Hawaii’s Forest Birds Sing the Blues

Hawaii’s Forest Birds Sing the Blues

Kaua’i Ki’ihau Moloka’i O’ahu Laha’i Maui Kaho’olawe Hawai’i the 8 Hawaiian islands are very remote - over 2,500 miles from the nearest mainland because of its isolation, Hawaii has some of the world’s most amazing examples of adaptive radiation (you may want to look up this term) and some of the world’s most devastating ecological disasters

Damselfly Megalagrion spp. Bishop’s O’o Lobelia spp. over 75% of the documented floral and faunal extinctions in the U.S. occurred in Hawaii 1/3 of the species on the US endangered species list are endemic to Hawaii

brought with them pigs, dogs, rats, non-native plants ecosystem destruction began with the arrival of the Polynesians around 400 A.D. slashed and burned lowland forest to plant sweet potato and taro European settlers arrived around 1778, with more of the same, goats, pigs, cats, etc. many more non-native species introduced as time progressed

Feral Pigs one of the biggest problems facing the Hawaiian ecosystem no natural predators to control the population - the pigs are overabundant pigs consume large quantities of understory vegetation - has to led to extinction of many native plant species - many of which Hawaiian birds needed for nectar, nesting cover, and for finding native insects pigs “rooting” also exposes large areas of bare soil, which favor non-native plant species and cause soil erosion

Mosquitoes non-native mosquitoes brought in 1880’s from Mexico - in water barrels on whaling ships carry avian malaria and pox which have been devastating to native birds, who have no natural resistance to these diseases muddy wallows created by feral pig rooting creates excellent breeding ground for mosquitoes which carry disease

the introduced Japanese White-eye is now one of the most common birds on the Hawaiian islands Competition from Non-natives non-native species compete with natives for resources such as food and nesting space

Other Introduced Mammals Hawaii has only 1 native terrestrial mammal - the Hawaiian bat rat populations grew without any native predators mongooses imported to prey on rats - but rats are nocturnal and mongoose diurnal - so mongooses had to find other sources of food both rats and mongoose prey upon bird eggs and nestlings

From a painting by Douglas Pratt Humans aside from bringing all the non-native species to Hawaii... many of the large flightless birds were over-hunted for food, before regulations governing the use of animals were made 80,000 individual birds contributed 800,000 feathers of the now extinct species, the Hawaii Mamo, to make just one ceremonial headdress for King Kamehameha in the late 1700’s

Negative Synergism the sum of all these factors working together has proved devastating for Hawaii’s native birds over half of Hawaii’s 140 historically described bird species are now extinct, and 40% of those that remain are threatened/endangered a similar fate has befallen many of Hawaii’s native plants, herpetofauna, and invertebrate species

currently, management is under way to contol feral animal populations, using exclosure, hunting, and other techniques captive breeding programs are helpful in returning more native species to the wild Nene There is still time….

invasive plant control is also taking place Ivy gourd or “scarlet fruited” gourd

preservation of relatively unimpacted sites at higher elevations

Hawaii’s Forest Birds Sing the Blues