An innovative strategy to use unmanned aircraft systems and remote sensing devices to detect a fungus decimating Hawaiian forests earned Ryan Perroy of the University of Hawaii at Hilo the $70,000 Ohia Challenge prize.
Since 2014 when it was first discovered, rapid ohia death has killed hundreds of thousands of mature ohia trees on Hawaii Island and was recently detected on Kauai and Maui. ROD is caused by two invasive fungi, Ceratocystis huliohia and Ceratocystis lukuohia, that if left unstopped, could irreversibly change Hawaiian ecosystems and cultural traditions by eliminating the keystone native tree in Hawaiian forests.
Perroy is an associate professor at UH-Hilo and principle investigator with the Spatial Data Analysis and Visualization lab, a research unit applying geospatial tools to local environmental problems in Hawaii and the Pacific region. Perroy’s solution uses high-resolution cameras and other sensors to improve early detection of ROD across forests, including areas where signs of ROD might not yet be visible to the naked eye. This solution will buy managers precious time to respond to outbreaks and will give scientists better information about how the disease spreads.
A second component to his solution is to use a drone to collect samples from the canopy of suspect trees for laboratory analysis, thus increasing the chances of detecting the fungus and saving time and effort of crews sampling on the ground in often challenging environments.
“The best answers to problems are not always the ones we think up on our own,” said Susan Combs, U.S. Department of the Interior Assistant Secretary for Policy, Management and Budget. “We need innovative solutions like Dr. Perroy’s submission to help us nurture the land for the next generations. Collaborative conservation is an important tool for successfully fulfilling our responsibilities to protect our nation’s forests, watersheds and other natural resources.”
Conservation X Labs, the Interior Department Office of Native Hawaiian Relations, the National Invasive Species Council Secretariat and the National Park Service partnered on the Ohia Challenge to identify novel technological solutions to ROD. The $70,000 challenge was offered to create innovative and low-cost solutions to detect the invasion pathways and the spread of ROD-causing fungi in the environment. Fifty-six applications were received from throughout the U.S. as well as European and African countries.
“The ecological and cultural importance of ohia cannot be overstated,” said Hawaii Volcanoes National Park ecologist David Benitez, who announced Perroy’s prize during the Hawaii Conservation Conference in Honolulu. “We were encouraged by the many high-quality submissions we received for this challenge, and by the support and interest it generated in Hawaii and around the world. Innovative solutions such as Dr. Perroy’s are a key to stopping the spread of ROD and saving our cherished ohia for future generations.”
Founder CEO and founder of Conservation X Labs Alex Dehgan praised Perroy’s innovative solution.
“We believe that exponential technologies and novel innovations are necessary to turn the tide on the growing rate of biodiversity loss,” Dehgan said. “Open innovation competitions like The Ohia Challenge provide an opportunity to source and scale such transformative solutions. Dr. Perroy’s solution deploying multi-spectral imaging to detect asymptomatic trees at a landscape level has the potential to help save ohia from extinction. Not only could his work tackle a critical problem in Hawaii, but it could also yield incredible new developments in tracking fungal pathogens that threaten vital plant and agricultural species globally.”
In addition to Perroy’s winning solution, two non-monetary honorable mentions were awarded. Lauralea Oliver with K9inSCENTive LLC for her proposal to use trained dogs and handlers to detect ROD and Miguel Castrence with Resource Mapping Hawaii for his proposal to use fixed wing airplanes and high-resolution sensors to map ROD across large areas.