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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1997. The Scientific Bases for Preservation of the Mariana Crow. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5372.
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The Scientific Bases for PRESERVATION of the MARIANA CROW

Committee on the Scientific Bases for the Preservation of the Mariana Crow

Commission on Life Sciences

NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL

NATIONAL ACADEMY PRESS
Washington, D.C. 1997

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1997. The Scientific Bases for Preservation of the Mariana Crow. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5372.
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NATIONAL ACADEMY PRESS
2101 Constitution Ave., N.W. Washington, D.C. 20418

NOTICE: The project that is the subject of this report was approved by the Governing Board of the National Research Council, whose members are drawn from the councils of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine. The members of the committee responsible for the report were chosen for their special competences and with regard for appropriate balance. In preparing its report, the committee invited people with different perspectives to present their views. Such invitation does not imply endorsement of those views.

This report has been reviewed by a group other than the authors according to procedures approved by a Report Review Committee consisting of members of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine.

The National Academy of Sciences is a private, nonprofit, self-perpetuating society of distinguished scholars engaged in scientific and engineering research, dedicated to the furtherance of science and technology and to their use for the general welfare. Upon the authority of the charter granted to it by the Congress in 1863, the Academy has a mandate that requires it to advise the federal government on scientific and technical matters. Dr. Bruce Alberts is president of the National Academy of Sciences.

The National Academy of Engineering was established in 1964, under the charter of the National Academy of Sciences, as a parallel organization of outstanding engineers. It is autonomous in its administration and in the selection of its members, sharing with the National Academy of Sciences the responsibility for advising the federal government. The National Academy of Engineering also sponsors engineering programs aimed at meeting national needs, encourages education and research, and recognizes the superior achievements of engineers. Dr. Harold Liebowitz is president of the National Academy of Engineering.

The Institute of Medicine was established in 1970 by the National Academy of Sciences to secure the services of eminent members of appropriate professions in the examination of policy matters pertaining to the health of the public. The Institute acts under the responsibility given even to the National Academy of Sciences by its congressional charter to be an adviser to the federal government and, upon its own initiative, to identify issues of medical care, research, and education. Dr. Kenneth I. Shine is president of the Institute of Medicine.

The National Research Council was organized by the National Academy of Sciences in 1916 to associate the broad community of science and technology with the Academy's purposes of furthering knowledge and advising the federal government. Functioning in accordance with general policies determined by the Academy, the Council has become the principal operating agency of both the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering in providing services to the government, the public, and the scientific and engineering communities. The Council is administered jointly by both Academies and the Institute of Medicine. Dr. Bruce Alberts and Dr. William A. Wulf are chairman and interim vice chairman, respectively, of the National Research Council.

This study by the National Research Council's Commission on Life Sciences was sponsored by the US Department of the Interior Fish and Wildlife Service under cooperative agreement no. 14-0001-48-96520. Points of view in this document are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official position of the US Department of the Interior.

Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 96-70149

International Standard Book Number 0-309-05581-4

Additional copies of this report are available from:
National Academy Press
2101 Constitute Ave., NW Box 285 Washington, DC 20055 800-624-6242 202-334-3313 (in the Washington Metropolitan Area) http://www.nap.edu

Copyright 1997 by the National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.

Printed in the United States of America

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1997. The Scientific Bases for Preservation of the Mariana Crow. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5372.
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COMMITTEE ON THE SCIENTIFIC BASES FOR THE PRESERVATION OF THE MARIANA CROW

W. DONALD DUCKWORTH, Chair,

Bishop Museum, Honolulu, Hawaii

STEVEN R. BEISSINGER,

University of California, Berkeley

SCOTT R. DERRICKSON,

National Zoological Park, Front Royal, Virginia

THOMAS H. FRITTS,

National Biological Service, Washington, DC

SUSAN M. HAIG,

Oregon State University, Corvallis

FRANCES C. JAMES,

Florida State University, Tallahassee

JOHN M. MARZLUFF,

Sustainable Ecosystems Institute, Meridian, Idaho

BRUCE A. RIDEOUT,

Center for Reproduction of Endangered Species, San Diego, California

NRC Staff

ERIC A. FISCHER, Board Director

TANIA WILLIAMS, Study Director

PAULETTE A. ADAMS, Project Assistant

JEFFREY PECK, Project Assistant

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1997. The Scientific Bases for Preservation of the Mariana Crow. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5372.
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BOARD ON BIOLOGY

MICHAEL T. CLEGG, Chair,

University of California, Riverside, California

JOHN C. AVISE,

University of Georgia, Athens

DAVID EISENBERG,

University of California, Los Angeles

GERALD D. FISCHBACH,

Harvard Medical School, Cambridge, Massachusetts

DAVID J. GALAS,

Darwin Technologies, Seattle, Washington

DAVID V. GOEDDEL,

Tularik, Inc., San Francisco, California

ARTURO GOMEZ-POMPA,

University of California, Riverside

COREY S. GOODMAN,

University of California, Berkeley

BRUCE R. LEVIN,

Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia

OLGA F. LINARES,

Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Miami, Florida

ELLIOTT M. MEYEROWITZ,

California Institute of Technology, Pasadena

ROBERT T. PAINE,

University of Washington, Seattle

RONALD R. SEDEROFF,

North Carolina State University, Raleigh

DANIEL SIMBERLOFF,

Florida State University, Tallahassee

ROBERT R. SOKAL,

State University of New York, Stony Brook

SHIRLEY M. TILGHMAN,

Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey

RAYMOND L. WHITE,

University of Utah, Salt Lake City

Staff:

ERIC FISCHER, Director

KATHLEEN BEIL, Administrative Assistant

JANET JOY, Program Officer

JEFFREY PECK, Project Assistant

TANIA WILLIAMS, Program Officer

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1997. The Scientific Bases for Preservation of the Mariana Crow. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5372.
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COMMISSION ON LIFE SCIENCES

THOMAS D. POLLARD, Chair,

Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland

FREDERICK R. ANDERSON,

Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft, Washington, DC

JOHN C. BAILAR III,

University of Chicago, Illinois

JOHN E. BURRIS,

Marine Biological Laboratory, Woods Hole, Massachusetts

MICHAEL T. CLEGG,

University of California, Riverside

GLENN A. CROSBY,

Washington State University, Pullman

URSULA W. GOODENOUGH,

Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri

SUSAN E. LEEMAN,

Boston University, Massachusetts

RICHARD E. LENSKI,

Michigan State University, East Lansing

THOMAS E. LOVEJOY,

Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC

DONALD R. MATTISON,

University of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

JOSEPH E. MURRAY,

Wellesley Hills, Massachusetts

EDWARD E. PENHOET,

Chiron Corporation, Emeryville, California

EMIL A. PFITZER,

Research Institute for Fragrance Materials Inc., Hackensack, New Jersey

MALCOLM C. PIKE,

University of Southern California, Los Angeles

HENRY C. PITOT, III,

University of Wisconsin, Madison

JONATHAN M. SAMET,

Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland

HAROLD M. SCHMECK JR,

32 Seapine Road, North Chatham, Massachusetts

CARLA J. SHATZ,

University of California, Berkeley

JOHN L. VANDEBERG,

Southwest Foundation for Biomedical Research, San Antonio, Texas

Staff:

PAUL GILMAN, Executive Director

SOLVEIG PADILLA, Administrative Assistant

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1997. The Scientific Bases for Preservation of the Mariana Crow. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5372.
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Preface

The unique and fragile nature of environments found in oceanic island systems is well known. Through colonization and evolution, these relatively small land areas have evolved unique biota characterized by small populations, rare forms, and low phylogenetic diversity. They are also exceedingly vulnerable to human disturbance and to invasions of introduced species. Thus, while this report focuses on the challenges posed by preserving one species, the aga (or Mariana crow), it reflects the larger issues and challenges of biodiversity conservation in all oceanic island ecosystems.

The Mariana archipelago is the most northerly island group in Micronesia, lying roughly equidistant from Japan to the north, New Guinea to the south, and the Philippines to the west. Consisting of a north-south chain of 15 islands that extends over 675 km, the Marianas are in reality the emergent portions of a mighty mountain range that rises from the deepest portion of the Pacific Ocean, the Mariana Trench. The islands are volcanic in origin and generally diminish in size from south to north. The warm humid climate is distinguished by relatively constant temperature, wet and dry seasons, and a high annual probability of typhoons during the wet season.

The native ecosystems of the archipelago have been in decline since the earliest colonization by humans. Habitat destruction and alteration have been especially severe during this century as a result of war, post-war development, and associated intentional or accidental introduction of predatory or competitive species, especially on Guam. While these factors have impacted all groups of native organisms in the Mariana Islands to one degree or another, the extinction or near extinction of nearly all the native forest birds on Guam, most certainly linked to

Page viii Cite
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1997. The Scientific Bases for Preservation of the Mariana Crow. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5372.
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the large population of the introduced brown tree snake, is by far the most significant and alarming. The rapid decline of the aga is another painful reminder of the importance and challenge of preserving the unique environmental heritage of these islands, the need for increased knowledge to restore and maintain native species and habitats, and the compelling and lasting value of extensive public education to stimulate environmentally informed public policy development.

In response to a request from the US Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), the National Research Council's Board on Biology established the Committee on the Scientific Bases for the Preservation of the Mariana Crow (aga) in March 1996. Its task was to review the existing data pertaining to the aga while focusing on several scientific issues:

  • Assess to the extent possible the causes of the continuing decline in populations of the aga in the wild;

  • Evaluate options for action to halt or reverse the decrease in numbers of the aga;

  • Estimate the minimum viable population for survival of the Guam population of this species; and

  • Evaluate the advisability of adding genetic material from the Rota population to the Guam population.

Current options for the recovery of the aga populations vary; they range from continuing present management strategies to a variety of translocations of one or both populations. From the assembled data and their evaluation, the committee has developed a set of recommendations designed to assist interested parties in working effectively to aid the recovery of the aga.

The committee held three meetings: one in Hawaii (Honolulu, April 1996); one in Guam and Rota (May 1996); and one at the Arnold and Mabel Beckman Center in Irvine, California (June 1996). The committee collected and reviewed data on the aga from biologists in federal, state, territorial, and commonwealth agencies, and other scientists and individuals. Members visited the 'alala (Hawaiian crow) recovery project on the island of Hawaii during the first meeting, and we are grateful to Cynthia Salley, McCandless Ranch, the FWS, and the Peregrine Fund for facilitating that opportunity. In Guam, the committee visited the laboratories and rearing facilities of both federal and Guam agencies and was extensively briefed both in field locations and formal settings. On Rota, nesting sites were observed and a broad range of aga habitat was visited through the support and generosity of Stan Taisacan of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands Department of Lands and Natural Resources Division of Fish and Wildlife, and Dan Grout of FWS. The information and support provided by those people and many others were invaluable to the committee and to the development of this report. In addition, we are grateful to the many other persons and organizations who assisted the committee in preparing this report (See appendix B).

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1997. The Scientific Bases for Preservation of the Mariana Crow. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5372.
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From the outset of this study, the committee has been constantly motivated to produce a report in a time-frame that would allow for consideration of its recommendations by the FWS and related agencies for implementation during this year's breeding season. Consequently, the committee schedule was fast-paced and intensive, but never at the expense of limiting the fullest measure of discussion and evaluation of available data in reaching consensus. It was my pleasure and privilege to work with a talented, enthusiastic, and dedicated committee. This report is the product of their hard work and spirited, yet always collegial, debate. I want to express my deepest gratitude for their patience, their insight, and their generosity in response to the rigorous schedule and scientific challenges imposed by the task.

Last, on behalf of the entire committee, I want to express our gratitude to the National Research Council staff for the vital role they played in all aspects of the study. The dedication and persistence of project director Tania Williams facilitated and expedited the committee's activities throughout the study. In addition, Paulette Adams and Jeff Peck provided support for our various activities.

W. Donald Duckworth, Chair

Committee on the Scientific Bases for the Preservation of the Mariana Crow

September 1996

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1997. The Scientific Bases for Preservation of the Mariana Crow. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5372.
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This book, while focusing on current preservation challenges posed by the Aga, or Mariana crow, also reflects the larger issues and challenges of biodiversity conservation in all oceanic island ecosystems. It evaluates causes for the continuing decline of the Aga, which exists on only the two southernmost islands in the Mariana archipelago, Guam and Rota, and reviews actions to halt or reverse the decrease.

This book reminds us of the importance and challenge of preserving the unique environmental heritage of islands of the Mariana archipelago, the need for increased knowledge to restore and maintain native species and habitats, and the compelling and lasting value of extensive public education to stimulate environmentally informed public policy development.

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