Jackson's are an invasive species in Hawaii

We have had a few comments regarding the invasive status of Jackson's chameleons in Hawaii and questions concerning how this project may be involved in control of this species. The Hawaiian Biodiversity and Conservation Lab at UH Manoa first began studying Jackson's when native endangered Hawaiian snails were found in the stomachs of a few chameleons in the Waianae mountain range (see Holland et al., 2010 Biodiversity and Conservation). 

 

Since then, state and federal agencies have been removing chameleons from native forest habitat to help preserve endemic faunal biodiversity. We have been working with these agencies to study the ecology of Jackson's using the animals that are being removed. Some of our previous and current projects include movement behavior (see Chiaverano et al.,

 

2014 Journal of Herpetology), impacts on native snail populations (see Chiaverano and Holland 2014 Endangered Species Research), rapid morphological adaptation to prey types (see Van Kleeck et al., 2015 Biological Journal of the Linnean Society), diet analysis and prey selectivity, molecular examination of invasion history, feasibility of acetaminophen for chemical control, use of infra-red thermal imaging for detection enhancement, and ecology of feeding strategies. 

 

Studying the ecology and behavior of an invasive species can provide critical information for the development of management and control strategies.