Unusually high Fallout in 2016. But Why ?

Dec 21, 2016

Unusually high Fallout in 2016.  But Why ?We completed the last road survey this morning, with a total of 46 downed wedge-tailed shearwaters documented during 17 surveys since November 1.  Overall, 2016 was a year of fairly high fallout, in the context of the last 5 years.  
                
The number of shearwaters encountered during a given survey was highly skewed, with a median of 1.0 and a mean of 2.7 +/- 3.2 S.D.  There was a high degree of variability, as evidenced by the large coefficient of variation (119 %), and the range of values (from 0 to 10).
But, was this unusually high fallout related to the change in the LED highway lighting...         was it the result of a year of high chick fledging success... or caused by unusual trade winds?
To help answer this question, we are analyzing the surveys from 5 years.  
Stay tuned for results in future lab notes...  and look out for wedgies at sea.   
They are out there.

K. David Hyrenbach, Bobo Sula Scott, and 1 other like this.

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About This Project

Blinded by the light: reducing shearwater deaths along a coastal highway in O'ahu, Hawai'i

Oikonos Ecosystem Knowledge

Wedge-tailed Shearwater chicks are attracted to lights and grounded due to collisions with utility wires / posts and hit by cars. Since 2011, we have surveyed a coastal highway during fledging (Nov-Dec) and have documented grounded shearwaters. We will use this 5-year baseline to test if deaths increase or decrease after the installation of new highway LED lights. This study will reveal whether the lights being replaced throughout Hawaii will impact these native seabirds.