Rearing and reintroducing endangered Hawaiian Drosophila: Laboratory and conservation practices

On-Demand

Presenting Author(s)

Kelli Konicek (she/her/hers)

Entomological Research Technician
University of Hawai'i
Honolulu

Co-Author(s)

WH

William Haines

University of Hawai'i
Honolulu, Hawai'i
Cynthia King

Entomologist
State of Hawai'i
Honolulu, Hawai'i
MM

Matthew Medieros

Post Doctoral Researcher
University of Hawai'i
Las Vegas, Nevada
KM

Karl Magnacca

Bernice P. Bishop Museum
Honolulu, Hawai'i
JY

Joanne Yew

Principal Investigator
University of Hawai'i
Honolulu, Hawai'i

In 2020, Hawai`i Department of Land and Natural Resources began a project to mass rear and reintroduce two endangered picture-wing fly (Drosophila) species to restored habitat on the island of O`ahu. Because a reintroduction for this group has never been attempted, captive rearing protocols were modified for flies transitioning from the lab to the wild. Picture-wing flies have host plant symbioses that are not well characterized and may depend on microbial interactions. To enhance rearing protocols, we consider how an artificial diet and the resulting microbiome might influence lab-reared picture-wing species in the wild. Here we present methods to mass rear Hawaiian picture-wing flies, as well as the results of a pilot reintroduction with another rare species, Drosophila ambochila. Because Hawai`i is known as the “Endangered Species Capital of the World”, developing conservation methods for rare invertebrates both in the lab and in the field is essential to maintain the state’s diverse and rare native species.