'AKOHEKOHE

HONEYCREEPER
The Official Newsletter of the Kihei Charter High School

"HONEYCREEPERS WERE ONCE A GROUP OF

MORE THAN FORTY UNIQUE SPECIES OF
SONGBIRDS, BUT TODAY LESS THAN 15
SPECIES REMAIN."
Megan Edgar

IN THIS ISSUE
Eating Habits & Habitat
Our Dire Situation
Family History
 'AHOKEHOKE HONEYCREEPER

EATING HABITS & As I said before, I love nectar so you can

usually find me searching for food in the
HABITAT
canopies of native forests. I’m especially
suited to this environment because of my long
by Anela Warren
legs. They help me run across the treetops and
I am an ‘Akohekohe Honeycreeper, but reach difficult blossoms. People call me the
scientists call me palmeria dolei. Mine is one of most range-restricted species on Maui for
the last honeycreeper species in the world, good reason. I can only live in very pristine
descended from my ancestors; the founding native forests above 5,000 feet of elevation.
population that settled in Hawaii long ago. I (‘Akohekohe – Maui Forest Bird Recovery
am almost completely nectarivorous, which Project, 2013)
means I absolutely adore the nectar of ‘Ohia
Lehua blossoms. It’s not just ‘Ohia I’m into, I’ll
eat nectar from all kinds of native trees. I’m
not all about nectar, though. Sometimes I hop
around the tree branches in search of little
bugs to eat.(‘Akohekohe – Maui Forest Bird
Recovery Project, 2013)

OUR DIRE SITUATION

by Anela Warren

Unfortunately, a novelty though it may

make me, honeycreepers of my species are
critically endangered. In our golden days,
we could be found throughout Maui and
Molokai, but such is no longer the case.
Though I have not been able to bear
witness to it, our numbers have
undeniably dwindled. We now occupy a
limited space of around 25 square
kilometers on Haleakala. Our population is
down a scarce 2400 and may still be
dropping. Obviously, we are in dire need of
help. The ones to blame are the invasive
species of plants and animals that invade
our native habitats and prey on my
siblings. To save our species, we need to
learn more about these invasive species
and how to combat them as well as how to
protect those affected most harshly.
(‘Akohekohe – Maui Forest Bird Recovery
Project, 2013)
 'AHOKEHOKE HONEYCREEPER

FAMILY HISTORY
Paroreomyza
by Anela Warren
monatana
If someone were to go way, way back to the Telespiza cantans
beginning of my family tree, most scientists agree Cardeulinae
that you would find a species of carduelinae finch.
Finches Oreomystis bairdi
One or more of these species once settled here and
(Progenitor) Hemignathus
created all the diverse species we once had via
adaptive radiation. This is also a great example of
vivens
the founder effect. Adaptive radiation is a process H. parvus
of divergent evolution where one species branches
out to different niches of food sources or Loxops
environments. The birds fitting these niches begin caeruleirostris
to evolve different traits and behaviors that help
them survive. Through this, these birds become so L. conncineus
different that they become different species.
(Gavrilets & Vose, 2005) Palmeria dolei
Proof of this is how different the cardeulinae
(me!)
finch looks from most of its descendants,
Depending on what food source each bird relies on, Himatione
we will look vastly different from our peers who sanguinea
eat something different. For example, I eat nectar
and sometimes small bugs so I will look pretty
different from my friend, who cracks large seeds
Vesteria conccinea
with her powerful beak. No matter how different
we look, though, we still share a pilina, or
connection, with each other and our ancestors
Speaking of cardeulinae finches, have you ever
(Hawaiian Word of The Day, 2019).
wanted to know why scientists think they're related
to us in the first place? Researchers began by
sampling DNA from a wide variety of birds,
including mine and the other living honeycreeper
species as well as birds that shared our
characteristics. They then untangled all the DNA
and analyzed it to discover relations. Due to new
technologies and discoveries, this process was a lot
faster and simpler than it would've been before.
Additionally, the scientists discovered that, because
DNA mutation occurs at a relatively set rate over
time, the more diverse two species were, the longer
ago they diverged(Stromberg, 2011). Finally, the
researchers came to the conclusion that we were
most closely related to an ancestor of the
rosefinches.(Stromberg, 2011)
 My Sources

GrrlScientist. (2011, November 2). Hawaiian honeycreepers and their tangled evolutionary tree. The
Guardian; The Guardian.
https://www.theguardian.com/science/punctuated-equilibrium/2011/nov/02/hawaiian-
honeycreepers-tangled-evolutionary-
tree#:~:text=Most%20authorities%20agree%20that%20one,progenitors%20of%20the%20Hawai
ian%20honeycreepers.

‘Akohekohe – Maui Forest Bird Recovery Project. (2013). Mauiforestbirds.org.

https://mauiforestbirds.org/akohekohe/

Gavrilets, S., & Vose, A. (2005). Dynamic patterns of adaptive radiation. Proceedings of the National
Academy of Sciences, 102(50), 18040–18045.
https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0506330102

Hawaiian Word of The Day: Pilina. (2019). Hnkop.org.

https://hnkop.org/hawaiian-word-of-the-day-pilina/

Rain Forest Birds: A Study In Adaptation - Hō‘ike o Haleakalā Curriculum. (2018, November 26).
Hō‘ike O Haleakalā Curriculum.
https://www.hoikecurriculum.org/unit/rain-forest-birds-a-study-in-adaptation/

Stromberg, J. (2011, November 30). The Hawaiian Honeycreeper Family Tree. Smithsonian
Magazine; Smithsonian Magazine. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-
institution/the-hawaiian-honeycreeper-family-tree-1257482/

Thha
annk
k
T
yo
youu!
!