After Dark in the Park
Special Speaker Presentations

Tuesdays at 7:00 p.m.
Kilauea Visitor Center Auditorium

Park entrance fees apply
Your $1.00 donation supports park educational programs

Tuesday, September 16, 2008 - "Life After Cattle: Restoring Lower Mauna Loa's Forest"

Once dominated by koa-`ohi`a forest, the Mauna Loa Strip section of Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park was decimated by extensive logging and grazing by cattle, goats and pigs. After these animals were fenced out, recovery of native vegetation has varied – some areas remain persistent pasture and others are becoming biologically rich secondary forest. Park botanist Sierra McDaniel shares the long history of forest restoration and current strategies for supporting native vegetation in this section of the park. In preparation for Public Lands Day on Sept 27, learn how you can help with exciting projects to preserve native plant communities

Tuesday, September 23, 2008 - "Monitoring Kilauea`s Constant Changes"

During his first year at USGS’s Hawaiian Volcano Observatory, geologist Matt Patrick has witnessed a lot of action. In early 2008, increasing gas emissions, followed by explosions, opened a new vent in Halema`uma`u Crater. Easy to view, the new vent fascinates everyone with its dramatic gas cloud, night-time glow and fluctuations in activity. Meanwhile, Kilauea’s decades-long east rift zone eruption shifted to a new vent in July, 2007. First a complex of shields formed around this fissure, and then lava poured downhill through Royal Gardens subdivision and entered the ocean at Waikupanaha in March, 2008. Amidst steam and explosions, new coastline grows, thrilling countless visitors. Monitoring these two eruptions keeps HVO scientists busy with observation, computation, publication and cogitation. Join Matt Patrick to hear about recent results and ideas about Kilauea’s exciting, ever-changing activity.

Tuesday, October 7, 2008 - "Seeing with Sound:  the Sonar of Bats and Dolphins"

Many species of bats, dolphins, porpoises and toothed whales use sophisticated biological sonar to detect and identify objects. In the dark of night and across a wide range of habitats, they use sound to catch food, keep in touch and navigate through their world. Some research suggests that these animals form images from the echoes cast by their biosonar. Join biologist David Helweg, Deputy Director of USGS Pacific Island Ecosystems Research Center, to learn about these fascinating animals, their perceptual worlds, and the knack of “seeing with sound” via echolocation.

Tuesday, October 14, 2009 - "The Price of Paradise: Hawai'i's Tragic Sandalwood Trade"

The sandalwood trade inthe early 1800s was a sad chapter in Hawaiian history. In less than 50 years, feverish trade in this fragrant wood nearly wiped out Hawiian sandalwood ('iliahi) and plunged the nobility into debt. Meanwhile, famine and depression spread amongst the population.  The world's largest sandalwood forests were reduced to wastelands, leaving the Hawaiian people with a legacy of social and ecological disaster. Park ranger John Stallman details the social climate in Hawai'i that fueled the sandalwood trade. He discusses 'iliahi's botany and offers tips on how to propogate this now priceless native hardwood.

Tuesday, October 21, 2008 - "Plant Pioneers Return to New Volcanic Surfaces"

In November and December of 1959, repeated eruptions of spectacular lava fountains created a deep lava lake in Kïlauea Iki Crater and buried more than a thousand acres of rain forest. Soon afterwards, UH-Manoa botany professor Dieter Mueller-Dombois and Garrett Smathers began to study plant life as it returned to this stark landscape of cinders and scorched trees. Recently, they co-authored a new book entitled Hawai`i - The Fires of Life about this long-term ecological study. Join Dr. Mueller-Dombois for an illustrated talk on the Devastation Area, detailing decades of studying plant recovery, invasion and succession.

Return to:
Ranger-led Programs
Events
Plan Your Visit