Reuniting with Our Departed Manu

by Bret Nainoa Mossman, Hawai’i

Reuniting with our Departed Manu, explores the history, loss, and ongoing documentation of Hawai’i’s extinct and endangered native birds. Once home to more than 140 native bird species, Hawai’i has experienced the highest rate of bird extinction of any land area, with 77 species lost in the past 700 years due to human impacts following Polynesian and later European arrival. Today, only 26 forest bird species remain. This talk highlights the global dispersal of approximately 10,000 preserved Hawaiian bird specimens across dozens of institutions, tracing how historic expeditions and private collectors contributed to their distribution. It also details current efforts to photograph and document these specimens to digitally reunite Hawai’i with its departed manu and support education, research, and conservation awareness. To date 14,000 images of over 3,000 specimens have been collected.

Bret is the Forest Bird Recovery Coordinator for the State of Hawaii Division of Forestry and Wildlife. He specializes in Native Hawaiian birds but engages in a wide variety of resource management. Bret has volunteered with a variety of organizations, including the Hawai’i Wildlife Centers’ Hawai’i Island Festival of Birds, the Friends of Hakalau, and Three Mountain Alliance Foundation. He is also the current president of the Conservation Council for Hawai’i. Bret has an undergraduate degree in wildlife ecology and management from Utah State University and a masters’ degree in Tropical Conservation Biology and Environmental Science from the University of Hawai’i at Hilo. Bret was born and raised in Utah, but during his time in the Ho’om’ka’ika’i explorations program became inspired to work with native Hawaiian birds. As a native Hawaiian, Aloha ʻĀina is a core part of Bret’s Identity. He has family ties to East Maui from the ahupua’a of Nu’u, on O’ahu from Hau’ula, and from K’lauea, Kaua’i. Bret currently calls Waimea on Hawai’i Island home.

Join us in person Noyo Marine Field Station in Noyo Harbor or Via Zoom