HAWAIIAN BAND-RUMPED STORM PETREL PROJECT

The Hawaiian Band-rumped Storm Petrel (Oceanodroma castro), listed under the Endangered Species Act in 2016, is finally receiving much-needed protection, but little is known about its genetic diversity in the Hawaiian islands. Once widespread, the range of this species is now restricted to small pockets on high elevation steep surfaces that may be better protected from predator threat and light pollution. Due to their low population numbers and remote locations, only one active nesting area, on Hawai'i island, has been confirmed, despite other evidence suggesting they are indeed nesting on multiple Hawaiian islands. With only a few hundred individuals remaining, the Hawaiian populations may have problems normally associated with small numbers, including demographic stochasticity and inbreeding. The efforts carried out with this permit are aimed at conserving these remnants of a once flourishing Hawaiian species. These efforts include studying nesting behavior to determine nest-site preferences and modern DNA-genetic analyses to determine the inbreeding status, interisland connectivity, and the potential for establishment of novel colonies. These studies are labor-intensive and require expenditures of funds for supplies, equipment for molecular genetics and reagents. This report details the objectives achieved during the final year of this project.U.S. Fish and Wildlife Servic