‘Ōhi‘a Challenge winner announced at Hawai‘i Conservation Conference
Hawaii National Park, HI – An innovative strategy to use unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) and remote sensing devices to detect a fungus decimating Hawaiian forests has earned Dr. Ryan Perroy of the University of Hawai‘i at Hilo (UHH) the $70,000 ‘Ōhi‘a Challenge prize.
Since 2014 when it was first discovered, Rapid ‘Ōhi‘a Death (ROD), has killed hundreds of thousands of mature ‘ōhi‘a trees (Metrosideros polymorpha) on Hawai‘i Island and was recently detected on Kaua‘i and Maui. ROD is caused by two invasive fungi, Ceratocystis huliohia and Ceratocystis lukuohia,that if left unstopped, could irreversibly change Hawaiian ecosystems and cultural traditions by eliminating the keystone native tree in Hawaiian forests.
Dr. Perroy is an associate professor at UHH, and principle investigator with the Spatial Data Analysis & Visualization (SDAV) lab, a research unit applying geospatial tools to local environmental problems in Hawai‘i and the Pacific region. Dr. Perroy’s solution uses high-resolution cameras and other sensors to improve early detection of ROD across forests, including areas where signs of ROD may not yet be visible to the naked eye. This solution will buy managers precious time to respond to outbreaks, and will give scientists better information on how the disease spreads.
A second component to his solution is to use a drone to collect samples from the canopy of suspect trees for laboratory analysis, thus increasing the chances of detecting the fungus and saving time and effort of crews sampling on the ground in often challenging environments.
“The best answers to problems are not always the ones we think up on our own,” said Susan Combs, U.S. Department of the Interior Assistant Secretary for Policy, Management, and Budget. “We need innovative solutions like Dr. Perroy’s submission to help us nurture the land for the next generations. Collaborative conservation is an important tool for successfully fulfilling our responsibilities to protect our nation’s forests, watersheds and other natural resources,” she said.
Conservation X Labs, the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Office of Native Hawaiian Relations, the National Invasive Species Council Secretariat, and the National Park Service partnered on the ʻŌhiʻa Challenge to identify novel technological solutions to ROD. The $70,000 challenge was offered to create innovative and low-cost solutions to detect the invasion pathways and the spread of ROD-causing fungi in the environment. Fifty-six applications were received from solvers across multiple U.S. states as well as from European and African countries.
“The ecological and cultural importance of ʻōhi‘a cannot be overstated. We were encouraged by the many high-quality submissions we received for this challenge, and by the support and interest it generated in Hawai‘i and around the world,” said Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park Ecologist David Benitez, who announced Perroy’s prize at the Hawai‘i Conservation Conference in Honolulu this afternoon. “Innovative solutions such as Dr. Perroy’s are a key to stopping the spread of ROD and saving our cherished ‘ōhi’a for future generations,” Benitez said.
In addition, the founder CEO and founder of Conservation X Labs praised Dr. Perroy’s innovative solution:
“We believe that exponential technologies and novel innovations are necessary to turn the tide on the growing rate of biodiversity loss. Open innovation competitions like The ‘Ōhi‘a Challenge provide an opportunity to source and scale such transformative solutions,” said Alex Dehgan, CEO and co-founder of Conservation X Labs. “Dr. Perroy’s solution deploying multi-spectral imaging to detect asymptomatic trees at a landscape level has the potential to help save ‘ōhi‘a from extinction. Not only could his work tackle a critical problem in Hawai‘i but it could also yield incredible new developments in tracking fungal pathogens that threaten vital plant and agricultural species globally,” Dehgan said.
In addition to Dr. Perroy’s winning solution, two non-monetary Honorable Mentions were awarded. Lauralea Oliver, with K9inSCENTive, LLC, for her proposal to use trained dogs and handlers to detect ROD, and Miguel Castrence, with Resource Mapping Hawaiʻi, for his proposal to use fixed wing airplanes and high-resolution sensors to map ROD across large areas.
Conservation X Labs Hosts Gathering & Screening at U.S. Botanic Garden
Experts and leaders from Conservation X Labs, the Department of the Interior, and the U.S. Botanic Garden, gathered for the Washington D.C. premiere of a new short documentary about Hawaii’s sacred tree, Saving ‘Ōhi’a. Chronicling the cultural and ecological importance of this keystone species, Saving ‘Ōhi’a relates the growing impact of “Rapid ‘Ōhiʻa Death” (ROD) on the future of this important tree. Following the documentary screening, a panel of diverse experts will discuss the global impact of fungal pathogens like those causing ROD, and explore the solutions needed to combat the fungal pathogens.
The U.S. Botanic Garden served as a beautiful and fitting venue for the debut of the new Saving ‘Ōhiʻa documentary.
Experts from the University of Hawaii, Department of the Interior, USAID, ARPA-E, The Smithsonian Institution, & Conservation X Labs discuss fungal pathogens, their growth, and promising solutions.
Join us for a special event at the U.S. Botanic Garden in Washington, D.C. - March 15th, 2019 at 6:30 PM
Fight the Fungus: Saving Hawaii’s Forests from Extinction
Conservation X Labs, the Department of the Interior, and the U.S. Botanic Garden
The future of the ʻōhiʻa (Metrosideros polymorpha), a culturally significant and ecologically valuable tree, is in doubt. The ʻōhiʻa is being threatened by microscopic fungi (Ceratocystis huliohia and Ceratocystis lukuohia) that recently invaded the islands of Kaua‘i and Hawai‘i. If unstopped, these invaders could irreversibly change Hawaii’s ecosystems and culture by eliminating the beloved ʻōhi‘a.
Join specialists from Conservation X Labs, the Department of the Interior, and the U.S. Botanic Garden, for the Washington D.C. premiere of a new short documentary about Hawaii’s sacred tree, Saving ‘Ōhi’a. Chronicling the cultural and ecological importance of this keystone species, Saving ‘Ōhi’a relates the growing impact of “Rapid ‘Ōhiʻa Death” (ROD) on the future of this important tree. Following the documentary screening, a panel of diverse experts will discuss the global impact of fungal pathogens like those causing ROD, and explore the solutions needed to combat the fungal pathogens. The evening will also highlight The ‘Ōhiʻa Challenge, a Department of the Interior-sponsored competition to identify and support solutions that detect and prevent the spread of ROD in the Hawaiian islands. To learn more about The ‘Ōhiʻa Challenge, visit www.savetheohia.org.
Please note: Doors open at 6:30 p.m. Program will begin at 7 p.m. Prior to the screening, attendees are encouraged to visit the Hawaii room of the Conservatory to learn about the native Hawaiian plants in the U.S. Botanic Garden’s collection. Small bites will be served.
DATE: Friday, March 15th
TIME: 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
LOCATION: Conservatory West Gallery
FREE: Pre-registration required.
Science Friday Podcast: A Tiny Fungus With A Big Impact
Listen to a conversation with Lisa Keith, USDA Agricultural Research Service plant pathologist, and Greg Asner, ecologist at the Carnegie Institution for Science, about Rapid ‘Ōhi’a Death on Science Friday from September 21st, 2018
Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park News Release
Release Date: August 14, 2018
SAVING HAWAIʻI’S FORESTS: THE ‘ŌHIʻA CHALLENGE
Partners to Offer Cash Prize for Solution to Destructive Fungi
Hawaii National Park, HI – U.S. Department of the Interior offices and agencies are working in partnership with others on the ‘Ōhiʻa Challenge, named after a Hawaiian legend that tells of the love and separation of the young couple ʻŌhiʻa and Lehua; Jealous of their love, the goddess Pele turned the warrior ʻŌhiʻa into a tree and Lehua into the tree’s flower. If you pluck the red lehua blossoms of the ʻōhiʻa tree (Metrosideros polymorpha), legend says the lovers’ tears fill the sky with rain as they are separated again.
Today, the tears of many others are being shed over the future of the ʻōhiʻa tree because it is threatened by microscopic fungi that recently invaded the islands of Kaua‘i and Hawai‘i. These invasive fungi, Ceratocystis huliohia and Ceratocystis lukuohia, are responsible for the phenomenon named “Rapid ‘Ōhiʻa Death” or ROD. Since 2014 when first identified, the fungi have infected thousands of acres of forest and if unstopped, could irreversibly change Hawai‘i’s ecosystems and culture by eliminating the beloved ʻōhi‘a.
"When invasive species reach our shores, they care little for whether the lands are federal, state, local, or private,” says Scott J. Cameron, U.S. Department of the Interior Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy, Management, and Budget. “Cooperation and innovation are needed when confronting the issue of invasive species and the ʻŌhi‘a Challenge is a step forward in addressing that need. We must be good neighbors and seek ways to solve this problem together."
Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park, U.S. Department of the Interior Office of Native Hawaiian Relations, Hakalau Forest National Wildlife Refuge, and National Invasive Species Council (NISC) Secretariat are working in partnership with Conservation X Labs on this innovative challenge to address ROD by harnessing emerging science, technological innovations, and the ingenuity of people around the world. “We are incorporating industry innovation, best science, and best practices to improve environmental stewardship,” says Interior’s Susan Combs, Senior Advisor to the Secretary.
Conservation X Labs hosts the Digital Maker Space; a platform where science, entrepreneurship, and technology communities come together to start projects and co-create tech-enabled solutions to conservation problems.
On the ‘Ōhiʻa Challenge page, anyone can submit a project that provides solutions that identify infected trees early, minimize the spread, and eliminate the pathogens, with the goal of saving Hawai‘i’s iconic ‘ōhi‘a tree. According to Cindy Orlando, Superintendent for Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park: “If ʻōhiʻa is lost, the countless native species that grow in the shade of the ʻōhiʻa will never be, the native birds that rest in the boughs of the ‘ōhi‘a and koa trees will have no roost, and rain that falls in Hawai‘i’s old growth forests will merely rush away, taking delicate island soils with it. Even the cycle of creation after a lava flow would be disrupted when there is no ʻōhiʻa to help bring life back to the land.”
The Department of the Interior has provided a seed purse for the challenge prize. Conservation X Labs is seeking additional sponsors and partners to increase the prize purse and promote the challenge among diverse solver communities. Most importantly, the challenge prize team is calling on the technology community to help solve the problem. “Our goal is to use the best of human ingenuity to identify technological solutions that can save part of Hawaiʻi’s beauty. This is why we look to engage innovative thinkers within other advanced technology fields through this challenge prize”, said Dr. Alex Dehgan, CEO of Conservation X Labs, “We don’t have to accept ʻōhiʻa’s extinction.”
The needs are known: identify trees that have been infected with the Ceratocystis huliohia and Ceratocystis lukuohia fungi before they die and prevent the spread of the fungi and the infection of new trees. The end goal is to develop a treatment for infected trees and ultimately eliminate the pathogen in Hawai‘i’s forests. While the needs and goals are clear, how we achieve them is not. “Someone somewhere out there has the vision and technological capacity to turn ‘we can’t’ into ʻwe can!’ This challenge prize will be awarded to that hero or team of heroes,” adds Dr. Jamie K. Reaser, Executive Director of NISC. Enter the ʻŌhiʻa Challenge -- an opportunity to identify innovative tools and creative solutions to address ROD.
Interested in becoming part of the coalition to save the ‘ōhi‘a and protect Hawaiʻi’s natural heritage? Visit www.SavetheOhia.org to sign up for updates or express interest in partnering.
News Stories
https://www.nationalparkstraveler.org/2018/08/saving-hawaiis-forests-ohia-challenge
http://www.kitv.com/story/38886836/theres-a-cash-prize-in-the-fight-against-rapid-ohia-death