Pueo remains endangered, barn owl population larger KIA‘I MOKU November 9, 2014 By LISSA FOX STROHECKER , for The Maui News In Hawaii, owls are creatures of myth. Owls are said to rescue lost souls from the underworld and guide armies to safety. Hawaiian legends say the god Kane took the form of an owl in battle to protect his people. Seeing an owl is always exciting, and its easy to overlook that today there are two species of owls in Hawaii: the native pueo and the introduced barn owl. The pueo, known to scientists as Asio flammeus sandwichensis, is a subspecies of the short-eared owl. Its found only in Hawaii. For many Hawaiian families, both ancient and modern, pueo are aumakua, ancestral guardians that protect the family from harm. Pueo are skilled hunters, dining on mice, insects and small birds. Scientists believe they arrived in Hawaii after the Polynesians, and its possible that introduced rats helped the population establish. Unlike many owls, pueo hunt during the day but like the fate of many birds native to Hawaii, their population levels are now low and they are rarely seen. Pueo can be distinguished from the introduced barn owl (Tyto alba) by appearance as well as hunting behavior. Pueo are smaller, stockier and darker in color than the barn owl with brown streaking and a brown, round face whereas barn owls are lanky and light in color with a nearly white, heart-shaped face. Pueo nest on the ground, making them more vulnerable to introduced mammals like rats, mongoose and cats, whereas barn owls nest in tree cavities. Pueo are more active during the day than the barn owl. Most owl sightings today are likely to be barn owls. Between 1958 and 1963, the Hawaii Board of Agriculture and Forestry imported 86 barn owls to Hawaii Island, Molokai, Oahu and Kauai to control rats in cane fields. The population took off, and today this generalist predator is common on all the main Hawaiian Islands and has also been seen in the Northwest Hawaiian Islands. Unfortunately, there is no evidence that the barn owl has had a significant impact on rat populations. This introduced species may start hunting around dusk, but mostly stalks its prey under the cover of darkness. Its nocturnal habits raise concerns for resource managers working to protect native birds because barn owls can take advantage of species that may be naive to a nocturnal raptor. Jay Penniman of the Maui Nui Seabird Recovery Project has seen the impacts firsthand. His project works to protect uau, or Hawaiian petrel, an endangered ground-nesting seabird. On Lanai, crews regularly recover carcasses from uau killed by barn owls. In the area we were working, wed find a half-dozen kills in a year, says Penniman. This indicates its a relatively common occurrence. Pueo are known not to be the culprit because the species is active during the day, and the uau only return to their burrows at night. Additionally pueo are slightly smaller than the uau, making the native seabird an unlikely target. Penniman suspects that the barn owls learn to specialize on seabirds and once that happens, become very effective. Other native birds are vulnerable as well: barn owls have been known to snatch Newells shearwaters, Hawaiian stilts, Bulwers petrels, brown noddies, Hawaiian ducks and nene goslings. Barn owls are protected under the migratory bird act, but exemptions are allowed to remove these predators in critical refuge areas. Meanwhile, pueo populations have declined dramatically. At the end of the 19th century, pueo were widespread and often seen throughout the islands. But despite being active during the day, these owls are rarely seen today. Besides predation, other possible causes include disease, collisions with vehicles and habitat loss. You can help. If you find an injured pueo, the Hawaii Wildlife Center on Hawaii Island can help rehabilitate it. Find out more information at hawaiiwildlifecenter.org. mauinews/page/content.detail/id/591850/Pueo-remains-endangered--barn-owl-population-larger.html * Lissa Fox Strohecker is the public relations and education specialist for the Maui Invasive Species Committee. She holds a biological sciences degree from Montana State University. Kiai Moku, Guarding the Island, is prepared by the Maui Invasive Species Committee to provide information on protecting the island from invasive plants and animals that can threaten the islands environment, economy and quality of life.
Posted on: Mon, 17 Nov 2014 18:37:01 +0000
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