WCS 3-Sentence Science

Density Dependence and Hawaiian Stilts

February 7, 2020

CREDIT: COPYRIGHT J. MICHAEL REED

Each year, Wildlife Conservation Society scientists publish more than 300 peer-reviewed studies and papers. “WCS 3-Sentence Science” is a regular tip-sheet — in bite sized helpings — of some of this published work.

Here we present work by WCS’s Gautam Surya on density dependence among Hawaiian stilts.

1. Researchers tested for density dependence — population growth rates dependent on density of — for Hawaiian stilts (Himantopus mexicanus knudseni) an endangered subspecies of the Black‐necked stilt endemic to the Hawaiian Islands.
2. The analysis of reproduction data revealed a strong negative effect of local adult density on nest success (proportion of nests hatching at least one chick) at Kealia National Wildlife Refuge on Maui, where few alternative breeding habitats are available, but no such effect at another site where many nearby alternative wetlands are available.
3. These results across independent datasets and analytical approaches support the hypothesis that Hawaiian stilts exhibit density dependence across their range.

Study and Journal: “Multiple sources of evidence for density dependence in the endangered Hawaiian stilt (Himantopus mexicanus knudseni)” from Population Ecology
WCS Co-Author(s): Gautam Surya, Adjunct Conservation Instructor, AIP

For more information, contact: Stephen Sautner, 718–220–3682, ssautner@wcs.org.