CTAHR alum awarded for outstanding miconia invasion study

red and green miconia

An alumnus from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa’s College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources (CTAHR) and his team won the 2019 Outstanding Paper, Invasive Plant Science and Management award for their scientific paper on miconia invasion in East Maui. The award was given by the Weed Science Society of America.

James Leary
James Leary

James Leary, who previously served as a CTAHR faculty member, co-authored the scientific paper, “Interpreting Life-History Traits of Miconia through Management over Space and Time in the East Maui Watershed, Hawaii,” with Kimberly Burnett, Brooke Mahnken and Christopher Wada.

The paper describes the invasion of miconia in the East Maui Watershed and traces mitigation efforts against this aggressive weed tree. The watershed produces more than one billion gallons of freshwater used for agriculture and consumption and is habitat to more than 100 threatened and endangered species.

“This is a great honor to receive and is a credit to CTAHR’s support of my development as a faculty member,” said Leary. “The study was a great way to end my tenure, and I am forever appreciative to my college.”

For more on Leary and the study, visit the CTAHR website.