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Hawaiian
Owl - Pueo Hawaiian
Crow > As for the facts about pueo, its Latin classification spells asio flammeus sandwicensis, but specialists are not in agreement whether this owl, endemic to the islands, is truly a subspecies of the North American Short-Eared Owl or indistinguishable from its continental friends. Either way, it measures 13 to 17 inches, with the females being slightly larger than the males. A dark mask surrounds large, yellow eyes, and its feathered body is streaked with shades of brown and white. The pueo, unlike most owls, is often active during the day and loves to fly at high altitude above open, grassy areas. The pueo feels at home at sea level as well as in the higher mountains. On the Big Island, its favorite cruising grounds seem to be the Waikii pastures above the Waimea-Kona mountain road, Mamalahoa Highway 190. They are present on all the islands, but they are definitely in decline on Oahu, where urban development makes it impossible for the shy, brown bird to find the green, solitude it craves. Considered endangered on Oahu, pueo has become a candidate for threatened status throughout the island chain The pueo's modern diet consists of introduced rodents, rats, mice, and small mongooses: This alone is reason for all of us to adore this bird! In earlier days, before those rodents arrived, pueo is thought to have feasted on the small Hawaiian rail, a flightless bird that is now extinct. Pueo loves to nest in grassy areas, making its survival a precarious affair. It lays three to six white eggs over a span of up to several months. As a result, the eggs don't hatch all at the same time. In one nest different ages grow up together. Right on ground level, the little nestlings are vulnerable to feral cats and mongooses. Once up and flying, the birds are often killed by guns or through stress caused by construction and development. On a more esoteric level, the pueo, with all its mysterious wisdom, a bird that flew over the islands well before the first Hawaiians sailed in, is among the oldest physical manifestations of the Hawaiian family protectors, the ancestral guardians, the aumakua. It was believed that after the death of an ancestor, the spirit could still protect and influence the remaining family acting through a body such as that of the owl, the shark, the turtle, or even the centipede. Each species channeling the ancestor held unique strengths. The owl as aumakua was specifically skilled in battle.
Hawaiian
Crow - Alala
Paradise
Lost > The Hawaiian crow known as the 'alala is one of the many endangered birds in Hawaii. These Hawaiian crows have once flourished over all the Hawaiian islands in 1891. Now there are less than thirty `alalas left in Hawaii. According to the February 15, 1996 issue of the Honolulu Advertiser, the 'alala is down to just 15 birds in captivity and 14 in the wild. The 'alala can be found on a 5,300-acre parcel of Kai Malino Ranch on the Kona Coast of the Big Island, Hawaii. Unfortunately, the owners of the ranch has plans to begin logging of valuable koa trees at this ranch site that serves as the 'alalas' home. The `alala is endemic (native) to Hawaii, so we have to STOP people from destroying their homes. `Alala means to cry like a young animal. It was named this because the cry of the `alala's call resembles the cry of a child. `Alala is taken from two Hawaiian words, ala and la. Ala, means to rise up, and la, the sun. So, the meaning of `alala is to arise with the sun. It was named this because the Hawaiian crow makes a great noise in the morning. The `alala's call is a harsh caw repeated rapidly. It was the noisiest bird in the lower Kona forests at daybreak. The `alala's feathers are dark brown. Its head and its tail is almost black, its bill, legs, and feet are black and iris brown. Their wings are noisy while in motion, but while the `alala is gliding from tree to tree, it is silent. During the 1890s the `alalas have been hunted down because they were a nuisance. They would get into feed pens and poultry yards. The Hawaiian crows started to disappear because the farmers were killing them. Farmers killed these crows by imitating their cry, and when the alalas would be close enough, the farmers would shoot them. Years later in the early 1900s, there was a big change in the amount of Hawaiian crows in Hawaii. There were no more flocks, only scattered individuals. The 'alala depended on the fleshy flower and fruit of the ieie vine, the ohelo berry, and other berries in the forests. But as Hawaii developed quickly over the years and alien invaders such as new fruits and livestock were introduced, the food habits changed. Change of diet and bird diseases are other reasons for the decline of the 'alalas.
Paradise
Lost Roll
Call of Native Species > Before the arrival of the first Hawaiians, few plants and animals found their way to these isolated islands. But the few that made it here gave birth to a bewildering variety of species. Hawaii experienced a bonanza of evolutionary creativity that makes the Galapagos look tame. A single ancestral species of finch, for instance, gave rise to dozens of species of Hawaiian honeycreepers — an assemblage of birds so diverse that a casual observer would never guess they are closely related. Before human inhabitants arrived, Hawaii was idyllic for the native birds. Flightless geese and rails thrived here. Songbird chicks instinctively dropped to safety on the forest floor if a hawk threatened them. No mammals or reptiles had made it to the islands, so no predators were waiting on the ground to gobble them up. Hawai`i has a wealth of native species. Many of them are endemic, that is, found nowhere else in the world. Others, like the Humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) are also found in other places (indigenous). Some of the endemic species are so rare that they are also threatened and endangered. Many native Hawaiian species are already extinct, known only by a few preserved specimens, bones, descriptions or paintings. Hawai`i is known as the endangered species capital of the United States, having the dubious distinction of having more threatened and endangered species than any other state in the U.S.
Roll
call of native species Arrival
of the Humans > Plants: Hawai`i had about 1,100 native species and sub-species of flowering plants (89% endemic). Of these, 92 species are already extinct and 270 are on the endangered species list. Another 198 species are under consideration for listing. There were also 400 native fern species, of which 5 are extinct, 12 on the endangered list, and 9 species under consideration for listing. Snails: Hawai`i had approximately 1,000 native species, of which about 50-70% are extinct, and all the remaining are biologically endangered. Only the genus Achatinella (42 named species) is listed, but genus Partulina (71 species) is under consideration. Birds: Hawai`i originally had about 96 endemic species, of which 61 are extinct (45 prior to European contact), 24 listed as endangered (8 likely extinct), and only 11 not yet biologically endangered. Insects: At least 10,000 native and endemic species, of which an estimated 20-30% are extinct and 20-50% are biologically endangered. However, none are on the endangered species list, although 10 are proposed for listing. Mammals: Hawai`i has only two endemic mammals, the Hawaiian hoary bat and the Hawaiian monk seal, both on the endangered species list. Reptiles: Hawai`i has no endemic reptiles, but the five species of native indigenous marine turtles are threatened or endangered. Despite the startling numbers of extinct and endangered species, Hawai`i's native species represent a wonderful and complex story of adaptation and evolution -- certainly more than can be told here.
Arrival
of the humans Forests
Under Seige > People changed all that. The flightless geese were hunted to extinction long before Europeans arrived. Several species of hawks and owls that had preyed on flightless birds also vanished. Polynesian settlers brought chickens with them, and with the chickens came avian pox, a disease native Hawaiian birds had no immunity against. Once Europeans hit the islands, the loss of native birds accelerated. More and more alien predators and diseases were introduced. Feral cats and pigs, tree snakes, rats, and mongooses all prey on native birds. Ironically, the mongoose, a weasel native to India, was introduced to control rats in the sugar cane fields. But rats are nocturnal and mongooses are not. So the mongoose flourishes by preying on ground-nesting birds. Mosquito Death Perhaps most devastating was the accidental introduction of mosquitoes, which carry avian malaria. Around the turn of the century, whole communities of native birds suddenly vanished from seemingly pristine forests, wiped out by malaria. These days, native forest birds are found only at higher elevations, where the imported mosquitoes can't live. The situation is worsening as the mosquitoes are adapting to higher and higher elevations. They are aided and abetted by feral pigs, which root around in forest undergrowth, tearing up plants and leaving pools and puddles that make a great habitat for mosquito larvae. In 1893, there were 68 native land and freshwater bird species in the islands. Today, 29 of those species are extinct or nearly so and 17 more are endangered. More than 50 percent of the birds on the U.S. list of threatened and endangered species are native to Hawaii. So trying to save Hawaii's birds is not an easy stroll through paradise. Join us as we meet some of the biologists on the cutting edge of endangered-species conservation, and some of the birds they are trying to save.
Forests
Under Siege Volcanoes
> A splendid array of plants and animals flourished in Hawaii's ancient forests. Over 70 million years of evolution produced species unlike those anywhere else on earth. The absence of grazing and predatory mammals allowed newly established flora and fauna to abandon ancestral defense mechanisms, enabling life to evolve into thousands of new species. Honeycreepers exemplify the rich tapestry of life produced by evolutionary processes without human interference. Among the earliest land birds on the islands, they evolved into over 50 species from one pioneering ancestor. Each species has a distinctive bill adapted for a different feeding purpose. The arrival of Polynesians over fifteen hundred years ago ended the isolation and changed the conditions that fostered the evolution of Hawaii's unique ecosystems. To provide for their survival, these first settlers brought food plants and domestic animals such as pigs, dogs and jungle fowl. Captain Cook's arrival in 1778 marked the beginning of a new alien invasion that included domestic cattle, sheep, goats and pigs. New settlers brought hundreds of new introductions, including cats, rats, mongooses birds and ornamental plants. Many native species became extinct because they were unable to successfully cope with aggressive introduced species. New predators found native animals easy prey. Today, the most destructive force in native forests besides land development is feral pigs – domestic animals gone wild. Without predators wild pig populations multiply unchecked, a single pair and their offspring theoretically producing 15,000 pigs in five years. Wild pigs churn up the forest floor in search of earthworms (also introduced) and fleshy plant roots. They destroy vulnerable native plants such as mints and orchids; they also eat the fruits and spread the seeds of obnoxious alien plants. Pigs indirectly cause the deaths of native birds by carving the starchy core from trunks of fallen tree ferns. This leaves depressions that collect rainwater, allowing mosquitoes to breed. These introduced mosquitoes carry and transmit avian malaria and pox that infect and kill native birds that lack immunity. Pigs destroy native forests by causing the loss of native species valued by both ancient and modern cultures. Park crews build fences around portions of the park that possess special ecological values. They eliminate pigs and offensive alien plants within these areas and the forest begins to heal with the return of native plants and animals. These efforts are vital to perpetuate the natural ecosystems that form a part of our world heritage.
A healthy forest is usually very noticeable. Most plants are green and growing. Animals appear active and well. Often there is an age structure, much like a human population, with both young and old present. There are multiple layers of tall, medium, and low vegetation, if not in one location, then certainly on a regional basis. Most importantly, reproduction is occurring, signifying the right amount of soils, minerals, nutrients, water, and other requirements for life. A healthy forest can almost be felt, as well as seen. In Hawaii, look at different forests, and see if you can sense the difference between a healthy forest, and one that is not. This koa forest has been damaged by decades of grazing animals. Understory plants have disappeared and koa trees are dying. History tells us much about what we see today. Hawaii's forests have changed dramatically from the time humans first arrived, the result of many events occurring over long periods of time. Native plants and animals have been harvested, introduced plants and animals have proliferated, and forests over time have been destroyed or altered by fires and hurricanes.
Volcanoes
Ring
of Fire > Kilauea Volcano, Hawaii -- Geographic Setting, and Geologic and Eruptive History -- Since the beginning of a historical record early in the 19th century, eruptions have occurred frequently at Mauna Loa and Kilauea; these two volcanoes on the Big Island are among the most active in the world. Most eruptions of Mauna Loa and Kilauea are nonexplosive, and both volcanoes are readily accessible; scientists can study them at close range in relative safety. as a result, these are two of the most intensely observed and best understood volcanoes on our planet. Research on these active volcanoes provides a basis for understanding the life story of older, no inactive Hawaiian volcanoes and similar volcanoes worldwide. Hawaii serves as a superb natural laboratory for the study of volcanic eruptions. For the past 200 years, Mauna Loa and Kilauea have tended to erupt on average every two or three years, placing them among the most frequently active volcanoes in the world. Some intervals of repose between eruptions at a given volcano have been much longer than its long-term average. The individual Kilauea eruptions recorded historically are in addition to the nearly continuous eruptive activity within or near Halema'uma'u Crater, extending throughout the 19th century and into the early 20th century. Simultaneous eruption of both volcanoes has been rare except at times when Kilauea was continuously active before 1924. The only post-1924 occurrence of simultaneous eruption was in March 1984, when activity at both volcanoes overlapped for one day. Long repose intervals for one volcano correlate approximately with increased activity at the other. This general relation is imperfect but holds well for post-1924 eruptive activity. Between 1934 and 1952, only Mauna Loa was active and, between 1952 and 1974, only Kilauea was. Since July 1950, Hawaiian eruptive activity has been dominated by frequent and sometimes prolonged eruptions at Kilauea, while only two short-lived eruptions have occurred at Mauna Loa (July 1975 and March-April 1984). As of September 1986, Kilauea's eruption at Pu'u O'o, which began in January 1983, shows no signs of decline. Except for the nearly continuous eruptive activity at Halema'uma'u for a century before 1924, and at Mauna Loa summit between 1872 and 1877, the Pu'u O'o eruption has now become the longest lasting single Hawaiian eruption in recorded history. The average volume of lava erupted at Kilauea Volcano since 1956 is between 110 and 130 million cubic yards per year. Volcanoes are not randomly distributed over the Earth's surface. Most are concentrated on the edges of continents, along island chains, or beneath the sea forming long mountain ranges. More than half of the world's active volcanoes above sea level encircle the Pacific Ocean to form the circum-Pacific "Ring of Fire." In the past 25 years, scientists have developed a theory -- called plate tectonics -- that explains the locations of volcanoes and their relationship to other large-scale geologic features.
Plate
Tectonics According to the new, generally accepted "plate-tectonics" theory, scientists believe that the Earth's surface is broken into a number of shifting slabs or plates, which average about 50 miles in thickness. These plates move relative to one another above a hotter, deeper, more mobile zone at average rates as great as a few inches per year. Most of the world's active volcanoes are located along or near the boundaries between shifting plates and are called "plate-boundary" volcanoes. However, some active volcanoes are not associated with plate boundaries, and many of these so-called "intra-plate" volcanoes form roughly linear chains in the interior of some oceanic plates. The Hawaiian Islands provide perhaps the best example of an "intra-plate" volcanic chain, developed by the northwest-moving Pacific Plate passing over an inferred "hot spot" that initiates the magma-generation and volcano-formation process. The peripheral areas of the Pacific Ocean Basin, containing the boundaries of several plates are dotted by many active volcanoes that form the so-called "Ring of Fire". The "Ring" provides excellent examples of "plate-boundary" volcanoes, including Mount St. Helens. In the Pacific Northwest, the Juan de Fuca Plate plunges beneath the North American Plate, locally melting at depth; the magma rises to feed and form the Cascade volcanoes. The Earth's crust is broken into moving plates of "lithosphere". There are seven very large plates, each consisting of both oceanic and continental portions, and a dozen or more small plates. Each plate is about 80 kilometers (50 miles) thick and can be pictured as having a shallow part that deforms by elastic bending or by brittle breaking, and a deeper part that yields plastically, beneath which is a viscous layer on which the entire plate slides. The plates tend to be internally rigid, and they interact mostly at their edges. All plates are moving relative to all others. There are grounds for suggesting that the African plate may now be approximately fixed relative to the deep mantle, but if so it is the only such plate. Velocities of relative motion between adjacent plates range from less than 1 centimeter (a small fraction of an inch) to about 13 centimeters (5 inches) per year. Although these velocities are slow by human standards, they are extremely rapid by geologic ones: a motion of 5 centimeters (2 inches) per year, for example, adds up to 50 kilometers (30 miles) in only 1 million years, and some plate motions have been continuous for 100 million years. Plates are now pulling apart primarily along the system of great submarine ridges in the world's oceans. Hot material from the deeper mantle wells up into the gap, and some of it melts and is erupted on the surface as lava or is injected near the surface to crystallize as other igneous rocks. The ridge stands high because its material is hot, and hence low in density. As the plates move apart, the ridge material gradually cools and contracts, and its surface sinks. Ridges generally form step-like alternations of spreading centers perpendicular to the direction of motion and of strike-slip faults parallel to that direction. Where plates converge, one tips down and slides beneath the other. Generally, an oceanic plate slides ("subducts") beneath a continental plate (for example, along the west coast of South America) or another oceanic plate (for example, the east side of the Philippine Sea plate). A trench is formed where the under-sliding plate tips down, and the ocean-floor sediment it carries is scraped off against the front of the overriding plate. We know know much about the mechanics of these junctions from geophysical studies and particularly from seismic-reflection profiles made across them with instruments developed for oil-field exploration. Farther back under the overriding plate, zones of earthquakes, inclined down into the mantle to depths that reach 700 kilometers (450 miles), show the trajectory of the descending plate. Typically, a belt of volcanoes lies above the part of this inclined earthquake zone, which is about 125 kilometers (80 miles) deep.
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