Maunakea Speaker Series Hosting Presentation on Alpine Plants

The popular Maunakea Speaker Series continues its monthly scholar-focused series on Thursday, March 21, 2019, starting at 7 p.m. at the UH Hilo Science and Technology Building room #108. The nights’ presentation will focus on changing patterns of alpine native and alien plants on Maunaloa and Maunakea.

The Only Way Is Up
In 1958 the noted Pacific Island botanist Raymond Fosberg recorded the upper altitudinal limits of various native plants growing along the access road to the Maunaloa observatory at the 11,000 ft elevation level. Dr. James Juvik and his team resurveyed the plants again after 50 years (2008) and 60 years (2018).

About Dr. Juvik
Dr. James Juvik specializes primarily in tropical forest climate, hydrology, ecology, paleo-ecology and international wildlife conservation and ecological studies. He was the first to core a number of Hawaiian swamps and bogs to secure peat/pollen records of past vegetation and climate change. He is an internationally recognized expert on conservation management of endangered land tortoises around the world. Dr. Juvik is internationally recognized in the climatological field for the development of the “Juvik Fog Gauge,” now used worldwide to provide standardized fog measurements for research and monitoring. He has done extensive research into cloud mist in the mountains of Hawai’i.