HUI MANU-O-KŪ
  • Get to know Manu-o-Kū
    • Tree Trimming Information
    • Manu-o-Kū Conservation
    • Resources
  • About Hui Manu-o-Kū
    • Hui Updates
  • Nest Maps
    • Active manu-o-Kū Nest Map
    • Complete manu-o-Kū Breeding Range Map
    • Photographers' Map
  • Citizen Science
  • Database
  • Report an Unmarked Nesting Tree
  • Photo Gallery
  • Manu-o-Kū News
  • Events
  • Contact

Recent events and highlights of Honolulu's manu-o-Kū

New Study: White Terns Enrich Soil

5/9/2022

 
We are all aware that the White Terns breeding in the greater Honolulu area enrich our lives in a number of ways. It turns out that while doing that they also enrich the soil under our feet. As KCC student Meeya Odell documented in a recently completed study, Manu o Ku make a “non-trivial contribution of nitrogen and phosphorus” to the urban ecosystem in which we live. They do this by consuming fish from the ocean and then depositing their droppings (ie, pooping) on the ground across their breeding range on Oahu. If you have spent any time watching the terns you’ve probably seen them squirt a stream of white excrement while roosting in a tree or even while flying overhead. A single squirt from a single tern may not seem like much but the amount of nutrients deposited by the growing number of terns over the course of a year contributes to the resiliency of the island ecosystem of which we are a part. Watch as Meeya describes the role of Manu-o-Ku poop in nutrient recycling and how she went about measuring the size of their contribution to this important process. 

Mahalo to Meeya for increasing our understanding of the ways in which the White Terns benefit us and the island we live on!

https://youtu.be/6cFI87u-I1E

Comments are closed.

    Archives

    March 2025
    February 2024
    May 2023
    April 2023
    January 2023
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    February 2022
    December 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016

    Categories

    All
    Events
    Hui Manu O Kū
    Hui Manu-o-Kū
    New Arrivals

Proudly powered by Weebly
  • Get to know Manu-o-Kū
    • Tree Trimming Information
    • Manu-o-Kū Conservation
    • Resources
  • About Hui Manu-o-Kū
    • Hui Updates
  • Nest Maps
    • Active manu-o-Kū Nest Map
    • Complete manu-o-Kū Breeding Range Map
    • Photographers' Map
  • Citizen Science
  • Database
  • Report an Unmarked Nesting Tree
  • Photo Gallery
  • Manu-o-Kū News
  • Events
  • Contact