Donald R. Drake
Professor, School of Life Sciences
Interim Director, Lyon Arboretum
University of Hawaiʻi
Honolulu, HI 96822, USA
email: dondrake@hawaii.edu
Research interests
My main interest is plant ecology, especially aspects of reproductive ecology that influence plant population and community dynamics and are relevant to conservation. Much recent work focuses on how changes in animal communities (pollinators, seed dispersers, and seed predators) affect plant recruitment from seed. I am also increasingly interested in restoration ecology, both as a conservation technique and as a means to learn more about basic ecological processes.
Publications
Nogales M, McConkey KR, Carlo TA, Wotton DM, Bellingham PJ, Traveset A, González-Castro A, Heleno R, Watanabe K, Ando H, Rogers H, Heinen JH, Drake DR. 2024. A review of the state of the art in frugivory and seed dispersal on islands and the implications of global change. The Botanical Review 90: 160-185.
Bogner KK, Haines WP, Kim J, Drake DR, Barton KE. 2024. Endemic island plant-herbivore interactions: Kamehameha butterfly (Nymphalidae) and Hawaiian Urticaceae. Biotropica 56: 149-161.
Ainsworth A, Drake DR. 2024. Hawaiian treeline ecotones: implications for plant community conservation under climate change. Plants 13: 123.
Gabrielson, SME, Mau RL, Dittmar E, Kelley JP, Tarwater CE, Drake DR, Sperry JH, Foster JT. 2024. DNA metabarcoding reveals diet composition of invasive rats and mice in Hawaiian forests. Biological Invasions 26: 79-105.
Ainsworth A, Drake DR. 2023. Hawaiian subalpine plant communities: implications of climate change. Pacific Science 77: 275-296.
Jacobi JD, Drake DR, Duffy D, Kitayama K, Vitousek P. 2023. Tribute to Professor Dieter Mueller-Dombois. Pacific Science 77: 137-138.
Vizentin-Bugoni J, Sperry JH, Kelley JP, Foster JT, Drake DR, Case SB, Gleditsch JM, Hruska AM, Wilcox RC, Tarwater CE. 2022. Mechanisms underlying interaction frequencies and robustness in a novel seed dispersal network: lessons for restoration. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 289: 20221490.
Case SB, Postelli K, Drake DR, Vizentin-Bugoni J, Foster JT, Sperry JH, Kelley JP, Tarwater CE. 2022. Introduced galliforms as seed predators and dispersers in Hawaiian forests. Biological Invasions 24: 3083-3097.
Fortini L, Krushelnycky PD, Drake DR, Starr F, Starr K, Chimera CD. 2022. Complex demographic responses to contrasting climate drivers lead to divergent population trends across the range of a threatened alpine plant. Global Ecology and Conservation 32: e01954.
Fernández-Palacios JM, Kreft H, Irl SDH, Norder S, Ah-Peng C, Borges PAV, Burns KC, de Nascimiento L, Meyer J-Y, Montes E, Drake DR. 2021. Scientists’ warning - The outstanding biodiversity of islands is in peril. Global Ecology and Conservation 31: e01847.
Barton KE, Westerband A, Ostertag R, Stacy EA, Winter K, Drake DR, Fortini L, Litton CM, Cordell S, Bennett G, Krushelnycky PD, Kawelo K, Feliciano K, Knight T. 2021. Hawaiʻi forest review: synthesizing the ecology, evolution, and conservation of a model system. Perspectives in Plant Ecology, Evolution and Systematics 52: 125631.
Drake DR, McConkey KR. 2021. Novel diplochory: native bats and alien rats combine to disperse seeds of a tropical tree. Acta Oecologica 111: 103719.
Sperry JH, O’Hearn DJ, Drake DR, Hruska AM, Case SB, Vizentin-Bugoni J, Arnett C, Chambers T, Tarwater CE. 2021. Fruit and seed traits of native and non-native plant species in Hawaiʻi: implications for seed dispersal by non-native birds. Biological Invasions 23: 1819-1835.
Vizentin-Bugoni J, Sperry JH, Kelley JP, Gleditsch JM, Foster JP, Drake DR, Hruska AM, Wilcox RC, Case SB, Tarwater CE. 2021. Ecological correlates of species’ roles in highly invaded seed dispersal networks. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA 118: No. 4e 2009532118.
Carpenter JK, Wilmshurst JM, McConkey KR, Hume JP, Wotton DM, Shiels AB, Burge OR, Drake DR. 2020. The forgotten fauna: native vertebrate seed predators on islands. Functional Ecology 34: 1802-1813.
Muscarella R, … Drake DR, … Balslev H (65th of 223 authors). 2020. Global variation of tree palm abundance. Global Ecology and Biogeography 29: 1495-1514.
Ainsworth A, Drake DR. 2020. Classifying plant species along a habitat generalist-specialist continuum: Implications for species conservation under climate change. PLOS ONE 15:e00228573.
Vizentin-Bugoni J, Tarwater CE, Foster JT, Drake DR, Gleditsch JM, Hruska AM, Kelley JP, Sperry JH. 2019. Structure, spatial dynamics, and stability of novel seed dispersal mutualistic networks in Hawaiʻi. Science 364: 78-82.
Shay K, Drake DR. 2018. Pollination biology of the Hawaiian coastal vine Jacquemontia sandwicensis (Convolvulaceae). Pacific Science 72: 485-499.
Hays BR, Sperry J, Drake DR, Hruska AM. 2018. Husking stations provide insight into seed predation and possible dispersal by non-native rodents of Oʻahu. Pacific Science 72: 335-344.
Slik F, … Drake DR …, Zang R (42nd of 187 authors). 2018. Phylogenetic classification of the world’s tropical forests. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA 115: 1837-1842.
Enoki T, Drake DR. 2017. Alteration of litter decomposition by the invasive tree Psidium cattleianum along a precipitation gradient on Oʻahu Island, Hawaiʻi. Plant Ecology 218: 947-955.
Shay K, Drake DR, Taylor AD, Sahli HF, Euaparadorn M, Akamine M, Imamura J, Powless D, Aldrich P. 2016. Alien insects dominate the plant-pollinator network of a Hawaiian coastal ecosystem. Pacific Science 70: 409-429.
Sahli HF, Krushelnycky PD, Drake DR, Taylor AD. 2016. Patterns of floral visitation to native Hawaiian plants in the presence and absence of invasive Argentine ants. Pacific Science 70: 309-322.
Wotton DM, Drake DR, Powlesland RG, Ladley JM. 2016. The role of lizards as seed dispersers in New Zealand revisited. Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand 46: 40-65.
Traveset A, Fernández-Palácios JM, Kueffer CK, Bellingham PJ, Morden CW, Drake DR. 2016. Advances in island plant biology since Sherwin Carlquist's Island Biology. AoB PLANTS 8: plv148.
McConkey KR, Drake DR. 2015. No redundancy in the seed dispersal function of flying foxes on a Pacific Island. AoB PLANTS 7: plv088.
Shiels AB, Drake DR. 2015. Barriers to seed and seedling survival of once-common Hawaiian palms: the role of invasive rats and ungulates. AoB PLANTS 7: plv057.
Fernández-Palácios JM, Kueffer CK, Drake DR. 2015. A new golden era in island biology. Frontiers of Biogeography 7: 14-20.
Kueffer CK, Drake DR, Fernández-Palácios JM. 2014. Island Biology—looking toward the future. Biology Letters 10: 20140719.
Franklin J, Keppel G, Webb EL, Seamon JO, Rey SJ, Steadman DW, Wiser SK, Drake DR. 2013. Dispersal limitation, speciation, environmental filtering and niche differentiation influence forest tree communities in West Polynesia. Journal of Biogeography 40: 988-999.
Shiels AB, Flores CA, Khamsing A, Krushelnycky PD, Mosher SM, Drake DR. 2013. Dietary niche differentiation among three species of invasive rodents (Rattus rattus, R. exulans, Mus musculus). Biological Invasions 15: 1037-1048.
Krushelnycky PD, Loope LL, Giambelluca TW, Starr F, Starr K, Drake DR, Taylor AD, Robichaux R. 2013. Climate associated population declines reverse recovery and threaten future of an iconic high-elevation plant. Global Change Biology 19: 911-922.
Vitousek PM, Drake DR. 2012. In appreciation of Professor Dieter Mueller-Dombois. Pacific Science 66: 117-118.
Drake DR, Bodey T, Russell JC, Towns DR, Nogales M, Ruffino L. 2011. Direct impacts of seabird predators on island biota other than seabirds. Pp. 91-132 in Mulder CPH, Anderson WB, Towns DR, Bellingham PJ (Eds). Seabird Islands: Ecology, Invasion and Restoration. Oxford University Press.
Chimera CG, Drake DR. 2011. Could poor seed dispersal contribute to predation by rodents in a Hawaiian dry forest? Biological Invasions 13: 1029-1042.
Shiels AB, Drake DR. 2011. Are introduced rats (Rattus rattus) both seed predators and dispersers in Hawaii? Biological Invasions 13: 883-894.
Adkins E, Cordell S, Drake DR. 2011. The role of fire in the germination ecology of fountain grass (Pennisetum setaceum), an invasive African bunchgrass in Hawaii. Pacific Science 65: 17-26.
Chimera CG, Drake DR. 2010. Effects of pulp removal on seed germination of five invasive plants in Hawaii. Plant Protection Quarterly 25: 137-140.
Chimera CG, Drake DR. 2010. Patterns of seed dispersal and dispersal failure in a Hawaiian dry forest having only introduced birds. Biotropica 42: 493-502.
Drake DR, Hunt TL. 2009. Invasive rodents on islands: integrating historical and contemporary ecology. Biological Invasions 11: 1483-1487.
Drake DR. 2009. Tonga. Pp. 918-921 in Gillespie R, Clague D (Eds.), Encyclopedia of Islands. University of California Press, Berkeley.
Perez HE, Shiels AB, Zaleski HM, Drake DR. 2008. Germination after simulated rat damage in seeds of two endemic Hawaiian palm species. Journal of Tropical Ecology 24: 555-558.
McConkey KR, Drake DR. 2007. Indirect evidence that flying foxes track food resources among islands in a Pacific Archipelago. Biotropica 39: 436-440.
Franklin J, Wiser SK, Drake DR, Burrows LE, Sykes WR. 2006. Environment, disturbance history and rain forest composition across the islands of Tonga, Western Polynesia. Journal of Vegetation Science 17: 233-244.
McConkey KR, Drake DR. 2006. Flying foxes cease to function as seed dispersers long before they become rare. Ecology 87: 271-276.
Meehan HJ, McConkey KR, Drake DR. 2005. Early fate of Myristica hypargyraea seeds dispersed by Ducula pacifica in Tonga. Austral Ecology 30: 374-382.
McConkey KR, Meehan HJ, Drake DR. 2004. Seed dispersal by Pacific Pigeons (Ducula pacifica) in Tonga, Western Polynesia. Emu 104: 369-376.
McConkey KR, Drake DR, Franklin J, Tonga F. 2004. Effects of Cyclone Waka on flying fox populations in Tonga. Journal of Tropical Ecology 20: 555-561.
Franklin J, Drake DR, McConkey KR, Tonga F, Smith LB. 2004. The effects of Tropical Cyclone Waka on the structure of lowland rain forest in Vava‘u, Tonga. Journal of Tropical Ecology 20: 409-420.
McAlpine KG, Drake DR. 2003. The effects of small-scale environmental heterogeneity on seed germination in treefall gaps. Plant Ecology 165: 207-215.
McConkey KR, Drake DR, Meehan HJ, Parsons N. 2003. Husking stations provide evidence of seed predation by introduced rodents in Tongan rain forests. Biological Conservation 109: 221-225.
Drake DR, Mulder CPH, Towns DR, Daugherty CH. 2002. The biology of insularity: an introduction. Journal of Biogeography 29: 563-569.
Meehan HJ, McConkey KR, Drake DR. 2002. Potential disruptions to seed dispersal mutualisms in Tonga, Western Polynesia. Journal of Biogeography 29: 695-712.
Wiser SK, Drake DR, Burrows LE, Sykes WR. 2002. The potential for long-term persistence of forest fragments on a large island in western Polynesia. Journal of Biogeography 29: 767-787.
McConkey KR, Drake DR. 2002. Extinct pigeons and declining bat populations: are large seeds still being dispersed in the tropical Pacific? Pp. 381-395 in Levey D, Silva W, Galetti M (Eds.), Frugivory and Seed Dispersal: Evolutionary and Conservation Perspectives. CAB International, Wallingford, UK.
Drake DR, Pratt LW. 2001. Seedling mortality in Hawaiian rain forest: the role of small-scale physical disturbance. Biotropica 33: 319-323.
Steadman DW, Franklin J, Drake DR, Freifeld HB, Bolick LA, Smith DS, Motley TJ. 1999. Conservation status of forests and vertebrate communities in the Vava‘u Island Group, Tonga. Pacific Conservation Biology 5: 191-207.
Moles AT, Drake DR. 1999. Post-dispersal seed predation on eleven large-seeded species from the New Zealand flora: a preliminary study in secondary forest. New Zealand Journal of Botany 37: 679-685.
Ferguson R, Drake DR. 1999. Influence of vegetation structure on spatial patterns of bird-dispersed seeds. New Zealand Journal of Botany 37: 671-677.
Franklin J, Drake DR, Bolick LA, Smith DS, Motley TJ. 1999. Rain forest composition and patterns of secondary succession in the Vava‘u Island Group, Kingdom of Tonga. Journal of Vegetation Science 10: 51-64.
Moles AT, Drake DR. 1999. Potential contributions of the seed rain and seed bank to regeneration of native forest beneath plantation pine. New Zealand Journal of Botany 37: 83-93.
Drake DR. 1998. Relationships among the seed rain, seed bank, and vegetation of a Hawaiian forest. Journal of Vegetation Science. 9: 103-112.
Kitayama K, Schuur EAG, Drake DR, Mueller-Dombois D. 1997. Fate of a wet montane forest during soil ageing. Journal of Ecology 85: 669-679.
Orava C, Drake DR. 1997. Effects of salinity on germination and growth of Solidago sempervirens (L.). Castanea 62: 272-277.
Drake DR, Whistler WA, Motley TJ, Imada CT. 1996. Rain forest vegetation of ‘Eua Island, Tonga. New Zealand Journal of Botany 34: 65-77.
Alpha CG, Drake DR, Goldstein G. 1996. Morphological and physiological responses of Scaevola sericea (Goodeniaceae) to salt spray and substrate salinity. American Journal of Botany 83: 86-92.
Goldstein G, Drake DR, Alpha CG, Melcher P, Heraux J, Azocar A. 1996. Growth and photosynthetic responses of Scaevola sericea, a Hawaiian coastal shrub, to substrate salinity and salt spray. International Journal of Plant Sciences 157: 171-179.
Goldstein G, Drake DR, Melcher P, Heraux J, Giambelluca TW. 1996. Photosynthetic gas exchange and temperature-induced damage in seedlings of the tropical alpine species Argyroxiphium sandwicense. Oecologia 106: 298-307.
Drake DR, Mueller-Dombois D. 1993. Population development of rain forest trees on a chronosequence of Hawaiian lava flows. Ecology 74: 1012-1019.
Drake DR. 1993. Germination requirements of Metrosideros polymorpha, the dominant tree of Hawaiian lava flows and rain forests. Biotropica 25: 461-467.
Drake DR. 1992. Seed dispersal of Metrosideros polymorpha (Myrtaceae): a pioneer tree of Hawaiian lava flows. American Journal of Botany 79: 1224-1228.
Drake DR, Ungar IA. 1989. The effects of salinity, nitrogen level, and population density on the survival, growth, and reproduction of Atriplex triangularis (Chenopodiaceae). American Journal of Botany 76: 1125-1135.