Principal Investigators: Jessica S., Mahonn K., and Zed W.

EVENT: Freshwater habitats have been changed by urban development, redirection of streams, and introduction of alien species into streams.

PROBLEM: Native damselfly populations are endangered because of habitat loss.

ISSUE: Should native damselfly habitats on Moloka`i be protected?

 

BACKGROUND:

Scientists have thought for a long time that insects play a very important role in ecosystems. In order for an ecosystem to be healthy, there must be a lot of different kinds of species. For that reason and others, native insects need to be protected.

The insect we chose to study is the damselfly. We read about them in Hawaiian Damselflies: A Field Identification Guide . We learned that damselflies may look like dragonflies, but there are many differences. Dragonflies are larger and move around more than damselflies. Damselflies are not as territorial as dragonflies. Even so, damselflies stay much closer to their homes because their wings are more delicate and can't fly as far. When they eat they perch and wait for their prey. Dragonflies catch and eat their food in the air. An easy way to tell the difference is to watch them land. Dragonflies keep their wings open and outstretched, while damselflies fold their wings back.

Damselflies are what scientists call an indicator species of a healthy stream. Indicator means they signal changes. They represent all parts of the stream because their habitats can be found in all parts of the stream. They need water to live in during their larval and juvenile stage. They stay near water as adults. They live in bogs, lakes, fast flowing water, the spray of waterfalls, and at all elevations. Some even live in the water found in the "V" shape of the `ie`ie vine. There are twenty six endemic types of damselflies. Three are extinct and six are considered rare. Endemic means they're found only here in the Hawaiian islands.

There are three main reasons that damselfly habitats are being changed and lost.

1) Diversion of water - Since damselflies live at all elevations and in all section of streams, when water is diverted it affects their habitats. Traditionally water is diverted or redirected as it comes off the mountain. This can affect the rate and amount of flow along the entire length of the stream.

2) Urban development - A big problem for damselflies is the shrinking space in their ecosystems. It's kind of like having people moving into your room and having to limit where you move and what you do. As land becomes more developed, native damselflies are forced to move into smaller and smaller spaces. As the development moves up the river, damselflies move ahead of it. When they get to the mountain they often find their is no water because it has been diverted.

3) Alien Fish - Like other native Hawaiian species, damselflies developed in isolation and easily fall prey to introduced species. As development progresses, streams become more eroded and flatter. This lets alien fish swim farther upstream. This forces damselflies to move upstream toward the mountains where, once again, water is being diverted.

Bibliography:

Asquith, Adam and Dan Polhemus, Hawaiian Damselflies: A Field Identification Guide, Bishop Museum Press, Honolulu, 1996.

ISSUE ANALYSIS:

 

Players	Position	Beliefs	Values
Adam Asquith	for	• There have been alarming declines of native damselflies on most islands.	ecological
Dan Polhemus	for	• Some species that originally inhabited very remote area have not been seen in over fifty years.	environmental
Babu Dioum	for	• Freshwater habitats on all the main Hawaiian islands have been seriously degraded because of past and present land and water management practices.	environmental
Allen Allison	for	• As the human population of Hawaii has continued to grow, increasing pressure has been put on the islands' limited resources, particularly fresh water. The result is a loss of natural aquatic habitats. • Hawaiian damselflies are beautiful creatures in their own right. • Hawaiian damselflies are a symbol of the need for wise stewardship of our islands' waters and forests. • We need to seek the creative balance between conservation and development that will preserve Hawaii's natural heritage for future generations	environmental   aesthetic   ethical/moral   environmental
National Park Service	for	• The National Park Service actively manages large areas of habitats for native species.	environmental

 

VARIABLES:

RESEARCH QUESTIONS:

1. To what extent, if any, does the knowledge of Moloka`i residents about native damselfly habitats affect their opinion about protecting these habitats?

2. To what extent, if any does the ethnicity of Moloka`i residents affect their opinion about protecting native damselfly habitats?

 

DATA COLLECTION INSTRUMENT:

Hello. Our names are Jessica, Mahonn, and Zed. We come from Kualapu`u School, and we would like to talk to you about whether native damselfly habitats should be protected. Your answers will help us with our project. Thank you.

Optional Information :

Ethnic Group Age

____ Male

____ Female

Ethnic Group:

____ Japanese

____ Chinese

____ Hawaiian

____ Filipino

____ Caucasian

____ Other

Age:

____ 18 & under

____ 19 - 29

____ 30 - 39

____ 40 - 49

____ 50 and over

1. How knowledgeable are you about protecting native damselfly habitats?

____ not at all knowledgeable

____ a little knowledgeable

____ somewhat knowledgeable

____ knowledgeable

____ very knowledgeable

2. Answer True or False

____ Damselflies need water to reproduce and in their immature stage they live in the water.

____ Diverting water for human use can destroy damselfly habitats.

____ Adult damselflies can live on dry land and away from water.

____ Damselflies can fly longer distances then dragonflies.

____ Damselflies are being killed by alien fish.

____ Damselflies are important because they can tell scientists whether a stream is healthy or not.

____ Damselflies eat small insects throughout their life.

____ Fossils of damselflies have been found that are 140 million years old.

____ Damselflies are not endangered, there are lots of them.

____ There is a rare damselfly on Molokai that hasn't been seen in over 50 years.

3. Native damselfly habitats should be protected.

____ strongly disagree

____ disagree

____ neutral

____ agree

____ strongly agree

4. Do you belong to any organization interested in protecting native species habitats?

____ Yes

____ No

Please list the name of the organization. _______________________________________________________________________

5. Do you want to learn more about native damselfly habitats?

____ Yes

____ No

____ Not Sure

6. Would you be interested in helping to protect native damselfly habitats?

____ Yes

____ No

____ Not Sure

If you answered "yes" , what would you be willing to do?

___ attend workshops on native habitats

___ read about damselfly habitats

___ visit Kamakou to see habitats

___ help build a water pond where damselflies can be safe from predators and loss of habitats

___ other ( please list )___________________________________ 

GRAPHS:

 

Membership in organization protecting native habitats

Organizations listed: 67% Nature Conservancy 33% Kalahui Hawaii  

Interested in Learning More About Damselflies

Interested in Helping to Protect Damselflies?

For those who answered "YES": What would you be willing to do?

• 71% would attend workshops on native habitats
• 71% would read about damselfly habitats
• 86% would visit Kamakou to see damselfly habitats
• 14% would help build a water pond where damselflies can be safe from predators and loss of habitats

CONCLUSIONS:

• 45% agree or strongly agree that damselfly habitats should be protected
• 43% are neutral about protecting damselfly habitats
• 44% thought they were not at all knowledgeable about damselfly habitats
• 50% thought they were somewhat knowledgeable about damselfly habitats
• 24% were not at all knowledgeable about damselfly habitats
• 70% were somewhat knowledgeable about damselfly habitats
• 10% of the women and 6% of the men belong to organizations which protect native habitats
• 44% of the women and 6% of the men were interested in learning more about damselflies

 

INFERENCES:

• Almost half of the people think damselfly habitats should be protected. The other half are neutral so they may not know enough about damselflies to have an opinion.
• People knew more about damselflies than they thought they did.
• Very few people are actively involved in organizations that protect native habitats. That might explain why only 6% of the men want to learn more about damselflies. Women were much more interested than men in learning more about damselflies.

 

RECOMMENDATIONS:

We feel damselfly habitats are fragile and should be taken care of. People need to learn more so they would care about damselfly habitats. We would recommend that newspaper articles, posters, or flyers be passed out. We would also like to recommend that a water pond be built on campus so future students can provide a safe habitat and study the life cycle of the damselfly. 

 

EVALUATION:

Our group worked really well together. When one of our group members was absent they always came back and made up work. We really learned a lot about damselflies and about working as a group this year.  

If we were to do this again, we would need to collect more data because our sample size was too small. We would also make some changes to our DCI. We would not use age as a demographic. We would also try to graph our data by ethnic group. We think that might give us some information which would help us answer our research questions. We would also change our "True/False" questions to "Yes/No" because people kept getting confused on the phone and answered "Yes/No" instead of "True/False".

 

ACTION PLAN:

Purpose and Description of Action: Ecomanagement/Build damselfly habitat

Action Outcome: To provide damselflies with a safe habitat on campus for students can increase their knowledge about damselfly life cycle.

 

 

Steps of Action	Who	Date Due
• Contact Steve Montgomery	Jessica	5/18/98
• Arrange a visit to Kakahaia Pond	Zed	5/22/98
• Gather information from internet about building a water pond	Mahonn	5/22/98
• List necessary materials	Mahonn, Zed	5/27/98
• Collect materials and get volunteer help.	entire group	7/24/98
• Build water pond and maintain.	entire group	August 1998

 

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