The first conference, the Pacific Seabird Group, was held at the Radisson Kauai Beach Resort in Lihue in February, and had 200 attendees. The conference, co-sponsored by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, explored the biology and conservation of seabirds, with a special emphasis on Japan and Hawaii. The second conference, the annual meeting of the Society for Conservation Biology will be held in late July in Hilo and will be jointly sponsored by the U.S. Geological Survey. The conference, which will be held at the UH Hilo campus, will explore the sustainability of island ecosystems. The conference will offer extensive after-conference tours both on the island and to Midway.
Scientists extend their stays after meetings for family vacations.
Such meetings often spur island-based research projects that help the local economy and can generate extensive publicity. Hawaii is twenty years behind. Even smaller societies are worth pursuing, as they can be accommodated on the Neighbor Islands, while bigger meetings are limited to Waikiki. Many societies value the closer link to nature and Hawaiian culture that is possible on the outer islands. The Pacific Cooperative Studies Unit is a joint project of the U.S. Geological Survey, the National Park Service and the University of Hawaii at Manoa.