plants that produce fleshy-fruits. These issues advocate a fresh
approach to the study of how evolution shapes the dispersal potential of plants on isolated islands.Session Theme 3: What are the future challenges for island ecology
and evolution?
Thursday, April 19, 2018 (8:30 AM - 12:00 PM)
Koi Room
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Functional homogenization of herbivorous coral reef fish assemblages on islands
and atolls throughout the Pacific
EILEEN NALLEY1 , ADEL HEENAN2 , MEGAN DONAHUE3
(1) University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, Hawaiʻi Institute of Marine Biology, 46-007, Lilipuna Rd.,
Kāneʻohe, HI, 96744
(2) Bangor University,School of Ocean Sciences, Menai Bridge, Anglesey, LL59 5AB, UK
Coral reefs on islands and atolls throughout the Pacific face a unique set of challenges that may influence
their ability to sustain specialized organisms in the future. Often home to endemic, rare species, these
island communities are particularly important for the maintenance of unique traits, but habitat degradation
and resource depletion can lead to functional homogenization, a process in which natural communities
become more similar and dominated by generalists. Specialized fishes fulfill unique roles, and their
absence can be detrimental to community resilience. To better understand how reef communities may be
affected in the future by anthropogenic impacts, we used a systematic literature review to develop an
index of diet specialization for herbivorous reef fishes. This index was combined with species abundance
data from over 3000 sites at islands and atolls throughout the Pacific to generate a measure of
specialization that could be compared to biophysical and human drivers to examine functional
homogenization. Using hierarchical models we determined that herbivore biomass, richness, and diversity
have a strong positive relationship with assemblage specialization. Nearby human population has
comparatively little direct effect on specialization but may have complex indirect effects through habitat
degradation. As even the most remote island ecosystems are increasingly impacted by humans, it is
important that we apply novel approaches to analyze existing datasets to examine trends at large spatial
scales so that management plans can be developed that reflect both the individuality and the
interconnectedness of island communities.Session Theme 3: What are the future challenges for island ecology
and evolution?
Thursday, April 19, 2018 (8:30 AM - 12:00 PM)
Koi Room
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Unraveling the power of next-generation sequencing for island conservation and
management
JAIRO PATIÑO1 , HENRIK KREHENWINKEL1 , VICTOR GARCÍA-OLIVARES2 , ANTONIA
SALCES-CASTELLANO2 , BRENT C. EMERSON2 , ROSEMARY GILLESPIE1
(1) Department of Environmental Science, Policy, & Management, University of California,
Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
(2) Island Ecology and Evolution Research Group, Instituto de Productos Naturales y Agrobiología
(IPNA-CSIC). Astrofísico Francisco Sánchez 3, La Laguna, Tenerife, Canary Islands, 38206,
Spain
Natural ecosystems and their biotas are increasingly impacted by anthropogenic threats and are becoming
more vulnerable to extinction, a phenomenon particularly evident on islands. Population genetic and
community phylogenetic studies have decisively contributed to this aim by, for instance, estimating levels
of gene flow, population structuring and species delimitation. Over the last decade, advances in
next-generation sequencing (NGS) technologies and their application have led to the relatively low-cost
discovery and genotyping of large number of genetic markers and samples for any and all species.
Thousands of single-nucleotide polymorphisms from across the genome, for instance, can now be
obtained, adding significant statistical power for the estimation of fundamental conservation indices, such
as inbreeding within species, and for the demographic inference of recent population history. The same
technologies have allowed assessment of species richness, food web structure, cryptic species,
identification of juveniles and hidden diversity, promising unprecedented new insights into ecosystem
function and assembly. Here, we describe general considerations for designing NGS studies and illustrate
their potential to assist conservation by determining: (1) Species identity and abundance across entire
communities, allowing derivation of metrics of community stability and turnover; to show the power of
this approach, we present a community-level analysis of Hawaiian arthropods and infer patterns of
stability and invasion. (2) Genetic variation, population boundaries, and species boundaries, thus
facilitating taxonomic delimitation and species identification; here, we present a multi-species analysis
using beetles endemic to the Canary Islands and show how NGS can contribute to the conservation of
threatened island species.Session Theme 3: What are the future challenges for island ecology
and evolution?
Thursday, April 19, 2018 (8:30 AM - 12:00 PM)
Koi Room
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A Global Island Monitoring Scheme (GIMS) for the long-term coordinated survey
and monitoring of forest biota across islands
PAOLO BORGES1 , PEDRO CARDOSO2 , HOLGER KREFT3 , ROSALINA GABRIEL1
(1) cE3c – Centre for Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Changes / Azorean Biodiversity Group
and Universidade dos Açores – Departamento de Ciências e Engenharia do Ambiente, Angra do
Heroísmo, Açores, Portugal
(2) Finnish Museum of Natural History, University of Helsinki, P.O.Box, 17 (Pohjoinen Rautatiekatu
13), 00014 Helsinki, Finland.
(3) Biodiversity, Macroecology & Biogeography, University of Goettingen, Büsgenweg 1, 37077,
Göttingen, Germany
Islands harbour evolutionary and ecologically unique biota that are threatened by multiple anthropogenic
factors, including habitat loss, invasive species, and climate change. Native forests on oceanic islands act
as important refugia for endemic species, many of which are rare and threatened. The establishment of
long-term monitoring schemes for those biota and ecosystems is urgently needed to: (i) provide
quantitative baselines for detecting changes within island ecosystems, (ii) evaluate the effectiveness of
conservation and management actions, and (iii) disentangle general ecological patterns and processes
from idiosyncratic ones by using multiple island systems as repeated ‘natural experiments’. In this
contribution, we call for a Global Island Monitoring Scheme (GIMS), aiming to monitor the remaining
island native forest using bryophytes, vascular plants, selected groups of arthropods and vertebrates as
model taxa. As a basis for GIMS, we also present new, optimized monitoring protocols for bryophytes
and arthropods based on former standardized inventory protocols. Effective inventorying and monitoring
of island native forests will require: (i) permanent plots covering diverse ecological gradients (e.g.
anthropogenic disturbance, age of terrain or elevation); (ii) an approach encompassing multiple taxa with
standardized and replicable protocols; (iii) a common set of indicator taxa and community properties
specific for island native forests, building on, and harmonized with existing sampling and monitoring
efforts; (iv) capacity building of local researchers, collaboration and continuous dialogue with local
stakeholders; and (v) the long-term commitment of funding agencies for maintaining such an
infrastructure for a global network of island native forest monitoring plots.Session Theme 4: How can island conservation contribute to human
wellbeing?
Tuesday, April 17, 2018 (8:30 AM - 12:00 PM)
Asia Room
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Exploring ‘islandness’ and the impacts of nature conservation through the lens of
wellbeing
SARAH COULTHARD1 , LOUISA EVANS1 , RACHEL TURNER2 , DAVID MILLS3,4
, SIMON FOALE4 ,
KIRSTEN ABERNETHY2 , CHRISTINA HICKS5 and IRIS MONNEREAU6
(1) Northumbria University, Department of Social Sciences, Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear,
UK
(2) University of Exeter, Exeter, Devon, UK
(3) WorldFish, Penang, Malaysia
(4) ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University, Queensland, Australia
(5) Lancaster University, Lancaster, Lancashire, UK
(6) Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations – Subregional Office for the Caribbean
(SLC), Bridgetown, Barbados
Motivated by growing concern as to the many threats that islands face, subsequent calls for more
extensive island nature conservation and recent discussion in the conservation literature about the
potential for wellbeing as a useful approach to understanding how conservation affects people's lives, this
paper reviews the literature in order to explore how islands and wellbeing relate and how conservation
might impact that relationship. We apply a three-dimensional concept of social wellbeing to structure the
discussion and illustrate the importance of understanding island–wellbeing interactions in the context of
material, relational and subjective dimensions, using examples from the literature. We posit that islands
and their shared characteristics of ‘islandness’ provide a useful setting in which to apply social wellbeing
as a generalizable framework, which is particularly adept at illuminating the relevance of social
relationships and subjective perceptions in island life – aspects that are often marginalized in more
economically focused conservation impact assessments. The paper then explores in more depth the
influences of island nature conservation on social wellbeing and sustainability outcomes using two case
studies from the global north (UK islands) and global south (the Solomon Islands). We conclude that
conservation approaches that engage with all three dimensions of wellbeing seem to be associated with
success.Session Theme 4: How can island conservation contribute to human
wellbeing?
Tuesday, April 17, 2018 (8:30 AM - 12:00 PM)
Asia Room
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Addressing poaching in marine protected areas through voluntary surveillance and
enforcement
BROCK BERGSETH1
(1) Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies
Poaching renders many of the world’s marine protected areas (MPAs) ineffective. Because enforcement
capacity is often limited, managers are attempting to bolster compliance by engaging the latent
surveillance potential of fishers. Yet, little is known about how fishers respond when they witness
poaching. Here, we surveyed 2111 fishers living adjacent to 55 MPAs in seven countries and found that
48% had previously observed poaching. However, the most common response was inaction, with the
primary reasons being: 1) conflict avoidance; 2) a sense that it was not their responsibility or jurisdiction;
and 3) the perception that poaching was a survival strategy. We also quantified how institutional design
elements related to fishers’ responses to poaching, and highlight avenues to engage fishers while
mitigating risks. These include emphasising how poaching personally affects each fisher, promoting
stewardship and personal responsibility norms, and poverty alleviation to reduce the need for fishers to
poach for survival.Session Theme 4: How can island conservation contribute to human
wellbeing?
Tuesday, April 17, 2018 (8:30 AM - 12:00 PM)
Asia Room
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Groundwater recharge benefits of watershed conservation in Waikamoi, Maui
LEAH BREMER1 , CHRISTOPHER WADA2 , KIM BURNETT2 , SARAH MEDOFF3 , JONATHAN PAGE2 ,
KIM FALINSKI4 , SANGBIN LEE5 , SCOTT ALLEN6
(1) University of Hawaiʻi Economics Research Organization and Water Resources Research Center,
University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa Honolulu, HI 96822
(2) University of Hawaiʻi Economics Research Organization, University of HawaiʻI at Mānoa
Honolulu, HI 96822
(3) University of Hawaiʻi, Department of Economics, University of HawaiʻI at Mānoa Honolulu, HI
96822
(4) The Nature Conservancy, Hawaiʻi Marine Program, Honolulu, HI 96817
(5) Department of Economics, Seoul National University
(6) Department of Urban and Regional Planning, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa Honolulu, HI
96822
Native forest conservation provides multiple benefits, including biodiversity, cultural values, and a suite
of watershed ecosystem services. Here we focus on quantifying groundwater recharge benefits of
conservation activities carried out by The Nature Conservancy in the nearly 9000 acre Waikamoi
preserve. Conservation activities in Waikamoi include fencing, ungulate removal, invasive species
control, and monitoring all of which serve to remove and prevent the spread of invasive plants and
animals. We 1) projected the potential invasive forest spread over 50 years in the absence of these
conservation efforts; 2) modeled how these changes in forest type would affect evapotranspiration and
groundwater recharge using publically available data sets; and 3) translated groundwater recharge benefits
into monetary value based on the cost of obtaining potable water from more expensive sources when
demand exceeds sustainable yield limits. We find that, through avoiding conversion to non-native forest,
conservation activities protect an estimated ~ 4,900 million gallons of groundwater recharge, which
translates into ~ $7.5 million dollars in avoided costs for meeting future potable water needs. These
results demonstrate just one of the many important benefits of watershed conservation.Session Theme 4: How can island conservation contribute to human
wellbeing?
Tuesday, April 17, 2018 (8:30 AM - 12:00 PM)
Asia Room
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Resource sharing networks and implications for wellbeing in Fijian coastal
communities
RACHEL DACKS1 , TAMARA TICKTIN2 , STACY JUPITER3
(1) University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, Department of Zoology, 2538 McCarthy Mall, Edmondson Hall
216, Honolulu, HI 96822
(2) University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, Department of Botany, 3190 Maile Way, St. John 101,
Honolulu, HI 96822
(3) Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), Melanesia Program, 11 Ma'afu Street, Suva, Fiji
When the human dimension of social-ecological systems is considered in conservation, the focus is often
on food availability and income production. However, across the Pacific, natural resources also play an
important role in sharing networks. Sharing of resources, including seafood and crops, sustain kinship ties
that maintain social capital. Thus, conservation of island resources is essential for wellbeing. This study
seeks to better understand resource sharing dynamics and how they are influenced by internal and external
drivers by addressing the following questions: 1) Are there high levels of reciprocity in the networks and
when reciprocity exists, what types of resources are exchanged? and 2) How are connectivity and
centrality in resource sharing networks influenced by livelihood diversity, fishing intensity, and external
markets? Household interviews were conducted in 20 villages across five regions of Fiji. Social network
analysis was used to analyze intra-village resource sharing and structural equation models were used to
identify drivers of social network characteristics. Villages closer to markets had households with less
livelihoods, smaller annual household fish catches, and lower levels of centrality. Results highlight the
importance of conservation of natural resources in providing important benefits beyond food and
economic profits, such as cultural ecosystem services that are important for wellbeing.Session Theme 4: How can island conservation contribute to human
wellbeing?
Tuesday, April 17, 2018 (8:30 AM - 12:00 PM)
Asia Room
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Pandanustectorius - Use and Conservation Management of a Keystone Cultural
Species in Micronesia
MARK MERLIN1 , TIMOTHY GALLAHER2
(1) University of Hawaii at Manoa, Botany Department, 3190 Maile Way, Honolulu, Hawaii 96822
(2) University of Washington, Department of Biology, 24 Kincaid Hall, Seattle, WA 98105
Pandanus tectorius Parkinson (senso lato), is a widespread small tree found in the tropics, in coastal strand
habitats and sometimes inland on low elevation slopes of moderately wet to wet valleys up to about 600
meters. Its native range extends from Australia through parts of mainland and insular Southeast Asia into
both Near and Remote Oceania. This species is one of the most useful trees to most Pacific Islanders with
widespread ethnobotanical relationships involving its roots, trunk, limbs, leaves and fruit. As a keystone
species in the cultures of many Pacific Islanders, this multipurpose plant played a crucial role in the early
voyages and dispersal of humans in the tropical Pacific and continues to be a significant source of woven
products, building material, medicine, and food. Its importance, particularly on atolls is demonstrated by
the hundreds of named cultivars that have been developed from this species, many of which are now
being forgotten due to the loss of traditional knowledge. Today the continued existence of the species is
impacted by rising sea level, urbanization, changing diets, and introduced pests. This review compares the
relative cross-culture importance of this versatile species in the past, present and future in a variety of
Micronesian societies. Issues of cultural biodiversity, cultivar conservation, food security, and traditional
ethnobotanical knowledge are discussed.Session Theme 4: How can island conservation contribute to human
wellbeing?
Tuesday, April 17, 2018 (8:30 AM - 12:00 PM)
Asia Room
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Impacts of climate change on Puerto Rico’s coral reef fisheries from a stakeholder
perspective: Investigating potential for more participatory approaches for
conservation and management
TARSILA SEARA1 , KARIN JAKUBOWSKI1 , RICHARD POLLNAC2
(1) University of New Haven, 300 Boston Post Road, West Haven, CT 06516
(2) University of Rhode Island, 1 Greenhouse Road, Kingston, RI 02881
Healthy coral reef ecosystems are essential to the people of Puerto Rico as organisms that inhabit and
depend upon them sustain the livelihoods of many by providing income and employment opportunities,
while also playing a crucial role in food security. Assessments of socio-economic impacts of climate
change are critical for understanding and addressing challenges associated with fisheries management,
coral reef conservation, as well as social resilience and well-being under new climate future scenarios.
The study uses surveys and interviews in four different regions in Puerto Rico including nine different
communities to investigate perceptions of fishers and other stakeholders with regard to current and
potential impacts of environmental change, with a focus on climate change, on coral reef fishery resources
and resource users. Aspects of individual and community well-being and resilience are also investigated.
Understanding subjective perceptions of different stakeholders will elucidate potential opportunities for
collaboration in managing and conserving coral reefs and its valuable resources. Participatory approaches
to fisheries management are associated with more successful conservation policies for they create
opportunities for self-regulatory strategies and community empowerment. This research provides
knowledge that is essential for developing innovative strategies for safeguarding the sustainability of
island fishery resources, particularly under uncertain future scenarios.Session Theme 5: How are islands dealing with the challenge of
balancing development with sustainability?
Tuesday, April 17, 2018 (1:30 - 5:00 PM)
Asia Room
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Islands: balancing development and sustainability?
JOHN CONNELL1
(1) University of Sydney – School of Geosciences, Sydney, NSW2006, Australia
This overview explores sustainable development in island contexts. More subtle and complex concepts of
sustainable development have become manifest in the Sustainable Development Goals, with tensions
between social, economic and environmental objectives at different scales as livelihoods acquire greater
flexibility and islands face multiple challenges to development. Islands are part of rapidly changing and
wider worlds, while sustainability is complicated by global change, as debates over strategies and time
periods are accentuated in constrained island contexts. Development and sustainability have repeatedly
acquired new meanings, hence requiring new analytical techniques, planning objectives and effective
governance and management. Progress towards sustainable development in islands and island states is
hampered by multi-scalar challenges, including limited biodiversity, migration, external interventions and
directives, scarce human resources, weak management, inadequate data (and problems of interpretation),
social divisions and tensions and simultaneous quests for modernity and conservation. The tourism sector
emphasizes how sustainable development is particularly difficult to achieve in small islands where access
to adequate livelihoods is important and limited change is possible.Session Theme 5: How are islands dealing with the challenge of
balancing development with sustainability?
Tuesday, April 17, 2018 (1:30 - 5:00 PM)
Asia Room
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Adapting to climate change at the national level in Caribbean small island
developing states
STACY-ANN ROBINSON1
(1) Institute at Brown for Environment and Society, Brown University, 91 Waterman Street,
Providence, RI 02912, United States
Small island developing states (SIDS) are distinct from other developing countries—they are particularly
and comparatively more vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. Efforts to understand national-level
vulnerability in these countries are limited. This paper helps to fill this gap and has two aims. First, it
identifies trends in national-level climate change adaptation among SIDS in the Caribbean – one of three
regions in which SIDS are located. Second, it identifies the limits to adaptation at the national level in
these countries. In applying a resilience lens and using summative content analysis techniques and
semi-structured interviews with 26 senior policy-makers, this paper finds that Caribbean SIDS are
primarily adapting to changes in hurricane, rainfall and drought patterns. It also finds that most
adaptations are being undertaken in the coastal zone and the water and agriculture sectors, and that there
are many factors limiting national-level adaptation. The most commonly reported limit is financing,
though not all policy-makers agree that financing is a limit. These findings are important for national
SIDS governments and international donors and agencies, who will be better able to identify and fill gaps
in their adaptation actions and financing. This paper’s findings also highlight the importance of
depoliticising climate change and prioritising good governance, improving SIDS’ access to international
adaptation financing, and making the road to a climate-resilient future by walking.Session Theme 5: How are islands dealing with the challenge of
balancing development with sustainability?
Tuesday, April 17, 2018 (1:30 - 5:00 PM)
Asia Room
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Greening taxes and subsidies in Pacific Island Countries and Territories
RAPHAËL BILLÉ1 , JEAN-BAPTISTE MARRE
(1) The Pacific Community (SPC) – BP D5 – 98848 Noumea, New Caledonia
As part of its objective to implement innovative financial mechanisms, the RESCCUE (Restauration of
ecosystem services and adaptation to climate change) project, coordinated by the Pacific Community,
investigates how greening taxes and subsidies can foster greater consistency between development and
environnement objectives. Indeed, environmental fiscal and subsidies reform can:
- Reduce perverse incentives, hence reducing pressures on ecosystems and associated funding
needs;
- Free up existing but unavailable financial resources, by eliminating harmful subsidies and
reallocating funding;
- Generate additional financial resources, by setting up green taxes or removing tax exemptions.
Pacific Island Countries and Territories have taken several international commitments towards
environmental fiscal and subsidies reform, e.g. under the Strategic Plan of the Convention on Biological
Diversity, the World Trade Organization or the Sustainable Development Goals.
This presentation will share findings of a regional review conducted under RESCCUE, which identifies
harmful taxes and subsidies in Fiji, French Polynesia, New Caledonia and Vanuatu. The presentation will
also analyze potential for reform and discuss opportunities, barriers and best strategies to make change
happen on a crucial but politically sensitive issue.Session Theme 5: How are islands dealing with the challenge of
balancing development with sustainability?
Tuesday, April 17, 2018 (1:30 - 5:00 PM)
Asia Room
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Environmental politics and islander innovation
JAMES ELLSMOOR1 , ELIZABETH HAVICE2
(1) University of the Highlands and Islands, Scotland
(2) University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, USA
The governments and citizens of Small Island Developing States (SIDS) have become leading figures in
the global climate change debate – both in intergovernmental negotiations and civil society discourse.
Literature has emerged around SIDS roles in these negotiations examining their leadership and their
reframing of the climate change debate, despite being traditionally marginalized entities in international
politics. Meanwhile, a growing body of literature is emerging on islander innovation, that frames the
geographical nature of islands as a driver of islanders’ creativity and entrepreneurship, including in
spheres of governance and policy.
This paper brings together these two distinct fields of research to examine the interplay between them to
examine the question: How does islander innovation shape SIDS roles in global climate change discourse
and negotiations? I argue that SIDS leadership on climate change has been propelled, in part, through
innovative practices shaped by island geography. Drawing on specific examples from four SIDS, the
analysis suggests that SIDS can use the perceived disadvantages of smallness and isolation to become
engines of innovation that create significant impact on climate change politics and mitigation efforts
within and beyond their own shores.Session Theme 5: How are islands dealing with the challenge of
balancing development with sustainability?
Tuesday, April 17, 2018 (1:30 - 5:00 PM)
Asia Room
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Intertwining social, economic, and ecological values to track ocean health
EVA SCHEMMEL1
(1) Conservation International Hawaiʻi
Hawaiians and other Pacific Island nations have a long history of sustainable resource use. They
recognized that their wellbeing and health relied on the status or availability of their resource. Today, the
same is true; the health of our island communities and our environment is intertwined. This strong sense
of place and mālama ʻāina (care for the land and ocean) drives community conservation in Hawaiʻi and is
a model for the rest of the world. These social and cultural values are the foundation for the development
of the Hawaiʻi Ocean Health Idex. The index was developed by a diverse group of stakeholders including
community members, non-profit groups, private industries, state and federal agencies. It integrates
community values, disparate data sets, management priorities, and ecosystem indicators for a more
complete assessment of the benefits that our ocean provides the people of Hawai’i. The index was
developed to assesses the status of our ocean resources as they relate to sustainability goals that have been
defined by the multidisciplinary group of stakeholders. Integrating social, ecological, and economic
values into one index enables communities, local businesses, managers, policy makers, and scientists to
more holistically understand, track, and communicate the status of our ocean resources and creates a
shared vision for the future of our oceans.Session Theme 6: How can we incorporate the value of island environments into conservation? Monday, April 16, 2018 (1:30 - 5:00 PM) Asia Room +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Charting progress towards system-scale ecosystem service valuation in islands KIRSTEN OLESON University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa Using islands as a model system, this paper seeks to understand how ecosystem service valuation (ESV) has and can move from a monetized, single-service paradigm to an integrated valuation paradigm, a participatory approach that represents a more diverse set of the values of nature, and beyond, to a more fully realized conception of the island social-ecological systems. A systematic literature review of 314 island ESV studies reveals developments in the design, implementation, and adoption of ESV studies over time. We complement the review with three cases where this evolution is happening, thereby offering insights into successful means of translating ESV into information useful for island system-scale management, policy design, and planning. Over the past 30 years, both the number of studies and the number of services addressed per study has steadily grown, and valuation methods have become more inclusive of multiple values. The cases reveal lessons for ESV practice. Insights are that ESV should increasingly: (i) recognize strong interconnections between ecosystems and between human and environmental systems; (ii) move towards more integrated valuation methods that better capture diverse values of nature; and, (iii) be based on an iterative process where knowledge and decision-support tools are co-created with decision makers and stakeholders.
Session Theme 6: How can we incorporate the value of island
environments into conservation?
Monday, April 16, 2018 (1:30 - 5:00 PM)
Asia Room
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Developing innovative financial mechanisms for Pacific islands conservation:
opportunities and challenges
RAPHAEL BILLE1 , JEAN-BAPTISTE MARRE1
(1) The Pacific Community (SPC) – BP D5 – 98848 Noumea, New Caledonia
The well-known “funding gap”, or low level of public funding currently allocated to island conservation
relative to needs, calls for trialing new or under-utilized economic and financial mechanisms such as
payments for ecosystem services, biodiversity offsets, marine conservation agreements, user fees etc.
That is the logic behind the RESCCUE (Restoration of ecosystem Services and adaptation to climate
change) project, which is designed to increase Pacific island societies and ecosystems’ resilience to
climate change by implementing integrated coastal management. In addition to its tangible and practical
actions at various pilot sites, this project, implemented by the Pacific Community (SPC), also targets a
regional learning process grounded in real-life experiments with economic and financial mechanisms.
Based on project results from Fiji, French Polynesia, New Caledonia and Vanuatu, this presentation will
share Pacific Island-specific lessons learnt. It will assess challenges with setting up innovative financial
mechanisms: complexity of marine, watershed and land-sea ecological processes; lack of data to assess
ecosystem functions, services and values; often low population densities combined with subsistence
economies; legal obstacles; customary land and marine resources tenure and the cohabitation of
customary and common law; transaction costs against financial benefits. The presentation will also review
opportunities such as the overall good status of coastal and marine ecosystems; the importance of a
tourism industry which heavily depends on ecosystem services; climate change funding.Session Theme 6: How can we incorporate the value of island
environments into conservation?
Monday, April 16, 2018 (1:30 - 5:00 PM)
Asia Room
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A demand-driven approach to ecosystem services economic valuation: feeding
island conservation in the Pacific
JEAN-BAPTISTE MARRE1 , RAPHAËL BILLÉ1
(1) The Pacific Community (SPC) – BP D5 – 98848 Noumea, New Caledonia
To achieve island conservation objectives, economic valuation is often presented as an effective tool for
decision-makers. Yet social processes leading to decisions call for a pragmatic, demand-driven approach
to ensure ecosystem services valuations (ESV) are actually used and do make a difference.
RESCCUE (Restoration of Ecosystem Services and Adaptation to Climate Change) is a 5-year project
implemented by the Pacific Community. It offers opportunities to use ESV for integrated coastal
management and climate change resilience in selected pilot sites spanning four Pacific Island Countries
and Territories (Fiji, New Caledonia, French Polynesia and Vanuatu). RESCCUE builds on a three-fold
diagnosis: (i) ESV is underutilized in island conservation; (ii) Experience from the Pacific and elsewhere
shows both growing interest for economic valuations in support to island conservation, and growing
concern over the lack of use of such valuations when they are conducted; (iii) Experience so far has been
mainly supply-driven (based on what economists have to offer) rather than demand-driven (based on
stakeholders’ needs).
This presentation will share case studies and lessons learnt from the project, drawing especially on work
conducted in New Caledonia in partnership with local authorities. After summarizing results of ESV
conducted in the main island Great South biodiversity hotspot, several uses of these valuations will be
discussed (mainly awareness raising, trade-offs and design of economic instruments) after having been
put to the test of reality. Wider conclusions on the use of ecosystem services economic valuations in the
Pacific will then be suggested.Session Theme 6: How can we incorporate the value of island
environments into conservation?
Monday, April 16, 2018 (1:30 - 5:00 PM)
Asia Room
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Comprehensive economic valuation of Waikiki Beach
NORI TARUI1, 2, MARCUS PENG1 , DOLAN EVERSOLE3
(1) Department of Economics, University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa
(2) University of Hawai‘i Economic Research Organization (UHERO)
(3) University of Hawai‘i Sea Grant College Program
Waikiki Beach is one of the leading tourism destination around the world, and is a large economic driver
of the Hawaii state economy. The beach faces numerous challenges, as an artificial beach it requires
ongoing management and intermittent beach re-nourishment, exasperated by climate change and sea-level
rise. As part of ongoing and public investment into this valuable recreational resource, it is important to
understand the function and value of the beach and its nearshore resources. Waikiki Beach is a
recreational site, provides nearshore habitat to a variety of species, is somewhere to enjoy aesthetic views,
amongst other benefits. In particular, it is important to examine consumer surplus/willingness to pay
values for beach width, length, and crowdedness to inform and justify proposed work. Making use of
modern and state of the art valuation methods, we examine beach values with the revealed preference
Kuhn-Tucker travel cost method, as well as aesthetic values using the stated preference discrete choice
experiment (best-worst scale case 3). Outcomes of this work will inform policy decisions and justify
public expenditures for the maintenance and improvement of Waikiki Beach.Session Theme 6: How can we incorporate the value of island
environments into conservation?
Monday, April 16, 2018 (1:30 - 5:00 PM)
Asia Room
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Using biocultural approaches to translate place-based values to conservation action
, STACY D. JUPITER2 , ELEANOR STERLING1
JOE MCCARTER1,2
(1) Center for Biodiversity and Conservation, American Museum of Natural History, Central Park
West, New York, NY 10024
(2) Melanesia Program, Wildlife Conservation Society, Ma’afu St, Suva, Fiji
Biocultural approaches are increasingly applied to global conservation challenges. These approaches
build on local cultural perspectives and recognize feedbacks between ecosystems and human wellbeing.
In doing so, they may offer an opportunity to strengthen the visibility of place-based values in
conservation planning and action. In this talk, we introduce the principles of biocultural approaches to
conservation; review how these align with the current suite of conservation approaches in Oceania; and
discuss the challenges and trade-offs inherent in biocultural approaches. We then present a case study
from Western Province, Solomon Islands, where we have used a biocultural approach to assess and
support conservation success. Biocultural approaches are highly relevant in Solomon Islands, where
management of land and sea is characterized by cultural and biological diversity, strong systems of
customary tenure, and the central role of local and indigenous rights holders. We worked at four sites, and
began by exploring local needs and priorities, then developed localized indicators of success, assessed
indicator baselines, and sought to catalyze appropriate actions. While there are multiple challenges, this
approach has fostered discussion and a nuanced understanding of place-based well-being. We conclude
that with attention to process, biocultural approaches may allow translation of values between parties and
guide appropriate engagement in conservation and resource management issues.You can also read
