Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-q99xh Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-23T13:46:25.942Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Reducing Nascent Miconia (Miconia calvescens) Patches with an Accelerated Intervention Strategy Utilizing Herbicide Ballistic Technology

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

James Leary ,
Brooke V. Mahnken ,
Linda J. Cox ,
Adam Radford ,
John Yanagida ,
Teya Penniman ,
David C. Duffy  and
Jeremy Gooding
James Leary*
Affiliation:
Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Management, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, HI 96822
Brooke V. Mahnken
Affiliation:
University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, HI 96822
Linda J. Cox
Affiliation:
Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Management, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, HI 96822
Adam Radford
Affiliation:
University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, HI 96822
John Yanagida
Affiliation:
Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Management, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, HI 96822
Teya Penniman
Affiliation:
University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, HI 96822
David C. Duffy
Affiliation:
Pacific Cooperative Studies Unit, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, HI 96822
Jeremy Gooding
Affiliation:
Liaison Pacific Islands Exotic Plant Management Team, National Park Service Biological Resource Management Division
*
Corresponding author's E-mail: [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

The miconia (Miconia calvescens) invasion of the East Maui Watershed (EMW) started from a single introduction over 40 yr ago, establishing a nascent patch network spread across 20,000 ha. In 2012, an accelerated intervention strategy was implemented utilizing the Herbicide Ballistic Technology (HBT) platform in a Hughes 500D helicopter to reduce target densities of seven nascent patches in the EMW. In a 14-mo period, a total of 48 interventions eliminated 4,029 miconia targets, with an estimated 33% increase in operations and 168% increase in recorded targets relative to the adjusted means from 2005 to 2011 data (prior to HBT adoption). This sequence of interventions covered a total net area of 1,138 ha, creating a field mosaic of overlapping search coverage (saturation) for each patch (four to eight interventions per patch). Target density reduction for each patch fit exponential decay functions (R 2 > 0.88, P < 0.05), with a majority of the target interventions spatially assigned to the highest saturation fields. The progressive decay in target density led to concomitant reductions in search efficiency (min ha−1) and herbicide use rate (grams ae ha−1) in subsequent interventions. Mean detection efficacy (± SE) between overlapping interventions (n = 41) was 0.62 ± 0.03, matching closely with the probability of detection for a random search operation and verifying imperfect (albeit precise) detection. The HBT platform increases the value of aerial surveillance operations with 98% efficacy in target elimination. Applying coverage saturation with an accelerated intervention schedule to known patch locations is an adaptive process for compensating imperfect detection and building intelligence with spatial and temporal relevance to the next operation.

Keywords

Miconia, Miconia calvescens DC.Adaptive managementaerial surveillanceGISnascent patch networkrandom search operationmortality factor
Type
Research Article
Information
Invasive Plant Science and Management , Volume 7 , Issue 1 , March 2014 , pp. 164 - 175
Copyright
Copyright © Weed Science Society of America 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Literature Cited

Anonymous, . (2000) Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Determinations of Prudency and Designations of Critical Habitat for Plant Species from the Islands of Maui and Kahoolawe, Hawaii. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 65 FR 79192. CFR: 50 CFR 17. RIN: 1018-AH70, Doc no. 00-31078, Pp 79192–79275 Google Scholar
Anonymous, . (2007) Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Operations. Air Force Doctrine Document 2–9. 66 pGoogle Scholar
Baxter, PWJ, Possingham, HP (2011) Optimizing search strategies for invasive pests: learn before you leap. J Appl Ecol 48:86–95 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cacho, OJ, Hester, S, Spring, D (2007) Applying search theory to determine the feasibility of eradicating an invasive population in natural environments. Aust J Agric Res Econ 51:425–433 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cacho, O, Spring, D, Pheloung, P, Hester, S (2004) Weed Search and Control: Theory and Application. Agricultural and Resource Economics, University of New England, Armidale NSW 2351. Working paper No. 2004-11. 17 pGoogle Scholar
Cacho, OJ, Spring, D, Pheloung, P, Hester, S (2006) Evaluating the feasibility of eradicating an invasion. Biol Invasions 8:903–917 Google Scholar
Chimera, CG, Medeiros, AC, Loope, LL, Hobdy, RH (2000) Status of management and control efforts for the invasive alien tree Miconia calvescens DC. (Melastomataceae) in Hana, East Maui. Honolulu, HI University of. Hawaii, Pacific Coop Studies Unit, Tech Rep 128. 58 pGoogle Scholar
Cooper, DC, Frost, JR, Robe, RQ (2003) Compatibility of land SAR procedures with search theory. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Coast Guard Operations Technical Rep DTCG32-02-F-000032. 177 pGoogle Scholar
Cousens, R, Mortimer, M (1995) Dynamics of Weed Populations. New York Cambridge University Press. 348 pGoogle Scholar
Denslow, JS (2003) Weeds in paradise: thoughts on the invasibility of tropical islands. Ann Mo Bot Gard 90:119–127 Google Scholar
Duncan, C, Leary, JK (2013) Protecting Paradise through Partnerships. http://techlinenews.com/articles/2013/3/13/protecting-paradise-through-partnerships. Accessed June 10, 2013Google Scholar
Fox, JC, Buckley, YM, Panetta, FD, Bourgoin, J, Pullar, D (2009) Surveillance protocols for management of invasive plants: modelling Chilean needle grass (Nassella neesiana) in Australia. Divers Distrib 15:577–589 Google Scholar
Frost, JR (1999) Principles of search theory, part II: effort, coverage, and POD. Response 17:8–15 Google Scholar
Giambelluca, TW, Chen, Q, Frazier, AG, Price, JP, Chen, YL, Chu, PS, Eischeid, JK, Delparte, DM (2013) Online rainfall atlas of Hawai'i. Bull Am Meterol Soc 94:313–316 Google Scholar
Gilbert, B, Levine, JM (2013) Plant invasions and extinction debts. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 110:1744–1749 Google Scholar
Hardesty, BD, Metcalfe, SS, Westcott, DA (2011) Persistence and spread in a new landscape: dispersal ecology and genetics of Miconia invasions in Australia. Acta Oecol 37:657–665 Google Scholar
Hester, SM, Brooks, SJ, Cacho, OJ, Panetta, FD (2010) Applying a simulation model to the management of an infestation of miconia (Miconia calvescens DC.) in the wet tropics of Australia. Weed Res 50:269–279 Google Scholar
Jacobson, MK (2005) Fundamentals of Atmospheric Modeling. 2nd edn. New York Cambridge University Press. 828 pGoogle Scholar
Koopman, BO (1946) Search and Screening. OEG Report No. 56, The Summary Reports Group of the Columbia University Division of War Research). Alexandria, Virginia Center for Naval Analyses. 172 pGoogle Scholar
Koopman, BO (1980) Search and Screening: General Principles with Historical Applications. Revised. New York Pergamon. 400 pGoogle Scholar
Lawes, RA, McAllister, RRJ (2006) Using networks to understand source and sink relationships to manage weeds in riparian zone. Pages 466–469 in Preston, C, Watts, JH, Crossman, ND, eds. Proceedings of the 15th Australian Weed Conference: Managing Weeds in a Changing Climate. Adelaide, Australia Weed Management Society of South Australia Google Scholar
Leary, JK, Gooding, J, Chapman, J, Radford, A, Mahnken, B, Cox, LJ (2013) Calibration of an herbicide ballistic technology (HBT) helicopter platform targeting Miconia calvescens DC. in Hawaii. Invasive Plant Sci Manag 6:292–303 Google Scholar
Leung, B, Cacho, OJ, Spring, D (2010) Searching for non-indigenous species: rapidly delimiting the invasion boundary. Divers Distrib 16:451–460 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lodge, DM, Williams, SL, MacIsaac, H, Hayes, K, Leung, B, Reichard, S, Mack, RN, Moyle, PB, Smith, M, Andow, DA, Carlton, JT, McMichael, A (2006) Biological invasions: recommendations for U.S. policy and management. Ecol Appl 16:2035–2054 Google Scholar
Mack, RN, Simberloff, D. Lonsdale, WM, Evans, HC, Clout, M, Bazzaz, FA (2000) Biotic invasions: causes, epidemiology, global consequences and control. Ecol Appl 10 689–710 Google Scholar
Medeiros, AC, Loope, LL, Conant, P, McElvaney, S (1997) Status, ecology and management of the invasive plant Miconia calvescens DC. (Melastomataceae) in the Hawaiian Islands. Bishop Mus Occas Pap 48:23–36 Google Scholar
Meyer, J-Y (1996) Status of Miconia calvescens (Melastomataceae), a dominant invasive tree in the Society Islands (French Polynesia). Pac Sci 50:66–76 Google Scholar
Meyer, J-Y (1998) Observations on the reproductive biology of Miconia calvescens DC. (Melastomataceae), an alien invasive tree on the island of Tahiti (South Pacific Ocean). Biotropica 30:609–624 Google Scholar
Meyer, J-Y, Florence, J (1996) Tahiti's native flora endangered by the invasion of Miconia calvescens DC. (Melastomataceae). J Biogeog 23:775–781 Google Scholar
Meyer, J-Y, Loope, LL, Goarant, AC (2011) Strategy to control the invasive alien tree Miconia calvescens in Pacific islands: eradication, containment or something else? Pages 91–96 in Veitch, CR, Clout, MN, Towns, DR, eds. Island Invasives: Eradication and Management. Gland, Switzerland International Union for Conservation of Nature Google Scholar
Moody, ME, Mack, RN (1988) Controlling the spread of plant invasions: the importance of nascent foci. J Appl Ecol 25:1009–1021 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Moore, JL, Hauser, CE, Bear, JL, Williams, NSG, McCarthy, MA (2011) Estimating detection-effort curves for plants using search experiments. Ecol Appl 21:601–607 Google Scholar
Murphy, HT, Hardesty, BD, Fletcher, CS, Metcalfe, DJ, Westcott, DA, Brooks, SJ (2008) Predicting dispersal and recruitment of Miconia calvescens (Melastomataceae) in Australian tropical rainforests. Biol Invasions 10:925–936 Google Scholar
Panetta, FD, Lawes, R (2005) Evaluation of weed eradication programs: the delimitation of extent. Divers Distrib 11:435–442 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pouteau, R, Meyer, J-Y, Stoll, B (2011) A SVM-based model for predicting the distribution of the invasive tree Miconia calvescens in tropical rainforests. Ecol Model 222:2631–2641 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Regan, TJ, Chades, I, Possingham, HP (2011) Optimally managing under imperfect detection: a method for plant invasions. J Appl Ecol 48:76–85 Google Scholar
Reaser, JK, Meyerson, LA, Cronk, Q, DePoorter, M, Eldrege, LG, Green, E, Kairo, M, Latasi, P, Mack, RN, Mauremootoo, J, O'Dowd, D, Orapa, W, Sastroutomo, S, Saunders, A, Shine, C, Thrainsson, S, Vaiutu, L (2007) Ecological and socioeconomic impacts of invasive alien species in island ecosystems. Environ Conserv 34:98–111 Google Scholar
Rejmánek, M, Pitcairn, MJ (2002) When is eradication of exotic pest plants a realistic goal? Turning the tide: the eradication of island invasives. Pages 249–253 in Veitch, CR, Clout, MN, Towns, DR, eds. Island Invasives: Eradication and Management. Gland, Switzerland International Union for Conservation of Nature Google Scholar
Rew, LJ, Maxwell, BD, Dougher, FL, Aspinall, R (2006) Searching for a needle in a haystack: evaluating survey methods for non-indigenous plant species. Biol Invasions 8:523–539 Google Scholar
Richardson, DM, Allsopp, N, D'Antonio, C, Milton, SJ, Rejmanek, M (2000) Plant invasions—the role of mutualisms. Biol Rev 75:65–93 Google Scholar
Spotswood, EN, Meyer, J-Y, Bartolome, JW (2013) Preference for an invasive fruit trumps fruit abundance in selection by an introduced bird in the Society Islands, French Polynesia. Biol Invasions. DOI 10.1007/s10530-013-0441-zGoogle Scholar
Taylor, CM, Hastings, A (2004) Finding optimal control strategies for invasive species: a density-structured model for Spartina alterniflora . J Appl Ecol 41:1049–1057 Google Scholar
Thompson, SK (2002) Sampling. 2nd edn. New York J Wiley. 400 pGoogle ScholarPubMed
Wagner, WL, Herbst, DR, Sohmer, SH (1999) Manual of the Flowering Plants of Hawaii. Revised edn. Honolulu University of Hawaii Press/Bishop Museum Press Google Scholar
[WRCC] Western Region Climate Center. http://www.wrcc.dri.edu. Accessed June 10, 2013Google Scholar