Buffer zone lichen, arthropod and botanical inventory and assessment: Thirty Meter Telescope project, Mauna Kea science reserve, northern plateau, Hamakua district, Island of Hawaii

Author:

Brenner, Gregory J., Smith, Cliff, Eiben, Jesse, Berryman, Shanti, Pacific Analytics L.L.C.

Title:

Buffer zone lichen, arthropod and botanical inventory and assessment: Thirty Meter Telescope project, Mauna Kea science reserve, northern plateau, Hamakua district, Island of Hawaii

Periodical:

TMT

Year:

2012

Pages:

165

Subject:

Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT) Environmental impact analysis Arthropods surveying Mauna Kea Botanical surveying Mauna Kea Lichen Wekiu bug Insects alpine climate

Summary:

The Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT) Observatory Corporation conducted a natural resource assessment of a 500 meter buffer zone around the proposed TMT Observatory site within the Astronomy Precinct of the Mauna Kea Science Reserve on Hawaii Island in the State of Hawaii. The survey was in accordance with the Office of Mauna Kea Management (OMKM) Mauna Kea Comprehensive Management Plan (Mauna Kea CMP) that provide "management recommendations to ensure the protection, preservation, and enhancement of the natural resources of the UH Management Areas". The proposed TMT observatory would be located within the western portion of the area known as the Northern Plateau. During construction, support activities would occur within the existing Batch Plant Staging Area. Sampling of three strata representing lichen, botanical, and arthropod fauna habitat in the bugger zone surrounding the proposed TMT observatory site was conducted May 30 through June 17, 2011. Lichen habitat was surveyed by Dr. Cliff Smith, the leading expert in lichen identification and conservation in Hawaii, Dr. Shanti Berryman, a consulting biologist with broad experience in lichen survey field work, and Dr. Gregory Brenner, whose extensive experience of the Mauna Kea summit region supported the work. The Botanical habitat survey was conducted by Dr. Gregory Brenner and Dr. Shanti Berryman, and cinder cone arthropod habitat was surveyed by Dr. Jesse Eiben, who studied wekiu bug (Nysius wekiuicola) autecology for his dissertation, and Dr. Gregory Brenner, who has studied high elevation arthropod habitat in Hawaii for more than 18 years. The survey of the lichen habitat stratum found twenty-three species of lichens within the buffer zone. While the taxonomy is still being worked out, the work, combined with other surveys by Dr. Smith at lower elevations, had contributed greatly to the understanding of the lichens that occur on Mauna Kea. Areas of "relatively high diversity" were discovered and identified, and 'common conditions' were characterized and compared to conditions within the TMT observatory footprint. No high diversity areas were observed within the TMT Observatory footprint site. The survey of botanical resources within the Botanical stratum found sparse vegetation cover, and only a few species of grasses, mosses, and ferns. Sampling in the arthropod habitat stratum found wekiu bugs throughout the stratum, but with varying abundance depending on substrate conditions. No wekiu bugs were found within the TMT observatory footprint. The results of the surveys indicate there are no special concerns or legal constraints related to arthropod and botanical resources in the Project areas. No species listed as endangered or threatened species were detected at the Project construction areas or any of the surveyed area (DLNR 1997, Federal Register 1999, 2005, 2006).

Date:

April 2012

Collection:

EIS