{"id":205918,"date":"2024-10-31T16:04:02","date_gmt":"2024-11-01T02:04:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/?p=205918"},"modified":"2024-12-12T17:35:44","modified_gmt":"2024-12-13T03:35:44","slug":"uh-hilo-alumnas-path-to-bird-conservation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/2024\/10\/31\/uh-hilo-alumnas-path-to-bird-conservation\/","title":{"rendered":"UH<\/abbr> Hilo alumna\u2019s path to bird conservation: ‘What\u2019s the deal with female birds?’"},"content":{"rendered":"Reading time: <\/span> 2<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>
\"Wu
Joanna Wu<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Conservation biologist Joanna Wu, an alumna of the University of Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> at Hilo<\/a>, is shining a bright spotlight on the study of North American songbirds. In her current research as a doctoral student at the University of California, Los Angeles, she is analyzing the survival rates of songbirds to better understand why male birds tend to have a longer lifespan than female birds.<\/p>\n

“I went back to school because I was really compelled by this question of, ‘What\u2019s the deal with female birds? What else do we not know,’” Wu said.<\/p>\n

Now she\u2019s making her own flight path into the study of female wild birds and their importance to conservation work.<\/p>\n

Passion path<\/h2>\n
\"Wu
Joanna Wu does field research during her graduate studies at UH<\/abbr> Hilo 2010–2012. (Courtesy photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Her passion for birds began during fieldwork at UC<\/abbr> Berkeley. She later chose UH<\/abbr> Hilo for her master\u2019s degree in the tropical conservation biology and environmental science program<\/a>, drawn by Â鶹´«Ã½\u2019s<\/span> native birds.<\/p>\n

At UH<\/abbr> Hilo, she studied the ʻōmaʻo<\/span>, a native thrush essential for spreading seeds and supporting forest health.<\/p>\n

“There\u2019s a unique problem with Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span>, of course, with avian conservation,” said Wu. “So I felt like it would be a good place to go and learn about that, and I\u2019m really glad I did.”<\/p>\n

‘I learned to be a scientist’<\/h2>\n

Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> biologist, Professor Patrick Hart, founder of UH<\/abbr> Hilo\u2019s Listening Observatory for Hawaiian Ecosystems<\/a>, commonly called LOHE<\/abbr> Lab, was among her thesis advisors.<\/p>\n

\"bird\"
The ʻōmaʻo<\/span> (Myadestes obscurus<\/em>), also called the Hawaiian thrush, is an endemic species of a robin-like bird found only on Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> Island. (Credit: Alan Schmierer)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

During her time at UH<\/abbr> Hilo, she tracked ʻōmaʻo<\/span> movements in comparison to the warbling white-eye, a non-native bird sometimes studied to understand its role in local ecosystems, especially its potential impact on native bird species.<\/p>\n

Wu said the university was an important part of her journey, a “great foundation” for her current work and personal development. “I certainly found adequate support academically; I learned to be a scientist there.”<\/p>\n

Wu\u2019s research continues to focus on bird conservation. She has helped launch The Galbatross Project<\/a>, an initiative promoting awareness of female birds.<\/p>\n

For more go to UH<\/abbr> Hilo Stories<\/em>.<\/a><\/p>\n

—By Sophia Kim-O’Sullivan<\/p>\n

\"Wu
Joanna Wu conducts field research.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Conservation biologist Joanna Wu, a Â鶹´«Ã½Hilo alumna, is shining a bright spotlight on the study of North American songbirds.<\/abbr><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[90,254,232,14],"class_list":["post-205918","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-people","tag-alumni","tag-biology","tag-tropical-conservation-biology-and-environmental-science","tag-uh-hilo","entry","has-media"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t