The first study to implicate ambrosia beetles in Rapid ʻŌhiʻa Death (ROD) has been published by CTAHR researchers and co-authors, who identified Xyleborus ferrugineus, a non-native beetle, as one culprit in the spread of Ceratocystis lukuohia in the Puna area of the Big Island. C. lukuohia is a tree-colonizing fungus that leads to widespread ROD in ʻōhiʻa lehua trees. 

A new research paper published by Clay Trauernicht (NREM) in the journal Science of the Total Environment is the first study to link climate change to increasing wildfire probability in Hawai‘i. His analysis indicates that climate change will increase the annual risk of wildfire by as much as 375% for parts of the Big Island and most of this change will happen within the next several decades.  

Andy Reilly (FDM) has published an article in the journal Fashion, Style, and Popular Culture called “Attention Deficit Fashion.” Using a post-postmodern perspective, he and his co-author offer a framework for analyzing the current social and industrial practices that have resulted in the rapid turnover of clothing purchases and styles. 

NREM Professor Emeritus Chennat Gopalakrishnan is guest editor of a special issue of the Journal of Natural Resources Policy focused on “Institutional Entropy: Causes, Consequences, and Corrective Measures.” The journal is issuing a call for papers that clarify and illuminate all aspects of institutional entropy, examining in detail its causes and consequences and suggesting possible solutions. 

Members of two departments collaborated to publish a new study in the prestigious journal Nature Scientific Report. Co-authors Nirvay Sah, Birendra Mishra, and Rajesh Jha (all HNFAS) and Donna Lee Kuehu (MBBE) discussed novel genes that are involved in the regulation of egg formation in poultry.