Kaena Point Ecosystem Restoration Project

Since 2003, we have conducted monitoring and research of all the seabirds at Kaena Point Natural Area Reserve and have been involved in all aspects of management in close collaboration with the state of Hawaii. We coordinated the Kaena Point Ecosystem Restoration Project, in which construction of the first predator-proof fence in the U.S. on Oahu, Hawaii, in 2011 in collaboration with the Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Xcluder Pest-proof Fencing, and the Wildlife Society Hawaii Chapter and conducted the first predator eradiation from within the fence shortly afterward (see report 83, 86 and 89).

2023 marked the 20th year in which we have monitored Laysan Albatrosses on Oahu. During that time, we have banded several thousand Laysan Albatrosses and published more than 20 papers on their behavior (58, 101, 103), demography (64, 75,94, 96), genetics (69,92), disease (56,106), foraging ecology (67, 104, 113, 127, 139) and conservation (116, 122, 140). We also monitor and band any Black-footed Albatross visits at Kaena Point, including the first ever breeding pair in 2021.