PORTER, W.P.*; VAKHARIA, N.; DUFFY, D.C.; University of Wisconsin, Madison; University of Wisconsin, Madison; University of Hawai’i, Honolulu: Modeling the energetics and behavior of the rare (extinct?) Po’ouli on the landscape of Maui

Where might we expect to find the rare (extinct?) Po’ouli on the island of Maui? To answer that question we have used state-of-the-art landscape scale microclimate and endotherm models to explore a variety of questions about environmental/physiological/ behavioral constraints on the Po�ouli. We used Maui�s climate data, digital elevation map, slope, aspect, and vegetation cover to reconstruct local microclimates for each month of the year at a pixel resolution of 30 m. We collected data on Po�ouli properties; mid dorsal and mid ventral feather reflectivities, feather length, and plumage depth and other allometry data and properties of diets of the Po�ouli from the literature and from Po�ouli specimens at the American Museum of Natural History in New York. We used this information to compute food and water requirements on a daily basis for the average day for each month of the year. We also computed potential time for activity (foraging time available). We mapped onto the island of Maui locations where food/water requirements were minimized and activity time was maximized to indicate the most likely locations where the birds would function optimally. We also did diet shift scenarios to explore the importance of different diet fractions as they relate to bird function. The landscape scale results of these calculations will be shown.