Many native Hawaiian plants have always relied on indigenous bird species to disperse their seeds. However, just as many of these indigenous dispersers are themselves extinct or endangered, largely due to the introduction of invasive bird and mammal species.
Rapid culling of entrenched, invasive species, however, could lead to unforeseen ecological instability. Researchers like Noah Hunt and Matthias Sirch of the Hawaii VINE project are trying to figure out how well invasive species are filling the niches of indigenous seed dispersers in the first place. The field work involved is slow and painstaking and researchers don't anticipate that there will be enough data to act upon for years.