Vulnerability of Hawaiian Forest Birds to Climate Change

Summary

Future changes in rainfall across the Hawaiian Islands will affect natural habitats and hydrology as well as human agriculture, drinking water access, and development. Accurate rainfall projections at appropriate scales will be vital for adaptation and resilience planning. Our work suggests that there will be a general drying trend with large amounts of local and seasonal variation, and an increasing contrast between wet and dry regions on each island, and provides projections at a much finer spatial scale than has historically been available. This represents a basis for ecological impact modelers and natural resource managers to conceptualize scenarios for climate adaptation.

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This research feature was produced by the Pacific Islands Climate Science Center.

Related Publications

W. Liao, C.T. Atkinson, D.A. LaPointe, and M.D. Samuel, 2017 | Mitigating Future Avian Malaria Threats to Hawaiian Forest Birds from Climate Change | PLOS ONE | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0168880

W. Liao, O.E. Timm, C. Zhang, C.T. Atkinson, D.A. LaPointe, and M.D. Samuel, 2015 | Will a warmer and wetter future cause extinction of native Hawaiian forest birds? | Climate Change Biology | http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/gcb.13005